Pilgrims Way

On an Italian cammino, a woman marvels at the massive beech trees she passes. In their gnarled, interconnected roots clinging to the earth and upholding such towering giants, she is reminded of how we thrive in connection with families, companions and communities.

On Camino, a man reconnects with his inner child and learns to navigate the complexities of life with both the wisdom of age and the lighthearted joy of youth.

Most of us likely go about our days giving little if any thought to the vestibular system, an intricate network of bodily organs and processes essential for balance. This essay reminds us of the essential role it plays in bipedal walking, and therefore something to consider and honor as an essential part of our Caminos.

A strange encounter on the Camino becomes a reminder that sometimes freedom is not defined by pressing forward at all costs, but in the humility to step back and begin again.

During a conversation with his daughter while on his first Camino, a man realizes the pilgrim experience is like life: with hills and valleys, at times breathtaking, and other times exhausting.

A power blackout that alters a pilgrim’s travel plans leads to unexpected Camino connections.

Inspired by European pilgrims who walk out their front doors and on to Santiago de Compostela, a woman is joined by fellow pilgrims to walk together from her home in Bellingham, WA, to the pilgrim gathering in Vancouver, BC.

A man finds the Camino to be a great cultural leveler, helping us to see our fellow humans as more similar than different, a place where others are no longer strangers and the places they come from, once unfamiliar and maybe intimidating, no longer strange.

When a pilgrim walking the Camino Francés encounters a couple of fellow Americans oriented differently on the political spectrum than herself, she discovers that as they walk, talk, and listen to each other, they bridge divides and deepen their connections.

After being dazzled by a flamenco performance in Madrid at the end of her Camino, a woman learns of a flamenco performance coming to her hometown of St. Louis. She reaches out to her local American Pilgrims chapter to see who might join her, forming a group of Flamenco-loving peregrina friends.