Welcome to La Concha. Read first hand accounts of pilgrim experiences along The Way.
A man who lost his father before he turned 30 and chose a career caring for those facing the end of life taught his son to make every moment count. When that man died, his son sought to carry on his father’s example, creating meaningful experiences with his children, including a 12-year-daughter with whom he walked the Camino. Connecting with her in that moment helped him feel connected to his late father, too.
As she sits in a rustic, rural church on the Meseta, a woman notices a patch of light dance across the sanctuary wall, and in that moment senses a spiritual invitation to “Always look for the light.” As she continues on her Camino, she finds abundant time with sunlight to recognize how her soul experiences God. Back home, she makes a daily practice of noticing how the shifting sunlight draws her pilgrim soul’s attention to the light of God within her.
A woman spots an infographic in Santiago that heightens her awareness for how we can all do our part to be good citizens of the Camino.
A woman embarks on a transitional journey of sacred time. It helps her feel a sense of accomplishment for a larger journey of faith and calling and find a way to frame her journey into retirement and experience the sacred to be found in ordinary time.
Through a pilgrim way of life, a woman who had once felt a long-standing battle with a paternalistic, regimented sense of time, discovers a more nurturing, maternalistic appreciation for being present in the moment.
The daily rhythm of the pilgrim’s life helps a woman experience real time. Back home, she looks for ways to maintain that sense of time.
A few months after returning home, a man takes up a chronological daily practice of reviewing photos, personal reflections, and route details from a given day in his original day-to-day records of his walk. This practice helps preserve his memories of each day and ward off the post-Camino blues.
A father and son share priceless time together on three Caminos and deepen their relationship along the way.
In the tektite piece he leaves at the Cruz de Ferro, a pilgrim finds a fitting metaphor for the pilgrim experience.
Two friends embark on a Camino together. When one abruptly ends his Camino and heads home, the other feels hurt and confused but forges ahead on a solo journey. When the solo pilgrim returns home and reconnects with his friend, he learns the surprisingly generous reason behind his friend’s rash decision.