A Pilgrim Walk From My Own Front Door
A Pilgrim Walk From My Own Front Door
by Shoshana D. Kerewsky | Bellingham, WA
“Although a given walk might or might not be beautiful or inspiring, it is not the distance we travel, the sights we see, or the geographical destination that truly matter. What matters most is the heart.”
– Rob Fennell, Camino Close to Home
Ever since I met European pilgrims who walked out their front doors and on to Santiago de Compostela, I’ve wanted to have that experience. When I learned the 2025 Gathering would take place in Vancouver, BC, I knew I’d walk there from my new home in Bellingham, WA.
I enjoy solo walking, but I wanted company for this adventure. Alder, a friend I met and walked with during a Camino retreat, decided to join me. She drove cross-country and picked up Cindy, a member of her Norte Camino family, to walk with us.
Google estimated the distance at 91 kilometers, but that route hugged freeways and major arteries, and included a road on Semiahmoo land closed to people without tribal business. I plotted alternatives, and Donna Coutts from the Canadian Company of Pilgrims graciously answered my questions. My wife, Nancy, and I drove my planned route as best we could to ensure accessibility and safety.
I made credenciales and a sello for our home. Alder and Cindy arrived, and we set off, walking on the shoulders of country roads, sidewalks, paths that cut wooded corners through suburban blocks, and along the edges of farmland. As we left my immediate neighborhood, feet on the ground provided a different perspective from driving those roads and immediately put me into a pilgrimage state of mind.
We could see flowers and insects in the fields and smell the scents around us. When we reached towns, we had time to read signs and look at buildings. We greeted people around us, including a man with a small cart on his own trek in the opposite direction and the very pleasant denizens of a biker bar at a tiny crossroads. We could hear trains. My companions, both from a very different biome, fell in love with the Pacific Northwest’s huge rhododendrons in full bloom. We looked up birds and plants. Along the way, we requested sellos in the form of notes and stickers from bemused but enthusiastic clerks and waiters. Several wrote good wishes for our travels in Korean and Thai.
The first day we reached Custer, WA. Nancy picked us up to return to the house overnight. The next day, she dropped us back in Custer and we walked to Blaine, a border town. After lunch by Drayton Harbor, she drove us to Semiahmoo Spit to look for birds and seals. We again returned home to sleep.
On the third day, we crossed the border to Canada at the Peace Arch and detoured east to pick up our route to Surrey. This wasn’t the way I usually drive into Vancouver, and I was happy for the chance to see different areas. We traded country and suburbs for urban cultures. Most of the people, businesses, and food smells were South Asian. That night, we stayed in a carved-up McMansion guest house. There was no food nearby, but we were prepared pilgrims with snacks in our backpacks. We stopped frequently to admire tiny yards, especially those otherwise invisible from a vehicle.
We braved the terrifying Pattullo Bridge across the Fraser River. I thought of some of the tunnels and roads in Spain where traffic hurtles straight toward pedestrians. As on the Camino, our electronic map was usually, but not always, accurate. We mostly walked alongside noisy truck routes. It was too loud for conversation, so I recited my usual Camino meditations to myself, remembering that it’s easy to meditate and be calm in a beautiful park or in the woods, but the challenge is to do so with noise, exhaust, allergens, and hard walking surfaces. We stayed at a Burnaby motel.
The next day, Henia, another Norte family member, walked to meet us from her home in Vancouver. We split up for the night—Cindy at Henia’s, Alder to retrieve her van, and me to a hotel with Nancy, who drove up to stage my Gathering suitcase. (She didn’t charge me for the bag transport.)
When we reassembled the next day, Henia guided us along the water from Kitsilano Beach, a lovely last morning. We arrived at the University of British Columbia in the rain and gratefully acquired Gathering sellos in our homemade credenciales.
How far did we walk? It’s unclear. Our trackers registered different distances, and Google Maps can’t quite fathom our regional Camino. It was over 100 kilometers, though. Next time, I’ll make compostelas, too.
