A Reflection of Life
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 Camino Miracle in Madrid
A power blackout that alters a pilgrim’s travel plans leads to unexpected Camino connections.
Summer 2025: Cultural Exchange
The Summer 2025 issue of La Concha, a magazine published by American Pilgrims on the Camino with news, pilgrim stories, poetry, and more on the theme of “Cultural Exchange.”
Letter from the Chair – Summer 2025
Summer 2025 letter from American Pilgrims on the Camino Board Chair Joe Curro, a special In Memoriam section, plus a summary of the April 2025 meeting of the American Pilgrims Board of Directors.
A Pilgrim Walk From My Own Front Door
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.
The Great Cultural Leveler
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.
Walking Away Stereotypes: My Camino of Listening
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.
Universal Pilgrim
In these song lyrics set to the tune of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier,” Evan Massaro highlights how pilgrims, regardless of who they are or where they come from, are united by a common call.
The Miracle of Grañón
An hospitalero reflects on the miraculous way a random group of individuals, each a guest for just one night at Hospital de peregrinos San Juan Bautista in Grañón, Spain, works together to prepare a communal meal to be shared that evening. In doing so, they are taking part in the medieval tradition of pilgrim hospitality, just as the albergue’s founder had envisioned.
Book Review: You Are Here
A review of You Are Here, a novel by David Nicholls. This is a lighthearted romantic comedy about two people each nursing the wounds of separation and divorce, who “meet cute” on the UK’s Coast to Coast Walk. While not a story about the road to Santiago de Compostela, it carries many themes that Camino pilgrims will find familiar and entertaining.