Exploring the unlikely intersections of walking, photography and making
It was the type of day on the Camino that you wish would never end. The sun soaked us in warmth, demanding that we remove our zippered pant legs as we plied the gentle slopes on our walk to Estella. Along the way, history entertained us, first with the medieval hilltop village of Cirauqui, its... Continue Reading →
The 24 kilometre walk from Pamplona to Puenta La Reina illustrates the ongoing significance of the Camino to Northern Spain. It begins with the exit from Pamplona, a contemporary, well-maintained pathway through the suburbs of the city that, at its edge, bids farewell to pilgrims with a modern multi-lingual signpost. It is a sign that,... Continue Reading →
“Pilgrim, you are in the Basque Country” So proclaims an anonymous tagger on the sidewalk leading into Pamplona. It was not the first or the last scrawl of graffiti we would pass on this portion of the Camino. We were in the heart of a proud and independent-minded Basque culture, one we first encountered well... Continue Reading →
Our second day on the Camino was one of spiritual opposites. Arriving in Roncesvalles, after having crossed the low Pyrenees, we jostled among the hordes of arriving pilgrims for two beds in the church refugio. We queued in line for a short while before presenting ourselves to reception, humbly asking for a private room. A... Continue Reading →
It starts with a steep uphill grind, a small test of our mettle as long-distance walkers. Can we survive this first day, a 25 kilometre climb over the Pyrenees, taking us from the quaint Basque village of St. Jean Pied-de-Port in France, across the Spanish frontier into the province of Navarre and ending in the... Continue Reading →
On September 29, 2014 Gail and I were leaving Mistlebach in Austria on the second last day of our 600 kilometre walk along the Prague-Vienna Greenway. Two years earlier on that same September 29 date, we were departing St. Jean Pied de Port in France on the first day of our walk along the Camino... Continue Reading →