On the way to Santiago: Tales from the Camino

Welcome to the journey of a lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:50:00 +0000

Hello and welcome On 6 September 2006, I began an 800-kilometre walk along a medieval pilgrimage trail to the tomb of St James the Apostle. Starting from St Jean Pied de Port in France, I followed the Camino francés route and crossed the Pyrenees and Northern Spain to reach Santiago de...

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photos moved + podcasts added

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:16:00 +0000

As Yahoo! Photos is about to close, I've taken the opportunity to reorganise my Camino photo albums and moved them over to Picasa. The photos can now be reached either by clicking the updated album links in the sidebar on the right (under the heading "Images") or by clicking here for the 2003 and...

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Pilgrim art

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:23:00 +0000

Almost exactly a year ago, I had the pleasure of meeting North American pilgrim Melissa West at a refuge in Pamplona. I remember sharing some interesting conversations with her regarding, among other things, the pagan and Christian origins of the Camino francés route. As happens with so many...

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Camino songlines

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:21:00 +0000

If you're a fan of choral polyphony and Gregorian chant and are looking for some music to take with you on the Camino, then check out the magnificent CD by the Monteverdi Choir entitled Pilgrimage to Santiago. In 2004, in its 40th anniversary year, the choir undertook the Camino de Santiago...

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"Wayfaring" - an album inspired by the Camino

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 07:30:00 +0000

Washington DC folk-rock band one left has released its fourth album entitled Wayfaring. Wayfaring was inspired by the Camino de Santiago, which singer-songwriter Rick Rowland has been on several times. You can listen to tracks from Wayfaring here as well as purchase a copy of the album from this...

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moBlogging the Camino #4 - In the palm of your hand

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:07:00 +0000

Just in from David Russell, pilgrim blogger at Mendocino Camino, is his anticipated guest post on moBlogging the Camino using a PDA device, or PalmPilot. Over at Wikipedia, they describe a PDA, or Personal Digital Assistant, as a handheld computer originally designed as a personal organizer but...

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moBlogging the Camino #3 - The Pocketmail Way

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 22:11:00 +0000

In this third instalment of an unusually practical series of posts for On the way to Santiago, veteran pilgrim and WanderingTheWorld blogger, Jim Damico, guest posts on another moBlogging option: Pocketmail*. Jim describes a simple-to-use mobile emailing device which might provide the perfect...

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moBlogging the Camino #2 - Using a smartphone

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:07:00 +0000

In the second post in this series on moBlogging the Camino, I take a look at the pros and cons of using a smartphone to blog as you walk. A smartphone, according to the Wikipedia definition, is "a full-featured mobile phone with personal computer like functionality". There are quite a few products...

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moBlogging the Camino #1 - An Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:06:00 +0000

Among the pilgrims heading out to walk the Camino in the coming months, some will be eagerly looking forward to detaching themselves completely from their everyday life back at home. Others, however, will want to keep in regular contact with folks back at home or maybe even share the amazing...

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A new pilgrimage season begins...

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 22:11:00 +0000

I'm back in Rome and with all the birds chirping away in the morning outside my window there's no mistaking spring is in the air. The weather is fining up and after the Christmas/New Year lull, there's a buzz of excitement building on Camino forums and blogs around the world as we head into a...

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New blog sees the light of day

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:38:00 +0000

For those of you who've expressed an interest in seeing what else I write when I'm not blogging the Camino, you'll be able to follow some of my writing projects on a new blog called global bedouin's oasis. It's been a long two weeks of planning, designing and debugging but my writing blog is now...

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Notes from the Afterlife #4: A childlike simplicity

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 08:50:00 +0000

It's going on 3 months now since I left Santiago for home. The time has passed quickly, yet I remember much of the distance travelled with an unusually vivid recall. Images flash through my mind daily of the towns and villages along the Camino I either passed through or stopped to explore. I must...

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Final thoughts on the year that was...

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 11:23:00 +0000

As the clock ticks over towards the beginning of 2007, I see that a lot of other bloggers are writing posts summing up their year. Given that this blog is all about the contemplative experience of the Santiago pilgrimage and the benefits that such reflection brings, I thought I'd end the year here...

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New-look blog and a happy new year!

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:50:00 +0000

The migration of this blog to "New Blogger" has finally been completed... Big thanks to my sister who helped me iron out all the bugs. You'll notice that I've added a few new touches to the look of the blog and installed some new features. These include: post topics - click on any topic that...

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Christmas greetings from the Antipodes

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 11:00:00 +0000

Another long journey for 2006 - this time in the comfort of a jumbo jet... This post comes to you from blisteringly hot Melbourne, Australia, where I'll be spending Christmas and New Year with family and friends after another year living far away in Rome. Many of you will have noticed that it's...

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Remembering Foncebadón

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Last October, I stayed the night at the Domus Dei albergue in the abandoned mountaintop village of Foncebadón. After dinner, all of the pilgrims who were gathered round the table had a quiet candle-lit moment of reflection. The only sound that intruded on our thoughts was the wind howling through...

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Little epiphanies #2: Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:00:00 +0000

The other day, I received an email from a German pilgrim, Annabell, whom I met on the Camino this year. She is currently in Ethiopia, living and learning from her first experiences in a Third World country. I had many interesting conversations with Annabell on the Camino and our mutually...

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Guest Post by Sue Kenney

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:12:00 +0000

When I created this blog back in July this year, it was in the hope of sharing and spreading knowledge of the life-transforming power of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Over the last few months, I've posted reflections here on my Camino experiences and their profound significance in my...

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First Camino photos now online

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 07:06:00 +0000

Photos from my Camino walk in Spring 2003 have now been added to a separate photo album.

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Notes from the Afterlife #3: What did I get out of it?

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:29:00 +0000

It's just over a month now since I returned to Rome from Santiago and having well and truly returned to the "routine" of daily life and work, I often catch myself asking "What did I get out of the Camino?" What has changed? I guess what we take from the Camino depends on a lot of factors. The...

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Answer me this...

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:17:00 +0000

I'm opening this post up for any questions about the Camino in general or the Camino stories and reflections posted here. Is there a topic you’d like me to post on? Or any issue raised in my previous posts you think I didn't address fully? Ask me here. If you feel you have something you'd like...

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A booklover's companion to the Camino

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 08:48:00 +0000

If you've followed the previous posts in my "Camino guides" series (the Pilgrim's Guide, the Blogger's Guide and the Music-lover's Guide), you'll know by now that I have a weak spot for lists. So here's another one. Some of you will allow yourself the luxury of taking at least one reading* book on...

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The times they are a-changin'

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 08:15:00 +0000

[Updated 2 January 2007] You may have noticed that this blog looks a little different to when you last visited. I've been making some changes to improve the look and functioning of the site. Here's a quick guide to the recent changes made to this blog: New photos: I've added previously unseen...

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Little epiphanies #1: Taking the first step

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 08:09:00 +0000

I vividly remember the first step I took on my Camino. It was stepping down from the train in St Jean Pied de Port on a hot and humid early September day, surrounded by several fresh-faced and eager pilgrims, heading for the Accueil des pélerins office and, all the while, taking in my first ever...

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Santiago Snippets #13: The walking stick

noreply@blogger.com (John) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 07:32:00 +0000

The morning I woke up in Villafranca del Bierzo, I packed my gear ready for a tough day's walk to O Cebreiro. Then I headed downstairs at the Ave Fenix albergue to retrieve my trusty bordón. The walking stick that I'd bought way back in St Jean Pied de Port, lovingly carved with a scallop-shell...

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