Pilgrims' Home

  If you told me you walked from Villadesuso to Rendondela, I would scold you. I would tell you to slow down, walk fewer km, and let your soul catch up. I wouldn’t be disappointed but worried. I would wonder what was happening within that you would need to walk so far in one day.   This is what I did on Sunday. I finished the day and didn’t feel accomplished but ashamed. There is no good reason to walk 60 km and 70+K steps in one day. This is easily 2.5 days worth of walking. I keep wondering, a few days later, What happened on Sunday? I went on my way, and the rain began. I took a short bathroom break at a fancy hotel and asked two pilgrims exiting to provide a cup of coffee and a croissant from their bountiful breakfast. They obliged. This is the closest I have come to a character in a Victor Hugo story. I continued on my way along the coast as the rain pelted my body. I have rain gear but the weather was so brutal, I didn’t want to stop to retrieve it. I put the cover on my...

  I shared an “apartment” with Pat and Mary last night. That was a fun experience, and we enjoyed a wonderful seafood meal across the alley. I had cod fillet, and they had sea bass. The price was so reasonable but the company and conversation exceeded all worth. I really enjoyed sitting and being with them. This morning we planned on a short day. We were going to cross the estuary, enter Spain and stop at A Guarda. This was going to be another reasonably short day of 14 km (9 miles). Mary Beth was suffering with blisters, and I had great compassion. I remember the days of the end of the first week in 2018 when the body was begging me to slow down by manifesting blisters and muscle pain. I kept refusing to slow down, so the blisters grew and became infected. I ended up in the urgent care and taking a rest day. The body and the Camino have an agreement that the mind cannot conquer. Mary Beth is stronger than I was/am, and she continued on the way albeit slower than other days.  ...

Hotel de Parque had a pool that was nice at the end of Day 4, but the real treat was the breakfast. For less than $50 i had a room, a private shower, and breakfast! The coffee was abundant, the croissant   delicioso , the fruit ripe, and the eggs fresh. I left for the morning walk with   mutia energia. As always, the first steps led to the coastline, which was a surprise and benefit considering that as I entered the town the night before, there was a massive church building high on the hill. Churches are usually signs of where the way will lead. This meant an outrageous morning climb, but instead the Coastal route invites pilgrims to appreciate the building from below as the route winds around with views of three sides of the Cathedral.  The first day of walking the Coast out of Porto sucked - that’s the only blog appropriate word I can use to describe the experience. There were several moments when I wanted to depart the Way and do something else. It was commercial, loud...

Control is a myth, plan anyway. This is something I keep trying to live while walking the Camino and also in returning home. I’ve been trying this since my first Camino in 2018. Today, I planned a shorter day. I was going to leave later, walk shorter, and rest more. Instead, I couldn’t sleep, so I left at 7am. I was planning to walk 16km (9miles) but the lodging situation made it complicated and the map distances were off, so we (I joined Pat and Mary Beth halfway through the day) ended up walking 29km (18 miles). Again, the camaraderie with Pat and Mary Beth, among others, sustained me for the last unexpected half.  I left early and walked alone for several miles. I stopped at several cafes and asked if they had eggs and ham. Whether green or not, “I would like them here or there. I would like them anywhere.” At the third stop, I asked, “is there anywhere I can find eggs and ham?” He simply shook his head. So I settled for a croissant with cheap ham and cheese. I am certainly not ...

I woke up early and felt alive to walk.  Thankfully the sun was out so I didn’t have to use my head lamp to prepare and potentially shine it in the eyes of the pilgrims sleeping next to me in the Albergue. Every time I put the bag on my back, whether first thing in the morning or following a worthwhile coffee or snack break, I feel home. Sometimes I really do wonder if my primary location is wherever I am walking, and my core identity is that of a pilgrim.  I am thankful to have a wife who respects this part of my life and who sends me on my way, but even more - she loves to travel with me. Being a pilgrim, benefits us both. I walked from Labruge to Villa de Conde before 8am, and I was ready for breakfast. But before arriving, a pilgrim from 2018 contacted me via facebook and asked to rendezvous on the Portuguese way. I was so exited to see him. His name is Paulo, and he lives in Porto. I do not have cell service here, so connecting was going to be tricky. Somehow I missed him...

When I was planning the trip, I wondered if I needed a day in Porto to rest before walking. I had a week to acclimate to the time change when I did the French Way in 2018. Last summer I walked through California, and the distance and time change were minimal; the time adjustment was in my favor for the Camino Real. But for some reason, I was confident to believe that I could land at 9:30pm in Porto, find my hotel, eat dinner, go to bed, and be ready the next morning for walking. I did it, but I am feeling exhausted and jet lagged as the first day comes to a close.   Additionally, I was planning for a short first with a mere 24 km or 14 US miles, but instead walked almost 30 km or 18 miles . The extra mileage was more than I should have completed; the original mileage was probably a bit much on its own. This is not too mention that my American mind was fully engaged as I left Porto at 4 miles an hour rather than 3 mph. I could sense my body keeping track of time and distance as I wo...

This is my third Camino in four years, and some of my friends hear of this endeavor and say, “again?”  Almost to suggest that doing the same experience twice  is peculiar.  I don’t disagree with them. Traveling almost 4,000 miles to walk 200 is an odd experience for a one time deal, let alone for a repeat experience. But I suppose the same could be said if I told someone I am ingesting the body and blood of a Savior more than once; this is all the more peculiar if I said I do it every week. John Weborg, a beloved spiritual director and professor, from North Park Seminary, would often tell the story of the Episcopalian and the practice of weekly Eucharist. When his Baptist friends would ask, “why do you take the Eucharist every week? Doesn’t it become routine?” The Episcopalian responded, “Because by Monday I have forgotten who I am.”  Most of us have forgotten who we are amidst managing the mundane mixed with the extraordinary chaos that comes with changes in jo...

WTS DMin Cohort Students In late April I traveled to Holland, Michigan, to conclude some work at Western Theological Seminary with an exceptional group of leaders in a DMIN cohort. I was even able to see many friends, including my friend and mentor, Wes Granberg -Michaelson  (he was Alum of the year at WTS!). He also walked the last portion of the Camino with me in 2018. I coupled the trip with some work related to a Fellowship at Garret Seminary in Chicago; in the down times between the projects, I visited our cottage in Sawyer, Michigan. As I prepare for the Camino in a week or so, I revisited an experience I had and continue to have..... I am curious how this lively experience will makes its way into the upcoming pilgrimage. My journal entry: May 2, 2022 "I am finally flying home from 10 days away from my family after completing some important work in Sawyer, Holland, and Chicago. I know these places relatively well having spent more years in these places along Lake Michigan th...