Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well, dear reader, if being stranded for 36 hours in a city you never planned to visit can, by any stretch of the imagination, be called a blessing, then this was exactly that sort of blessing—albeit one with a surprisingly high price tag. Our hotel in Queens was the only place with a vacancy anywhereContinue reading “When Queens Becomes the Next Stage of the Camino”

So, dear reader, you might be excused for imagining me now seated comfortably in my study in Bolton, coffee cup in hand, quietly composing this final chapter in the saga of our Camino adventure. That was, after all, the plan. But as you may have learned from your own life — and certainly from readingContinue reading “Walking the Camino: The Journey Home… Or, How Not to Get to Toronto in One Day”

Well, dear reader, for those of us who are “of an age,” I feel a bit as though I am about to write the Search for Spock episode of the old Star Trek movies. The reason is simple: tomorrow, I know I must write The Journey Home. Like any good Starfleet officer—or, in my case,Continue reading “Walking the Camino – The Day Before the Journey Home”

Well, my dear reader, we left Padrón before the sun was fully awake, hoping to outpace the heat. The smoke of distant wildfires lingered faintly in the air — a reminder that even in beauty there are sorrows. Our task was clear: 27 kilometres stood between us and the great city of Santiago. Having learnedContinue reading “Walking the Camino – Day to Santiago”

Well, my dear reader, it appears I am one post short of completing the account of our pilgrimage—and there is, I assure you, a very good reason for the omission. It began on what was meant to be a beautiful, straightforward Sunday stroll from Caldas de Reis to Padrón. The guidebook said “mostly flat,” whichContinue reading “Walking the Camino Episode 8: A most circuitous Path to Padron”

Dear reader, our day began in what I like to think of as the “Camino Goldilocks Zone”—up before the sun, showered, and strategically loitering at the door of the dining room so that we could be the first ones in at 7 a.m. sharp. The server took one look at me and, with the solemnContinue reading “Walking the Camino Episode 7: Of Heat, Ham, and Holy Encounters: A Long Day to Caldas de Reis”

Dear reader, once again I must begin by waxing theological about the Camino, because frankly it insists on being theological whether you like it or not. This morning, hundreds of pilgrims set out from Arcade. Some were off like a shot — I suspect they were hoping to get to Santiago in time for lunch.Continue reading “Walking the Camino Episode 5: Of Hips, Knees, and the Unhurried Grace of God”

Now then, dear reader—lest you, like my sister, are under the impression that this is simply an elaborately costumed pub crawl across Spain with the occasional prayer thrown in — allow me a moment of theological reflection before returning to our regularly scheduled tales of aching joints and surprising geography. This morning over breakfast, somethingContinue reading “Walking the Camino – Episode 5: Of Cultures, Cliffs, and a Classic Case of Miscalculation”

Dear reader, when last I left you, we had just finished a light lunch at the edge of O Porriño—a modest but satisfying meal which we believed would be followed by a short 2-kilometre stroll to our hotel pickup point. Imagine our surprise, then, when the stroll turned out to be 4 kilometres, which isContinue reading “Walking the Camino – Episode 3, Part B: Of Scotch, Cold Pools, and Cake with Instructions”

Welcome back, dear reader. You now rejoin the ongoing saga of a much relieved pilgrim — a man who has survived the day he feared most with hips still attached and spirits remarkably intact. Yes, today was the one — the 22-kilometre gauntlet, the Everest of this pilgrimage (minus the altitude and the snow, butContinue reading “Walking the Camino – Episode 3: Onward, Limping Lightly”