The morning hours prove delightful—once the senses have awoken. As the sun slowly rises a church steeple casts a shadow over its congregation and the vast countryside brightens before us. This time of day provides great lighting for those pictures we take back home, on camera or in our minds. Rolling wheat fields. A village in the distance. Pilgrims fore and aft. We are alive.
Month: December 2015
The Hostel Method
(Adapted as a travel article from my forthcoming book, “Su Camino…”)
ALBERGUES on the Camino de Santiago are a ubiquitous lot, many in every village, town and city—from the diminutive to the grand. Whether conversions from ancient pilgrim hospitals or modern, utilitarian edifices, they beckon at day’s
end. Trailside or a short few meters out of the way, shelter from summer sun and winter cold—so very little more, but all one needs. (more…)
Café con leche, on the Camino de Santiago
Without caffeine, senses still dull from the early hour and the many kilometers behind, legs heavy, the pilgrim finds the Camino markings of yellow arrows and scallop shells in the early light and seeks out breakfast, but more importantly, café con leche. And too, maybe, a croissant or better still, a slice of Spanish omelet. We awaken.
Rising, on the Camino de Santiago
The day begins, senses dull from the previous day’s exertion, perhaps an hour before good light. Eyes held closed as long as possible as other walkers of the Camino are heard nearby, rustling through bags, dressing, finding a lost whatever. Each morning starts the same. This fight to put off the inevitable. Putting off the effort to get up from the bunk, wriggling out of the (more…)
Parts of Parts
In his delightful Camino narrative “I’m Off Then”, Hape Kerkeling says the pilgrim’s day is a “microcosm” of one’s total Camino journey; hard to get going in the beginning and exhausted but happy in the end. The pilgrim, the thru-hiker, the spiritual-adventurer takes to the day, sluggish but expectant and experiences a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, day after day, Camino after Camino.
Dromoland Castle, Ireland
TURNING OFF THE M18 and through the gates of estate lands in the direction of Dromoland Castle come hotel, there is uneasy feeling of ill-fitting puzzle pieces. Well-manicured rolling dark green and hardwood studded hillocks, the drive meanders through, no castle in sight. The least likely of pieces, an 18-hole golf course that snakes its way over the knolls. Golfers in their funny plaid britches and (more…)
CDC.Gov
Check out CDC.Gov for all questions about potential health issues and suggested or required vaccinations for any country your travel plans will take you.
The first time I travelled to Africa back in the nineties, I went to the local county health clinic to find out what, if anything, I needed. They brought out a large tattered book and opened it the Tanzania to see where I was going and what I needed in the way of protection.
Now you have it all at your finger tips.
Travel.State.Gov
We have used this site for a good many years now, still finding it useful, but its information must be taken with a grain of salt. This US State Department website is for world travellers and the one-stop place for passports and information on visas. What we usually find most useful are their advisories. However, the State Department has recently posted a Worldwide Travel Alert, which is, quite simply, absurd. Sure, it makes it easy for them. Now they can always say, “we warned you.” But such blanket assertions paint such a gloomy, isolationist picture that people won’t travel. Which then, by the way, harms developing economies, creating joblessness and, well, more disenfranchised people that want to harm others.