Hello, Linda. Mucho Gusto. Thank you. I’m not quite sure how to give advice. Perhaps a few questions might help:
What is calling you to the Camino? What has captured your imagination? Is your dream of walking to Santiago de Compostela linked to a particular route, an event or something historic? Does it matter to you where you walk or will any Camino do? Some pilgrims prefer immense solitude, others like company. How about you?
When I set off to Santiago de Compostela for the first time (May, 2004) I had no idea that there were other Caminos out there or that pilgrims walked from farther afield. I left on a whim carrying a few pages from a
Lonely Planet book, notes from a CSJ guide and a photocopy of Book V from the
Codex Calixtinus (English translation). The CSJ Forum didn’t exist back then so there was no one around to answer questions. I bought gear without advice, immersed myself in ‘
The Miracles of Santiago’ –Anonymous IV then took off for Roncevalles…..and there I found…surprise, surprise....70 excited Others! The
Camino Frances for me was one of rough nights and joyous camaraderie.
When I set off from Cadiz along the Via de la Plata (October, 2009), I discovered the Romans. I wanted solitude and miracles and that’s what I got -45 days out of 59 entirely alone and no one to sleep by in the albergues. Autumn/Winter along the Via Sanabres is powerfully beautiful but cold. It was near 40 degrees C. from Cadiz to just before Merida on the Via de la Plata then the wind came up and temperatures plummeted to near zero….
….When I was hiking through France (May, 2011) I happened upon a woman bewitched by saints and pilgrimage. She saw my scallop shell as I sat eating in a
boulangerie and invited me home. We drove through the woods to a beautiful house and there I was introduced to dozens of figurines and saintly objects ‘living’ on shelves and in crannies. With radiant face she told of a spiritual awakening, something to do with the Virgin of Medjugorje.
Later we dined in the gloaming listening to the birds and the crickets and when the waning sun slid beneath the trees her husband asked, Why Santiago de Compostela, why are you walking there? So I spun a tale about medieval pilgrims and Aquitanian polyphony, of loving God and loving prayer and the musicians on a twelfth century tympanum. I am fascinated with the
Codex Calixtinus. Suddenly the husband jumped up and raced into the house. He returned cradling a silk-covered box with intricate clasp. Inside lay an exquisite rare edition of the
Codex Calixtinus which he had been instrumental in printing. L’Espiritu Sancto breathed…..and I sighed in awe at His guiding….
Linda, much has been written about the Caminos in Spain and those in France, too. Perhaps you might read a few of the threads on this forum, hunt out books and CDs. I’m sure it won’t be long before something grips your imagination and your Way becomes clear.
Buen Camino,
-Lovingkindness
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