A Step Closer to the Camino de Santiago

Last August, I wrote about how I missed a talk by Australian professor and Camino guide Marc Grossman, lamenting how frustrated I was that I missed it and how going to this pilgrimage is really a  lifelong dream of mine.

photo credit: Freecat at Flickr

So imagine my delight when four months later, on Christmas Eve last year, Marc left a comment on this entry introducing himself and asking me if I’d like to get a copy of his book.  I replied to him saying that of course, I would love to.

A couple of days ago, I received a pleasant surprise in my mail:  Marc’s Camino de Santiago all -weather walking maps with a short note from Marc himself!

“Hello Pauline,” it said.  “I am sending you these plastic maps of the Camino Frances (the oldest route)… Happy New Year!”

Underneath this he scrawled:  “I would appreciate your feedback at some stage.”

Wow! If I needed any sign that I can finally take this trip, it was there in my hands… the water-proof, lightweight maps from a Camino de Santiago expert.  Looking at the maps is quite intimidating, though. Imagine walking the 400 kilometers of the Camino?  If I could hire a used motorcycle or a bicycle, I would. But then again,  isn’t walking and meditating the point of the pilgrimage?

I’m sure these are just some of the many questions I need to answer soon.  But no matter what happens, I am glad that I am one step closer to walking the Way of St. James.

writer. director. dog-walker. cat-tamer. furniture-rearranger. wanderer. wonderer.  writer. director. dog-walker. kitten-tamer. furniture re-arranger. wonderer. wanderer. also a pasteis de belem nut. Read more from this author