Pamplona was smoothly left behind and Cizur Menor – and its beautifully symbolic romanesque Encomienda Sanjuanista (of the Order of Malta) church – became my next stopover along The Way … “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if […]
“At present, the best part of the land is not private property; the landscape is still for the most part unowned, and the walker still enjoys comparative freedom. And yet possibly the day will come when the land will be completely partitioned off into so-called pleasure-grounds, in which only a select few will be allowed […]
And so it was that I then came upon this beautiful mural on the very outer outskirts of town … “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt. Poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. Either way, art is the falsehood that inspires us to rediscover the truth … Remembering all of […]
“The path you are currently walking is as necessary as it is unique. In truth, there is no other path like yours, a path on which you are always given cyclical encounters with both hardship and joy, alongside pervasively persistent opportunities to either set aside your personal worries and serve others in greater need or […]
The Way begins to steadily rise, and yet I make it slowly & just as assuredly all the way to Zariquiegui, where a wondrous pause is enjoyed within the cool walls of its open church … “Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source thereof. When we recognize our place in […]
“Remarkable, if for nothing else, that all of those men and women who have stayed for any length of time in any place for any reason so often leave behind them some monument, some structure of marble or brick or stone – structures that so often stand for far longer than their creators. So that […]
On & on & up & up I walked, eventually cresting the “mountain” and coming to rest at the famed Alto der Perdon – the “Height of Apology” (or, probably more accurately, the “Summit of Atonement”) – and its moving sculpture-tribute to pilgrims long-since passed … “Our courage doesn’t suddenly disappear just because we choose […]
And here on this awe-inspiring summit yet another beautiful tale began to unfold. I had briefly met the Huntsman family a few miles beforehand back in Cizur Menor, and my ego had been less than impressed during that first impression. Maybe it was the seemingly aloof way they had spoken with me about my Walk […]
I remember that it was HOT on this particular day – hot and dry and glaring, both up on Alto der Perdon’s summit, and just as much so on the long and stony walk down its farther slopes. And yet walk-slide-slip-&-stumble my way downward I did, meeting up with Mary from Colorado along the way […]
“Work that is good & true, whether it’s creative work done with your hands or inspiring efforts relayed by words written or spoken, ever bring forth a sense of Divinity at play. And the only prerequisite for these endeavors is that whatever the work happens to be, it is done earnestly & courageously and in […]
I ended up meeting up again with my Canadian friends, who like I had decided to walk the alternative route offered that day – a route that led to the relatively secluded wonderment that was the church of Eunate. Eunate had been one of the small handful of places I intensely wished to revisit* on […]
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