“It is incessantly tempting to bind ourselves to the familiar comforts of the way things are or have always been, and yet our truest fulfillment can only be rediscovered by choosing to transcend the unpredictable and encounter the unknown. For, in the most potent twist of irony, we can only truly serve ourselves while choosing […]
It was a strange series of happenstances on this particular pilgrimage that had me meeting so much difference (& even disappointment at) the small handful of “special places” which I had eagerly longed to see again* – and the village of Tosantos proved to be no exception. The donativo refuge here had served as one […]
“The road knows you & believes in you, and it will listen to you & carry you too – if you but dare to set forth upon it boldly.” ~ inspired by Foster Kinn
I would have stopped & rested for a bit here in the town of Villambistra, and yet the church itself was closed and the benches outside were already overladen with fellow travelers, and so I contented myself with exchanging a few heartfelt pleasantries with the latter, and peacefully continued along my way … “The test […]
Many of the churches I encountered along the Spanish portion of my Walk (especially anytime during the seemingly undefined block of time set aside for mid-afternoon siesta) were closed, and yet thankfully – like here in Espinosa del Camino – there proved to be regular exceptions … “The most important part of any religion isn’t […]
“A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can always be overcome … Just as important to remember: flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and offer their beauty to everyone … Some folks remind you […]
“All of us have hopes of becoming a poet, an artist, a discoverer, a philosopher, a scientist, and a saint; indeed of possessing the attributes of all these simultaneously. Of course, few are permitted to achieve any of the same in daily life, and yet in bold travel we attain them all. For whenever we […]
I flowed seemingly ever onward that day – into & through the seemingly shut-down towns of Villambistra and Espinosa del Camino and Villafranca Montes de Oca, up & Up & UP thereafter, through landscapes shockingly alternating between arid mountain and lush rain-forest. And just as my next wave of exhaustion began to nestle solidly upon […]
Thereafter I stumble-trod along an acutely-remembered portion of The Way that was as dust-blasted as it was long & lonely; knowing that the next respite was indeed somewhere “just up ahead” and yet seeing no hint or evidence of the same for hour after hour of trudging. And to make matters even more challenging, there […]
These pictures don’t do the moment justice, and yet a HUGE storm started to loom up behind me at this point in my journey; inspiring me quite convincingly to adjust my pace in a “faster” direction – not hurrying away from it in fear, but rather flowing ahead of it in humility … “By early […]
I made it to the tiny town of San Juan de Ortega shortly thereafter, where the hamlet’s only hostel looked at first glance like one that would indeed shelter a peace pilgrim from the coming storm. And yet the hospitaleros therein proved top be as uninviting and as unsympathetic as the “darker” churches nearby, and […]
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