Camino Diary, Day 35

I didn’t sleep well. Between my cold and the anticipation of walking into Santiago it was a restless night for me. Our roommate, Francesco, was up and out ahead of us, pursuing his goal of being the first in line at the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago. Bill and I packed up and we were walking

Camino Diary, Day 34

It was Saturday and we had a short walk that took us through residential areas and wooded paths as we came within sight of Santiago. We stopped just short of our final destination. Five kilometers from the Cathedral of Santiago at an interesting spot called Monte de Gozo. We could have walked in and then

Camino Diary, Day 33

What kind of people walk the Camino de Santiago? All kinds. There are retired people, gap year young people, people trying to find an answer of some kind, people on spiritual pilgrimage, people walking in memory of a friend or family member, people on religious pilgrimage, people on a holiday, people on their first Camino,

Camino Diary, Day 32

I don’t have a cold anymore. The cold has me. I took cold meds last night and that caused me to sleep in and get a late start. I was groggy as we started and walked very slowly as our day started. Knowing we would have a short day, I wasn’t feeling the urgency to

Camino Diary, Day 31

Today was our last Wednesday on the Camino. I still can’t believe that’s true. Our albergue had heavy curtains to keep out the morning sun. We could have slept in. But someone decided to get up early and go to the bathroom – without turning their alarm off. After 20 minutes of buzzing, we were

Camino Diary, Day 30

There were several things I didn’t take into account as I planned for the Camino. One of those things was fixed schedule I had created by having flights one day after arriving in Santiago that I would need to make in order to meet my wife in Ireland. That fixed schedule meant that I couldn’t

Weaponizing Ordination

I’ve come to have a low sacramental view of ordination. I say “low sacramental” because I see it much the same as I see our practice of communion (or the Lord’s supper or the Eucharist). I think these are “graces” from God and I feel they are more than merely symbolic practices but I have

Camino Diary, Day 29

We were out of our albergue and walking by 7:30 a.m. Breakfast service was running slow so we decided to get going and make due with the bars and water we had for the day’s walk. It was a misty morning but we never put on our rain gear. A few people were stopping and

You Can’t Argue With Success

I’m listening to the Christianity Today podcast, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” Specifically, it’s the story of a Seattle based mega-church and it’s most prominent pastor, Mark Driscoll – how it started, how it grew, how it established a network of campuses/churches and then dissolved…or spontaneously combusted into a dumpster fire. As I’m

Camino Diary, Day 28

Early to rise, early to walk… Getting nearer the end of our Camino. Today was the beginning of the end. We are in the final 100km of our journey and while that figure sounded way too long on day one, it now sounds way too short. I’ve lost weight. I’m sleeping well. I feel better