Pilgrimage: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 2
Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills, available for pre-order on Kindle now, available for free through Kindle Unlimited, available in paperback on January 6! I have a new book coming out on January 6. Did you know that? In case you didn’t, let me write that again: I have a new book coming out […]
Pilgrimage: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 1
Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills, available for pre-order on Kindle now, available for free through Kindle Unlimited, available in paperback on January 6! I have a new book coming out on January 6. Did you know that? In case you didn’t, let me write that again: I have a new book coming out […]
New Book on Pilgrimage Coming January 6
Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills, available for pre-order on Kindle now, available for free through Kindle Unlimited, available in paperback on January 6! On May 1, 2002, I staggered into Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France under the cover of darkness, around 10:30pm, following a small pack of newbie pilgrims into the old town and up to […]
Walking from Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to Cahors
I’ve been lucky enough to walk the Célé Valley route a few times now, and I always struggle with the last chunk of it, between Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Cahors. If you follow the “official” GR36 along the way, faithfully and completely, it’ll run something like 35 to 39km, depending upon whether you take the riverside fork […]
A New Resource for the Via Podiensis
It has been nearly four months since I last posted here. The relative nature of time certainly has been reinforced during the pandemic, but this fall has been little more than a blur. While Zoom school brought its own distinct set of challenges, the return to in-person learning has been even more complicated. It’s just […]
My Summer on the Via Podiensis
Any summer of pilgrimage is a great summer, but I felt all the more fortunate to be in France this year. After so many months effectively locked down in the US, the reopening of Europe in early June was as well timed as it was deeply appreciated. Beyond that, I know that many pilgrims, in […]
Exploring the Camino del Norte’s Variants, After the Coast
For years, the coastal chunk of the Camino del Norte had the market cornered on alternative routes. Just see that long-running thread initiated and continually cultivated by Laurie above! The majority of this was driven by people branching off from the “official” route to get off-road or closer to the sea, particularly making use of […]
Connecting the GR-65 and the Camino del Norte
I still remember the first time I walked the GR-10. I had just finished walking the GR-65 from Le Puy-en-Velay, so I turned right in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port brimming with confidence that I’d make short work of these ~100km. How hard could it be? Three days, max. Well, I got my butt well and truly kicked. Just […]
Finishing the Via Podiensis
I wasn’t thrilled when my hosts in the Saint-Palais albergue informed me that breakfast began at 7am. It’s Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port day! I wanted to be there as early as I could. For a little while, I considered rolling out at 6, without breakfast. I would have been fine; I had supplies and there were a couple […]
Back in Basque
And just like that, I was back in Basque Country. Technically, the transition occurred yesterday, or maybe even the tail-end of the day before, but today its dominance became undeniable. I can’t fully explain why a white building with red shutters makes my heart skip a beat—maybe it’s just that it triggers nostalgia of the […]