Sandy & Dave in California
Later this month, Sandy Brown and I will be heading south for a mini speaking tour, connecting with pilgrim groups from Medford, Oregon (I’ll be solo on that first date) to San Diego, California. Here’s the official event blurb: The Camino de Santiago and the Resurgence of Pilgrimage – An Evening with Guidebook Authors Sandy […]
Days 82-84 – Santo Stefano Quisquina to Palermo, Italy – 105km
The weather reports in Italy have often cried wolf, with alarming “Severe Thunderstorm Warnings” resulting in little more than a sprinkle. On this morning, though, the forecast’s bite was every bit as bad as its bark, with a relentless downpour waking me early and carrying on for hours. A lull conveniently lined up with my […]
Days 80 & 81 – Comitini to Santo Stefano Quisquina, Italy – 75km
I’ve been on different branches of the Vie Francigene di Sicilia for more than a couple weeks now, and as I’ve moved along I’ve found myself wondering about motivation. Obviously, a core component of my motivation at this point is simply to cross the finish line, which is so dang close now. The beauty of […]
Day 79 – Agrigento to Comitini, Italy – 26km
Over the course of a ninety-day trip, with only three stays extending past a single night, you end up assembling a wealth of accommodation experiences. Some are perfunctory and sufficient; others are warm and memorable. There are ruined buildings, historic structures, purpose-built complexes, and some places that exist on the continuum between those poles. It’s […]
Day 78 – Punta Bianca to Agrigento, Italy – 19km
The sun rose behind me, and the full moon sank ahead, as I set forth from my coastal campsite. Within a kilometer or two, the seaside trail had joined the sun in my wake. Another kilometer wrapped up the unpaved part of the day. The Agrigento sprawl kicked in soon after, first as a trickle, […]
Days 76 & 77 – Gela to Punta Bianca, Italy – 75km
I could walk through this whole section, so many kilometers on the beach or overlooking the coast, and not consider them at all. Find no trace of them, really. And I guess that’s kind of the point, by all involved. But they have been here and will be here again. The desperate and the hungry, […]
Day 75 – Caltagirone to Gela, Italy – 44km
A walking trip immerses you in a place in a unique way, leading you through all kinds of neighborhoods, industries, rural areas, and towns. Even the most scenic routes can’t adhere exclusively to established tourist hot spots. It would be easy to sum this up as the most authentic way of experiencing a country or […]
Day 74 – Militello to Caltagirone, Italy – 47km
The first time I walked the Camino Inglés, I confess that I didn’t particularly care for it. Truth be told, I was bored by it. These are not the kinds of thoughts you want to admit when you are the author of a guidebook on a particular route! But context, as always, is everything. And […]
Day 73 – Catania to Militello, Italy – 53km
The last six kilometers of walking today were fantastic. Well, ok, the last three of those kilometers were fantastic, leading into a river gorge and then climbing past the remains of the old Norman basilica of Santa Maria La Vetere. The three kilometers leading into that were fine. The seventeen kilometers preceding those final six, […]
Days 70-72 – Montalbano Elicona to Catania, Italy – 121km
There are two kinds of volcanic explosions at Mount Etna. Summit explosions grab the headlines. These are just as the name suggests–spectacular events when Etna quite literally blows its top. They happen staggeringly often, with the most recent eruption taking place in February 2021. And yet, for all the shock and awe, they rarely prove […]