Last fall I received permission from our Leadership Team to make a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago part of my Jubilee Retreat from August 29 – September 14 this year. Whatever path the pilgrim follows, there is an interior journey to traverse at the same time. I will be walking the last 112 kilometers (62 miles) from León to Santiago. I trained for it and am as prepared as a 70-year-old woman with arthritis in her knees and hips can be, and I pray to God to avoid injury. I am seeking clarity in discernment and am open to whatever the Spirit is calling me to in the next phase of life.
The Kinder(Gentler) Camino I will be on has excellent reviews and the guides have been very easy to communicate with and helpful in the planning process. Two friends from my spiritual direction group and one from the health club where I have been training are going on the Camino with me. Altogether our group consists of nine women and six men from California, Texas, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma, and the UK.
Our guides are two Spanish locals named Ana and Cesar. A van will carry our luggage from point to point, so we don’t have to carry everything with us. We will get good sleep and good food at the end of the day at each stop along the way, but we will walk about 10 miles a day for 10 days on uncertain terrain in weather that might be very hot or rainy. I count on your prayers for a Buen Camino, and I promise to pray for all of you at each holy site we visit. Photos to follow.
