letter from the "parish"

[Elyn Aviva]

Lisa--I am not Christian either, and many pilgrims walking the Camino would
not dream of going to a parish priest for a letter of recommendation. They
walk it for spiritual reasons, for personal reasons--for as many reasons as
there are pilgrims. In the past 3 times I've walked the Camino (1982, 1997,
and 2000), I had a credential, I got it stamped once a day or so, and at the
end, I got the Compostela in the cathedral. The only people I saw having
difficulty were people who had not walked the entire last 100 kms. They might
have walked 100 kms across Spain--or even 500!--but if they missed the last
100 kms, they were out of luck. This included a Japanese Catholic priest and
an Italian pilgrim in 1997!

As to what happens this year, I don't know, and I will be interested in
feedback from the pilgrims setting out in the next month or so. It's ironic,
though: even those of us who walk the Camino for spiritual reasons, whatever
they are, can get hung up on wanting the Compostela--a signed and sealed
diploma that we made the pilgrimage! Maybe we're going into a transitional
time, where the stamped credentials will be the proof, as if we need any
other proof than the experience....

Buen Camino,
Elyn Aviva