What is a "true pilgrimage"?... a very good question!

[Sally Haden]

Hi Sandra

I can't answer your question from the point of view of experience, (I
haven't walked the Camino yet) but it occurs to me that you could answer
your own question if you decided what a "true pilgrimage" is for you....

>Hello everybody!
>I am very tempted to do the Camino by myself either in October (with little
>preparation) or early January. Would January be too cold in the North of
>Spain? Not worrying too much about the Compostela in itself, would a week
>be
>enough to experience a true pilgrimage?
>Many thanks!
>Sandra

Please don't think I am being flippant.  I want to go to Santiago myself
just for a short time, before I attempt a pilgrimage of any sort, and
personally I think that whatever a person feels right to do is their
pilgrimage for them.  Maybe first time my "pilgrimage" will consist of a
flight, a bus ride and perhaps a couple of day's walking, if that is right
for me!     But it is easier for me to 'sample' it in this way because I
have the freedom of time and also don't have to cross the Atlantic to do it.

Certainly my brother who stays in Santiago every October since the
accidental death of his son some years ago believes he is making a
pilgrimage every time, and I doubt he walks a step of the Camino unless it
is from the hotel across the plaza into the cathedral.

Perhaps the most important ingredient which makes a pilgrimage "true" is the
inner value it has for you?

Whatever you do, I hope it is a wonderful time for you! And send messages to
us about how you found it. And your definition!

¡Buen Camino!
Sally
Lancashire, UK

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