camino information

[jeyskens]

Just start walking and don't worry about other's definetions of 'tourist' vs
'pilgrim'.  I started out as a 'tourist' in SJPP and ended up in Santiago as
a 'pilgrim'.  I could honestly say that my walk was a spiritual experience
although it came quite unexpectedly.  I started alone but ended with three
others, all of whom have become part of my extended family.

Good Luck and Buen camino

>On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 14:17:15 -0700 MEREDITH BOYLAN <mlreneebaYAHOO.COM>
wrote.
>Dear Danielle,
>
>I, like you, will be walking only a portion of the trail, since I do not
have more than 10-12 days in Spain (and likely never will).  From what I
have read and learned from books, the internet, and the generous members of
this site, the last 150 kms of the trail can be very congested in the
summer.
>
>I am planning to begin my walk in Roncesvalles.  I'll see how far I can
get, and, with any luck, I will be lucky enough to return one day to
complete the rest of the pilgrimage.
>
>On a slightly unrelated note, I am discouraged by the distinction there
seems to be between "true" pilgrims and "tourists."  I have high hopes that
walking the Camino will be a very spiritual experience for me, even though I
may be a lapsed Catholic, and even though I am able to complete only a small
portion of the pilgrimage.  While I may not have precisely the same
intentions as the medieval pilgrims had, by walking the same path that they
walked I hope to gain a great deal of personal insight and also forge
connections with my companion, my fellow travelers, and others I meet along
the way.  I want to believe that my intentions, and the intentions shared by
people like me who might not embrace the Catholic faith, nonetheless comport
with the original spirit of the Camino.
>
>
>