The 21st Century Pilgrim

Well here I am, making my first post on my first blog. My plan is to post updates here so that I can keep my family informed of my progress on my first Camino. Lots of firsts happening!

If you're a friend or one of my family members that I've already bored stupid with my plans, then feel free to skip forward a few paragraphs.  If you happen to have stumbled onto this blog, then perhaps I should explain.

What's a Camino, well I think the word Camino is actually Spanish for Path, but in this context it's a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I have enough time to complete about 500 km, I'm still undecided if I should start in Leon, walk to Santiago and then on to Fisterre and Muxia then back to Santiago, or start from Burgos and walk to Santiago and Fisterre and Muxia then bus is back to Santiago.

Feel free to vote on the poll to the right, I'm not saying I will comply with the Poll results, but I would be interested in people views. If you ask my Mum she would say that I would definitely go against the poll results but hey what do mothers know?

I'm a 21st century Pilgrim, with a trade of electrician and a career as a technical designer. My mind set is fairly aligned with science and logic. I'm not really the religious type, but as a father the loving bonds my son's have given me have fostered a spiritual side.

Why do I walk, I'm not sure, I joined a days organised walk of 48.2 miles, around the island last year, and I was amazed at the walkers sense of community and generosity of spirit. I'd like to reconnect to that mindset, where everyone you meet along the journey is not an enemy or competion but a potentual supporter or walking buddy. So that's my reason for now but it will probably change as I walk.

I'm hoping that my Camino will be the same just on a greater scale, the Camino Frances had a 1/4 of a million people finish in last year, 27,000 of which were september 2010, I intend to be to one of that number in september 2011.  


Anyway there's plenty of information out there about Camino's, look it up and perhaps start walking yourself.

Finally this year I will set out on this journey alone, it will be my first reccy of the camino, in 2020 I will walk with my sons.