Por qu
é a Pilgrimage? Why am I doing the Camino de Santiago? I can't pinpoint just one reason. I can't even remember the first time I heard about it but it was some years ago and has came up again and again over the years either on a website or in conversation. Each time my thought was the same. I want to do it. There was some kind of pull.
Last fall skimming a very dense online travel newsletter, something jumped out at me. A fellow reader highly recommended Garry from Spanish Adventures for organizing hikes and walks. I got in touch with him, liked the way he worked and signed him on to organize my camino. It all fell into place rather easily.
I had been apprehensive to use the word “pilgrimage” even after having looked in Webster for the exact definition. A journey to a sacred place. Nothing is mentioned about hardship and sacrifice. I got an encouraging email from Fr. Ben. “Pilgrimages are not meant to be experiences of suffering but journeys that inspire and refresh and rejuvenate...all by the grace of God.”
As my Ryanair flight touched down at SCQ, my seatmate said something about soul searching. Yeah, I suppose so, I answered. A few minutes later, I added, I am doing it for personal, spiritual, physical and soulful reasons with the aim of inspiring, refreshing and rejuvenating.
