About 20 years ago I read the book “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo.
Back then I wasn’t an enthusiastic reader and but I fell in love with this book – about a shepherd boy named Santiago who was on a mission to find a treasure. After reading that book I became a huge Coehlo fan, and I’ve read almost everything he’s written.
I ran across one of his books early on in my Coehlo obsession, called “The Pilgrimage.” It was an autobiography of Coehlo’s experience walking a pilgrimage to a place called Santiago de Compostela. He was searching for a treasure—a sword.
To be honest, it’s a weird book, but I was enamored by the pilgrimage he took – walking from the Pyrenees mountains in France and heading west to the city of Santiago de Compostela on the western coast of Spain. It is an 800km walk. The pilgrimage is known as the Camino.
This legendary pilgrimage has been around for a thousand years. Routes across Europe lead to the “starfield of St. James” on the northwest coast of Spain. Millions of pilgrims throughout the ages have walked the hallowed paths, from St. Francis, to Napolean, Rolan, El Cid, to countless, unnamed others throughout history. Saints and sinners alike have sought what the Camino offers, and ending in the Cathedral of St. James to touch the bones of the apostle.
Coehlo’s book gave me the seed of an idea, which started me on a path to research the Camino. In grad school, I wrote my final paper on the Camino. I researched its history and dreamt of what it would be like to walk it one day. It became a bucket list item for me – my greatest dream.
But, like dreams sometimes do, it was put on the shelf when I got married, went to grad school, and started a family. Every so often I would talk with my wife about the Camino and what a dream it would be, but that it was something I could do after the kids grew up or we retired.
For my 40thbirthday, my wife honored me with a “Fortnight for Forty” a series of 14 gifts leading up to my birthday. Gifts are my love language and I felt so loved as she gave me fun and random little gifts in the two weeks leading up to my birthday. On my actual birthday, she gave me book. It was a guide book for someone doing the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, and with it a letter telling me that this is my year to check off the biggest item on my bucket list.
After hemming and hawing for many weeks and carefully planning the kids’ summer activities, I am so happy to share that my dreams are indeed coming true! I will be undertaking the Camino Frances this summer, beginning at St. Jean Pied de Port at the base of the Pyrenees mountains in France, then heading west for 500 miles until I reach the bones of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
I invite you to be a part of my pilgrimage. I will be walking for at least 35 days, and I would love to pray for you and bring your prayer intentions with me, every step of the way, to the all the churches, monasteries, and ultimately to the apostle himself.
If you want to support me and my family in this pilgrimage, please pray for me as I walk, and for Aleah and the boys as they hold things down at home. Feel free to contact Aleah to support her as well! If you feel inspired to support my pilgrimage by donating or helping me to purchase some equipment for the trip, I will include a link to some remaining things I hope to buy on an Amazon list called “Camino”. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1N6L2WTFYO6PA?ref_=wl_share
Thanks so much for all your love and support. Onward! Ultreya!