El Camino

Two posts in one day, it's a miracle.

But I thought today would be a good day to talk about how much I want to do El Camino, the traditional pilgrimage across the Pyrenees to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. (Especially because Charles and I were talking about it last night.)

Read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James

This is one of the traditional pilgrimages that's been done since the middle ages. It's supposed to make up for SERIOUS sins. While I don't have too much in the way of SERIOUS sinning going on, I do have SERIOUS guilt, and I think it would help alleviate a bit of my burden.

I know that one of the places you can begin is Arles, a city in France that I have not yet visited. I think I would love it: beaches close by, Van Gogh stuff, lots of medieval sites, and a wonderful cathedral. It would be a nice place to start such a journey.

Most of the routes are over 1000 kilometers, which means over 600 miles. There are buses, you can ride your bike, but if I want to walk whatever path I take in under a month, then I'd have to plan on nearly a marathon every day.

*Ding* - maybe I should finally follow my dear, wonderful roommate's advice and train to walk a marathon.

There is so much about this journey that appeals to me. It has Christian, pagan, and new-age histories, and I embrace all of them. I love to walk and I would like the opportunity to remove myself from life and interact with many different kinds of people. I'd like to challenge myself physically, mentally, and culturally. And walking through that part of the world in the lovely summer months must be amazing! (Trees, mountains, fields - cutting across the boundaries of countries, classes, and religions.)

Okay, I need to do two things: walk a marathon and go camping. That will help me decide if this is a feasible project or not. If not, then I'll be searching for another wonderful experience to help assuage my guilt and develop my character!