Slowing down to Santiago

So here I am, almost there but not quite. I have left but haven't arrived. I have begun but not really got started. I am a little in limbo, in no man's land, not really in one place or the other.  I am liminal; dwelling in the uncertain transitional space between where I've been and where I'm going, literally, metaphorically,  geographically, physically, emotionally and who knows maybe even spiritually. Today I have left Bilbao and travelled by bus, in the opposite direction to the one I shall be walking. And the worrying thought is that for the best part of 2 hours the bus ap peared to travel downhill.  I am currently sat in the Jakobi pilgrim hostel in Irun, the first of what will be many nights alongside fellow travelers as we plan our way slowly but steadily towards Santiago.  Looking around the  mixed  dormitory, these are the people who will be my fellow pilgrims, for whowever long we walk together. For most this will be the start of their journey, fo...

Today finds me here in the Spain to tick off the first thing on my Camino bucket list before I actually start the walk. Arriving via the joy and comfort that is EasyJet crumple class, as the plane began it's final descent we flew along some of the route I shall be walking next week. A route that looked definitly 'lumpy'. Journing into the city as darkness fell,  I caught my first glimpse of what I had come to see, its ghostly illuminated image rushing by the windows of the airport bus.  I am here in Bilbao to visit the world famous Guggenheim museum of modern and contemporary art built by the architect Frank Gehry and opened to the public in 1997.  It is one of four structures that fall under the Guggenheim umbrella including ones in Vienna, Abu Dhabi and the 1st one built just off Central Park in New York which I have visited in 2006. From here I will then take a bus to the town of Irun which is approximatly 160km in the opposite direction to the one I shall be wal...

One of the 'must do's' whenever setting off on a foreign advanture is to make sure you have packed your passport. Or in the case of my camino jolly that should read passports. Confused, don't worry that will be a theme that runs through the next 5 weeks.  Each 'pilgrim' who walks the Camino,  wherever they start their particular journey,  is encouraged to pick up a Pilgrim passport  which serves several functions. First it introduces a sense of fun as people collect stamps at various points on their journey. This can be churches, monuments, town halls even cafes have their own stamps but normally it is at the places where they stay overnight. Each stamp is unique and by the end of your journey your pilgrim passport will be a myriad of multicoloured stamps tracing your steps. Secondly it identifies those who are actually walking the pilgrimage route rather than just visiting a place for a day or two and thereby acts as an unofficial entry into the municipal alber...

  In Luke 9, Jesus sends his 12 disciples off on one of his 'now go and do' exercises. He sends them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick but with the instructions that they should “Take nothing for your journey. Don’t take a walking stick, a bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes ." Having just enjoyed a sartorially satisfying two week cruise around the Mediterranian during which time I wore more outfits than a catwalk model at the Paris fashion show, today has been my attempt to incarnate those instructions of Jesus as I try to limit the amount of stuff I will have to carry on my back for the next month or so.  As a general guide I am trying to stick to the rule of three; one to wear and two for spare with regards socks, underwear, trousers/ shorts, long sleeved T shirts, micro fleeces plus rainwear (because I have been reliably informed that at some point during the walk, the rain in Spain will fall mainly, wherever I happen to be.)...

  A little over 7 years ago during my first sabbatical, I took my first tentative steps on what would be a 29 day and 800km walk from the town of St Jean Pierre de Port in France, all the way across Spain to Santiago de Compostella.  This followed the Camino Frances, the most popular and well trodden of 20 + pilgrimage routes across Spain, to the supposed resting place for the bones of St James. Indeed the name of the city is derived from the translation of Santiago / St James whilst Compostella means field of stars It was without question one of the best things I have ever done, an opportunity to step back from the routine of ministerial life and into the rhythm of the Camino. It was 33 days of responding, reacting and reflecting on where I was in my life both literally and metaphorically.  But having reached my final destination at Santiago, and then continued walking for a further three days to Finisterre, (the end of the earth), I wondered if what I had accompl...