To Go or Not to Go, THAT is the question!

Hi Friends!

In just two weeks,  I have a plane ticket to return to the Camino de Santiago de Compostella (on the French Way) to begin where I left off last time: about two days' walk past Pamplona in a little town called Maneru, Navarra.

I became full of enthusiasm for this idea back in February when I attended a small Camino Cafe and talked to some folks about my trip last summer and the viability of continuing on.

Next there was a national American Pilgrims on the Camino gathering right here in North Carolina which I attended with 300 other Americans who were interested in taking their first or their second, third, fourth, etc. Camino!  Several members from our Raleigh chapter came along and we had the most amazing weekend.  We heard presentations from people who studied various parts of the pilgrimage trail,  those who walked a thousand or more miles through France to reach Santiago, and some who had injuries and had to stop their Camino fairly soon like I did.

There were also presentations on First Aid and blister care, strategies for packing, the joy of bringing college students along, and many books, crafts, travel services, and stories from fellow pilgrims sharing their interests and experiences too.

By the end of the weekend, I had come to feel like a true, card-carrying Pilgrim, and that the tale of my particular trek was just as valid as that of others who had walked much farther along The Way.  In fact the minimum mileage required to receive a Certificate of Completion is 100 k/62 miles (but it must be the LAST miles, ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.)   In short, real passion for the Camino and the people who have walked it took ahold of me and I thought that I should return to the trail and walk a little more before diving in to start helping others.

Not even a week later, a priest friend who had also walked the Camino and given retreats about it came to town.  When I told him that I went last summer (and found myself lying on a dirt road somewhere out there and thinking, "This is pretty comfortable!"),  and wanted to return again, he nodded knowingly at my experience and then prayed, "Father, IF IT IS YOUR WILL, then OPEN THE DOORS!!!"

Now I guess it is up to me to prepare for my trip and also try to determine whether GOD's WILL is in it too.

Hoo boy.

:)