I thought I would check out some other people’s Word Press blogs on the Camino.

I went onto this one site, which I won’t name, and it presented on first glance to be very professional and very spiritual. The blogger was obviously quite religious, because there were Biblical references everywhere.

What upset me though was the substance of the blog, where he listed the characteristics of a pilgrim versus the characteristics of a tourigrino.

I suppose he was trying to be funny, but there was an element of judgement from on high which really upset me.

I shouldn’t have allowed it to upset me, but perhaps it was the pious environment of the blog that bothered me so much.

And I thought about the hypocrisy of some people who hide within the confines of religiosity, thinking that gives them a superior right of judgement.

I left a comment saying Pilgrims don’t judge. Have you learnt anything on your Camino?  But I shouldn’t have done that really.

It’s just that it upset me.

The posts keep on comin’ today!

Here is Arlene’s packing list for her Camino, which starts very soon now.

Camino Necessities

Documentation:

Credencial
Flight tickets & Flight Insurance Card
Passport
Euros & $US
Debit cards
Credit card
Medical Insurance Card

Being worn on person:

Baggallini Purse
Walking poles
Camping Shirt
Short sleeve shirt
Boots
Long trousers
Silk Money Belt
Baseball Cap
Sun glasses
GPS
Road ID

Being carried in Baggallini Purse:

Pens x 2
Jotting pad
Personal Intro Cards – contact info
Reading glasses
SGN Smartphone
Galaxy Note 8.0
Camera
All Documentation

In Backpack:

Osprey Backpack Aura 47 litre
Ziploc Pack bag (if in albergue)
Hydration bag empty
Duffle bag (Osprey Airporter small)
Fleece Sleeping Bag
Sleeping liner
Ziploc bags for lunch & along the trail

Clothing (not worn):

Fleece Vest
Altus Poncho
Socks x 2
Undergarments
Long Jane bottoms
Hiking pants
Long sleeve shirt x 1
Short sleeve shirt x 1
Buff & Sweat Band
Crocs

Electricals in Pack:

Phone: Battery charger & extra battery
Camera: Battery charger & extra battery
GPS charger & lead
Galaxy Note 8.0 charger
SGN charger lead
Headlight
Power socket doubler

Washing & toiletries etcetera:

Safety pins (used as clothes/nappy pins)
Soap
Tech Towel
Toothbrush & paste
Shampoo
Floss/Tooth picks
Deodorant
Comb
Disposable Razor
Small personal razor
Tissues & Personal Hygiene items
Q-tips
Body Glide
Waterproof electrical & document holder
Mascara & Eyeliner
Facial Moisturizer
Foot care (Compeed & Toe Caps)
Ear Plugs
Spork
Advil
Anti Diarrhea tablets
Needle, thread & small scissors

Weight Grams Ounces  Pounds

Total Weight in Backpack                                      6341.78      223.70   13.98

The manuscript is now finished.

I’ve sent it off for e-book formatting. I’m also getting a re-design for the cover.

I’m hoping all that will be done by the end of next week.

Keen to get it out there!

Here’s the first chapter –

Download… The Way, My Way – Ch 1

Here is a draft of the Camino Portuguese Tour brochure.

This will go out wide – possibly next week – through the tour operator to all his international affiliates.

There are 6 places at the PGS rate of $2950 – three are gone already. The rest are at the $3950 rate.

Sister Clare said I should emphasise that the tour will arrive in Santiago for the Easter celebrations. Which should be amazing.

In fact the whole tour is going to be amazing.

The brochure isn’t fully finished yet – still some stuff to be done on design – but thought I’d post it in this draft form to get your thoughts on it. Download here –

Camino E-flyer Draft 1

I want to introduce you to perhaps my favourite photographer –

Sabastio Salgado.

Salgado is a Brazilian photographer, now living in Paris. I regard him as the most important and influential photojournalist working today.

He has just finished an epic eight year project called Genesis – where he set out to photograph the world as it was in the beginning, in a pristine state.

Salgado came into photography relatively late in his life. He was trained as an economist, and worked for the World Bank in under-developed countries. As part of the reports he had to submit, he included photographs. And he soon realised he could have more impact with his photography than by working as an economist.

So at the age of 40 he took up photography full time.

He has done some extraordinary projects, and if you Google Image him, you will see some iconic shots. I remember once in a Paris Anthropological Museum in the Marais seeing his exhibition, Migration, and being stunned by the power of his images.

HIs work is sublimely political.

For my birthday, Jennifer bought me Genesis in book form. Here are some of the pictures from that work…

I haven't walked since the Camino.

Since mid May.

My knee…

I really miss it. My walk. Through the vineyards, early in the mornings or late in the afternoons. Listening to my audio books.

I didn't realise how much I love walking. How much it's become a part of my life. How it set up my day, or calmed me down of an evening.

I saw the day when I walked.

I saw the clouds, I noticed the weather, I felt the rain and the sun.

I breathed.

I sweated.

My body worked as it should.

I miss that.

As you might know, Sister Clare, from Ontario Canada, is going to accompany us on the Portuguese Camino in April 2014.

However, nuns make no money. They don’t get paid for being nuns, unless they work at a hospital or school.

Sister Clare has very limited resources.

So SusanS has suggested that we kit out Sister Clare by donating stuff –

Jennifer and I will be paying for her airfares to Portugal, her accommodation and meals.

But Sister Clare needs all the kit and caboodle that any pilgrim needs for a walk.

Clothing, equipment, poles, backpack, boots, headlamp, etc.

I have set up a separate topic thread on the PGS Forum. Susan Sande will coordinate any offers of donation. Even a gift voucher to a hiking store, or cash would be very greatly appreciated. Here’s the link –

http://pgsthewayforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=135

So let’s KIT THE NUN!

It occurred to me that I might be selfish, and self-obsessed.

This whole Camino thing.

Leaving my wife at home while I went off to Spain to do a pilgrimage?

When the last time I went to church was to take wedding photos for a relative…

Months before leaving for the Camino, all I could talk about was the walk, my backpack weight, my boots, whether I'd get blisters. Yak yak yak.

The Camino was all I could talk about.

Now I'm back and I'm still blogging, and I've started a forum too, and soon I'll be leading a Camino tour.

And of course there's the book. Each day writing about the Camino.

Is this fair on my wife?

This obsession?

Am I being selfish, in the pursuit of greater self-awareness?

I’m going through the photos I took in Portugal, preparing an e-flyer for the Camino Tour next year.

I thought I’d post up some shots. There are more here at this gallery –

http://billbennett.zenfolio.com/p113641309

Here is the Epilogue to the book – The Way, My Way.

Epilogue

To walk the Camino is to do a pilgrimage.

That’s what I did – I became a pilgrim.

I followed in the footsteps of millions of other pilgrims who, over the years, the decades, the centuries, have made their way to Santiago.

What did I learn?

 GRATITUDE:

I learnt to be grateful. Grateful for simple things.

For a bed at night. For clean clothes in the morning. I was grateful when it didn’t rain. I was grateful when the pain receded.

I learnt the meaning of gratitude.

 HUMILITY:

I learnt humility.

My pain humbled me.

Other people humbled me too –

People who walked much further than me. People who had pain much greater than mine.

Ultimately though, I was humbled by the occasion. By just walking the Camino.

That in itself was humbling.

THE POWER OF THE INCREMENT:

I learnt that you can achieve big goals by taking small steps.

 A lot of small steps.

But only if you don’t give up until you reach your goal.

MY POSSESSIONS ARE MY BURDEN:

I carried everything I needed on my back. Up and down mountains, across plains, over rivers.

My possessions were my burden. Anything unnecessary was an unnecessary burden.

It’s the same in life. My possessions are my burden.

 JUDGE NOT:

There were so many times I judged people.

People I thought old and frail. People I thought not as capable as me.

Actually I mis-judged them. I was wrong.

I learnt that you must never judge, and never underestimate others.

 WE ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN WE REALISE:

I discovered I was more resilient than I realised. I was able to overcome obstacles I didn’t think possible.

And I saw miracles.

My pain left me on the Meseta. My eyesight improved. But perhaps the greatest miracle of all is that I changed.

 YOU BRING FORTH WHAT YOU FEAR THE MOST:

I learnt that what you fear the most, you bring into your life.

I was scared of climbing high mountains. And because of my anxiety, I made it everything I feared.

Even before I left for Spain, I was scared my knee would thwart me.

It did.

What you fear, you attract. 

I CAN TRUST MY PGS:

I learnt I could trust my PGS – my Personal Guidance System – my intuition.

It shepherded me along the Camino.

The times I ignored it were the times I had difficulties.

The times I trusted it were the times I experienced something wonderful or profound.

 EVERY DAY IS A PILGRIMAGE:

I learnt that you don’t need to walk the Camino to be a pilgrim.

You can be a pilgrim every day of your life…

If you see that your life IS a pilgrimage.

 WHAT DID I ULTIMATELY LEARN?

That the only thing that matters – that truly matters – is love.