Camino-Inspired Gifts for the Holidays

Welcome to Way Wednesday! No Way, you say? Yes Way! We’re just getting over Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. So, why not have one day dedicated to celebrating the Camino? Way Wednesday it is! Featured below are a few items that would make ideal gifts for the Camino enthusiast in your life, or for your own Camino dreaming and scheming. New this year: an…

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Camino del Norte: Basque Country

Hola from the Camino del Norte! We just completed the hike through the Basque region of Spain and crossed the border into Cantabria. We are enjoying ourselves on this sometimes challenging but very scenic Camino. We booked accommodations way ahead as the popularity of the Camino continues to make it harder to find rooms. We have stayed in apartments, hotels, and one albergue so far. We are…

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Back in Spain

Dear friends, I’m so excited to be back! This will be my 6th Camino. It never gets old! I arrived in Barcelona yesterday and met up with friends in Sitges who I’ll be walking part of the Camino del Norte with. I loved visiting Sitges for a day trip prior to my 2018 Camino, where I swam in the beautiful beaches, strolled the promenade, and had a refreshing meal. It’s a pre-Camino baptism ritual,…

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Camino Cleanup Program & Retreat: May 5 - 14, 2023

Camino Cleanup Program & Retreat: May 5 – 14, 2023

Greetings, dear friends and Camino enthusiasts. I hope all is well. I am excited to share an opportunity to give back to the Camino and walk with hospitalera and best-selling author Karin Kiser. Join her for a unique program May 5-14, 2023 to walk 70 miles of the Camino Francés and clean up between Astorga and O’Cebreiro. This exclusive program and retreat is limited to 8 adventurers. Below is…

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Camino 101 Presentations

Hello everyone! Our chapter has been very busy over the last few months delivering Camino presentations via Zoom. Before COVID, we would do these talks at libraries and always had a great turnout of enthusiastic pilgrims in planning mode. We moved all of our educational activities and presentations to Zoom during the pandemic and have recorded most of them. Although we missed seeing each other in…

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Camino-Inspired Books

Greetings! It’s the time of year to share a selection of Camino-inspired gifts for the holidays.  I try to find gifts created within the last year, or that have not been featured on my previous posts. Featured below are books that would make excellent gifts for the Camino enthusiast in your life.  (more…)

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Camino-Inspired Gift Ideas for 2021

Camino-Inspired Gift Ideas for 2021

Greetings everyone! I’ve been off the blogosphere for most of this year to focus on other priorities, but I’m getting ready to post my annual Camino Gifts roundup. See last year’s post (below) for examples of the amazing gifts people have offered. This is an invitation to submit your NEW Camino-related products, books, songs, foodie items, jewelry, or services for my upcoming post for the…

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Inspired to Give

Hello all! I’m happy to share another guest post by peregrina, hospitalera, and best-selling author, Karin Kiser. Inspired to give By Karin Kiser The current global situation has inspired many people to rethink or reprioritize their lives. Some have taken up projects or creative pursuits they had been meaning to get to for years. Others decluttered their homes, donated unnecessary items to…

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Camino Inglés 3 Ways Presentation

Camino Inglés 3 Ways Presentation

Hi all, I hope everyone is doing swell. Below are links to our Northern California Chapter’s 3-part presentation on the Camino Inglés. There are many Caminos and many ways to walk them. In this presentation, three experienced pilgrims talk about one Camino, the Camino Inglés, and the different ways that they walked it. Emilio Escudero explains how he walked first from A Coruña and then from…

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Support the Bay Area Ridge Trail

Support the Bay Area Ridge Trail

COVID disrupted our plans to walk the Camino De Santiago, so we have been walking the Bay Area Ridge Trail instead! We are calling it “Camino de la Cresta” which is Spanish for “Ridge Way.” For us pilgrims, it feels as rewarding and challenging as walking a Camino in Spain. We intend to section-hike the 390 miles of completed trails, one weekend at a time within a year. So far, we’ve completed…

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Camino Primitivo Presentation

My colleague and co-coordinator of the Northern California Chapter, Guy Joaquin, recently did a presentation on the Camino Primitivo.  I think he did a fantastic job! It answers all these burning questions: Why is it called the Primitivo? How many days does it take? Is it really the hardest route? How much does it cost? Can I do it for my first Camino? Get the answers to these and other…

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Camino Love Adventure

Camino Love Adventure #caminodesantiago #caminolove #valentines

By Elena Skvirski In 2012, on my first Camino, single and carefree, I would have laughed if someone told me I would be writing my Camino love story nearly a decade later, yet, here we are. My first Camino love was the Camino itself; the beauty and the spirit represented a way of living with an open heart. Walking was such a transformative experience for me that I even started a Camino meetup…

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Camino Portugués Spiritual Variant

Camino Portugués Spiritual Variant Presentation #caminodesantiago #caminoportugues

Hi all, Our chapter recently hosted a virtual presentation by a peregrina friend Christie Moon.  She has walked it twice and has some great tips to share in her presentation. Over the last few years, Christie and other pilgrims have raved about the Camino Portugués with the spiritual variant. I was intrigued and was planning to walk it 2020.  My plans are on hold until the pandemic subsides, but…

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My Camino Podcast Interview with Dan Mullins

Hi all, I was recently interviewed by the singing pilgrim from Down Under, Dan Mullins, for his podcast series, My Camino. We talk about mindfulness, keeping the Camino spirit alive, the calling, and much more.  I share a some challenges and joys of walking the Camino solo, including story of hitchhiking on the Camino Invierno, and how I had to “cowgirl up!” for those long stages. Click to listen…

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Nearly 85% Decrease in Pilgrims in 2020, By Nick Leonard

Nearly 85% Decrease in Pilgrims in 2020

Sharing a post from the “Spirit of the Camino” platform. An Australian journalist who has lived overseas for nearly 20 years, Nick Leonard is a passionate traveller, writer, photographer and pilgrim. With global travel including the Camino de Santiago thrown into turmoil by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw the fewest pilgrims on record (for the …Continue reading: Nearly 85% Decrease in Pilgrims…

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All best wishes for 2021!

All best wishes for 2021!

Dear Camino Friends, International House at UC Berkeley is the non-profit organization that I am grateful to work for. Like many businesses, we’ve been hit hard this year due to the pandemic. We are working towards reopening next year so students from around the world can experience the cultural exchange that we are known for. Our mission: To foster intercultural respect and understanding,…

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Camino-Inspired Gift Ideas for 2021

Camino-Inspired Gift Ideas for 2021 #CaminodeSantiago #pilgrims #caminobooks

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