Product Description
Follow in the footsteps of Celts and Christians on an ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain.
Walking the Camino de Santiago leads you along the camino francés from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the foothills of the French Pyrenees to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela and on to Finisterre, smoothing your way with step-by-step instructions, detailed sketch maps and profile charts.
Walking the Camino de Santiago lets you into Spain's cultural and culinary secrets, includes a detailed, illustrated wildlife section, and gives you all the practical information you need for a hassle-free pilgrimage.
This second edition was entirely re-researched, our authors re-walked the entire route and checked out every albergue along the way. This edition includes new features, such as city maps and an expanded accommodation section, and old favourites such as information on wildlife, food and culture. We've also reduced the weight of the book to make more room in your backpack by printing on thinner recycled paper.
Customer Reviews:
Outdated.......2005-09-20
I have just returned from walking the Camino from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Finisterre, and I used this book as my travelguide. I know that only one star is a tough judgment, but this book has too many inaccurate kilometers, and too many failures about which cities who has/has not alberques (the places where you can overnight as a pilgrim). When you walk the Camino, you certainly need to have a very accurate guide with you, and therefore I can not recommend this out-dated one.
The best of self publishing.......2005-08-19
This travel or walking guide to the "Camino de Santiago" represents the best of small publishers or self publishing. The author and her husband researched the area by walking the Camino several-times - developing good and valid information.
Bethan did a good job on a "shoe string" {probably a broken shoe string} budget. As a small business owner I am impressed with Bethan's ability to develop a small business {in a foriegn country} and than to produce a good product/Book.
As a treker and walker I also appreciate the small size and light weight of the book.
Save your Money.......2005-08-05
I had read elsewhere that the only thing to recommend this book was the fact that it was light. I have to agree. I would have been upset carrying any more weight especially as the info was often wrong. If one is able to read any other language there are much better books in almost every other language.I would suggest that the hiking section on Spain in the "Lonely Planet" is all one actually needs. As an aside, the comments on the local birds would not pass any children's needs. Example- they comment that we are now obviously nearing the coast as we now start seeing seagulls.The graphs for distance and elevation are not nearly as accurate or as detailed as those available for free at many of the hostels. The info is often so poor that I have serious doubt that the authors walked yhe Camino before writing the book. they definately did not spend many nights staying in any of the refugios.
An excellent aid for a Camino de Santiago hiker.......2004-10-19
Contrary to what one often reads at various Internet group sites, the Camino Frances is just a long dirt track with occasional climbs, not difficult to walk for an average hiker, and very well marked throughout its circa 780-kilometers-long course. As such, a topographical guide to it is not really necessary. Just the same, the Davies and Cole book is pure fun to read - I mean especially the sections about the Camino flora and fauna, as well as the general remarks at the beginning of the volume. If one really needs directions, these are given in a down-to-earth, practical way. The guide is rather short on cultural info, therefore it should be used in conjunction with the Gitlitz/Davidson volume. Of course, the yearly Confraternity of St. James' practical pilgrim guide is a must for any hiker planning to do this route. On the other hand, if you'll find the Camino Frances overcrowded, often sightseeing-unfriendly and too touristy (as I did in 2003), you should buy another excellent guide by Ben Cole and Bethan Davies, "Walking the Via de la Plata", written in the same utilitarian format, and follow this longer but less-trodden path to Compostela.
Terrific guidebook-- funny and smart. .......2004-10-15
Excellent guide for the English-speaker walking the Spanish Camino. Davies and Cole balance wealth of information with the obvious weight restrictions to come up with a book which was helpful, interesting, and often very funny. The remarks about the towns and the available Auberges were so helpful that pilgrims of other nationalities walking the camino at the same time as I would often make a point of asking me what my book said about what they could expect in the day ahead.
I also appreciated the advice on the special things to do and see. The Best of the Camino list was right on target and we were very pleased on the occasions when we took this "best of" advice.
As the book was written in 2003 and a great deal was changed on the Camino for the Jamesian Year in 2004, I recommend annotating your copy with updates which can be found at the publisher web site.
Book Description
Use this book to walk a medieval path off the beaten track. This Village to Village guide enables the walker to follow the 1,000 year-old pilgrimage footpath to Santiago de Compostela and to re-enact Europe's most historic journey. This guide is recommended by the Catholic Church to those making the pilgrimage to Santiago on foot. It is a detailed directional guide for the 800 km footpath in Spain. The book contains listings of budget accommodation and other practical information. In the middle ages, a network of foot paths carried pilgrims to the shrine at Santiago from every country. The roads went over the Pyrenees and into Spain, either by way of the great monastery at Roncesvalles, or via that of Santa Cristina and the Somport Pass. Santiago, far away under the mists and Atlantic skies of Galicia, all woods and water in a Celtic landscape of menhirs and lost gods, exerted an appeal that was infinitely pre Christian. The route to Santiago was a Roman trade-route. It was nicknamed by travellers la voje ladee, the Milky Way. It was the road under the stars. The pale arm of the Milky Way stretched out and pointed the way to the edge of the known world : to Cape Finisterre The vast majority of those who walk The Way of St James today, are not experienced walkers at all. Many have never done any serious walking in their lives. and many will never do anything like it again. Most long-distance footpaths avoid not only large towns but even quite small villages as well; the Way of Saint James, on the other hand, because of its historic origins and the need for shelter, deliberately seeks them out. It passes through ancient places rich in art and architectural masterpieces
Customer Reviews:
Overpriced. .......2007-09-08
I'm preparing to walk the last 110km starting next Sunday and orginally consulted three books: Walking in Spain by the Lonely Planet ($20), Walking the Camino de Santiago by Pili Pala Press ($20), and A Pilgrim's Guide to Camino de Santiago ($30). Then I came across the Village to Village Guide ($35) and, based on the reviews and price, thought that it was a must read.
So far, I'm disappointed. The information, I'm sure is accurate, but it is scance. Walking the Camino and A Pilgrim's guide had more references to lodging and meals and better route discriptions, complete with maps and walking elevations. Even the Lonely Planet's guide to all of Spain seemed to have about as much info as Village to Village.
Village to Village looks like it was prepared by loving, but inexpert hands. At the top of page 194 one of the editors hiccupped and deleted at least two villages and part of the description of Portomarin. (I don't know about the preceding 400km of the Camino leading to Portomarin.)
Because my walk will only be 5-6 days, I'll be able to take the short, pertinent excerpts from all of the books and will report when I return. For my own preparation I've relied the most on Walking the Camino de Santiago, but have regularly consulted the others.
Part of the preparation for the walk has been refining and refining what I'll be taking. Perhaps the editors of Village to Village have done the same, giving us a bare bones treatment of what we most need,ie. there are no maps because the arrows blaze the way. If that's the case, there may be virtue in having it. I'll let you know.
I lovedthis guide, worth every penny and more, my daughter is walking next year and she will use this guide too.......2007-08-24
This is my favorite guide and I have just completed my pilgrim and I tresure it - It never let me down.
This is a book packed with information not only on the history of the places you will pas as a pilgrim. But all the information you will need to make detailed planning. The book is updated frequently and all the latest changes are in this book.
The village to village guide has been around for many years frequently coming out in new editions as pilgrims and clergy themselves report changes to the pilgrimage route, this 2007 edition is case to point.
The guide has aquired a bit of a cult status as not only does it have practical information and is a directional guide but it has many stories on the monuments and places of interest along the way. There have been many changes on the route. When the guide was first published there were hardly any pilgrims walking the way of St James, now many thousands make the journey. Prices too have gone up considerably and the new edition incorporates these changes. Latin American and the poor pilgrim will appreciate the guide as it allows one to do financial planning and make up a budget. The guide also points the way to cheaper accommodation.
You will NOT find pictures coloured arrows and diagrams in this guide. It's a sober practical tome. I agree that pictures are not needed as you will be walking many miles to see these places, to stare in wonderment of the discoveries you have made. Pictures rather spoil this. Its rather like Seeing `War and Peace" at the movies interpreted by Hollywood and then reading Tolstoy's famous literary work, . Therefore I am glad there are no pictures in this book and only medieval woodcuts.
The latest 2007 edition has done away with maps as the route is now way marked with thousands of arrows very fifty yards or so. So its impossible to get lost. There is one large map where you can plan your position in the context of where you are on the route and thus able to chart your progress.
There is very useful practical advice on how the plan your journey what the weather would be like during different seasons etc.
An entire section is devoted to the equipment you must take, useful things to carry in your rucksack, a useful chapter describes how to get to the pilgrimage route by Land Sea and Air. It is so detailed that it gives the latest taxi fares and times when taxis leave from |Pamplona to Roncesvalles.
The book is built on the experiences of Pilgrims past and that is its forte. The pilgrimage for every person is different however the book outlines how others did it and their itineraries.
The book also comes with a short English Spanish phrasebook, focused on what the walker might need to say while on the walk, at the back, very useful as on the pilgrim route which is off the beaten track hardly anyone speaks English.
A superb Guide! A famous guide For Pilgrims by Pilgrims. And for the poorer pilgrim on a budget.......2007-08-15
As a veteran on the Camino for many years, I still use this guide as a favorite, although I own most of the others.
This is the oldest guide book on the Camino but it is updated every year with Pilgrims sending feedback on their journey. The 2007 edition has all the changes on the route. I have walked the route now over three times with Pilgrims from various confraternities of St James's. The problems of road works continue and no all the guides are up to date as this one. This guide is also used when we wish to plan our budget because it has all the latest prices for accommodation, useful when you consider that prices are steadily rising in Spain and it no longer is a cheap country.
The guide has hardly any pictures except about two dozen woodcuts, but one of the enjoyments of the pilgrimage is to see places that would surprise you, so seeing photographs tends to spoil it and the woodcuts do nicely. This guide is recommended by the Catholic Church so contains information for the religious pilgrim of on Holy places along the route. Its not a glossy guide like the lonely planet guide with artistic typesetting. But a guide for Pilgrims By Pilgrims.
good for pre travel reading or supplement.......2007-08-10
I purchased this book after deciding to walk the Camino and was intending on taking it on the journey as a guide. I am now planning on taking another book I've purchased - A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago: Camino Frances - The French Way of St. James (Camino Guides) which is a better format, has more maps and relevant information.
This book has no colour images or maps and the layout needs attention. The information seems reasonably comprehensive but a better layout design, more maps, photos and consistent headings for each village would be helpful. It seems to have good general info on the villages.
If you've got room take it on the walk with another guide, if not, read it before you go.
Used this book to walk 800km From St Jean France to Santiago.......2007-04-16
I have just finished my Pilgrimage - In the five weeks I used this book to walk the track to Santiago in Spain - I grew quite fond of it - The 220 page book is ring bound and fits compactly into my rucksack.
Every village is mentioned on the 800km way with information on each village, like don't cross this field because of a bull, or this is the village of barking dogs, or in this village the Baker helps Pilgrims or visit Madam Debril in this village near the laundry who likes chatting to pilgrims -
Ninety Five villages and a guide between them - In each village the books lists places to stay and other useful information - The book will suit the budget traveler who walks the Camino because I did the walk on $10 per day, staying in the religious establishments the book mentions often for free. The book also prepares you for the Journey and details exactly what to take, like how much weight, what type of clothes, shoes, how much does food cost, how to do your laundry, dealing with bed bugs, useful Spanish phrases and so on - It also lists places worth visiting as you walk this 800km track and some interesting stories and legends around these places.
There are also things to watch out for and useful tips - The book will mention at many different points legends around the Camino - It is a very detailed book on the 800km route every fork on this path is mentioned example.. the path now climbs for two km, turn right at the church, from the top of the next mountain you will be able to see the following five villages etc..-
I took maps and three other guides with me but after reaching the city of Pamplona to reduce weight I posted the other books back to New York along with my tent and electric stove - the book had warned me not to take the tent & stove
Book Description
Follow Romans, Moors and pilgrims on a spectacular journey along the length of Spain. Walking the Via de la Plata leads you along an ancient 1000km pilgrimage route from Sevilla in southern Spain to the country's northwest corner, where St James is entombed at Santiago de Compostela, and on to the wild west coast at Finisterre.
Begin your journey in Andalucía, home to flamenco, tapas and splendid Moorish architecture, and bask in a sunny climate ideal for cork oaks, cacti and cotton. Then head north on a Roman road, crossing glorious arched bridges, and passing hippodromes, amphitheatres and fabulous mosaics. You'll pass through places made famous by rampaging Christian knights and wander through grand houses built by the conquistadores who overran the Americas. Finally, you'll cross into northwest Spain, green as Ireland and damp as can be, where thick stone houses and splendid rural architecture dot isolated mountainsides.
While you walk, we'll point out wildlife found nowhere else in the world, such as the Iberian lynx, the most endangered wild cat in the world. We'll introduce you to bizarre festivals where cows clamber up town walls or masked men batter spectators with large sticks. We'll help you sort out your fino from your amontillado, discover unique local wines, and try (or avoid) regional dishes from deep-fried rooster comb to spicy snails. And we'll smooth your journey with practical information, from places to stay to useful phrases in Castellano (Spanish) and Galego (Galician).
Customer Reviews:
One star is one star too many.......2007-07-14
I carried this book on my walk from Seville to Santiago de Compostela. Both historical notes and route directions are inaccurate. Give it one star for pleasant writing style.
An excellent guide.......2007-06-30
The first reviewer seems somewhat confused; this is actually a very good guide to the Via de la Plata route of the Camino de Santiago. The book is quite thorough and has proven very useful to us as we plan our trip. Certainly worth purchasing.
As good as its Camino Frances companion.......2007-03-25
This "review" is posted mostly to correct the strange one-star rating of the first reviewer whose positive comments really don't justify it. My remarks about "Walking the Camino de Santiago" by the same authors fully apply to this publication as well. The Via de la Plata is longer and more strenuous, but also much less crowded, than the traditional Camino Frances.
Camino in Spain.......2006-11-04
When I walked on Camino Frances last year, I used Brierly's book, which was a great book. Next spring I plan to walk Via de la Plata, which is written by only few people and therefore little information is available. In fact this book is the only book having Via de la Plata in its title, that I can find on Amazon. (Surprizingly "Walking in Spain" by Lonely Planet ignores this route.) However, looking over the book, it is reasonably thorough and helpful. Particularly it has good maps and lodging information, which are most crucial for the pilgrimage.
I will give a try and hope I'll make it.
Book Description
Full-color cover; illustrated with b & w photos and outline maps of the regions; bibliography.
Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago takes the reader along the ancient pilgrimage trail, the Camino de Santiago, as the author and her husband travel 400 miles through northern Spain's hamlets, cities, arid plains, and mountains. The book combines intriguing historical background and rich cultural stories with the author's engaging narrative to provide travelers with the inspiration and knowledge to make their own journey to the city of Santiago de Compostela and the famous cathedral where the remains of the apostle St. James are found.
Not everyone has the time or inclination to walk five-hundred miles across northern Spain, but whether armchair traveler or active adventurer, readers will find that Camino Chronicle provides a realistic, non-embellished account of what such a trip involves. You'll gain a picture of refugio (hostel) life, learn about the food and wine of the regions, and enjoy reading some of the mythology and customs of the people.
Customer Reviews:
Good introduction to the experience of being a pilgrim.......2007-08-02
I had heard a podcast interview with Susan about the Camino and read her website, so my expectations for the book were very high. I think it does a good job of laying out the experiences of being a pilgrim and the unique one of being on the Way during 9/11. She is complete in her descriptions and the book is well laid out.
Having just read a few Camino books so far I think they fall into three categories: Logistical descriptions that help you with day to day planning, Historical anthologies that explain the importance of the Camino and its various sites, and personal accounts of individuals experiences.
Camino Chronicle is the later and a balanced book to read.
A most enjoyable tour .......2006-10-07
Camino Chronicle: Walking To Santiago is the travel journal of a wife who walked across Northern Spain in 2001, following a venerable pilgrimage trail called the Camino de Santiago, retracing the footsteps of such famous historical figures as Charlemagne, St. Francis of Assisi, King Fernando and Queen Isabel. Historical notes and personal experiences and inspiration blend into a highly readable day-by-day account, and numerous legends or cultural notes on Spain about everything from bullfighting to Spanish Olives are included, with their own quick-reference index. A most enjoyable tour especially recommended for armchair travelers, and the next best experience to flying to Spain and hiking the pilgrimage trail personally.
What I have been looking for........2006-07-04
A good book with a lot of history and also where you are, how to get there. A must to walkers of the camino.
Perfect for adventurers or armchair travelers.......2006-06-22
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/06)
In 2001, Susan Alcorn and her husband Ralph journeyed to northern Spain to hike the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Trail. This incredible journey took them over 400 miles through a vast array of landscapes and adventures. What I really loved about this book is that while Alcorn is journaling her current experiences, she is also educating us on the history and culture of the areas that they pass through. This gives much richer detail to the story. It is also interesting to read about how this part of Spain differs from the American culture.
Initially, I wanted to read this story to learn about someone else's adventure, however after having read it, I have gained the desire to do this pilgrimage myself. Alcorn doesn't sugar coat her experiences, there are some rough patches along the way. Reading her journal, I learned about the positive and negative aspects of such a journey. The personal growth that she gains from this experience seems to overcome
everything. She has also taken on much grander challenges since this one.
I highly recommend this book to armchair travelers and to those who are willing to take on an adventure like this. The daily accounts of Alcorn's experiences would prepare you for the journey and the historical information would really enrich your experience. This would be the perfect piece of equipment to have in your backpack!
The Camino - A Call to Awaken.......2006-06-14
The 'Camino Chronicle' is a courageously honest account of one pilgrim's walk to Santiago. Written in diary format it touches on her daily challenges along the path. From overcoming the physical pain of blisters and aching muscles to facing loneliness and self doubts. Will I find a bed at the end of the day? What is my intention for walking the Camino and will it be sufficient to obtain a Compostela? Coming to terms with the difficult decision to take a bus from Leon to Ponferrada and having to say good-bye to friends made along the way. The frustration of not being able to communicate in Spanish.
This highly personal account is interwoven with a sketch of the bloodstained history of the Camino from the beheading of St. James and his miraculous appearance to lead the Christian Reconquest of Spain from the Muslim's, earning him the ignominious title - 'Slayer of the Moors'. In between we have glimpses of yet more massacres of Charlemagne and Roland, the Inquisition, the Spanish civil war, Guernica, the ETA, the Madrid train bombing. Midway through the pilgrimage comes 9/11 and the agony of this American struggling to come to terms with this latest atrocity and the seemingly endless cycle of violence.
And then come the insights provided by fellow pilgrims, ' I don't go very fast; hurrying seems to be opposite of the lesson of the trail.' and her own pleasure in finding the opportunity, 'To go within and meditate on life.' These references remind me of 'Peace Is Every Step' by Thich Nhat Hanh which emphasises the need for all pilgrims to walk in a way that only prints peace and serenity on the Earth for then we work for all humankind and its healing. This makes a wonderful compendium and the 2 together warrant a 5 star read. John Brierley - www.caminoguides.com
Customer Reviews:
My favorite book i read it while i was on my pilgrimage.......2007-08-16
This book is a superb book and a comfort for the Pilgrim
According to the dictionary, the word pilgrimage derives from the Latin peligrinus, meaning foreigner or wayfarer. It refers to the journey of a person who travels to a shrine or holy place.
Another older derivation, more poetic, reveals that pilgrim has its roots in the Latin per agrum: through the field. This ancient image suggests a curious soul who walks beyond known boundaries, crosses fields, touches the earth with a destination in mind and a purpose in heart.
The book is a true guide to that purpose.
a voage of discovery.......2005-07-08
I read this book while walking part of the pilgrimage route. It is a moving insightful book, really a meditation on what the pilgrimage route meant to him. It is not a guide book, but it was very meaningful to read and test my reactions against his. I highly recommend it.
Perfectly adequate travel writing - if that's all you want.........2000-12-13
While this book contains great descriptions of the camino, the refugios and the travelers along the way, I was unprepared for the screed against modernization and technology. Obviously, there are serious downsides to progress as we know it, but the relentless atttack on technology and the modern world borders on fanatical. It makes for a tiresome, if not predictable, read.
As travel writing, it's perfectly adequate.You do feel like you are inside his head, brushing up against his thoughts and perceptions, occasionally tripping on his prejudices as he ambles through the 500 some odd miles from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. If you do decide to pick up this book, make sure you also read something that presents the camino and the people on it through different perspectives. I'm sure you could find a book about the camino that is a little less judgemental.
As religious reflection, well, let's just say it's no Seven Storey Mountain and leave it at that.
Spiritually and emotionally moving experience.......2000-07-13
I was totally fascinated by this book. The descriptions of places and historical references were a great addition to understanding the signficance of the pilgrim's journeys, currently and in centuries past. The author's thoughts on technology, tradition, modernization and even aging were a marvelous commentary set against this ancient journey. As a result of a previous visit to Santiago and reading this book, I am even more moved to make my own journey on the camino.
An excellent introduction to the Camino of Santiago.......1998-02-19
An inspiring travelogue of the ups and downs of the life of a modern pilgrim. Great reflections on spirituality, religion, modernisation, architecture, and travel in the modern age. Lots of practical tips can be gleaned from his experience of the walk. It was one of the first books I read about the pilgrimage before setting out myself this past fall. Hoinacki taught me that this pilgrimage, although not original, is certainly experienced uniquely by each person who decides one day to just put on a pack and start walking, like he did. He decided that chocolate would be too much of an indulgence for the pilgrim. So he never ate chocolate while he was walking. I did. And lots of it!!
P.S. I got my copy at Wide World Books and Maps in Seattle.
Book Description
Walking Home is the fictionalized account of Lasswell's on-again, off-again pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Sometimes surreal, sometimes poignant, often thought provoking, Walking Home invites the reader to share Lasswell's internal and external explorations as they unfold along the Way.
Customer Reviews:
A Special Journey .......2005-05-29
The idea of pilgrimage, in ancient Christendom, began as journeys to holy places for purposes of devotion, in order to obtain mystical help, as an act of penance or thanksgiving, or as a spiritual quest. One of the most important of these pilgrimages was to Spain to visit the reputed burial site of Saint James (Sant' Iago). Beginning with a dream and with a hope for some sort of transformation, Lasswell embarks on a walk along a portion of the 800-kilometer trail from St. Jean-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees across the northern part of Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Full of questions regarding her own motives and abilities for attempting the trek, she dons her floppy, green straw hat and her Gore-Tex boots and sets out - ALONE - with some idea about where she's going, but little idea about how to get there.
Telling herself that it's the journey rather than the destination that's important, she walks through medieval towns and thatched-roofed villages, by ancient monasteries, alongside rivers and across beautiful valleys. She walks and walks, turns an ankle, cracks a rib, and has many adventures along the way.
Aware of her strengths, but also of her vulnerabilities, she demonstrates her determination by sleeping out under the stars, bathing nude in a mountain stream, and during one poignant episode in which she's unable to understand the assistance being offered her in obtaining a room, slogs barefoot, through the mud, carrying her boots and socks - and crying - to the door of a private home where she's provided lodging.
The wonderful country folk and the events she experiences along the way are truly delightful. She stuffs newspapers into her boots to aid in their drying, gets a bee in her bonnet, squats on some sort of itch-causing plant while relieving herself in the woods, and, in another instance, is unacountably accosted by a little girl who growls at her "like a dog." Worse, however, as far as I'm concerned, were the free pilgrim refuges in which she stays, some with door-less toilets and showers, cold water, and dormitories with fifteen or twenty beds to a room!
In recounting her tale, Lasswell chooses to invent an individual she names Simon who follows her across Spain. He provides some of the trail's history and points the way. When she's exhausted he carries her pack, provides solace and comfort, and urges her on. With Simon in hand, she then takes the reader along a grueling, rough, and muddy trail, across a land too vast to imagine, to Santiago her final destination.
Everyone is on a journey!.......2005-05-13
I have the pleasure of having an autographed copy of this wonderful book. While reading of Linda's adventure, both physical and spiritual, I found myself recognizing my own hurdles and angels that I met along my life path. I believe we all have our "Simon" somewhere deep inside of us who knows us better than anyone else. We only have to delve below our consciousness and recognize "him." Linda's book helped me do that as I enjoyed her descriptions of nature as she continued on her way with determination to reach her goal. Knowing your goal! That is a gift to be treasured.
Walking Home on the Camino de Santiago.......2005-03-29
Linda Lasswell is an adventurer who shares her trials and tribulations along a much traveled pilgrimage route in Spain. Her account, though fictionalized, touches upon my own memories of real travels. Lasswell is able to breathe reality into discriptions of weather, personal clarity, discomfort and triumph in a personal narrative that is as much about inner growth as external experiences.
Hunger, thirst, illness from exertion and the sublime intake of healing food and drink color her story that is at once spiritual and secular. Lasswell is out for a walk that begins with the attitude of an evening stroll and turns into the discovery of personal doubts, questions and revelations.
Lasswell's invisable friend Simon leads her to a spring on the first night of her pilgrimage. Tales of Charlemagne and a herd of horses weave in between dreams and wakefullness, a surrealistic state that permeates the whole adventure.
A friend arrives from New Mexico and whisks Lasswell away from her ordeal for ten days of easy travel and enjoyment. But the author returns to her inner journey while outwardly sloging through wind, rain and beautiful sunshine toward Santiago de Compostela. Laswell's friend Simon mysteriously appears and vanishes along the way.
Lasswell's story reveals the value of solitude as well as kinship in our crowded often troubled world and was well worth reading.
Average customer rating:
|
Camino De Santiago (Rother Walking Guide)
Cordula Rabe
Manufacturer: Bergverlag Rudolf Rother,Germany
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Walking
| Hiking & Camping
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 3763348352 |
Average customer rating:
- Good Read
- A very spartan travelogue, mediocre at best
|
Walking For Wildlife: El Camino To Santiago De Compostela
Jean Ann Buck
Manufacturer: Upfront Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Conservation
| Environment
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Spain
| Europe
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
| Beaches
| Business Travel
| Cruises
| Essays & Travelogues
| Food & Lodging
| Guidebooks
| Pictorial
| Reference
| Spas
| Tips
| Tourist Destinations & Museums
| Travel Writing
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1844262839 |
Customer Reviews:
Good Read.......2004-09-13
Great little guide for the ageing pilgrim. The author has a sense of humor. It was interesting to see where she stayed and where she avoided. Enjoyed the references to the history and the medieval journals.
A very spartan travelogue, mediocre at best.......2004-08-10
This book doesn't have enough practical details to serve as any kind of travel guide, nor does it have enough insights and emotional observations to serve as a spiritual/personal growth guide. It doesn't even have much in the way of interesting and well-told anecdotes to make for an entertaining bit of fluff to read.
I learned more about the author and her travel companions in the brief biographies the last 2 pages of this book than she shared about herself in the entire book, it was so impersonal. At the least, by the title of the book, I would have expected more than a few bare mentions of her cause (the Manx Wildlife Fund) if that was really her primary motivation for doing the Camino.
Having walked the Camino myself, I can tell those preparing to walk the Camino that you will meet people like the author. They will keep to themselves, sniffle about the humble food and accommodations, and when the going gets rough (as it does for everyone) they will catch a bus/taxi ahead to the next town and obtain a bed in the pilgrim refuge whereas you may have to spend the night on the floor for having walked all day.
Learning the patience to accept and love pilgrims like this in spite of it all will be a growing experience for you, and I am thankful to the annoying people like this that I met on my pilgrimage who helped me learn these lessons. I only wish for their sake that they had also gained similar insights. How unfortunate for them to have spent so many nights in hotels, they have missed out on some of the best pilgrim experiences.
I am done now.
Book Description
Just a few years ago, Arthur Paul Boers wasn't thinking about pilgrimage. But over time he began to sense a deep call from God to walk the five-hundred-mile pilgrimage route known as Camino de Santiago, ending in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at a cathedral that is said to hold the relics of the apostle James.
In these pages he opens to us his incredible story of renewed spirituality springing from an old, old path walked by millions before him. It's a story of learning to pray in new ways, embracing simplicity, forming community with strangers, learning to live each day centered and focused, depending on God to provide. Joined by hundreds of others from all over the world, Boers reveals the unique challenges and personally transforming lessons a pilgrimage offers both during the journey itself and after the return home. And he gives practical suggestions to help you consider a pilgrimage of your own.
His story provides a way for you to reflect on your own story of Christ's work in your life. And it points the way to deeper intimacy with God a way made by walking in faith.
Market/Audience
- People interested in spiritual formation
- Spiritual directors
- Pastors
- Thoughtful laypeople
Endorsements
"Arthur Paul Boers is an outstanding (yet humble) mentor, guiding our steps into the Way and ways of Jesus... If you walk with him on the ancient path he treads, you will find yourself inspired, questioned, disturbed and transformed." MARVA DAWN, author of The Sense of the Call and Keeping the Sabbath Wholly
Features and Benefits
- Tells the story of the author's 31-day walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain
- Relates the author's own experiences to how we can also experience pilgrimage as an event in the way the author did and in our daily lives
Books:
- Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape:Vermont's Champlain Valley and New York's Adirondacks (Crown Journeys)
- A Corpse in the Koryo (Inspector O Novels)
- Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place
- Brazilian Portuguese: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
- California Wine Country: A Sunset Field Guide (Sunset Field Guides)
- City Secrets: New York City
- Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains, 2nd
- Coaching the Little League Pitcher : Teaching Young Players to Pitch With Skill and Confidence
- Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Indoor/Outdoor Team Building Games For Trainers: Powerful Activities From the World of Adventure-Bas
- Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding: The Complete Nutrition Book for Nursing Mothers, Includin
- Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack Pro
- Beyond Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance: Effective Enterprise Risk Management
- CCNA for Dummies, Second Edition
- History: Fiction or Science
- Five Quarters of the Orange
- Maxwell Jewelry: Manual With Source Documentation
- Contribution of Joseph A. Schumpeter to Economics
- Custody Chaos, Personal Peace: Sharing Custody with an Ex Who is Driving You Crazy
A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago: Camino Frances - The French Way of St. James (Camino Guides)
The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook
Lonely Planet Walking in Spain
Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostela
Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago
