Take a Virtual Vacation: El Camino 2026

Tuesday, September 15th I just came back from an evening walk after dinner with Brenda, scouting out a location for tomorrow’s writing and art classes. We’re staying in our current lodging in Ribadiso for next two nights. Tomorrow will be another creativity day for us. As we walked through farmlands in the golden hour, the

Monday, September 14th Yesterday was a rest and creativity day for us. When I considered what to teach in writing class, I sensed that we were at the point in the retreat where people were ready to go deeper. So I chose a prompt that would help to catalyze the inner work of letting go

Sunday, September 13th When I led my first international tour in Bali fifteen years ago, Surya Made and Judy Slattum, our on-the-ground organizers and guides, schooled me on the basics of leading a tour. They let me know that the first and most important thing you have to pay attention to is feeding people before

Saturday, September 12th Before we leave Portomarin for a report on the mileage we walked on the Camino today, I want to share a few last photos of this wonderful town. This was typical of the sidewalks we saw: And I loved this mural of a pilgrim. He looks like an old-fashioned fellow, but the

Friday, September 11th Today we had a day for writing, art, laundry, shopping for needed items, and dinner on our own. For our morning writing session, I led a class based on Tim O’Brien’s classic Vietnam novel, “The Things They Carried.” The object of the class was threefold: to learn how powerful objects can be

Thursday, September 10th Today was our first full day walking the Camino—ten or so miles (depending on whose digital device was counting). From here on out, we’ll be walking all the way to Santiago. After much anticipation, transcontinental journeys, and three days of preparation as a group, this was the morning we actually joined the

Wednesday, September 9th Our departure from Hola Camp Camino was at 7:00 am this morning. We’d learned that there was a big festival going on in O Cebreiro, our next stop. We were getting an early morning start to try to get past the blockades that would be set up to block traffic through the

Tuesday, September 8th This morning after breakfast, Brenda has us all meet outside with our backpacks fully packed. She asked us to wear the shoes that we’ll be hiking in, and to bring our hiking poles and everything else we expect to take with us each day. After we assembled in a large circle, Brenda

Monday, September 7th I’m loving the slow start to this Camino, our choice to have a three-day retreat before we start walking our 100-km pilgrimage. Yesterday, in our orientation session, I welcomed the group and we talked about what it means to be on a pilgrimage. Andre went over group ground rules rooted in respect,

Sunday, September 6 For the past 48 hours, I’ve been with my co-leaders, readying everything for the arrival of our student pilgrims. Since our trip is called “the Creative Camino,” we’ve been discussing the best strategies for integrating art and writing into our journey, while walking 8-14 miles a day. Walking that far, there’s no

Saturday, September 5th Last night I sat out on a wooden deck at Hola Camp Camino, just outside Santiago de Compostela, with my co-leaders, Andre and Brenda, enjoying the massive salad Andre had prepared for us, filled with lettuce, green beans, steamed broccoli, beets, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese, fresh olives and many other treats. The

Friday, September 4th Yesterday was a travel day for me. I flew from Berlin to Madrid, then spent a night in a hotel near the airport. I’d be catching a flight today to Santiago de Compostela to meet my co-leaders on the Creative Camino, Brenda Porter and Andre Mallinger, for a couple of days of

Thursday, September 3rd Today was a day for packing up and cleaning the Airbnb in preparation for leaving Berlin. Rather than writing a blog post today, I decided to share this poem to mark the loss of three great souls this week: singer and humanitarian Dolly Parton, the great poet Wendell Berry, and today, feminist

Wednesday, September 2nd Ever since I got off my 11-hour flight from San Francisco to Madrid, wedged in a narrow seat over the wing in cattle class, barely getting up or moving, my knees have been bothering me. They’re not a body part I’m generally aware of, no chronic problems that I know of, but

Tuesday, September 1 Last night, I had my final visit with Michaela before she gets transported back to her home in Belgium to continue her recovery. My last two days in Berlin will be truly solo: no more trips to the hospital. This certainly hasn’t been the reunion Michaela and I anticipated, but we’ve both