Toward the Field of Stars

After a semester of reading about pilgrimage, the literature of walking, and travel writing, the students in the companion course to X395 (L373) send you off with the following advice: Wear comfortable clothing and don't overpack! You can't begin to imagine what you are about to experience - be open to new things, observe your thoughts as well as the path. Move in the direction of the prettiest of things and observe them deeply.  Have an open mind and heart Be prepared for the bad; it's not as glamourous as some movies make it seem.   Be careful with the people you encounter, but also be open to learning from them. Be aware of the internal journey that's happening at the same time. Pay attention to your external surroundings, but also keep track of the internal journey. Expect the unexpected, but do not go on a journey with too much in mind. Be open to changing your thoughts and ideas and do not expect to return home as exactly the same person you left (or t...

In less than a week we will be walking the final 100km of the Camino de Santiago! As we walk, we will discuss the history, art, and literature of this medieval pilgrimage route.  And, we will be practicing writing about our experiences with traveling by foot, about our encounters with the past, with the landscape, and with the strangers we meet along the way. This blog is our place for documenting these sites and experiences in word and image. The way will not be easy, but as the thousands of pilgrimages, explorers, and wanderers who have followed this path before know, it will be meaningful.  To be a pilgrim is to be open: open to the path itself with its many twists and turns;  open to how external journeys might shape internal ones;  open to learning unexpected lessons; and open to encountering both the stranger and the self along the way. Buon Camino!