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Savoring the Camino de Santiago: It’s the Pilgrimage, Not the Hike focuses on the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage trail that began around 820 AD and that traverses Spain, ending in Santiago de Compostela, the burial place of St. James the apostle. A resurrection of interest in the Camino since the 1980s has meant that more than 300,000 individuals are nowadays undertaking the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela each year. The author made the pilgrimage in 2016 via the French route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a journey of some 500 miles. Her book incorporates a blog and travel journal she kept during that pilgrimage, with an illustration accompanying each of the 49 days of the journey.
The book is also a memoir, with Ms. Connor explaining how and why she decided to make the pilgrimage.
Savoring the Camino de Santiago offers practical advice for those interested in traveling the Camino. While the prevailing culture of the Camino is to walk the route, Ms. Connor believes that walking is not the only way to undertake the Camino. Taking buses, taxis, or even driving
are also valid ways to experience the Camino, in her opinion. She advocates for pilgrims to slow down and savor the pilgrimage by stopping in churches, cathedrals, museums, and interesting towns and cities along the route. Not everyone experiences spiritual or personal growth through the act of walking; Ms. Connor urges pilgrims to take the trip in the manner that will most connect them with their spiritual, religious, and transcendent well springs.
After completing the pilgrimage, the author journeyed on to Madrid and Toledo, and there are chapters in the book covering those visits. Ms. Connor also recounts activities following the journey related to the Camino, such as writing an open letter to relevant governmental authorities in Spain and hosting a thank-you dinner in Houston for those who helped her plan and organize her pilgrimage.
The book includes a useful chapter on resources and an index. A blog about the trip, Camino for Boomers (https: //caminoforboomers.com/author/caminoforboomers/), complements the book by offering many additional color photos as well as updates about
events relating to the trip.
Savoring the Camino de Santiago is the first book by author Julie Gianelloni Connor. It is available via IngramSpark or the Bayou City Press website, BayouCityPress.com.
