rambling the Camino

          May ,2015
                                                       THE BEGINNING

1100 miles (1800 kl) , a hike along three of the most famous routes used by the christian pilgrims, since the discovery of the burial place of St James the apostle in the 9th century.
I am excited to undertake this challenge, a journey that will answer the question people continue to ask me,"why", well, maybe Ill have an answer.
They say that being called to walk the Camino is no accident, thats not for me to question, its long been a desire to take this walk and now is the time.  I dont have any specific reason for taking this journey and I am not looking for any Ah-haa moment along the way. In Buddhism, there is a great saying, "Never have I felt so good, since I gave up all hope", for some that may seem negative, but really its about expectation, If you have no expectations of this in life, you cant be disappointed, and without expectation, your mind will be most open and willing to hear the subtle messages that most people noisily rush on past .
For most, this Jacobian pilgrimage ends in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the north west corner of Spain,   For some pilgrims, the journey continues after Santiago, on to the western corner of Galicia (Costa de Morte-the coast of death)where some burn their clothes and toss their shoes into the ocean. I plan to take this final 3 day hike along the Finisterre Way, which at the time was known as the farthest known point west in the modern world, the final stretch of an itinerary traced in the sky by the Milky Way. I do plan though, to spare the worlds oceans the indignity of having me throw another pair of stinky worn out hiking boots into it.
Santiago de Compostela is known as a bastion of European culture, and the burial site of one of the prominent 12 apostles of Jesus , St James, the patron of pilgrims and laborers..
According to history, Jesus named him one one of the "sons of thunder".
St James is thought to have actually been the cousin of Jesus through the sister of the Virgin Mary, he was charged with spreading the word of Christianity after the Crucifixion of Jesus, and traveled into northern Spain to do so, this is why he is so revered and celebrated by Christians and others in the Basque region of Spain.
Upon his return home in AD 44, James was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa for his christian beliefs.
James was later made a saint and his bones were secretly smuggled back to Spain to be buried in Santiago de Compostela., where a large  cathedral stands over his burial site today.
James was later labelled a martyr, there are two kinds of saints, Martyr's and Confessors , the Christian martyr's are those who were put to death for their beliefs, the confessors are those who died of natural causes.
A true pilgrim will take this journey with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and will rely on peoples generosity and kindness to further cloth and feed them along this journey, I personally will be leaving my shaver behind, and taking a credit card.  I predict this hike will take me between two months, or ten weeks to complete. ...really, what am I thinking?.