Well here is the short version….

I’m a 23 year-old Grad School student.  I recently decided to take a break from school and walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela or “The Way of St. James” with my mom.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the trek, it’s a pilgrimage that spans about 600 miles and is primarily located in Spain.  There are a couple different routes you can choose from and the specific route that my mom and I will be traveling is the Camino Francés.  The Camino Francés  stays on the north side of Spain; we start in the French Pyrenees and end in Santiago where the remains of the apostle Saint James are said to have been buried.  We begin the first week of September and end– well, whenever we finish.

Our motive to walk this pilgrimage and my motive to take some time from school surrounds the recent death of my father.  If I could make a lifetime of blog posts about him I would.  I could talk forever and a day about this man so I’m sure he’ll find his way into everything I reflect on.  He was a man who enjoyed the silence and beauty of nature.  He and my mom shared shared this joy together so I can understand my mom’s interest in the camino.  My initial reasoning for wanting to walk was simple, my mom wanted to walk and she needed a companion.  My mom and I started talking about the camino while my dad was alive and promised each other that one day we would do it.  His passing sparked the conversation of timing and sort of changed our entire reasoning behind wanting to walk in the first place.  Now we are both walking with him on our mind as well as our own personal healing process.

This blog is a way for me to document my trip and whoever wants to follow along can enjoy.  I am completely unaware of how interesting my posts will be or how often I’ll be able to post because I have no idea what to expect in terms of my experience.  Either way, each day I’ll reflect somehow and hopefully be able to share my experiences with you.