Personal Reading: Walking to Santiago

12/1/2016
The last personal blog post I have chosen is a reading from Professor Kip that is about walking to Santiago. Santiago is one of the hikes that are more of a pilgrimage than a thru hike. While it is still a strenuous hike that lasts a few weeks, it is not nearly as long as a thru hike in the AT or PCT. The pilgrimage is less in the woods and more in a city with heavily religious practices and scenery throughout the way. While it still is a personal spiritual journey, there is more intersection with normal civilization than on the Appalachian Trail and is a town vibe compared to mountains and mountains of hiking. Something Kip talked about in his paper was meeting so many different people with different religious beliefs only on the first day. It might be so many different religions because the Santiago is in a different country, but I thought it was interesting that so many different cultures and religions could all meet at one place looking for the same spiritual peace. It is nice to see that there is diversity on these pilgrimages so you can learn about different cultures along the way. One last thing I would like to touch on is that everyone comes on a camino with different understandings, beliefs, and things they want to take from the trip. Even though everyone has unique needs, they all come together as one for the love of culture and pilgrimage.