Photo By Bjørn Christian Tørrissen - Own work by uploader,
http://bjornfree.com/galleries.html, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12708091
I love to explore. Wandering through a city, looking at the plaques talking about the past in that spot, standing at the tombs of William the Conqueror, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionhearted, walking the battlefield of Bull Run to me is an introduction to the past, the real past, not Hollywood's concept of it.
I can find unusual buildings, little restaurants that tickle my taste buds, find unusual plants (whose names I'll never know, but they make me happy to look at them).
My type of holiday had nothing to do with the corporate world and its propaganda.
Many of my friends share my strangeness. One holiday some of them have taken is the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James), recreating the medieval pilgrimage. Some of my friends did it for spiritual reasons others because they like walking and cycling. Those that complete a minimum of 100K are given a certificate and a shell.
In 2018, 327,378 people completed the trail.
According to legend St. James remains arrived in Spain from Jerusalem and are buried in Santiago. The shell comes from the story that his body was lost at sea and when it was washed ashore it was covered in scallops.
The trail is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
My first friend to do it was an anthropology professor at BU. He was in his 60s and his adventures made for more than one evening's entertainment.
A woman friend from Argelès was also in her sixties when she made the walk. One of the things I remember is how quickly she eliminated non essentials. Shampoo became her everything soap.
From time to time I thought about doing it. Sorta my own Chaucer's Tales, Spanish style. It has never happened, which probably means I didn't want it enough.
That doesn't stop me from enjoying others talking about their adventure on the trail.
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