Tag Camino

Camino Warmth Welcomes Us to Virginia

Reg Spittle 2 Comments

Sue and I were welcomed to Virginia by fellow Camino pilgrims who made us feel at home Sunday. Actually, Staunton, Virginia is our new home and we are so happy that the local Shenandoah Valley chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino offers monthly hikes and much more. We enjoyed many good times with the Southern Oregon chapter when we lived in Ashland.

Sunday’s walk to South River Falls led us in the Shenandoah National Park and, for a brief time, on the Appalachian Trail. We are learning that the AT, like the Camino, brings together outdoor enthusiasts who thirst for trail challenges and camaraderie. We look forward to making more connections, especially if they include delicious after-hike meals like we had Sunday at the Big Meadows Lodge next to the park visitor center off Skyline Drive. Save room for the blueberry pie!

The People of the Via Francigena

Reg Spittle 3 Comments

The Via Francigena has delighted us in its warmth, with recent days bringing us friendships.

Elena (in top photo) and her mother welcomed us to their 14th-century hilltop farm home and agriturismo with personal charm, a spacious apartment, and scrumptious meals.

We had dinner and trailside conversation with Renate and Herbert from The Netherlands, promising to reconnect in Rome. And we said goodbye (for now) to Luca, who is on his way home in northern Italy to resume his studies.

Meanwhile, we pause in Acquapendante today for a breather, leaving just eight days to Rome. And we hear we may be just in time for a big announcement when we show our pilgrim passports (filled with ink stamps documenting our journey) and collect our certificates in St. Peter’s Basilica.