When I put on my backpack in Pamplona on my first day walking the Camino de Santiago, I worried that it was too heavy for me to carry across Spain. I worried about undressing in front of strangers in coed dorms and bathrooms. I worried about trying to keep up with much younger trekkers. It turned out I had no idea I was carrying things far heavier.
Excerpt from Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows:
“Seven miles after leaving Burgos on a thinly overcast, but warm day, I sat on a bench with my shoes off in the small village of Rabé de las Calzadas. Sue photographed bright red and yellow tulips covering a circular garden when we noticed a two-story albergue in the plaza. The guidebook said there were 24 beds; dinner and breakfast were offered. Bricks framed the windows, and benches lined the rock wall surrounding the front door, which stood alongside the Camino. A soda machine advertising Coca-Cola stood under a huge yellow arrow. Our next chance for beds was five miles farther.
Sue knew what we should do. ‘Let’s take a chance.’ . . . Our choice would be rewarded with the memory of two words that would mark the day forever.”
Books and my backpack 