Tag pilgrimage

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 4

Reg Spittle 2 Comments

If you have walked a distance trek, then you have felt the bittersweet experience of your final steps. I was overwhelmed when I turned the corner from the Tiber River and glimpsed St. Peter’s Basilica, the end of the Way of St. Francis. We had done it! My achy legs and feet cheered the end of our toughest walk yet. Later, my eyes welled up as I folded my trusty trekking poles while Sue and I sat on a step in the square. What now?

Following the steps of revered Saint Francis, Sue and I walked 23 days, 258 miles, 80,000 feet in elevation during spring in 2018. Many days were sunny, three or four were scorching, two left us drenched. It is one of three major Christian pilgrimages, but we saw few fellow trekkers, even none a couple of days as we walked from Tuscany east to the Umbrian mountains, then south and southwest to Rome. No other Americans, until we met an American tourist who snapped our photo at Vatican City.

When we turned the corner from the trail along the Tiber River, St. Peter’s welcomed us from a distance. Inside, guards checked our pilgrim passport and ushered us into an inner chapel where a Catholic official checked our stamps and issued our Testimonium. I may not be an authentic pilgrim, but it was still a magic moment. We kept searching St. Peter’s Square for other trekkers/pilgrims, but there were none.

Italy. Italians. Italian villages. Italian food. Italian scenery. All added charm to the Way of St. Francis, my number four retirement adventure. The trek pitched some good arguments to be number one, but three other adventures were even more noteworthy.

If you want to further explore the Way of St. Francis and three other European trails, check out my second book, Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer. The other three treks: Scotland’s West Highland Way, England’s South West Coast Path, and the Tour du Mont Blanc.

French Camino: Our Third Pilgrim Path

Reg Spittle 6 Comments
The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City welcomed us.

The French Camino is our third trek on a pilgrimage route, all marked by centuries of walking by Christians from all over the world. These days, many walk the paths for non-religious reasons, but it is almost impossible not to feel some spiritual aspect of each trek.

Our first pilgrimage path, in 2013, was the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) across Spain and our second, in 2018, was Italy’s Way of St. Francis across northern Tuscany and through the Umbrian Mountains to Vatican City and Rome. Both finished at grand cathedrals, where spirits of pilgrims past seem to greet all who walk in their shadows. For a few trekkers we have met here, the French Camino continues beyond our current finishing point, St Jean Pied du Port, and continues all the way across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, as it did for centuries.

The finish of both our previous pilgrim treks was bittersweet. Our tired bodies welcomed the end, but our hearts told us we would miss the depth of experiences. As we near the end of the French Camino, our longest walk, I wonder how we will feel this time—after more than a million steps.

The third finish for Christian pilgrimages is Jerusalem, one we are unlikely to experience. But we won’t say never, will we?