The Next Adventure: Camino de Santiago (Via Podiensis—France) July 2023

Two months ago I bought plane tickets to Europe with plans to walk my second Camino, this time the Via Podiensis (also knows as the Chemin du Puy) in France. I walked my first Camino 11 years ago this summer (~175 miles total on the Camino Frances in Northern Spain); a decision that, at the time, was spontaneous and at a moment in my life when I was lost, unsure of myself, and desperate for meaning and purpose. The decision to walk the Camino, all those years ago, changed everything and in ways that I never could have imagined at the time, including completing a doctoral dissertation on Walking as a Way of Knowing and the recent publication of excerpts of that research in the book Crafting Autoethnography Processes and Practices of Making Self and Culture (Routledge, 2023).

Now here I am, a decade older, hopefully a little wiser, and ready to walk again, this time with the love of my life and partner of 10 years. I’m also a little slower than I was 10 years ago having acquired one bum knee and chronic plantar fasciitis in both feet that nothing seems to be able to fix except for Chaco or Birkenstock sandals (which has made finding hiking shoes so far impossible…). My last Camino was one of solitude, introspection, and transformation. While those elements may again be present, I imagine there will be new lessons and challenges to face that will teach me exactly what I need to learn at this moment in time.

Our journey will (hopefully) take us from Le Puy, France to Montcuq, France on the GR65 (with a 6 day detour on the Célé variant, GR651), for an approximately 420km/260mi journey over the course of 24 days. We will walk anywhere from about 8-16 miles a day (13-26 kilometers a day) with two planned rest days along the route. I am not entirely sure my body is ready for this adventure, but I am going to give it everything I have and just do my best each day knowing that it’s not a race and that the challenge is what makes it worthwhile in the end. I am however, looking forward to spectacular scenery, delicious food, and meaningful encounters with people (and animals) along the way.

Over the next few weeks, I will share a few posts about our preparations (including what we pack and a little more about our itinerary), so if that interests you stay tuned! Otherwise, I will try to write updates and share photos of our walk as often as possible while we are there. I know how much it has helped me to read about the journeys of others who have walked this route, so hopefully my posts can do the same for someone else as they plan or dream about their future walk!