“You’ll write about this.”
“No, I won’t. I’m not a writer. I’m a reader.”
“You’ll write about this.” The voice repeated.
“No, I won’t!” I insisted like a two-year-old.
I was engaged in a typical conversation; rather, in this case, an argument between me and myself. I spent hours walking through the Spanish countryside with a large green backpack, staring cows, and that voice as my only companion.
The voice was quiet, but I felt its presence.
“But I don’t write!” I whined. So instant was I at arguing my limitations that I barley noticed the fresh gusts of wind brushing my face, and the grass dancing up through the rocks.
“Write like Miguel de Cervantes, one episode at a time for the local newspaper,” responded the always calm, always persistent voice.
I said nothing back. This voice knew me; it knew how Don Quijote de La Mancha was my hero, my inspiration for life. It was the name of the book and the name of the character created by Cervantes, who, episode by episode, wrote the world renown classic book, which has been published second only to the Bible.
When I returned to my hometown of Bishop, California, in the States, I went to the Inyo Register, the local hometown newspaper office. Scared, and hiding it, as I waited to talk with the editor and presented my first article. To my surprise, he agreed to publish it! Thus, began my adventure as a writer.
I hope you enjoy walking with me as I share my reflections, discoveries, and trials of walking El Camino de Santiago in Spain. I call it a “Different Kind of Camino” because it is the inner journey as much as the outer journey that takes us on an adventure and also, a pilgrimage.