The Camino Podcast

Episode 109 - Anthony, Benedict, and their Cammini

The tour of under-walked Italian cammini continues in this episode with a close look at two emerging routes: the Cammino di San Benedetto (www.camminodibenedetto.it) in Umbria and Lazio, and the Cammino di Sant'Antonio (www.ilcamminodisantantonio.org), which mostly spans Emilia-Romagna, the Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia in the northeast. Paul Granville (paulscamino.com) of Brisbane, Australia discusses his experience on Benedict's Way, tracing the saint's life from his birthplace in Norcia to his tomb in Montecassino. Then, Ellen and Mike Leland of Larkspur, Colorado, USA share stories from their time as trailblazers on the northern leg of Anthony's Way, walking from Gemona del Friuli to Padua. While both routes are quite young, they are steeped in history, and hungry for more pilgrims. Available on Apple, Spotify, & Youtube. Come see Dave & Sandy in California (and Dave in Medford, OR!) https://davewhitson.com/sandy-dave-in-california/ For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 108 - The Camino del Norte, Part 8 - Taking Another Bite Out of Asturias

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities and small fishing villages. In this series, we will virtually walk the Norte together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. In this eighth part of the series, we push onward from Avilés to Luarca, through a series of small towns, over the Nalón River, and beneath some massive expressway bridges. Richard DeMerchant of Victoria, BC, Canada, guides us through this section, with fond memories of a donativo albergue and time well spent with his son. All that walking will make a person hungry, so it's important to know how to refuel well, and that's where Jon Tillman, the creator of Eating Asturias (www.eatingasturias.com) comes in. Drawing upon years of culinary experience, Jon has written nearly four hundred articles on Asturian cuisine and culture, and he puts that expertise on full display in this wide-ranging conversation. For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 107 - The Gift of Greenia

Before everything that followed--the 30+ years associated with and 4,000 miles walked on the Camino, the seed-planting for what would later become the American Pilgrims on the Camino, the founding of the world's only institute for pilgrimage studies at William & Mary, the countless research articles and presentations, and even literal knighthood--it all started with a moment of embarrassment. In this episode, George Greenia shares stories from his decades of pilgrimage and insights into the state of pilgrimage research, and along the way he explains why he has no interest in writing a book about any of it For more on George Greenia: https://www.wm.edu/sites/pilgrimage/leadership/greenia_gx.php For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 106 - The Global Camino Is Coming!

What if you could go on the Camino without leaving your home? Well, as it turns out, you can--and you can do it soon! Global Camino 2026 is coming up on January 10 and 11 (and if you're listening to this episode later, the annual event is always right around those dates), and it provides pilgrims around the world with an opportunity to walk together, from a distance, and then to share highlights of this collective experience online. Leanne Prichard, from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is the visionary behind this event, which grew out of Tasmania's annual Way to St James Cygnet. In this episode, she discusses the idea behind Global Camino, all of the positives that pilgrims derive from the experience, and the way that we can all get involved. She also describes the Tasmanian Camino--a fantastic annual event in its own right. Available on Apple, Spotify, and Youtube. To sign up for Global Camino 2026: https://www.facebook.com/events/1274566273763679 For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 105 - Following Francis

800 years ago, not-yet-Saint Francis was approaching the end of his 45 years, his body ragged from a life marked by illness and heavy usage, his eyesight all but gone. Those years, though, had been put to exceptionally good use, spurring the establishment of a Catholic order and ethical worldview that would profoundly influence both the Church and generations of exceptional leaders of all backgrounds. While pilgrims walked to Santiago in those years, the Via di Francesco, or the Way of Saint Francis, is a modern construct, linking together the many different towns and sanctuaries that Il Poverello walked through on his life-long pilgrimage. Russ Eanes (www.russeanes.com) keeps finding his way back to Francis and the Francesco, first writing about the pilgrimage route in Pilgrim Paths to Assisi: 300 Miles on the Way of St. Francis, and now about Francis himself in the brand new Good Morning, Good People!: Tales for the Way of St. Francis. For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson