The Camino Podcast

Episode 112 - Belief Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

We don't know exactly how many non-religious people make the Camino annually, but it's unquestionably a sizable percentage. What inspires or compels atheists and agnostics to go on pilgrimage? To explore that question, this episode brings together Leonard Vance of Tucson, Arizona and Rhian Sasseen of Brooklyn, New York. Leonard is the author of An Atheist on Pilgrimage: Tales of Humanity from the Camino de Santiago, while Rhian (www.rhiansasseen.com) recently had an essay published in The Nation titled "Walking the Camino in the Shadow of Belief." Together, they discuss the value of losing yourself on pilgrimage, the calming of the mind that can occur over the course of a long walk, and the ways that the Camino did--and didn't--reshape their beliefs. Available on Apple, Spotify, and Youtube. For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 111 - Following God's Crayon: Thousands of Miles with Johannes Schwarz

You'll often hear the walk from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela described as "the full Camino." If that's the case, what would you call a 5500km route that begins in Ireland, makes a complete loop in France, and eventually winds up in the Italian Apennines? For Johannes Schwarz (www.4kmh.com), a Catholic priest from Austria, it's just another year. Schwarz completed the Via Columbani, as this route is known, in 2022, and his book--Following Columban: A Pilgrim’s 4000 Mile Quest for Monks, Meaning and the Meaning of Monks--offers a detailed account of his journey. In the conversation that follows, Johannes discusses how he got started as both a priest and a pilgrim, the larger vision behind his pilgrimages, some lessons we can take from Columban and his fellow monks, and why he determined that he fell short on this journey.

Episode 110 - It's Called the Celtic Camino

Sure, you might have heard of the Camino Inglés, which has two possible starting points, in Ferrol and A Coruña. Ask an Irish pilgrim about that walk from A Coruña, though, and you're likely to hear a different name for it: the Celtic Camino. And there's a lot more to it than just those 75 kilometers. Back on the island, Irish pilgrims are hard at work developing and recovering a booming network of short pilgrimages that feed into A Coruña, allowing walkers to hit that 100km requirement to earn their Compostela in Santiago, while also tapping into Ireland's own rich pilgrimage history. In this episode, Michael Walsh of the Camino Society Ireland (www.caminosociety.ie) discusses the nine routes currently available in Ireland as part of the Celtic Camino initiative, while Ingrid Boyle takes us deeper into one of those--the Kerry Camino (www.kerrycamino.com) on the Dingle Peninsula. Available on Apple, Spotify, and Youtube. For more information on The Camino Podcast: www.davewhitson.com www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast www.patreon.com/davewhitson

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