à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Camino de Santiago
The Price of Finishing
“Where are you heading?” asked the man seated next to me in the scenic car as Amtrak‘s California Zephyr rumbled across Illinois. I was multitasking — peering out the window while reviewing photos on my laptop — and glanced over. With his worn sweater, baggy pants and bug-shaped eyeglasses that harkened from the 1980s, he … Continue reading
A Room of One’s Own (sort of)
While I was on the Camino, sleeping on bunk beds in rooms with as many as several dozen people, I often longed for a room of my own, without snoring and rustling, with space to spread out my belongings. Thanks to the generosity of a Denver writer friend and her husband, I’m staying in one … Continue reading
Amtrak: An American Camino?
I recently traveled in an Amtrak “roomette” from Boston to Denver. It’s not a choice I would have considered but, my younger brother’s wife, sensing that a slower trip West would be less jarring than a faster one, suggested it. Since I was still reeling from the shock of re-entering the United States after walking … Continue reading
To Hang On or Let Go?
There is an end-of-Camino ritual at Finisterre, to burn something from the trip (or toss it into the sea). The symbolism is personal: for some, it could be a form of spiritual completion, a break with the past and/or the promise of a new beginning. A few days before arriving to the coast, I walked … Continue reading
To the Camino, with Gratitude
The last few nights I have dreamed that I was walking long distances outdoors; I guess the Camino is still rooted in my subconscious and in my body, which has been conditioned to keep moving. With no more yellow arrows to follow, will I take up sleepwalking?! Since it’s Thanksgiving, here are some appreciations, from … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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