à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Fear
Can I Talk My Walk?
In our talkative culture, there appear to be many people who repeatedly say they are going to do something, or frequently verbalize frustration with a situation, yet who don’t translate their words into action. Their well-meaning (or fed up) friends might prod them to “walk their talk” rather than continue harping about whatever it is. … Continue reading
Guns: On the Camino and Here
Not long ago, I walked a rainy, misty stretch of the Camino, between the farming villages of Hontanas and Castrojeriz, with a German man my age. He told me that he came to Spain because he was feeling alienated from the growing corporatization of his own culture and was out of sorts with himself. “Me, … Continue reading
It Takes a Village (to get a man) to Take a Shower
At one albergue in El Burgo Ranero, a village in the meseta, a hand-printed sign urged Pilgrims to shower before going to bed. Each albergue has its rules (no smoking, quiet hours, etc.) but this was a first. “Do people really need to be reminded?” I asked the volunteer hospitalera, a woman from Toronto. Who … Continue reading
The Other Side of Fear, the Other Side of the Pyrenees
I crossed the Pyrenees today, a part of the Camino that sounded exotic if not slightly dangerous and was one of the reasons I chose to start my walk in southern France, rather than in Spain. Our highest point was approximately 4,000´ which, though considerably more elevated than the surrounding area, and above the mist shrouded villages below, is … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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