Deirdre said:
Given the fact that even now so few Americans have any knowledge heard of the Camino (relatively sepaking), how did you learn about the Camino during that time and what prompted your decision to go?
Hmm, I'll try to keep it short.
In 1988 I spent my junior college (Colgate U.) spring semester in Madrid. I attended the Instituto Internacional and one of my classes was on Spanish history. The professor said off-handedly one day while we were covering the Middle Ages something along the lines of, "And during this period millions of people from all over Christendom came to this small town in Northwest Spain, bringing their cultures, languages and baggage with them." I was intrigued by the idea and started researching on my own and became entranced by the whole idea, both how it operated in history and what it might mean for me in the modern day.
One weekend, while I was hitchhiking through the Pais Vasco, I asked a truck driver that had picked me up about the Camino and he gave me Millan Bravo Lozano's name and told me I should look for his book on the Camino in the library. I did and I spent the rest of the semester planning my walk.
My initial reasons for the walk were pretty common, I think: I wanted to experience rural Spain, get immersed in the language and learn some history up close and personal. I've always been a hiker so that method of travel appealed to me.
So, after two months of Eurailing amongst European capitals that summer, I found myself leaving Pamplona, not quite sure what I was getting myself into. And that, as they say, has made the difference ever since.
