The Camino Podcast Dave Whitson

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave that was holding out in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula--with Santiago de Compostela and the recently rediscovered relics of St. James. In this four-part series, we will virtually walk the Primitivo together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. Part 2 focuses on a shorter section of the Primitivo, just 41 kilometers between Tineo and Berducedo, but it includes the most famous and talked about walk--the famous Ruta de los Hospitales. Lainey Silver and Shawn Forno (www.dayswespend.com) share stories from some soggy--and yet still exhilarating--walking in this section, including Spanish soap operas and an innovative use of socks. They are followed by David Guardado, author of Asturias: Nunca Vencida, who speaks to some of the defining aspects of Asturian identity and language.

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave that was holding out in the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula--with Santiago de Compostela and the recently rediscovered relics of St. James. In this four-part series, we will virtually walk the Primitivo together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. Part 1 focuses on the first three stages, between Oviedo and Tineo, covering roughly 70 kilometers. Nadine Karel (www.nadinewalks.com), a two-time Primitivo veteran, offers insights on the route, while Allison Bixby-Bemus discusses her experience taking over as co-owner of the legendary Albergue de Peregrinos in Bodenaya. Finally, Anthony Hemingway discusses one of the most noteworthy features of the region--the pre-Romanesque churches distinctive of Asturian Architecture, including several that are clustered in Oviedo.

If you have walked the Camino, you've encountered donkeys. Sometimes they're looming on a field's far end, watching the world go by, a presence immediately recognizable even from a hundred meters. Sometimes, they're pressed against the barbed wire fence, curious and eager for engagement. And very, very occasionally, you'll see a pilgrim walking with a donkey. This episode features an interview with one such pilgrim, Barbara from Poitiers, France, on her journeys with Dalie on the Camino del Norte and other routes. She is followed by Mark Meyers, the Executive Director of Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue (www.donkeyrescue.org), who explains the donkey's many virtues, the valuable roles donkeys can still play in 2024, and the reasons they are in need of rescue today.

Over the last few years, there has been an exciting development, wherein the Santiago archdiocese has collaborated with other routes outside of Spain to offer official "alternative" starting points for the Camino de Santiago, allowing pilgrims to begin their journey closer to home, earn some kilometers towards the 100km requirement, and then pick up the trail in Spain. This episode focuses on three such routes. In the United States, El Camino de San Antonio Missions (caminosanantonio.org) in Texas offers a 30km, established pilgrimage route linking the four historic mission churches and San Antonio's cathedral, while the still-in-progress Camino de la Unidad in Florida currently hosts an annual Baby Steps Camino (www.babystepscamino.com) between Jacksonville Beach and Saint Augustine. Meanwhile, in England, Saint James' Way (britishpilgrimage.org/portfolio/st-james-way/) links Reading and Southampton, and offers a natural starting point for the Camino Inglés, from Coruña onward.

If you want to know what's happening on the Camino, ask a group or forum moderator. Those tireless, kind-hearted shepherds of Camino discourse perform one of the most thankless tasks of the online world, helping to ensure that new pilgrims can hit the Camino with confidence, and that experienced pilgrims can have a place to connect with a shared community. This episode features two prolific moderators--Laurie/peregrina2000 on Ivar's Camino Forum and Paul Garland on the Camino de Santiago All Routes Facebook group--to look back on major developments and overblown issues on the Camino in 2023. We discuss the general state of pilgrimage discourse, the pushback of some albergues against luggage shipment, the perceived overcrowding crisis in May, the local unhappiness with tourist crowds in Santiago de Compostela, and the recent controversy surrounding the Cruz de Ferro, along with a bunch of other stuff. Along the way, we confirm some concerns, brush away others, and even arrive at some positive developments worth celebrating.

Beyond Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela, Canterbury stands out as perhaps the most significant pilgrimage destination for Christians in the Middle Ages. While Chaucer famously commemorated the route from London in the Canterbury Tales, pilgrims of course traveled from their homes, following a network of different trails. For centuries, one of those was lost to history, until the Old Way, paralleling the coast from Southampton eastward, was rediscovered on a medieval map. Since then, the pilgrimage has been redeveloped, and this episode explores the route with two recent pilgrims. Gail Simmons (travelscribe.org) walked the Old Way during the pandemic, and then documented her experience in vivid detail in her book, Between the Chalk and the Sea. Carol Donaldson (caroldonaldsonwriter.co.uk) took to the trail in post-COVID England, writing about her section walk in the Guardian.