73 episodes

The Camino Podcast is a program focused on pilgrimage. We talk about major pilgrimage routes, like Spain's Camino de Santiago, we share stories from the road, and we talk about more technical aspects of pilgrimage. Whether you're planning your first pilgrimage, processing your latest one, or just an armchair traveler, we hope you find this to be a good listen! (Soundtrack features "Walking in the Country" by David Mumford.)

The Camino Podcast Dave Whitson

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.6 • 66 Ratings

The Camino Podcast is a program focused on pilgrimage. We talk about major pilgrimage routes, like Spain's Camino de Santiago, we share stories from the road, and we talk about more technical aspects of pilgrimage. Whether you're planning your first pilgrimage, processing your latest one, or just an armchair traveler, we hope you find this to be a good listen! (Soundtrack features "Walking in the Country" by David Mumford.)

    Episode 72 - The Via Podiensis, Part 10: Pushing on to Saint-Jean

    Episode 72 - The Via Podiensis, Part 10: Pushing on to Saint-Jean

    Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issues, this series of episodes will dig more into the specifics of walking. In this tenth and final episode in the series, we finally make it to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, thanks to the combined wisdom of four experienced pilgrims. Robert Deming of Fredericksburg, Texas leads us onward from Aire-sur-l'Adour to Navarrenx, and then three high schoolers from Portland, Oregon pick up the baton from there. After completing the journey to Saint-Jean and discussing the suitability of different endpoints for the Via Podiensis, we then cap the series with a "draft" of favorite places along the way. Spoiler alert: the Lot and Célé Valleys do very, very well.

    • 1 hr 38 min
    Episode 71 - The Via Podiensis, Part 9: Roman Ruins, If You Want To

    Episode 71 - The Via Podiensis, Part 9: Roman Ruins, If You Want To

    Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issues, this series of episodes will dig more into the specifics of walking. In this ninth episode in the series, the Pyrenees are finally breaking the horizon as we continue southward from Condom to Aire-sur-l'Adour. Kevin Greenstreet shares tales from the road, including a visit to the tiniest fortified village in Gers, a lunch he couldn't pass up in Nogaro, and one of the most memorable gites of the whole walk. And since Roman ruins feature prominently in this section--most notably in Éauze and Séviac--Dr. Simon Esmonde Cleary, Emeritus Professor of Roman Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, joins to offer insights into Roman Gaul and lessons learned from an excavation at Éauze.

    • 58 min
    Episode 70 - The Via Podiensis, Part 8: Duck!

    Episode 70 - The Via Podiensis, Part 8: Duck!

    Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issues, this series of episodes will dig more into the specifics of walking. In this eighth episode in the series, we carry on southward from Moissac with pilgrims Dennis and Laurie Brooke of Tacoma, Washington (www.worldrovers.com), following the canal towards Auvillar, slaloming through the hills to Lectoure, greeting the cats in La Romieu, and finally posing for photos at the entrance to Condom. Many pilgrims in this stretch will find their culinary journeys leading them towards duck, which features prominently on the menus in the region. Dr. Jean Lavigne, Professor of Environmental Studies at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, then shares insights into its prominent role in French cuisine, and the ongoing controversies surrounding foie gras production.

    • 1 hr 13 min
    Episode 69 - The Via Podiensis, Part 7: Kill Them All, Let the Historians Sort It Out

    Episode 69 - The Via Podiensis, Part 7: Kill Them All, Let the Historians Sort It Out

    Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issues, this series of episodes will dig more into the specifics of walking. In this seventh episode in the series, we finally leave Cahors in the rearview mirror and cross the halfway point en route from Le Puy to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. France Fehr, author of On Foot in France: An Unforgettable Adventure on the Camino de Santiago, shares stories from the walk between Cahors and Moissac, a region that also carries scars from the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century. Dr. Mark Gregory Pegg, author of A Most Holy War: The Albigensian Crusade and the Battle for Christendom, then explains why everything you think you know about the Cathars is wrong.

    • 1 hr 24 min
    Episode 68 - The Via Podiensis, Part 6: Superlative Overload in the Célé Valley

    Episode 68 - The Via Podiensis, Part 6: Superlative Overload in the Célé Valley

    Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issues, this series of episodes will dig more into the specifics of walking. In this sixth episode in the series, we make our third and final walk between Figeac and Cahors, this time following the GR651 through the Célé Valley. The route is much beloved by walkers and pilgrims, featuring dramatic cliffs, troglodyte villages, medieval fortifications, and prehistoric cave paintings. Kerri Daniels of Sacramento, California, USA offers insights from her two past forays on the route, and then Maureen Cashman (www.maureencashman.com), author of Charlie & Me in Val-Paradis: How My Dog Learned to Bark in French, shares stories from her three years spent living in Espagnac-Sainte-Eulalie.

    • 1 hr 28 min
    Episode 67 - Three Decades of Pilgrim Stories

    Episode 67 - Three Decades of Pilgrim Stories

    Dr. Nancy Louise Frey was looking for a topic for her doctoral research when she stumbled into Santiago de Compostela around Saint James Day and discovered a very different sort of pilgrimage than she had previously considered. This set in motion a complicated and extensive process of field work, and ultimately culminated in one of the essential Camino books, Pilgrim Stories: On and Off the Road to Santiago, Journeys Along an Ancient Way in Modern Spain. Since then, Nancy has remained deeply connected to the Camino, living in Galicia, studying the impact of digital technologies on pilgrimage (www.walkingtopresence.com), and leading group pilgrimages (www.onfootinspain.com/tours). This episode explores each of those subjects: Nancy's reflections on the Camino in the 1990s, the risks of smartphones and other technologies on the pilgrimage experience and practical advice for managing that, and the ways that a group pilgrimage can be enriching and rewarding.

    • 1 hr 1 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
66 Ratings

66 Ratings

:/((((((((((((( ,

Sooo Happy you are back. You were missed.

Love this podcast ! I did not discover it until after I completed my Camino ( 1st so far). I have found every episode brings my thoughts back to the best aspects of the way.

Rebeccamg1905 ,

Not your typical Camino podcast

Dave Whitson is an excellent interviewer. He chooses interesting topics and asks his guests the questions I’d like to ask them. This podcast has opened my eyes to lots of different aspects of the Camino as well as other pilgrimages around the world. Thank you for your work on this podcast, Dave!

Pèlerine Patt ,

Interesting episode on Muslim on the Camino

Dave Watson touches on so many aspects of a pilgrimage with interesting guests & topics. I’m having Camino withdrawal since the lockdown & this podcast takes me back to my experience as a pilgrim.

This particular episode was specially interesting with Sedat Çakır talking about the Sultan’s Trail. I had watched the BBC series on Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul where I first heard of the Sultan’s Trail. This pilgrimage is amazing! I think I might want to experience at least part of it myself.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

iHeartPodcasts
Audacy and Big Little Feelings
This American Life
Unwell Network
Vox Media Podcast Network
PJ Vogt, Audacy, Jigsaw

You Might Also Like

Dan Mullins
Leigh Brennan
Kevin Donahue, Camino de Santiago
Bradley Chermside
Follow the Camino
Nancy @ The Camino Experience