What happens when a classics-trained, half-a-century-lapsed Irish-American Catholic sets out to walk not one, but two Caminos, the thousand-year-old pilgrimage routes that lead through a  vast arc of European history and culture to culminate in the revered burial place of the Apostle St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain?

This rich and unusual book, a day-to-day and densely-photographed account of one apostate pilgrim’s journey, carries the reader through forests, farmers’ fields and vineyards, mountains, ancient battle sites, and famous cities, first on the popular inland Camino Francés; and then along the wild, rugged coast of northern Spain on the Camino del Norte.

Like the thousands who walk the Camino as a religious experience, a physical accomplishment, or a prism to re-focus their lives, this thoughtful, but always irreverent, skeptic charts both an outward and an inner journey. As Tom Connell tracks his doubts, questions, and inner turmoil, he also delivers a large dose of both sardonic and refreshing humor. In equal measure, his recorded stories, pictures, insights, and belly-laughing incidents relay the joy of his journey — the beauty of the landscape and the architecture, the layered complexity of history, the simple grace of the Spanish people, and the healing calm of inner reflection and solitude.

Symbols  xv

Introduction

My Long Road to the Camino  xvii

The First Seed  xvii

Opening a New Chapter  xix

Retirement  xxi

Walking and Training (2012–2014)  xxii

About Religion  xxiv

This Book  xxvii

Journey One

The Camino Francés  1

The Prequel September 1, 2014 • Final Preparations: The Things I Carried  3

Further Prequel September 2–3, 2014 • Washington, DC, to Paris, France  6

Final Prequel September 4, 2014 • Paris to St. Jean Pied-de-Port  11

At the Starting Line September 4, 2014 • In St. Jean Pied-de-Port  17

Epilogue  309

Pilgrim Art  311

Journey Two

The Camino del Norte  315

The Prequel August 2015 • Planning, Preparing, and Packing  319

Further Prequel August 27–August 30, 2015 • Washington, DC, to Madrid, Spain  320

At the Starting Line August 31, 2015 • Train from Madrid to Irún, Spain  322

Epilogue  558