Camino de Madrid 651 Km – Santiago!

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The camino brings us many unique experiences from discovering and exploring another culture and taking in their ancient traditions that are as alive today as ever.  People from around the world make their travel journeys which also begin with exploring some of the main sites and big city attractions before changing their street clothes to their full pilgrim – peregrino – gear as they begin stepping from city pavement to the natural land that will take them on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

A wonderful travel adventure experience can be to mark the sharp contrasts between modern day living and the hustle and bustle of the bright lights big city with the incredible peacefulness and natural setting of the camino.  One can find in Madrid a little of both before beginning your camino adventure.  It has been a great week exploring a city I have visited many times but always enjoy looking at through new eyes especially this spring as the incredible weather, sunshine and flowers blooming everywhere has everyone smiling as they walk and explore some of Madrid´s most famous and ancient sites.

If you are feeling up for a different Camino then you may enjoy exploring the option of the CAMINO DE MADRID – 651 Km to Santiago de Compostela. You can wander leisurely through the city enjoying the beautiful parks, museums and historical buildings and break in your walking shoes and legs just a little bit more before beginning your camino either in Madrid or whichever Camino Calls You!

Bo Camiño!

CAMINO Signs Continue To Call & Connect!

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As many of you know it has been a long series of continued wonderful SYNCHRONICITIES that called me to Camino and led me to living in Galicia. It has been an incredible treasure hunt in life to make this adventure which would not have been possible without the loving support of my family, friends and fellow pilgrims as we make this journey of discovery together.  I am always grateful to the kindness of others and especially strangers that open their hearts as we continue step by step on our camino travels.

It was a wonderful morning surprise to see Facebook post from 3 years ago as a fun message for my continued camino adventures.  I had just shared this story two days ago with a new friend Chelo Artiles Gil as she too took me on a fabulous walk through Madrid down a street I had never been on and there as we shared fun Synchronistic Stories and life insights we were again stopped by another wonderful sign CAMINO.  

As many of you are participating in the Our Collective Camino (working title) for the Collaborative Camino Stories that share our passion for pilgrimage and our love of the camino as it has touched all of us in truly unique ways. Everyone has been called to the camino in a very personal way and it was a call that urged us all to answer.  Everyones´s story is truly personal, equally significant and inspiring and we hope that it will help to inspire and encourage others to make their own journeys of discovery!

Sending special thank you´s to Dean Wright and Charles Joly for whom I would never have had the fun of us running right into SANTYAGO RESTAURANT and MANN COUNTRYWIDE just before my second camino journey from Roncesvalles – to – Santiago – during my travels to Portsmouth, England (Restaurant was opened same month my friends moved from Spain to Portsmouth by a man whose friend is from Santiago de Compostela) and to Lisa Moore for making camino travels to enjoy in the fun with us, and to Maria Consuelo Artiles Gil three years later Spring 2015 for a fantastic Madrid exploration and discussions of Signs that within moments provided yet another wonderfully inspiring sign and memory!

Expo Bike, Bicigrino.com & Parador Back On The Camino!

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Spring Reunions In The Camino

The sun is shining in the Camino and it has brought many pilgrims out to enjoy another year of adventure.  Sunshine and signs of spring all around with flowers blooming is putting smiles on all who are out making their camino journeys.  Expo Bike, Bicigrino.com and the Parador spent a fantastic week exploring more of the way of St. James along the French route making new camino memories!

Remembering great camino times with  Helmut Weingarten and Jose Luis Penedo Del Rio of Expo Bike, Tomas Sanchez of Bicigrinos.com and Julio Castro of the Parador Hostal Dos Reis Catolicos Santiago de Compostela.  Wishing you all the best for more Bo Camiño Adventures!

For more information please visit: http://www.bicigrino.com, Facebook: BICIGRINOS, camino de Santiago en bicicleta, and http://www.parador.es

Springtime Explorations On The Winter Way – Camino Invierno

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Camino Invierno – Winter Way Nature Walks With Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural

Spring brings new beginnings to nature and wonderful opportunities for us to explore in special ways helping us take NEW steps in the directions of our dreams and desires.  The Camino with each step provides new insights, feelings, directions and helps us realize what is truly important to our spirits for the coming days, months and year.

It has been a very special time exploring with my friend Lucie of Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural the Ribeira Sacra Wine Region meeting the local people and sharing in the traditions that make living in this area so very special. My continued Camino Adventures bring new insights and desires for more Exploration and DISCOVERY!!!

Just 4 Km on the Rutas do Terras to the Camino Invierno and The Winter Way we had sunshine and flowers to guide us on the path followed by a yummy tapas of croquettas and Albariño white wine at O Batuxo Belesar. A perfect refresher for our nature walk home.

Muchisimas gracias Lucie – Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural for another amazing day on the Camino! For more information please visit: http://www.cabodomundocasarural.com

Sunshine & Spring Beginnings On The Camino

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Sunshine mixed with cool breezes and the typical Galician change of weather reminds pilgrims to be prepared for all seasons on the camino.  Big puffy clouds with blue sky peaking through and the signs of spring flowers making their first attempts to bloom you can feel THE CAMINO CALLING YOU!

Spring is a perfect time to be enjoying the camino and nature welcomes you with every step you take.  You can see the tiny buds on the trees each day growing little by little reminding us that just like the camino it is one step or peddle at a time followed by the next that combined together make for each days journey that add up to memorable camino adventures!!!

Wishing everyone a very Buen Camino – Bo Camiño!

Our Collective Camino – A Special Request

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The Camino has called each one of us in a very personal, unique and captivating way.  Its call at first can be but a whisper that grows stronger and stronger to all who listen.  It is something that is hard to describe in some ways and in others the words just flow. A feeling that like a small seed planted grows and grows in ways that can be unimaginable.  The experience touches us and transforms our lives and the lives of our loved ones. Just like a small stone that is skipped upon a pond the ripples slowly and surely move out and increase in time and we find our spirits alive and consumed with the power of pilgrimage.

It has been my pleasure to read many inspiring works about the camino and it is this inspiration and my passion for our sharing our gifts and talents working collaboratively with others to make a difference in the world that encouraged me to make this invitation and special request. Dr. Carol Francis and I would like invite those who have published their story and those that would like to share their story to join us as we unite together in a collaborative expression of our love and passion for the camino and our desire to share the power of pilgrimage with others.

The first collaborative book of its kind will unite voices from around the world sharing our passion, love and pilgrim spirit that is the true heart of the Camino!

Please review the attached overview submission request for details on participating.  Thank you for your time, interest and support in sharing in this collaborative Global Pilgrims project. Here’s to sharing in a very special Camino journey together – Bo Camiño!

Muchisimas Gracias – A very special thank you to Walk To Santiago for letting us include their inspiring camino images in this book overview submission request and blog post. For more information please visit Walk To Santiago: https://www.facebook.com/walktosantiago

Collective Camino Book_SubmissionOverview_’15

Christmas A Colorful Time Of Year – Felices Fiestas – Happy Holidays!

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Wishing everyone a wonderful, blessed, and joyful – Happy Holiday & Merry Christmas! Sending loving thoughts, angel prayers, and gratitude to all who have made this year an incredible celebration of life as we all continue our camino adventures.  Have fun celebrating this special time of year with your family and friends – Bo Camiño 🙂

A very special thank you to Kim Brandi Baldwin for sharing the most colorful and beautiful cathedral picture – wherever it is – it is an amazing site to behold!

Una californiana entre viñedos ribeiraos – Mili Méndez

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This special time of Autumn and Winter preparing for the holidays has brought many special experiences, memories and dreams coming true. Some of those dreams began on my first visit to Ribeira Sacra in Otoño 2011. A very special thank you to Mili Méndez of La Voz de Galicia periodico for interviewing me for De Vinos segment and letting me share some of my appreciation and experience of Ribeira Sacra – it truly is vibrant, alive, and magical. I look forward to discovering and sharing in more special times in this very special place.

As my synchronicities have continued I have journeyed 5 times on the Camino de Santiago and will continue to explore its other routes. I have met incredible people and my appreciation and love of Galicia has only deepened. I am very grateful to everyone who has been a special part of my Camino Life Journey without all of you this would not be possible.

The journey continues and I owe a very special thank you to my friends Lucie and Kaj Christensen of Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural who invited to me to house sit and watch over their incredible casa rural during the holiday season. It is the perfect place to prepare projects for 2015 and to now write my synchronistic story of how the Camino called me to experience its beauty, history and magic.

Muchisimas gracias to Gérman Limeres for bringing me first to Ribeira Sacra in 2011 and introducing me to this incredible place and for taking my picture enjoying some of the fantastic wines and delicious tapas of the region.

For more information please visit: http://www.germanlimeres.com and http://www.gastrofotografia.com

Please visit Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural: http://www.cabodomundocasarural.com

A very special thank you to Kris Pereira and Luisa Rubines of Quinta Sacra Excursions for introducing me to Mili Méndez and including me in your special filming event this summer 🙂

http://www.quintasacra.es

Forever In Our Hearts & Inspiring Our Continued Camino Journeys – Jim Kaszynski

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When one speaks from the heart many are touched, changed and transformed forever.  We may never really know the impact of our thoughts, words, actions and deeds each day as we live . We may have some inkling of the sharing but the spirit in its immensity and powerfulness stretches out beyond all boundaries and like a stone skipping across the water the ripples, expand and grow in ways that we might never have imagined.  Jim Kaszynski’s heart and spirit were always overflowing with love, compassion and inspiration.  No matter what he had faced in his life he brought a very special understanding and meaning that touched all who met him either in person or through his blogs and sharing.  His message was always one of love, acceptance, surrender, and to expect the best in life, mankind, and from the world.  Such powerful messages that help each one of us to live more fully each day. I feel blessed to have met Jim and his inspiration will be a strong guiding force for me as I know it will be for all.

Jim you were a true Earth Angel and I know that you will forever be in our hearts guiding us on our continued camino journeys – I will feel you with me as a Camino Angel always – Bo Camiño!

A very special thank you to German Limeres photographer and creator of rexistro 108 vilei, the first photography global pilgrims register in the world capturing the faces and inspiration of pilgrims as they make their personal camino journey (German Limeres Photographs above). http://www.germanlimeres.com

A very special thank you to Travel Light Films – Co Producer Gabriela Quiroz – for inviting Jim to sleep in the albergue sharing the giving spirit of the camino and for his joining us in our pilgrim barbaque.  It was a very special day of sharing our passion of the camino at a very special place rexistro 108 vilei (Km 108 – 3 km outside of Sarria on the French Way).

 

Moved To Meditate – The Winter Way

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I stare out at the beauty before me – it surrounds me totally – I am fixed on it and am almost incapable of moving. What I am moved to do is Meditate. To reflect on what is all around me. Immense beauty. Incredible scenery. Peaceful in its presentation and complete in its beauty. Ever slightly changing it keeps me in a trance wanting to soak up more of it. To see and experience its every detail. From the smallest change in color reflecting its image in the river below just like a mirror. Stillness and silence surround me as it draws me in deeper and deeper into its mystery. It is like LIQUID PEACE as if someone has turned on a firehouse of calmness and tranquility. The whole vista or view is embracing me in a hug of its love and beauty. I feel at one with nature and all of the world. I stare with amazement and awe at a hawk as it flies over head. Circling and circling – gliding – riding on the wind which is still and unseen but powerful enough to help the hawk soar effortlessly above flying as one with its surrounding.

Everything seems more colorful and alive and yet completely still. This lasted for what seemed like hours. It makes me realize more intimately the connection that all of nature has with itself. So subtle and always inviting in its calmness. I don’t want to take my eyes off it. I want to discover more and more its deeper secrets. Its beauty that lay before me open for all to see and for me to experience on another level. For I have been here many times always appreciating and enjoying its magic, mystery and pureness of spirit but now in the complete calmness of being all alone what will I experience and discover that was right before me like an invitation to know it more intensely and I know it is also inviting me to know myself in a new way. Inviting me to open to more love, release old fears, to surrender to what the universe can only know in its divine wisdom. This heart and spirit that knows not only what is best for us but how to heal all things in this life and in the past.

The patterns change ever so slightly on the river below me and the picture remains outstandingly beautiful. How can it be that I am watching so intently every second but so much transforms before me in the stillness and silence that only the wind in the trees and the sounds of the birds occasionally add to the music that I am witnessing. The stillness ever so alive, and ever changing in each moment that only draws me deeper and deeper into its mystery. I am mesmerized, touched, and Moved to Meditate 🙂

For if this is what so many have said is the power, magic and healing of meditation I have a new understanding for I am almost incapable of any thought other than to describe its beauty.

The church bells begin to chime sounding out a beautiful song and with each bell chimes 5 times anchoring in a reminder of our 5 senses only adding to the beauty of the moment echoing across the valley and the mountains that embrace the river below as it makes its winding trail before me. I feel nature has talked to me and that I have listened in a new way which I only hope will grow stronger and deeper with each passing moment.

I sit, reflect and feel at peace still in awe of the beauty before me.

Incapable of usual thoughts I feel at one with the universe and all the beauty God has created !!!!

A very special thank you to my friends Lucie and Kaj Christensen for inviting me to share in a very special experience in enjoying their incredible Oasis Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural in Ribeira Sacra to begin writing my synchronistic journey – Bo Camiño – Beyond Coincidence – My Spanish Trails Of Synchronicity – that brought the camino into my life and led me to live in Galicia.

For more information please visit: http://www.cabodomundocasarural.com

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