What’s Next?
The Pilgrimage Continues
It’s been almost a year since I set out to cross Spain. At the time, I wasn’t even sure what a pilgrimage was, let alone one to Santiago de Compostela.
A lot has changed!
An Update
Although some of you are nearby and are already more or less updated, many aren’t. And a number have been curious about my transition after finishing the Camino last June. So, the short story is: I’ve decided to keep writing. Partly for my own edification. And partly to offer readers a glimpse of what the American radio personality Paul Harvey used to call… “the rest of the story.”
After journeying to the “end of the world,” I decided to start my immediate post-Camino transition by spending a few days of R&R in the beautiful coastal city of Porto, Portugal. It’s a relatively short train ride from Santiago, and I’d never been to Portugal before. I’d originally hoped my wife Heather could join me, but–alas–her doctoral research project was still too all-encompassing to let her get away.
Harrumph!
Thankfully, my frequent Camino walking partner George had a last-minute change of plans and was able to join me instead. The Camino continued to provide!
Porto is a wonderful city, sprawling on both sides of a series of ever more charming bridges spanning the Douro River. It turns out it’s also a jumping off point for those who might want a shorter–roughly 2 week long–Camino along “the Portuguese Way.” (Files mental note for next time his wife is actually available!)
After a few days decompressing in Portugal, I said goodbye to George and traveled on to England. It was fabulous to visit my oldest son, Isaac, as his final semester at Oxford was winding down. We then made up for his being unable to join me on the Camino by going on some great walks exploring Wales and reconnecting with old friends, including my Camino buddies Simon and Bev.
It was on from there to visit some friends at English L’Abri, a fascinating residential Christian community in a small village about an hour south of London. L’Abri “offers hospitality to people from all backgrounds and nationalities as we search together for honest answers to life’s important questions.” Sound familiar? It should!
As I spent a couple of days working, playing, and enjoying deep conversations over communal meals with an intergenerational group of guests and workers who’d committed weeks or months together, I was struck by how similar it was to my recent experience on the Camino. Except these friends were experiencing a sort of pilgrimage in place.
Hold that thought…
And if the beauty and sheer pleasure of walking and talking with others in the UK wasn’t enough, I kept running into little reminders–winks?!--that I, too, was still on pilgrimage in some form or fashion.
It was weirdly affirming. But, alas, eventually it was time for me to go home.
And so I officially re-entered life in Nashville in late June 2025. That, as you can imagine, was a shock to the system. I’ll have more to share about that later. But one of the immediate challenges was to develop an answer as people began to ask me about my experience. I landed on a three-part response, my “elevator speech,” if you will. It goes:
The Camino cleared my mind.
It opened my heart.
And it kicked my ass!
(Not necessarily in that order)
I still stand by that summary.
As for how it impacted my ongoing vocational questions–the ones that were triggered in the wake of my father’s death and my resignation from a full-time position with a local medical school–my answer was less crisp.
But the most honest response is that I came home ready to approach my life and work as a pilgrim. Sort of like the students I met at L’Abri Fellowship. That is: I would enter the coming sabbatical year open-handed, embracing practices of vulnerability, and committed to journey wherever the Way would take me, even if that journey was primarily in one place.
In the coming weeks and months, I hope to recount some of that different sort of pilgrimage here on Substack. But at a less frequent pace than the past few months–likely once a week on Thursdays. Writing has been such a helpful tool for me to process my experience. It’s not only been fun to share my experience with others, but the accountability of sharing it regularly online has helped me pay better attention to my own life.
I look forward to continuing the journey together!
Wow it’s been almost a year already! I love the idea of living a pilgrimage or living its lessons. Thank you for sharing your Camino journey with us!
BTW In case you know people walking who might need space for contemplation after the Camino I can really recommend Pilgrim House. It’s run by christians - all faiths and none will feel comfortable there. They run debrief groups and have journaling exercises you can do alone and was hands down the best way for me to end and offload some tears and ask myself “what now?”
Ah, yes, Francis Schaeffer and L'Abri. You should consider a worldwide pilgrimage to visit all the L'Abri locations.