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2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

If you are looking for a place to getaway and relax…

August 25, 2015 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

Then, I have found it on my last day in Europe.  In France, right across the border from Spain. Still…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Major takeaways (6)

August 24, 2015 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

A few stand out.  Fifth… Finally, I became convinced that…         Luck doesn’t just happen. Your enthusiasm…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Major takeaways (5)

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A few stand out.  Fourth…    And I figured out that…         Enthusiasm is a critical component…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Major takeaways (4)

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

A few stand out.  Third… In the process I learned…        You are most happy when you are…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Major takeaways (3)

Neil Peterson Leave a comment

A few stand out.  Second… In addition I found that my constant continuous feeling every day was one of thinking…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

What are some of the major takeaways for me (1)

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In two days I will be heading back to the States.  The El Camino and days following have had quite…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

What are some of the major takeaways for me (2)

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

A few stand out.  First… Doing the El Camino de Santiago forces you to have a very simple daily life.…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The Nuns and Neil

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

I promised to get back to you with more information about my night with the Nuns. Given that El Camino…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

San Sebastián

August 23, 2015 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

I am now in San Sebastián, one of the famous playgrounds of Europe. In my spare time I checked out…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The Spanish Basque coastline

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

In a word, gorgeous! Just enjoy these pictures.

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Guernica

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Today I spent time in Guernica.  Everyone should. It is one of those moments in history that we have to…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

And party they did

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The party that I blogged about last night never stopped. It went on ALL night. The first picture below was…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The Spaniards know how to party

August 22, 2015 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

I’ve already told you about how ALIVE Santiago is. Tonight I am in Bilbao, and, for some reason, there is…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

More pictures of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

     

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Bilbao

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

The Guggenheim museum here is another of Frank Gehry’s architectural attention grabbers. It clearly is the single architectural statement for…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Karen and Simon

August 21, 2015 Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Met a wonderful couple from Vancouver Canada yesterday standing in line to get our “credential” documenting our pilgrimage.  Karen and…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The plan for the next few days

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

As you may be able to tell, I am struggling a little with “coming down” from the last 12 day…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The noon mass for the pilgrims

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Pretty impressive. The cathedral is huge but there was not a spot that was not taken. There were as many…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The first day after…

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

What has it been like? A lot of different feelings… For starters, I slept in.  All the way to 8am.…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Fisterra

Neil Peterson 3 Comments

The end of the earth.  Or so people thought for hundreds of years. This far most westerly point of land…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Santiago is alive!!

August 20, 2015 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

This city is jumping!! In addition to August being the European vacation time, the number of pilgrims is enormous. They…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

It is getting very busy here in Spain

August 19, 2015 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

All of a sudden it is getting very busy.  With masses of people. Peregrinos, tourists, and Europeans closing up and…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A long day

Neil Peterson 3 Comments

The good news is that I made the mountain. Not having my gear on the back of the bike helped.…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

With any luck in three days I should be arriving in Santiago

August 18, 2015 Neil Peterson 8 Comments

It is hard to believe, but I am playing the 14th hole on the back nine, to use a golf…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

How am I doing after finishing day 8?

August 17, 2015 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

Time for a quick update on several topics. >Health. Decent.  Been very fortunate, with no major problems. Yes, during and…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Staying with the nuns

August 16, 2015 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Yes, by choice I am spending tonight in a nunnery. How could I resist? More about this later.  I need…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Shirley MacLaine

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Ok, I admit it.  I have always been a big fan of Shirley MacLaine’s. Why do I bring up Shirley’s…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Leon’s Cathedral

Neil Peterson 3 Comments

This has to be the most stunning example of Gothic architecture. It’s simple soaring lines. The vibrant colored stained glass…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Robert

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

You can tell from this picture that Robert enjoys life. From Switzerland he is doing El Camino a little bit…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Go figure (or is someone up there looking after me)?

August 15, 2015 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

Today was a day of unusual happenings. At 6:30 am I get an early start in the dark. I want…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A “rest” day

August 14, 2015 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Today has been a rest day for me. Here is what a rest day means for me. Only 4 hours…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Inspiration

August 13, 2015 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

The Cathedral in Burgos. What does it take to get rid of the blues?   How about the Cathedral in…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Our bodies

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Every day I see hundreds of pilgrims.  They either pass me, or in the rare instance or two I will…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Another very tough day

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Keeping to the pattern, today was a very tough day.  We have had one bad day followed by one good…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A new invention

August 12, 2015 Neil Peterson Leave a comment

Every once in awhile you come across a new invention. It may not be high tech, but it apparently works.…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Bert

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Do any of you follow the “HumansinNewYork” website? A young 26 year old who loves to take pictures captures 2…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A New Day

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Everyday is a new day. Today was a heck of a lot better than yesterday.  Thank goodness. The good news…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

This is not easy

August 11, 2015 Neil Peterson 8 Comments

I must admit that I am beginning to face reality.  This is not easy! The first day was brutal as…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The day after my baptism

August 10, 2015 Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Yesterday, my first day of riding, was a very challenging day, as I outlined in my blog entitled “what a…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

What is the one question I wanted to ask each person I met on thejourney?

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But did not? That is, why are you doing this? This is not a walk in the park. To do…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Slowing down

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How easy is it for one of us to slow down? I can only speak for myself. So far –…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

An act of kindness

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

When I think back on the last 12 days on the El Camino de Santago, one of the stories that…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Ernest Hemingway

Neil Peterson 2 Comments

I have reached him Pamplona, the Capital of the province of Navarra, the heart of Basque country. Pamplona is also…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The Spanish tradition of siestas

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

To Americans the Spanish tradition of daily siestas doesn’t make much sense. Some think that it is crazy because it…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Where are the Americans?

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

I have been on the pilgrimage journey now for three days.  During that time I have met many pilgrims and…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

What a baptism!!

August 9, 2015 Neil Peterson Leave a comment

They said that the first leg of El Camino would be the toughest.  It was unbelievably difficult. Brutal at best.…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

The first church

August 8, 2015 Neil Peterson Leave a comment

This is supposed to be a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is defined as a journey or search of moral or spiritual…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A day of rest

Neil Peterson 1 Comment

Holy cow!  Today I did almost nothing. First of all, I slept almost 8 hours last night. I can’t remember…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

A few tears

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For me movies and tears go together. On the 10 hour flight from Los Angeles to Paris I watched two…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Arrival!

August 7, 2015 Neil Peterson Leave a comment

After 20 hours of travel time +10 hours of time zone changes, I arrive in St. Jean Pied de Port,…

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Posted in: 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage

Neil’s Trips

  • 2014 Baja California Trip
  • 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage
  • 2016 Trip to Cuba
  • 2016 Trip to Italy
  • 2017 A Summer in the Desert
  • 2017 Morocco
  • 2018 Trip to West Coast of Vancouver Island BC
  • 2019 Road Trip to Branson, MO and Oklahoma
  • 2019 St. Oswald's Pilgrimage
  • 2019 Trip to Sicily
  • 2021 Death Valley
  • 2021 Trip to Iceland
  • 2022 Trip to New England USA
  • 2022 Trip to the American Midwest
  • Meandering Musings
  • Uncategorized

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