Allison Cowie

I’m walking the Camino de Santiago to strengthen my connection with the world around me. Five years ago, I became enchanted with the Camino’s storied history as a pilgrimage route, connecting Catholics from all across Europe and the world on a common path toward Santiago and St. James. For me, though, it was the welcoming and generous community that the path sustains that makes the Camino so meaningful. I’m walking to join this community of pilgrims and adventure seekers.

I’m not walking with a religious faith in mind, but rather a sense of connection to the earth and people in my life. I’m itching to walk through golden fields and leaves changing color and fall harvests, to hear water babbling over rocks and birds chirping and buen camino greetings, to feel the ground beneath my feet change from dirt to grass to sand. What a gift it will be to let my mind wander alongside my feet, with nothing but time to think and explore.

So, why now? I’m at an inflection point in my life, hovering between grad school and my new career. Five weeks of walking will be a physical and emotional challenge — one that I hope will be invigorating and illuminating as I prepare to enter this next chapter. If I know myself, it will also be a whole lot of fun. My one goal is to stay present, to embrace each moment for what it is and to be grateful for where I am.