In September 2013 Tony Collins took advantage of a long-overdue sabbatical to walk the 490 miles of the Camino, from the French border to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. For decades he had helped to provide the evangelical churches of the world with reading material. Now he was deliberately stepping out of his comfort zone: a pilgrimage, carrying his pack, through a land whose language he did not speak, into a religious culture far removed from his own, in search of sources of reverence. He would not walk alone: the Way has many adherents, well over 200,000 completing their Camino during that year. He had expected the Way to be arduous, and so it proved. But he had not expected so bracing an internal journey, his battered soul laid down for examination, past errors offered up for scrutiny. Nor had he expected such moments of intense spiritual encounter; nor so many precious friendships. He discovered, above all, as have many before him, that the Road leaves an indelible mark.

ContentsAcknowledgments 11Foreword 13Map of the route 16Prologue 17A Reason to Go: Day 1 19St Jean Pied-de-Port: Days 1 and 2 31Why? 49Burguete - Larrasoaña: Day 3 60Pamplona - Cizur Menor - Puente la Reina:Days 4 and 5 70Puente la Reina - Estella: Day 6 83Estella - Los Arcos: Day 7 89Torres del Rio - Viana - Logroño: Day 8 97Logroño - Nájera: Day 9 108Nájera - Cirueña - Santo Domingo de la Calzada:Day 10 114Santo Domingo - Belorado: Day 11 120Belorado - San Juan de Ortega - Agés to Burgos:Days 12 and 13 126Burgos - Hornillos: Day 14 140Hornillos - Castrojeriz: Day 15 149Castrojeriz - Frómista - Carrión de los Condes:Days 16 and 17 159Terradillos de los Templarios - Calzadilla de losHermanillos: Days 18 and 19 169Mansilla de las Mulas - León - Villavante:Days 20 and 21 179Astorga - Rabanal del Camino: Days 22 and 23 188Molinaseca - Villafranca del Bierzo:Days 24 and 25 196O'Cebreiro - Triacastela: Days 26 and 27 203Sarria - Portomarín: Days 28 and 29 214Palas de Rei - Ribadiso: Days 30 and 31 220O Pedrouzo - Santiago: Day 32 229The Naked Pilgrim: Day 33, and counting 238Coda 242The Prayer of the Pilgrims 246Select Bibliography 249