Dare to Plan Again

With news of a vaccine and the potential for travel to open up next year, I’ve dared to plan again. I even ordered a guidebook to the Via Francigena.

Leslie H ColeDecember 11, 2020Comment

Where Do You Look for Guidance?

When I visited the church, I was immediately taken by this image of the Saint in supplication to his higher power. I don’t always know where to seek guidance now.

Shrewsbury to RomeLeslie H ColeDecember 8, 2020Crown, Winter, Christmas, PilgrimageComment

Which Door Will You Choose?

Winter holidays are time to plan and dream about long walks to come. Download my free guide to help you dream.

Leslie H ColeDecember 4, 2020Comment

Slow Dreams in Spain

The days are darker and we’re all moving slower in the Northern Hemisphere. As we approach the winter solstice, I’m working on another guide about documenting your long walk.

Leslie H ColeDecember 1, 2020Comment

Spanish Tapas in England

Winter holidays are time to plan and dream about long walks to come.

Leslie H ColeNovember 24, 2020Comment

What Do Pilgrims Carry?

It is the rare pilgrim who carries nothing at all, but I’ve seen those, too, and I’ve wondered if their souls were as free as their backs, although they might have been using a backpack service.

Camino, Slow lifeLeslie H ColeNovember 20, 2020Camino, Slow Travel, Travel Writing, Backpack Comments

We All Carry Something

Part of the joy of a long walk is unburdening ourselves of the weights we carry.

Spain, Camino, 2014Leslie H ColeNovember 17, 2020Semana Santa, Spain, Slow Travel, Camino de SantiagoComment

Documenting Your Travels

For better or worse, I often use words to chronicle events, and journals are the artifacts I will leave behind when I’m gone.

Leslie H ColeNovember 13, 2020Camino, Quick Prep, Slow Travel, Documentation, Writing, Electronics, PostcardsComment

How Do You Document Your Adventures?

Visual images are one way to tell a story. What do you carry on a journey to document your “way”? Journals or diaries? Phone calls to family and friends? Stillness in a moment?

Slow lifeLeslie H ColeNovember 10, 2020Portugal, Camino, Porto, Photography, Documentation, Vintage cameraComment

Pilgrimages Begin with Intention

Intention might be the definition of pilgrimage, the reason or the "why" behind that perennial question asked of pilgrims: "Why do you walk?"

Leslie H ColeNovember 6, 2020Pilgrimage, Himalayas, Long WalkComment

Pilgrimages Outside of Europe

The Kumano Kodō, a world heritage site, is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Kii Hantō, the largest peninsula of Japan.

Slow lifeLeslie H ColeNovember 3, 2020Pilgrimage, Kumano Kodo, Hike, Slow Travel, RouteComment

Electronics on Camino: Burden or Bounty?

Maribeth, who married Sam in 1942, and the car her neighbor loaned them so they could have a wedding photo in front of a vehicle and look like a couple with a future.

CaminoLeslie H ColeOctober 30, 2020Electronics, Communication, Camino, Documentation, Loneliness, Pilgrimage, QuixoteComment

The Bar at the End of the World

O’Refuxio is the bar at the end of the world, the last bar on the Camino de Santiago. I never went inside, but I did take a photo.

CaminoLeslie H ColeOctober 27, 2020Camino, Photography, Pilgrimage, Electronics, Slow Travel, DocumentationComment

Unplugging for a Long Walk

A pair of brothers from Mexico brought their laptops to work on their business from the Camino. They were the exception the summer of 2013.

Leslie H ColeOctober 23, 2020Comment

Quick Prep for a Slow Walk

Day 1 crossing the Pyrenees from France to Spain, when the sky and the valleys below were wide open, before my feet became the subject of every conversation and every postcard home.

Leslie H ColeOctober 20, 2020Comment

Postcards Travel When We Can’t

On my first Camino, I mailed 40 postcards in 40 days to my 11-year-old daughter, a ritual that connected me to my youngest child and acted as a daily diary.

Leslie H ColeOctober 16, 2020 Comments