The Camino Podcast

Episode 113 - The Camino del Norte, Part 9 - Bidding the Coast Farewell

20 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 112 - Belief Is Not a Zero-Sum Game

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We don't know exactly how many non-religious people make the Camino annually, but it's unquestionably a sizable percentage. What inspires or compels a...

Episode 111 - Following God's Crayon: Thousands of Miles with Johannes Schwarz

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You'll often hear the walk from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela described as "the full Camino." If that's the case, what would you c...

Episode 110 - It's Called the Celtic Camino

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, you might have heard of the Camino Inglés, which has two possible starting points, in Ferrol and A Coruña. Ask an Irish pilgrim about that wal...

Episode 109 - Anthony, Benedict, and their Cammini

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The tour of under-walked Italian cammini continues in this episode with a close look at two emerging routes: the Cammino di San Benedetto (www.cammino...

Episode 108 - The Camino del Norte, Part 8 - Taking Another Bite Out of Asturias

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 107 - The Gift of Greenia

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Before everything that followed--the 30+ years associated with and 4,000 miles walked on the Camino, the seed-planting for what would later become the...

Episode 106 - The Global Camino Is Coming!

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if you could go on the Camino without leaving your home? Well, as it turns out, you can--and you can do it soon! Global Camino 2026 is coming up ...

Episode 105 - Following Francis

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

800 years ago, not-yet-Saint Francis was approaching the end of his 45 years, his body ragged from a life marked by illness and heavy usage, his eyesi...

Episode 104 - Ignatian Pilgrimage Insights

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On May 20, 1521, Ignatius of Loyola was struck by a cannonball when trying to hold Pamplona against Franco-Navarrese forces. His left leg was wounded,...

Episode 103 - The Camino del Norte, Part 7 - How 'Bout Them Apples?

10 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 102 - Walking in Southern Italy

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 102 - Walking in Southern Italy Southern Italy, a region long overlooked by contemporary pilgrims, demands our attention. In the midst of a g...

Episode 101 - The Camino del Norte, Part 6 - Under the Ground and Across the Sea

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 100 - An Ounce of Prevention

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this historic 100th episode of The Camino Podcast, the spotlight turns to safety, both on the Camino and at home. Andrea Parraga Penalver and Juan ...

Episode 99 - The Camino del Norte, Part 5 - Taking the Long Way Round

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 98 - The 2025 Jubilee

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rome's Jubilees, occurring every 25 years (with some extraordinary Jubilees mixed in for good measure, are traditionally associated with universal par...

Episode 97 - How Pilgrimage Changed the World

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 97 - How Pilgrimage Changed the World Dr. Kathryn Hurlock's new book, Holy Places: How Pilgrimage Changed the World, examines 19 different pi...

Episode 96 - Rebekah Scott's Ten Commandments

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the 2025 Gathering of Pilgrims in Vancouver BC, an event co-hosted by the Canadian Company of Pilgrims and American Pilgrims on the Camino, Rebekah...

Episode 95 - Victoria Keynote: The Reconciliatory Potential of Pilgrimage

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Saturday, 8 February 2025, Dave spoke at the Spring Gathering of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims' Victoria Chapter, about the reconciliatory poten...

Episode 94 - El Cid: The Man, the Myth, and the Legacy

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Nora Berend's newly-published El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary (tinyurl.com/elcidcampeador) offers an updated study of the (...

Episode 93 - The Camino del Norte, Part 4 - Discovering Cantabria

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 92 - Two Pilgrimages Through Canada's Histories

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why not consider Canada for your next pilgrimage? In this episode, two pilgrimage leaders discuss how the country can be seen, and its histories more ...

Episode 91 - The Camino del Norte, Part 3: The Bilbao Effect

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 90 - A Most Interesting Life: Lindsay Teychenné's Year on the Caminos

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lindsay Teychenné wasn't satisfied with his life, so he made a dramatic change. He left his home in Australia, traveled to Europe, and forged a new h...

Episode 89 - The Camino del Norte, Part 2: The Heart of the Basque Country

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 88 - Pilgrims Until We Die: Ian Reader, Shikoku, and Japanese Pilgrimage

01 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For Camino veterans who are considering branching out, not just beyond Spain but beyond Europe entirely, Japan has emerged as the easy entry-point. Th...

Episode 87 - Victoria Preston on Why We Are Pilgrims

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Victoria Preston reached a transitional point in her life, she decided to go on a pilgrimage. And then she paused and wondered: what was behind t...

Episode 86 - The Camino del Norte, Part 1: The Old Rocks and the Sea

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities ...

Episode 85 - Building a Better Pilgrimage Guidebook

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does a pilgrim need from a guidebook in 2024? Does a pilgrim even need a guidebook? Tim Mathis (www.timmathiswrites.com) set out to answer those ...

Episode 84 - To Go By Asking: Maryjane Dunn's Life on the Camino

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino magic struck Maryjane Dunn early in life, when she found herself in David Gitlitz's classroom, the foremost American scholar on the Camino...

Episode 83 - One for the Road

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By design, the Camino of the present is a remarkably inclusive pilgrimage. All are welcome. Encouraged even. For many, this is one of its most cherish...

Episode 82 - The Camino Primitivo, Part 4: From Lugo to the Francés

27 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave ...

Episode 81 - The Camino Primitivo, Part 3: What Shines Atop Alto del Acebo?

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave ...

Episode 80 - Keynote from the 2024 American Pilgrims Annual Gathering of Pilgrims

18 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What makes the Camino special? We are often advised today to embrace the fact that it’s “your Camino,” to do it “your” way. While there is c...

Episode 79 - The Camino Primitivo, Part 2: Asturias, Never Defeated!

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave ...

Episode 78 - The Camino Primitivo, Part 1: Walking the First Camino

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Well before the Camino Francés was considered safe to walk, there was the Camino Primitivo, linking Oviedo--the center of a small, Christian enclave ...

Episode 77 - In Praise of Donkeys

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you have walked the Camino, you've encountered donkeys. Sometimes they're looming on a field's far end, watching the world go by, a presence immedi...

Episode 76 - Starting the Camino in England, Florida, and Texas

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last few years, there has been an exciting development, wherein the Santiago archdiocese has collaborated with other routes outside of Spain ...

Episode 75 - The Year in Camino 2023

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you want to know what's happening on the Camino, ask a group or forum moderator. Those tireless, kind-hearted shepherds of Camino discourse perform...

Episode 74 - Following the Old Way to Canterbury

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Beyond Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela, Canterbury stands out as perhaps the most significant pilgrimage destination for Christians in the...

Episode 73 - Our Body Is a Healing Machine

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

79 rounds of chemotherapy. 4 radical surgeries. 60% of her liver, ten inches of her colon, 2 inches of her stomach, her right lung, and part of her th...

Episode 72 - The Via Podiensis, Part 10: Pushing on to Saint-Jean

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture...

Episode 71 - The Via Podiensis, Part 9: Roman Ruins, If You Want To

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 70 - The Via Podiensis, Part 8: Duck!

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 69 - The Via Podiensis, Part 7: Kill Them All, Let the Historians Sort It Out

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 68 - The Via Podiensis, Part 6: Superlative Overload in the Célé Valley

16 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 67 - Three Decades of Pilgrim Stories

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Nancy Louise Frey was looking for a topic for her doctoral research when she stumbled into Santiago de Compostela around Saint James Day and disco...

Episode 66 - The Via Podiensis, Part 5 - Rocamadour

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 65 - The Via Podiensis, Part 4: The Price of Wine Is Eternal Vigilance

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pictur...

Episode 64 - A Way of Traveling Without Moving

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine that it is your dream to run an albergue, and then that opportunity comes knocking in the middle of COVID. Do you make the leap? And then imag...

Episode 63 - The Via Podiensis, Part 3 - Stolen Relics and Closed Mines

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 62 - The Via Podiensis, Part 2 - The Aubrac Mood

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 61 - Some Things Are Literally Priceless

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino that we see and experience today didn't just happen. It reemerged in the second half of the 20th century gradually and then suddenly, throu...

Episode 60 - The Via Podiensis, Part 1 - A Saint and His Very Good Dog

12 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Via Podiensis together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture i...

Episode 59 - Who Are These Dead Guys?

05 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever walked around a cathedral, slack-jawed and amazed, trying to take it all in but realizing you were only scratching the surface? Maybe th...

Episode 58 - In Pursuit of Wild Geese

29 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino de Santiago has often been characterized as a sort of palimpsest--a foundation upon which layers of stories have been created and shared ov...

Episode 57 - Muslim on the Camino

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, Sedat Çakır set out to walk the Camino de Santiago. Before he departed, he decided to seek out a pilgrim blessing from the local bishop in...

Episode 56 - Banaras and Pandharpur: Two Indian Pilgrimage Shrines

14 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

So you think the Camino is crowded? You should check out pilgrimage in India. It holds the record for the largest single-day attendance at a pilgrimag...

Episode 55 - Beverly's Story

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beverly Chalman of Tennessee set out to walk the Camino Francés with her daughter in June 2019. Traveling from Tennessee to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port w...

Episode 54 - A Pilgrimage to Lourdes

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

163 years ago, the Virgin Mary is said to have made a series of appearances before a young Bernadette Soubirous in a grotto in the French Pyrenean tow...

Episode 53 - Pilgrimage and the Environment

19 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A major part of the power and magic of pilgrimage is how it immerses us in the natural world. While the physical shrines are human built, they're ofte...

Episode 52 - Tales from Two Houses in Santiago

31 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Right now, as we all long to be able to travel to Santiago de Compostela once more, many of us are thinking about our absence from that sacred place. ...

Episode 51 - Rewalking the Camino Inglés

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Let's walk the Camino Inglés together! As in the series on the Camino Francés, this episode features conversations among three experienced pilgrims ...

Episode 50 - Facing Our Colonial Legacies

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After learning about pilgrimage's potential as a peace-building initiative in Episode 49, we now turn to its capacity to promote reconciliatory effort...

Episode 49 - Peace Building Through Pilgrimage

10 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Pilgrimage has the power to change the world and we're only just beginning to understand its potential. One aspect of this is pilgrimage as a peace-bu...

Episode 48 - Rewalking the Pilgrimage to Finisterre and Muxía

03 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big picture issue...

Episode 47 - Into the Thin

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In his upcoming pilgrim memoir, Into the Thin: A Pilgrimage Walk Across Northern Spain, author Stephen Drew (www.authorstephendrew.com) narrates how ...

Episode 46 - The Newest Guidebooks to the Camino Francés

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From a guidebook perspective, it's a great time to be a pilgrim. On the Camino Francés, in particular, there is a growing assortment of outstanding a...

Episode 45 - Santiago vs Teresa

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 17th-century Spain, Santiago faced his greatest threat to date. While the Reconquista was well in the past, his new rival was a Carmelite nun, born...

Episode 44 - How to Write a Pilgrimage Memoir

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you've been called to the Camino, odds are that you've also been called to write about your pilgrimage. Whether your goal is to write for yourself,...

Episode 43 - The Winter Pilgrim & North American Pilgrimage

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ann Sieben, aka the Winter Pilgrim, is a mendicant pilgrim and a founder of the Society of Servant Pilgrims. Over the last 13 years she has walked 43,...

Episode 42 - The CoronaCamino

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Seemingly every aspect of life has been upended by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic and that includes pilgrimage. This episode examines the interrupt...

Episode 41 - The Crossway

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, Guy Stagg departed his London home on New Year's Day and then began a pilgrimage from Canterbury, not only to Rome, but then onward to Jerusa...

Episode 40 - The Camino in Novel and Poem

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We are living in a boom time for Camino-related books, with new publications hitting the virtual shelves seemingly every week. And yet, these are over...

Episode 39 - The Camino Francés, Part 5

05 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino Francés together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pict...

Episode 38 - The Kumano Kodo

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are two UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage routes--Spain's Camino de Santiago, of course, and Japan's Kumano Kodo. The latter's long and storied h...

Episode 37 - Phil Cousineau's Art of Pilgrimage

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Phil Cousineau's The Art of Pilgrimage is an international bestseller in at least ten languages and for more than two decades it has served as an int...

Episode 36 - The Story of Galicia

14 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Galicia, the northwest corner of Spain and the home of Santiago de Compostela, is beloved by most pilgrims. It is a place ensconced in legend, with st...

Episode 35 - From Vézelay to Heaven

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Edwin Mullins has spent the better part of his life associated with the Camino de Santiago, with his first book on the subject--The Pilgrimage to Sant...

Episode 34 - How Strange It Will Be To Come Home

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

While walking the Camino de Santiago is demanding in and of itself, the completion of pilgrimage poses a special challenge. The mixed emotions a pilgr...

Episode 33 - Volunteering on the Way

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Most people only experience the Camino as pilgrims. However, there are many ways to engage with the pilgrim road, and a number of these include rich v...

Episode 32 - Veterans on the Camino

30 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Soldiers are hardly a new phenomenon on the Camino de Santiago; indeed, the pilgrimage originated hand in glove with the military initiative to reconq...

Episode 31 - John & Rebekah

22 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino de Santiago has a powerful gravitational pull. It draws many back for multiple pilgrimages; in some cases, it reorganizes individuals' live...

Introducing: Sea to Shining Sea Podcast

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Pardon the bait and switch, but this is not a new episode of the Camino Podcast. (It'll be back, I swear!) Instead, I'd like to share the first episod...

Episode30 - Biking the Camino

24 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

While walking pilgrims remain the dominant demographic on the Camino, bike pilgrims constitute an increasingly significant part of the community. Desp...

Episode29 - How I Spent My Summer

08 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Along with hosting the Camino Podcast, Dave Whitson is also the co-author of The Northern Caminos guidebook with Laura Perazzoli. In this episode, Dav...

Episode28 - Franco and Compostela

06 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Generalissimo Francisco Franco ruled Spain for the better part of four decades and had a profound impact on the country over that time. He also ha...

Episode27 - Johnnie Walker's Santiago

05 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Johnnie Walker is one of the most prominent names associated with the Camino de Santiago these days. Ever since moving to Santiago de Compostela, John...

Episode26 - Training Tips & Winter Walking

22 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While your pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago might "officially" begin in St Jean Pied-de-Port, or Pamplona, or Sarria (or any number of other possi...

Episode25 - The Camino Francés, Part 4

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino Francés together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pict...

Episode24 - Round Trip (and Bed Bugs!)

02 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

For medieval pilgrims, arrival in Santiago meant the midpoint of their journey, not the end. Today's pilgrims typically wrap up their walk in Santiago...

Episode23 - The Pioneers

29 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

David Gitlitz and Linda Davidson are the co-authors of The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook, a work that developed out of t...

Episode22 - The Camino Francés, Part 3

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino Francés together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pict...

Episode21 - The Camino Francés, Part 2

22 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino Francés together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pict...

Episode 20 - Walking The Camino

15 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, released in 2013, is a tremendously influential documentary on the Camino. The film follows seven pilgrims a...

Episode19 - The Via Francigena

13 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While there are, of course, many roads to Rome, the most famous pilgrim road to Rome is the Via Francigena, which originates in Canterbury, England an...

Episode18 - Walking California's Missions

11 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One doesn't have to fly across an ocean to walk a sacred track. All across the USA, routes new and old are emerging that replicate the Camino experien...

Episode17 - How To Read A Church

31 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Camino Francés is an 800-km showcase of brilliant church and cathedral architecture, documenting the history of this art form from early pre-Roma...

Episode16 - A Musical Pilgrimage

29 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pilgrimage has long held a close connection with music, but the present is showing signs of recapturing the brilliance of its medieval peak. This epis...

Episode15 - The Camino Frances, Part 1

23 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Let's re-walk the Camino Francés together! Whereas many of the pilgrim interviews on the podcast take a thematic approach, focusing on a few big pict...