El Camino de Santiago: Beers On The Way
El Camino de Santiago: Beers On The Way
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Loved your blog today Dad. Made me laugh and cry. Walking five hundred miles across Spain certainly provided lots to laugh about but Day twenty seven brought a few tears as well.
The only good thing that came out of the first Covid19-related lockdown, as far as Graeme Cook was concerned, was his discovering the existence of El Camino de Santiago, known as The Way, an ancient pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in the north west of Spain. Only recently unshackled from the world of working and for reasons he still doesn’t fully understand, he determined that this was a quest he must undertake and in the Spring of 2022 he and Mrs C set forth with rucksacks on their backs to see if they really could walk five hundred miles to the tomb of Saint James. Spoiler alert: They made it. And not least because they had their guiding principles to, er, guide them along the way. Beer is good for you being the main one. Graeme wrote a daily blog to keep friends and family up to date with their progress. The blog also began to attract interest from further afield. Encouraged by positive feedback such as that from Susan (USA) below, Graeme decided to try his hand at writing a book about the whole adventure.
Thanks for sharing your journey. I’m now on a quest to convince my husband that we can indeed do this. All your references to beer stops is helping!
From having a near bust-up with Ernest Hemingway to meeting the invisible man, naked Germans, sophisticated Frenchmen, hunch-backed laboratory assistants, soppy knights, pizza-worshipping monks, the Camino family, the accommodation, the tears on Day twenty seven, the thrill of gazing up at Santiago Cathedral and of course a few beers along the way, it was the experience of a lifetime.
Whether you have walked The Way yourself, are planning to walk it or simply interested to learn a little more about it, this book will provide an insight like no other. It will make you laugh. It might also make you cry.
This book now also appears as Part I of the author's later book A Thirst For Adventure On The Way To Santiago.
Available Free on Kindle Unlimited.
A Thirst For Adventure On The Way To Santiago
A Thirst For Adventure On The Way To Santiago
Just read your book and loved it. It was as if you were telling me about your journey over a beer. Walking five hundred miles along the Camino Frances route from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela was certainly a journey worth talking about. And Graeme Cook can talk. Particularly when there's a beer involved.
Having learnt of the Camino de Santiago during the dark days of the Covid19-related lockdowns in early 2020, once sprung from captivity he was a man on a mission. The Camino Frances had his name on it and nothing could stop him. Except possibly his knees. Or gout. Or Mrs C even? Fortunately, Mrs C became equally captivated and they planned, prepared and waited impatiently for the world to pull itself together before they could set out on this noble quest. Come June 2022 and their Camino was behind them. But Graeme wasn't finished. The daily blog he published during the walk formed the basis of his book El Camino De Santiago - Beers On The Way which, as we can see above, at least one person liked. The following year they walked the Portuguese Camino from Porto and, five months later, they were back in Santiago to walk to Finisterre. More adventures. More blogs. More beer.
A Thirst For Adventure On The Way To Santiago consists of three parts, the first part Beers On The Way (i.e. the original book) now augmented by Another Round (Portuguese) and One For The Road (Finisterre).
As with most Camino-related memoirs, this book takes the form of a daily record; towns, people, terrain, myths, accommodation etc. But not many of the others start with a daily song. Or cover more than one Camino. Or proffer opinion on cravats. Or advice on when not to accept the offer of a candle in deepest, darkest Galicia. Bottom line, life is for living and if you can't have a bit of a laugh when you're alive, well................................enough said.
Walking the Camino de Santiago is a truly life-affirming experience. This book will convince you. Sit down, pour yourself a drink and let Graeme tell you all about his journey.
Available Free on Kindle Unlimited.
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