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A Contemplative Camino – the book

A Contemplative Camino hit the Amazon bookshelves today. It’s been so much fun putting my memories of the four Caminos together. Fun, but also hard work: writing, revision, input from Deb who came with me on two of the walks, formatting and finally navigating the Amazon maze. The book spans my growth from Camino noviceContinue reading “A Contemplative Camino – the book”

Silence

Real quiet is presence — not an absence of sound but an absence of noise Yesterday as I walked through the forest near home, I heard a plane fly over – and realised how quiet the sky has become in COVID times. Traffic on the roads was less for a long time, too. Just latelyContinue reading “Silence”

In Praise of Walking

Regular movement improves our thinking, feeling and creative selves in myriad ways, as well as improving our health Shane O’Mara In his new book , In Praise of Walking, Shane O’Mara explores every facet of walking, from how we evolved to walk to how our whole bodies keep us upright and moving forward through diverseContinue reading “In Praise of Walking”

Kama Nature Reserve

Today another walk close to home: Kama Nature Reserve off William Hovell Drive. The trail winds down to the Molonglo River through regenerating eucalypt woodland. Around the many older trees like the one above younger trees in all stages of growth abound. Sprays of leaves have shot from the ground following the generous drought-breaking rainsContinue reading “Kama Nature Reserve”

No holiday walk either?

As Deb and my hopes for a holiday along the Great Ocean Walk in Victoria fade as surely as our dreams of a 2020 Camino, we trial walks closer to home. This weekend we walked through Mulligans’ Flat on the northern fringe of Canberra. The reserve is a wildlife sanctuary, fenced against predators. Species notContinue reading “No holiday walk either?”

A world that talks

Learning to be still before the wisdom of those speaking an unfamiliar tongue Belden Lane I stumbled on Belden Lane’s latest book, The Great Conversation:nature and the care of the soul, yesterday. He argues that we are “surrounded by a world that talks, but we don’t listen.” We have not only lost touch with theContinue reading “A world that talks”

South Coast Interlude

Will we grow back into a more creative and flexible society after the 2020 collective assaults of drought, fire, hail and disease? I walked along Potato Point Beach on the South Coast of NSW and into the forest on the last week of my break from work. The Eurobodalla National Park comes right down toContinue reading “South Coast Interlude”

Galicia

What will be will be The sun smiled down on me. The path was sparsely populated as many pilgrims had taken the detour to the monastery in Samos. Porridge and honey followed by excellent coffee spurred me on. I was looking forward to the private room at Albergue Paloma y Lena that I’d booked at breakfastContinue reading “Galicia”

No Camino? – Hike at home!

COVID-19 shattered our plans to walk a section of the Camino from Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Leon. Both of us missed this section in our Camino Frances, Deb in 2018 and I in 2016. The urge to still walk this year pushed us to look closer to home – somewhere we could driveContinue reading “No Camino? – Hike at home!”

Forest bathing

Forest bathing lets nature in through all the senses, touching tree trunks, tasting the cool air, feeling the breeze on our cheeks My sister Deb joined me on the Camino Sanabres at Ourense. I didn’t want her to have too arduous an introduction to the Camino so ordered a taxi to take us up theContinue reading “Forest bathing”