The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities and small fishing villages. In this series, we will virtually walk the Norte together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. In this second episode, Susan Alcorn (www.backpack45.com), the author of Healing Miles: Gifts from the Caminos Norte and Primitivo, shares insights on the section of the Norte leading from Deba to Lezama. She is followed by Iratxe Momoitio Astorkia, the director of Gernika's Museo de la Paz (www.museodelapaz.org), who discusses the town's infamous bombing in the Spanish Civil War, its recovery, and the museum's ongoing efforts to promote peace and human rights today.

For more information:
www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson



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

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 home on the Camino, spending the last year walking all across Spain and France. In this episode, he offers insights into the many different Caminos and Chemins he has now traversed, unpacks some of the complexities of a year of continuous pilgrimage, and reflects on the personal growth he has achieved. It's an amazing story that speaks to the power of the Camino, as well as Lindsay's courage and self-awareness.

For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson




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

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities and small fishing villages. In this series, we will virtually walk the Norte together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. In this third part of the series, we carry on the walk from Gernika, continuing through the dynamic city of Bilbao en route to Castro-Urdiales. Kirsten Brown, who resided in Bilbao for a number of years, serves as our guide to the city and the many different variants looping around it. What today's pilgrims might struggle to appreciate, though, is how profoundly Bilbao has been transformed over the past five decades; to illustrate this remarkable achievement, often attributed to the founding of the Guggenheim Museum, the episode also examines the phenomenon known as the "Bilbao Effect."

For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

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

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 richly accessed, on paths bridging the past and present. Brad Aaron Modlin (www.bradaaronmodlin.com) shares insights from his semester abroad program in Quebec, following the Chemin des Outaouais (www.chemindesoutaouais.ca) and Chemin des Sanctuaires (www.chemindessanctuaires.org) through some of the oldest French settlements in North America. Then, Matthew Anderson (www.somethinggrand.ca), author of The Good Walk: Creating New Paths on Traditional Prairie Trails, shifts our focus to the prairie, where he has developed a series of pilgrimage walks following historic tracks through rural Saskatchewan, employing these as an opportunity to bring together indigenous and settler perspectives on these lands and the peoples who have inhabited them.

For more information:www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 92 - Two Pilgrimages Through Canada's Histories

The Camino del Norte offers some of the most spectacular scenery of any pilgrimage, combining rugged coastal hills, sandy beaches, spectacular cities and small fishing villages. In this series, we will virtually walk the Norte together, bringing together experienced pilgrims and relevant experts in each episode. In this fourth part of the series, we travel through the region of Cantabria, from Castro-Urdiales to Santander, along some of the best beaches in Northern Spain. Brien Crothers (www.briencrothers.com) offers the pilgrim perspective on this section, drawing special attention to the albergue in Güemes, which has offered exceptional hospitality for decades now. He's followed by Dr. Jesús Ángel Solórzano Telechea (sciprofiles.com/profile/solorzano-telechea) of the University of Cantabria, whose focus on the region's medieval history lends insight into its four great ports--Castro-Urdiales, Laredo, Santander, and San Vicente de la Barquera--three of which are situated in this section.

For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

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

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 (in)famous epic hero, more myth than man at this point, and his ongoing relevance to Spanish history and politics. In this episode, Dr. Berend discusses what we actually know about the man's life, his transformation as a defining figure of the Reconquista, and the ways his legacy was employed by the Franco regime. That conversation is followed by an excerpt from Dave Whitson's upcoming book, The Camino Compendium, focused on the Portomarín dam and its connection to Franco.

For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

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

On Saturday, 8 February 2025, Dave spoke at the Spring Gathering of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims' Victoria Chapter, about the reconciliatory potential of pilgrimage, building around the three definitional forms of reconciliation: 1) To restore to friendship or harmony, 2) To cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant, and 3) To make consistent or congruous, e.g. to reconcile an ideal with reality. This episode features those remarks in full.

For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 95 - Victoria Keynote: The Reconciliatory Potential of Pilgrimage

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 Scott (www.peaceableprojects.org) delivered a keynote presentation titled "Wisdom of the Elders: A Bridge We Cross Together." She shares the centerpiece of that presentation, her "ten commandments" for pilgrims, in this conversation, including lessons on mercy, grace, silence, and kindness.


For more information:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 96 - Rebekah Scott's Ten Commandments

Episode 97 - How Pilgrimage Changed the World

Dr. Kathryn Hurlock's new book, Holy Places: How Pilgrimage Changed the World, examines 19 different pilgrimage sites around the world. Some are quite familiar, like Santiago, Rome, and Jerusalem; others, though, receive far less attention, like Muxima, Ratana Pa, and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. In this discussion, Kathryn unpacks her book's subtitle, discussing the varied ways pilgrimage has influenced world politics, been inextricably linked to commerce, contributed to national identity, and facilitated reconciliation.

Episode-specific resources:

> Holy Places: profilebooks.com/work/holy-places/
> Pilgrim and the Peas: metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/742759
> Lourdes Pilgrimage: youtube.com/watch?v=Uc_OnioxWuA

For more information on The Camino Podcast:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 97 - How Pilgrimage Changed the World

Rome's Jubilees, occurring every 25 years (with some extraordinary Jubilees mixed in for good measure, are traditionally associated with universal pardon, offering a special opportunity for the remission of sin and debt. This year's Jubilee, initiated by the late Pope Francis, centers on the theme of hope--Pellegrini di Speranza. In this episode, Bret Thoman (stfrancispilgrimages.com), author of The 2025 Jubilee in Rome, shares insights into the Jubilee's history and some advice on making the pilgrimage to Rome this year. After that, Dave Whitson shares his presentation from the 2025 Gathering in Vancouver, which explores his three-month walk across Italy on the Cammino Materano, Via Francigena Sud, Cammino di San Benedetto, Via di Francesco, Cammino di Sant'Antonio, and Cammino Via Flavia.

For more information on The Camino Podcast:

www.davewhitson.com
www.facebook.com/CaminoPodcast
www.patreon.com/davewhitson

Episode 98 - The 2025 Jubilee

The Camino Podcast is a program focused on pilgrimage. We talk about major pilgrimage routes, like Spain's Camino de Santiago, we share stories from the road, and we talk about more technical aspects of pilgrimage. Whether you're planning your first pilgrimage, processing your latest one, or just an armchair traveler, we hope you find this to be a good listen! (Soundtrack features "Walking in the Country" by David Mumford.)

Follow Dave's walks and learn about his guidebooks here: https://davewhitson.com/
Support the podcast and Dave's book projects here: https://www.patreon.com/davewhitson
Find Dave's books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dave-Whitson/author/B004NBNR9I

Episode 96 - Rebekah Scott's Ten Commandments

The Camino Podcast

Related tracks