Life, Thoughts & Coffee

I’M OFF THEN by Hape Kerkeling
Have you ever thought about hiking the Camino de Santiago? No matter if you have or haven’t, I’M OFF THEN is a delightful travel book; it’s very funny and very honest. The writer freely shares what he’s feeling and learning, and the thoughts that arise on his spiritual journey. Questions come to him from out of the blue, and answers come when least expected. He meets people of all persuasions, a few become good friends, others he’d rather not have met. The differences of one little village after another where pilgrims stay the night to seek food and refuge are noted, as are thoughts about the hike itself.

Everyone has their own reasons for hiking, so experiences differ greatly, sometimes amazingly so. I’ve read that the experiences a hiker encounters on the pilgrimage are the ones needed, and that includes the people one meets along the way. To go alone seems quite brave. If the hiker is on a personal quest, then alone time tends to soothe the soul – after awhile. And then they’ll be companions who come and go.

At the end of the journey Santiago’s magnificent cathedral is there to greet the pilgrim. The good and the not so good all sound wonderful to me because, when all is said and done, the experiences seem worth the tremendous effort it takes to hike the Camino de Santiago. Are you ready?