Mike McClenahan

Rabé de las Calzadas to San Antón We had great conversations along the way to San Antón with new friends and “old” friends we haven’t seen in a few days. We ran into Koishi and Ishiro at coffee. We met them almost two weeks ago in Zubiri. We walked with Kazu into the hostel and met these two retired men from Japan—a few hundred miles away from Kazu. We share broken English and smiles with one another, asking about each other’s Camino. Kazu left them a few days ago because he had to stay on schedule to finish.  The theme of conversation today seemed to be around letting go and loss. A woman from New Zealand shared with us about her breast cancer, father’s death when she was a teenager, and her husband and mother dying within a few months. She giggled as she saw some of her new growth hair fall out into her hat. It’s grown back curly, she said. I’m trying to put it all into perspective and how those I love have prepared the way for my journey. We walked over one of...

Tosantos to San Juan de Ortega to Burgos We left our humble hospital de peregrinos in Tosantos where Santiago provides such amazing hospitality. Simple meal of lentils and chorizo made by all of us, and a simple prayer time in the capilla  upstairs. We stopped for coffee and ran into Mike and his daughter Eliza. For his 60th birthday he invited his three young adult children to join him for a portion of the Camino. The other two had already split off, but Eliza was there for his actual birthday. We sang happy birthday.  Mike and I were in a covenant group that met every year in the 1990s. For two or three days we would check in with each other and then the whole group would lay hands on each of us and pray for our spiritual life, family and ministry. Those were formative years for all of us—and for me: living into first call, balancing work and family, dealing with leadership challenges and (in our last year together) discerning my next call.  Mike sa...

Grañón to Tosantos  Hey, we are still in beautiful landscape and agriculture at the western edge of La Rioja. “You don’t have a choice.” Enjoying a long morning concert of Joshua Tree and  “You’re the Best Thing About Me,” “Love is All We Have Left” and “Ordinary Love” by U2. Threatening clouds just a mile before our destination at Tosantos.  The ceiling of the parroquial hostel—200 years old? Chapel set up by Santiago, our hospitalero . Santiago is host, cook, blister consultant and pastor of everyone who comes.  He orchestrated 16 of us making lentel soup with chorizo and mixed salad.  His dinner blessing: I want to thank you all for coming to eat and sleep here. I want to thank the pilgrims who came before you. And I want to thank God for guiding all of us on our Camino. Amen. The fee for the hostel is by donation—whatever we give will provide for tomorrow’s pilgrims. Everyone is invited to the prayer time afte...

Azofra to Grañón Our “cinq amis français” we met in Zubiri and saw again here in Azofra at breakfast. On the road.  Those dang poppies. Taking a rest in Cirueña. Sheep on the way into Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where we also found the rooster in the church. Google it—great story. Hanging our laundry in Grañón with our friend Yasuko. For the first time we stayed in the parish hostel. We chopped the vegetables and prepared the meal together. Pilgrims from Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Brazil and the US. The three volunteers helped us make dinner and clean up, and then led us in a time of sharing in prayer in the balcony of the church.  Each part of the scripture or prayers were read in the different languages represented. They had candles for each of us, and gave us the opportunity to share a few words about what we’re experiencing so far on the Camino. For that part there was no translation and it was beautiful to hear people sh...