February 2025: Lancaster, Penna I’m really doing this: walking The French Way across the whole of northern Spain. Solo. The French is just one of many routes collectively known as El Camino de Santiago . Together, they form a network of ancient pilgrimage routes originating from various points in Europe to the great cathedral of Santiago, where, reputedly, lie the remains of St. James the Apostle , brother of Jesus. When I first heard about the Camino a few years ago, I immediately placed it in my I’d love to do that someday category. And really didn’t give it much further thought. It resurfaced in early December, when I began asking myself what I might want to do to celebrate the completion of another decade, hitting the big 4-0. What began as simply another idea, quickly took center stage and refused to leave, as did the thought of doing it alone. I started pouring over websites, searching for information about the different routes, trying to determine a plan. I inhaled Camino blo...