In this historic 100th episode of The Camino Podcast, the spotlight turns to safety, both on the Camino and at home. Andrea Parraga Penalver and Juan Manuel Aragon Garcia, representatives of the AlertCops app, explain how the app works and why every pilgrim should have it installed on their phone when walking in Spain. After that, Rebecca Martinez, a moderator of the Camino de Santiago - Women 50+ All Routes group, shares insights into the potential hazards pilgrims face and how to manage that risk accordingly. The most important message running through these conversations is that the Camino is safe! But also, having acknowledged and underlined that, there are always small steps we can take to reinforce that safety, at no cost to the experience. Finally, a very special guest joins--arguably the most important voice in the history of the podcast.

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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 fifth part of the series, Nik from Australia joins to discuss the route through western Cantabria, from Santander to Colombres, with special attention paid to a much-valued alternative route that follows the coast out of Santander. After that, Lucía González, a Tour Guide at El Capricho de Gaudi in Comillas  (elcaprichodegaudi.com), shares insights into this must-see attraction along the way. Finally, Laurie Plessala, owner of La Joyuca del Pas Hotel Rural (lajoyucadelpas.com/en/), describes her life on the Camino and the journey that brought her to the small Cantabrian village of Mogro.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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