NONFICTION 
      
Slog, slog, slog  -  Whatever posessed me?  -   Weebly.com                                    

El Camino de Santiago *
by  Barbara Applegate

​April, 2010—Hearing for the first time about El Camino de Santiago:
 
A leap of joy in my heart
Intense desire
A commitment
Identification
Magnetic attraction
Heart of fire
Invitation from God
A calling
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May, 2011—Day 17 of walking:
 
Slog, slog, slog
Whatever possessed me?
How my spirits are lifted by the croaking of frogs!
Why did I think I wanted to do this?
Oh, those red poppies are so beautiful!
Who am I doing this for?
Didn't I know it was going to be walk, walk, walk?
Yes, I would love to join you for supper!
Will my feet ever recover?
What a gift it is to speak Spanish!
I was not expecting co-ed dormitories!
When will I become enlightened?
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April, 2021—At home 10 years later:
 
I really did it!
At age 68, I walked for 51 days and covered 500 miles!
My blisters and aches did heal.
I have a new life motto: Slow is good.
I have wonderful memories of people, scenery, sounds, and rural life in Spain.
I regret not taking a camera.
In the steepest and rockiest and muddiest places, I was enabled by the love of family, friends, and Spirit.
That same love upholds me today as I walk 20 blocks in San Francisco.
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*  Author's Note:  
El Camino de Santiago, The Way of St. James, is a 500-mile-long walking path dating from the 800’s. It begins just over the French border, crosses into Spain, climbs and descends the Pyrenees and goes across northern Spain to end in the city of Santiago. Because this pathway has been walked for so many centuries, it is dotted with simple accommodations for pilgrims along the way; in the small villages, in farmhouses, and the several cities that lie along the pathway.  During the summer months, there are usually more than 1,000 pilgrims, “peregrinos,” walking El Camino on any day.
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​Barbara Applegate received a BA at UC Berkeley, with a major in Spanish, and an MS in Education at CSU, East Bay. As an administrator of Early Childhood Education, she developed a program to teach parents in non-English speaking families the value of helping their children retain the home language while learning English. She is the mother of 3 daughters, a traveler and a contemplative. She loves taking writing classes - not only because she learns from them, but because they give her structure for writing.
Other works in this issue:
Nonfiction:  
​A Historical Perspective


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Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University​.​
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