"Day 40. One of the best gifts of being in the documentary Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago is that I've met some incredible people I may not have otherwise met. In February 2014 I was contacted by Rebecca and Phil, a couple who had enjoyed seeing the film in Seattle. Rebecca wrote me that Phil had set up his own Camino. Phil sent me an email and described his experience walking his homemade Camino. It was a beautiful letter that included the quote "Recently I shifted my beginning mentality of worrying about conquering the Camino and have settled into just cruising along being happy I am able to do it" and ended with "Come walk with me."

Well, almost a year before that my husband and I had made plans to go to that part of the world for his work. So, about two weeks after our initial contact, I was sailing on a ferry to Vashon Island, preparing to walk Phil's Camino. No cathedral (although it has been blessed by a priest!), it's just a rambling path with shell-adorned way markers through his 10 acres. Near the start of Phil's way you can pick up a rock, where you put your gratitude, or fears, or prayers and leave in a pile at the end. He says the rosary for that pile of rocks every day. He notes each 'lap' to mark on a map of the Camino de Santiago. The day we walked we were just outside Burgos.

"As I sat in the kitchen across from this beautiful man and his lovely wife I felt the same quiet excitement about walking that I had felt each morning in Europe. There really is no difference, in walking in Spain, on Vashon Island, or in your local park. I brought him the shell that had adorned my pack when I walked my Camino. Then it was time to walk. At one point his daughter joined us but mostly it was just the two of us and the birds. What a gift he was, sharing his Camino with me. The power of our connection was undeniable, and I know that he has taken a place in my heart alongside my Camino family. That day we were just two pilgrims making their way on a rainy day. We weren't trying to get anywhere, really, we were just enjoying walking. I couldn't have been happier. This is my wish for you, that you find a way to keep the Camino alive in your life. Keep walking, meditating, keep going within, and allow your intuition to flourish. Without the yellow arrows, follow your dreams, your heart, your soul's desire, and always keep your heart open to meet and expand your Camino family."