A Yearning for Setting Off. Walking The Camino De Santiago Portuguese Route With Imogen Clark
Why does pilgrimage have such a hold on those of us who are not religious, but merely seekers on a path that so many millions have walked before us? Author Imogen Clark talks about her Camino, the highlights and challenges, the lessons learned, and why she still yearns to set off once again. Imogen Clark is the best-selling author of eight contemporary women’s fiction novels, and has sold over a million books. She recently walked the Camino de Santiago on a variant of the Portuguese route. * What is pilgrimage and how is it different to just a long walk? * How “a yearning for setting off” shapes Imogen’s fiction and how it led to her Camino * Highlights of the route — and memorable moments * The challenges of the journey * The gifts of pilgrimage often emerge much later than we expect * Practicalities of the Camino Portuguese coastal route * Recommended books You can find Imogen at www.ImogenClark.com and on Twitter @imogenclark and Instagram @imogenclarkauthor My book, Pilgrimage, Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, which features this Camino route, is out now. Transcript of the interview Jo Frances Penn: Imogen Clark is the best-selling author of eight contemporary women’s fiction novels, and has sold over a million books. She recently walked the Camino de Santiago on a variant of the Portuguese route. Welcome to the show. Imogen Clark: It’s lovely to be here. Jo Frances Penn: Fantastic. So, let’s start with a question of definition, really. What is pilgrimage to you, and how is it different to just a long walk? Imogen Clark: I think it is a very, very personal thing. I have no religious faith. I was brought up within the Church of England, and I spent a lot of time in the Church of England because I sing in a choir, but I don’t have any faith. But I am always seeking I think, and I’m always seeking spirituality, and by my nature, I’m very, very curious. So I think the pilgrimage for me was partly because I was curious about exactly what would happen to me if I was on a pilgrimage. But also, I think the idea of walking to a specific place, with a common purpose, with lots and lots of other people, because the Camino is very busy. There are a lot of people all walking in exactly the same direction, all doing exactly the same thing as you. I found that very, very comforting that there were so many people all seeking the same thing as me. And I also found that it’s so uncomplicated when you’re walking…when you’re traveling generally, usually trying to fit things in, and trying to see different sites, and you’ve got a list and that kind of thing, and similarly, if you’re doing a walk as well. But when I was doing the pilgrimage that wasn’t the idea. Obviously, we passed things, and we saw beautiful things, but that wasn’t the focus of what we were doing. They were the things that we saw as we walked to Santiago. And that’s a different emphasis and I’ve never really done a walk where it was just the walk that was the important thing. Jo Frances Penn: Oh, you brought up loads of things there. I just want to come back on why now? You mentioned that you don’t have any faith but you are a seeker and you are curious. Did something happen in your life that made you want to walk this Camino? Because of course, there are many different pilgrimages you could have walked.