Book Review - The Lore of the Camino de Santiago by Jean Mitchell-Lanham

In 2002, while studying in Chile and Argentina with a group of teacher, I got to meet a very wonderful couple from Maine, two Spanish teachers named Rick Thompson and Pam Davis.  They had spent a lot of time in Spain and they encouraged me to walk the Camino of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a medieval pilgrimage that was quickly becoming popular in our modern world.  With my friend Nancy Sowa, who I met in the Peace Corps, I hiked the Camino in the summer of 2003, a wonderful experience that help me discern my call to the priesthood.  Little did I know, that this would not be the end of of the story.  I saw the pilgrimage as a one time thing.  Little did I know, that fast forward to 2018, that I have know hiked the Camino five different time, highly anticipating the time when I can get back there again. 
       The Camino world of pilgrims is a small, small world.  My friends John and Arlene out in California, whom I met when I worked as an accountant in North Carolina, sent me a book written by their neighbor, Jean-Mitchell-Lanham, entitled The Lore of the Camino de Santiago: A Literary Pilgrimage.  I have read a lot of books about the Camino, but this one was quite unique and very interesting.  It addresses the literature and fables and folklore directly related to the Camino and taking place in along the Camino route.  For example, the Camino goes through the city of Pamplona, which is closely linked to the life and works of Ernest Hemingway.   In fact, Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises made Pamplona and its bullfighting culture well-known throughout the world.  Many fables and legends that tell stories about the Camino, such as the miracle of the rooster and Santo Domingo de Calzada.  This book brought back many memories of the Camino and I enjoyed it tremendously.  It is very hard to put into words what the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela means to me, but it has touched my heart in more ways than I can explain.  I love reading books about the Camino, as it helps me feel connected to an experience that means so much to me.