There are many reasons why people walk the Camino.  For some it is a religious pilgrimage. For others, it is a way to find peace or to figure out what they’re doing in life. For others it is a physical challenge or just the simple joy of walking. Some are celebrating a milestone in their life. And some do it to learn about the history and the culture of the area.

I am walking the same Camino for the second time. Last year I walked it with my brother. At the end we both were exhausted and we did not ever want to do it again. But a few days later I started feeling that I really wanted to do it again. Why? I wanted to “stretch my body” to see what it could do, and the first Camino had not accomplished that. And I wanted to see if I could do it by myself.

Having done it with my brother last year was very helpful. It gave me a great deal of information on what to expect and how to deal with it all. But I yearned for solitude and self-sufficiency. 

There’s also photography. Photography had been my job, my life, my passion for quite a long time. But for the last few years I have “lost my mojo”. I don’t get excited about making pictures like I used to. I don’t get excited about experimenting, about trying to make more beautiful pictures. I don’t know why. 

But the truth is, I miss it. I miss both the physical aspect of making pictures and the joy that it brought me to create images that were an expression of what I saw, touched, heard, smelled – what I felt. And I’m wondering if I can get it back and how. 

One thing I have wanted to do with photography for a very long time is people storytelling, like with the two pictures below from last year:

Three girls taking a break at a small plaza in front of the church in Hornillos del Camino, a small town just past Burgos. Jerry and I had stopped for the day, I was exploring the town and found these girls. They were taking a break before walking on to the next town. I talked just a bit with them – I wish I would have found out their stories and made more photos of them.

I wish I had talked with this man, found out what he was doing at this place.

So this Camino I want to see if I can tell  stories with and about people with my photos. I don’t know exactly how, but I hope to start figuring it out while walking this year.