Following the Milky Way : A Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago

Book Description
Following the Milky Way is the story of Elyn Aviva’s 500-mile-long journey on foot on the Camino de Santiago. This 1000-year-old pilgrimage road stretches from the French Pyrenees across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, sup-posed tomb of St. James the Apostle. It is a journey that crosses the landscape of the soul as well as the mountains and mesetas of Spain. This book is a vivid memoir of a life-changing adventure, chance encounters, unforeseen dangers, and unexpected pleasures. Spanish history, wine, food, lit-erature, art, architecture, and legend share equal time with the stories of pilgrims that Elyn meets along the way. Following the Milky Way is a fascinating his-torical document. Today, hundreds of thousands of people—including Shirley MacLaine—are going on the Camino, but Following the Milky Way describes the pilgrimage in 1982, when the Camino was nearly abandoned. This second edition includes a new introduction that explores the meaning of pilgrimage in greater detail, delves more deeply into the esoteric symbols and pre-Christian shrines that lie hidden within the Way, and provides a unique look at the changes that have occurred in the pilgrimage in recent years.


From the Publisher
Whether you are a spiritual seeker, an avid outdoor adventurer, or an armchair traveler, you will find this a compelling account of a journey that is as old as human longing and as modern as tomorrow.


About the Author
Elyn Aviva has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Princeton University; her dissertation topic was the modern-day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. She has traveled the Camino a number of times, including three times on foot. Elyn earned a Master of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology in 1997. When not traveling in Europe, Elyn lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Gary White. She continues to write and do research on sacred sites, spiritual quest, and pilgrimage. She is also the author of Dead End on the Camino, a modern mystery set on the pilgrimage road. Elyn can be reached at Peregrino@aol.com.


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This second edition includes a new introduction that explores the meaning of pilgrimage in greater detail, delves more deeply into the esoteric symbols and pre-Christian shrines that lie hidden within the Way, and provides a unique look at the changes that have occurred in the pilgrimage in recent years.


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