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Walking the Camino
- A Modern Pilgrimage to Santiago
- Narrated by: James Millar
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
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Walking the Camino
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Summary
In May 2006, armed only with a small rucksack and a staff, Tony Kevin, an overweight, sedentary, 63-year-old former diplomat, set off on an eight-week trek across Spain. But this was not just a very long walk - it was a pilgrimage.
From Granada, in the southeast, to Santiago de Compostela, in the far northwest, Tony followed the Via Mozarabe and the Via de la Plata, two of the many pilgrim trails that crisscross Spain and Portugal and that all lead to a single destination. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela was Europe’s most famous centre of pilgrimage, and in recent years it has enjoyed a remarkable revival; every day towards noon, hundreds of hot, tired, and dusty pilgrims stream into Santiago Cathedral for the daily Pilgrim’s Mass.
What, in our busy, materialistic 21st century, is this apparently anachronistic phenomenon all about? What drives tens of thousands of people of all nationalities and creeds to make long, exhausting walks across the cold mountains and hot tablelands of Spain, to take part finally in a medieval Christian liturgy of spiritual renewal and reconciliation with God?
Walking the Camino beautifully captures the flavour of what it was like to walk the camino, and is filled with fascinating observations and anecdotes about the nature of contemporary Spain. And because pilgrimage is such a deeply personal experience that has the potential to unlock the deepest recesses of hidden memory and conscience, it is also a profound personal meditation on the nature of modern life.
It will be of interest to people who contemplate making, or who have made this walk; to those interested in the politics and culture of contemporary Spain; and indeed anyone who appreciates fine travel writing.
Tony Kevin served in the Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister's departments over a 30-year period, and was Australia's ambassador to Poland and Cambodia. His other award-winning book is A Certain Maritime Incident: the sinking of SIEV X
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What listeners say about Walking the Camino
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- john vereker
- 05-03-23
excellent mix of personal and factual
i wasn't so sure about this book at the beginning as I found the mispronounciations of spanish words lile Caceres and Merida extremely annoying but that wasn't the author's fault and more the narrator.
once you get past this you are immersed into an amazing story of highs and lows plus the amazing history of the areas that were visited.
at one point I was hating that there was 4hours left in audible but but then found myself fearing when I saw 10 minutes left because kt is just so good
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 09-02-16
Facinating
I bought this book as I was interested in finding out more about Walking the Camino.
I got this and much more. The history of the walk, Spanish history, Spanish politics, Spanish countryside and the towns along the walk. I also got to enjoy the thoughts and experiences of a great writer.
This Australian writer is fascinating and tells an honest experience.
Superb book read by a great narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aaron Searescue
- 25-05-22
Enjoyable But..
This is not just a travelogue, but a tale of introspection and history as well. The author gives great insights into his life and also, the ancient and recent history of Spain, although the era around its revival of the 16th and 17th centuries is barely touched upon.
What lets it down is the narration. The reader is ignorant of Spanish names and pronunciation and really grates. My Gallego wife was listening to part of it and was wincing! If it is in the Plus catalogue, then give it a listen, but don't buy.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- GeriA
- 11-05-23
Narration issue
I enjoyed the content although I frequently disagreed with the author.
The narrator should have been someone who knew basic Spanish pronunciation. It grated that the word “de” pronounced “day” was consistently pronounced “dee”.
And Caceres!!!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Filce
- 26-08-21
What a Great Story
This book was fantastic to listen to.
A tale of Faith and endurance. Love and commitment
Really recommend this book to anyone of any faith. It will lighten your spirits
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Neil S
- 21-02-22
Great topic, average narration
The topic is one that fascinated me, and the story is related well by the author. He manages to cover so much, from the practical aspects, the spiritual and historical, weaving them in with his actual journey.
At times he may go a touch "right on" but it is always thoughtful and worth hearing even if some parts seem mildly naive.
The narrator is the weakest part, I found that when he had energy the monotonous tone was just about bearable but there are sections in the middle where he had lost any sense of what was being read, and if you tune out, the repeating patterns of sentences all start to sound alike. At points I did wonder if sections were filled in by speech synthesis, especially as pronunciation is often pretty off (although it could be ignorance of the narrator who often neither pronounces in the adopted English way nor in the authentic Spanish way either, but perhaps someone who has winged it without referring to any reference source). I don't want to be too harsh on the narrator and he is clearly understood at all times, but it's just hard going with the monotony.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- pm
- 27-04-18
A helpful book
I have known about the Camino for some years and it is a pilgrimage I hope to take one day. This is what attracted me to the book. Overall, I found the book both helpful and inspirational in the sense that it has strengthened my resolve to undertake this pilgrimage. The only reason I have given it 4 stars rather than 5 is that it occasionally descended into a preachiness about matters peripheral to the Camino that seemed out of place in this book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-04-22
An interesting insight to a pilgrimage.
I enjoyed this book, the descriptions of the journey it also gave some interesting insights to Spain & it’s history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenny Salmon
- 09-04-22
Brilliant
I loved this! The description of the route, interspersed with a socio economic and cultural history of Spain was really interesting and enlightening.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mr j p andrews
- 10-05-22
for people who want to understand pilgrimage
content enlightening. narrative awful, very monochrome. a good book for the whole camino experience
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