Wow! It’s been 8 long years since I posted on this blog to keep you all informed. This time, Dispatchesea signifies “Dispatches from my European Adventure” as opposed to “Dispatches from East Africa.”

I am leaving Winthrop, WA, on August 9 and will fly to Lisbon, Portugal. Bryn and I will be in Lisbon for 4 days, and then take the train to Porto, Portugal. There, we will start the Portuguese Way, or the spiritual pilgrimage along the coast of Portugal. We will meet another friend, Betsy (I call her Betsy 2, to distinguish her from my long time next door neighbor and friend, Betsy 1) in Baiona, Spain. From there, we will continue our pilgrimage up the east coast of Spain to Santiago de Compostela, completing  a 170 mile spiritual pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago, the supposed resting place of St. James.

There are sure to be many adventures along the way, challenges, and heat, too! It is August, after all!

I will begin this pilgrimage with a fair amount of trepidation. I have wanted to do this trek for a long time, but I’m not sure I’m fit for a spiritual pilgrimage, as I’ve been so disillusioned by Christianity over the last 8 years. What I understand to be Biblical Christianity has been co-opted (in my opinion) by super conservative, mean-spirited, and immoral politics, justified by the faith I have embraced my entire life. Can we still take care of one another? Do the actions and words of Jesus still mean something in the face of white supremacy, racism, sticking our heads in the sand over gun violence, and mysoginistic courts and state governments stripping women of their right to self-deternination under the guise of Christianity?

I seek on this pilgrimage to get back to the roots of my faith, which lie in the words—metaphoric or true, take your pick—of Jesus. And not in the actions or interpretations of fellow humans.

We’ll see where this takes me.

But you can be sure there will be some good photos, and funny stories. And hopefully,, some discoveries along the way.

Join me here!