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My name is Ann Sieben. I'm American by birth and global in existance. I was in
In December 2007, I began a longer pilgrimage from
After that, I found that there were still many miles in my legs. I chose a route with Aix la Chapelle (aka
The life of a winter pilgrim suits me just fine. As winter approached, I prepared to walk the next ancient path discovering the world at a comfortable pace, meeting people, experiencing an interesting world in a slightly non-traditional way. Another winter, another walk; I walked from Kyiv, Ukraine to Patras, Greece along the general route of St Andrew in the first century.
A silent pilgrim does the world no good, so I've given talks and spoken to many diverse groups about these pilgrimages. A recurring, slightly cynical, comment was often made - 'sure something like this might be able to be done in Europe, but not in the US...it's not in our culture, no one would open their door to a pilgrim.;
It saddened me to hear this, and I disagreed. To demonstrate that North Americans are just as kind as Europeans, I set out last autumn from my home in Denver, Colorado to Mexico City on yet another historical path. The early Spanish settlers established a Royal Road from Mexico City as far north as Taos, New Mexico, a little over 100 miles south of Denver. What a success!! Americans are just as friendly as Europeans. So are Mexicans.
Just when I thought my pilgrim life was a thing of the past, the Arab Spring allowed inspiration to enter my heart with the possibility to walk across the history of North Africa. While full of trials and tribulations - barred from entering Algeria, prematurely expelled from Libya, and hurried across the Sinai - the fact that the world is really full of good people was underscored with more great success.
o City, this time through South and Central America. Follow along...Shortly after arrival at the pilgrim destination, I was inspired again by the Empress of the Americas and am compelled to make a long journey again to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexic
Be a pilgrim =)
4 comments:
Although we may not have and may never meet...a relief to hear your "voice" again. A long silence like that in the winter is a little disconcerting! Loving all your posts and enjoying peeking over you shoulder as it were! Safe journey, Pax, Karin
Your colleague from Italy who walks the Francigena finds it difficult : we're having the coldest and most snowy winter since 10 years at least in France.
Hope you're luckier,
Take care !
Great to hear you are shlushing around..wishing a safe journey in Turkey. St. Andrew is really looking out for you! Blessings from Denver clan.
Anna, thanks for the Constanta postcard! Lovely! Here is a little tidbit for you--Ivan Mazepa was a Ukrainian kozak freedom fighter (sometimes a little controversial). He died right after the battle of Poltava in 1709. Well, in a recent read, I found out that he was bestowed the highest order by the Russian tsar Peter I--St. Andrew The Firstcalled Order of Chivalry in January 1700. He was the 1st Ukrainian to receive this newly-created award.
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