Walking ever southward, gaining in elevation, the terrain more mountainous, climbing over numerous barbed wire fences and crossing countless cattle grates... late one afternoon I passed through a penned field of cattle. Nothing unusual. They usually scurry. I had my sombrero down low over my eyes because of the angle of the setting sun. Some meters ahead of me, a cow stubbornly wasn't scurrying from the path like the rest. What a long skinny ugly udder, I thought. He half turned blocking the entire path lined with saltcedar. El Toro! Blanco! Gran! Oops on that misidentification. He half-turned again facing me. Conveniently with his head held high, he blocked the sun casting his shadow over me.
Yikes! Danger, Will Robinson. Quick: Hazards Analysis. Risk Assessment. Standard Operating Procedure (Draft). This type of thinking comes automatically after a long career in dealing with uncontrolled nuclear materials.
He snorted dust and stomped the ground stirring up a cloud of white sand. I can't outrun him, there's no where to hide. He stomped again. I've intruded on his world. My bad. At the third stomp, I leaned toward him and slapped my walking sticks together shouting 'Andele! Andele!' He stared for the briefest instance then ran off through the saltcedar. The cows and steers and calves stampeded after him all leaving me alone in a huge cloud of white dust. Huh, scared off a bull, and all without a sequined bolero jacket. Success.
The Route Day by Day
Next Pilgrimage - Estimated Start Date 01 November 2016
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- 2007-2008 Via Francigena
- 2008-2009 Aachen to Santiago de Compostela
- 2009-2010 Route of St Andrew
- 2010-2011 Royal Road to Mexico
- 2011-2012 Route to Jerusalem
- 2012-2013 Buenos Aires to Mexico City
- 2014 Day by Day Saint Louis to Chimayo
- 2014-2015 The Amber Road
- 2015-2016 North American Martyrs
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La Fe Catolica Viva
A wee bit about me...
- Winter Pilgrim
- I love to simply travel, I love to travel simply. I lived in Europe for the last 8 years and learned enough German and French to be adequately conversant. I picked up a bit of Italian while walking to Rome. Languages certainly help make travel simpler.
I became a pilgrim in October 2007
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 =)
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4 comments:
Yeah! Success indeed! I am impressed at your "sang-froid".
Michèle , Ottawa (ON) Canada
And I thought Spain was the only pilgrimage that took one near the running of the bulls.
Thinking often about your beautiful words and journey while getting ready for Dharmasala...a town that proved to be a permanent stop for Tibetan refugees.
Well Done!! Now that I've picked my jaw up off the floor!
Oh--you brought back so many memories! Of my Grandmother yelling, "Andele" at us; of days doing hazard analysis--I loved the draft SOP!! Enjoy!! Karen
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