The Way - Pilgrimage Travels

When I saw the movie The Way, by Emilio Estevez, I was moved by character development the man played by Martin Sheen. The movie follows Tom, a Crabby doctor who goes to France to claim the body of his son after a tragic accident. Tom decides to take a journey on a path his son never finished through beautiful northern coast of Spain. The journey he takes is a famous christian pilgrimage known as “The Way of Saint James” or “The Way”. Tom meets some companions and on his journey and on his this path learns more about himself.

This reminded me of why I love traveling. When you travel, you learn more about yourself. Even more so, you learn more about a culture and other people, even more so if you experience a pilgrimage. In my travels I have experienced a few pilgrimages including the holy city of Rishikesh, India, climbing the Trikuta Mountain in Katra to Vaishno Devi Shrine in India, found myself at the Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura, India, and climbed the steps of Hanginan in Maasin, Philippines. All of these being spiritual journeys, and much like Tom, they landed on me at the last minute.

This got me thinking, Tom meet some interesting people on his pilgrimage, and so did I. I also realized that pilgrimages are great way to inspire travel, meet amazing people, and learn more about cultures of the area.

Always wanting to travel is dream of many. But where does one decide to travel to? And how do you decide? A pilgrimage could be the answer to such a thing. Many buddhists see the four holy spots of Buddha in India and is an inspiration for me to return to India. Many Christians walk “The Way” or “The Camino” like in the movie The Way and explore Spain. There is also the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Japan. All of these are great reasons to want to travel and great inspiration for anyone to want to travel.

It is always amazing when you are doing something, and someone shares that same idea with you. That is great about a pilgrimage, you are surrounded by people who share your same ideas. My pilgrimage in Katra to Vaishno Devi I really got know my good friend, and meet some other great pilgrims, young and old along the way. In They Way, Tom comes across companions all walking “The Camino” all looking to find themselves, or just something. As one walks to lose weight and another is trying to quit smoking. They stumble upon writer with writer’s block who is finding his way. They all become friends on their common journey. Journeys like these are a great way to meet new people.

Tapas or Pinchos? Which do you order when you are in Pamplona? Well you could always be like Tom and find out the hard way. Something you always seem to learn about a pilgrimage is the local customs and culture of where you are at. Nothing like trying samosas for the first time and falling in love with them forever. Food is a great thing to experience on a pilgrimage, as you are forced to eat the local foods. You are also learning about the villagers in the area when talking about them, and finding similarities and differences, like whether to order tapas and pinchos.

So why go on pilgrimage? Well you do not have to do it to be spiritual, it is a great reason to be inspired to travel. You can make new friends along the way as you try new foods and learn new cultures. Pilgrimages are just a great travel experience. Do not forget to check out They Way on BlueRay now.

So if you could take a pilgrimage where would you go? Perhaps you would like to share an experience of a pilgrimage with us? We could use some good ideas of where else to go. Are there any other movies out there that have inspired you to travel? Write a comment below and feel free to follow us on twitter and Facebook and follow our feeds.

Erick Redcloud

A partially blind Graphic Designer, Freelance Travel Photographer, Artist, Buddhist and Vegetarian who loves to travel. Erick loves traveling by being with the locals and going off the beaten path. He is the founder and owner of Pathlesstravels and loves inspiring others to follow their dreams, whether it is to travel or something completely different. He started Pathlesstravels to hone is photography skills and to meet amazing people, and to help a friend break into journalism. Check out his photography at his link.

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Erick Redcloud