I decided to take a solo pilgrimage to honor my parent’s who both passed away last year. I spent two weeks hiking the Coastal Portuguese Camino de Santiago, starting in Porto and heading North along the coast to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I hiked anywhere from 12 to 17 miles a day carrying my own pack. Mostly I stayed in hostels, Albergues and hotels and made wonderful friends along my journey. I had so much time to reflect on the past few years and on the grief that I was carrying. It was incredibly stunning scenery as I hugged the coastline up through Portugal and crossed in to Galicia in Spain by boat. I hiked through tiny fishing villages, rural mountain towns, seacoast boulevards, rocky trails, sandy beaches, roads, highways, dirt paths, winding and weaving through walled towns, vineyards and vines, olive trees, up to hill tops, over bridges and into Santiago. Feet sore, body throbbing but proud to have made it solo. I feasted on local wine, fish, olives and delicious local cuisine which fortified my journey and kept me going. So many memorable moments, stumbling upon a local traditional dance celebration in Galicia, Spain, singing a song with a local troubadour who serenaded passing pilgrims on route to Santiago. Meeting wonderful fellow travelers from Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, England and the Czech Republic.