I recently hiked a portion of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. These pilgrimage trails have existed for centuries, originating in hundreds of towns throughout Europe and spanning thousands of miles. They celebrate St John and his burial place at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral Basilica in Spain.

I did not do this as a religious pilgrimage, although many do. But my father was an Episcopalian priest so I have to imagine he was aware of the Camino and would be proud of my attempt to take this on.

I had a self imposed limit of one week to accomplish the last 73 miles [117km] from Sarria to Santiago. Come to find out that this was ambitious. The first two days were 15 and 16 miles respectively, which was a lot. I took the next day off to recover, and built my mileage back up gradually. What an amazing landscape and range of people I saw and met. Incredible.

Many folks report spiritual awakenings from attempting this. I have to admit to having some myself. But I'm still sorting this out and will have to let you know. But suffice to say that I am changed, as well as tattooed. We'll see what life changes come from this.​

So I just got back home from a week in Brasil. It was my first time, but hopefully not my last. I have friends there now, and have vowed to experience the other seasons that the country has to offer...with perhaps the exception of high-summer? I hear it gets fairly uncomfortable, even for the locals. Heat is fine, but mixed with high humidity? Not so sure that's my bliss. ;)

This was one of the more 'hybrid' photo excursions I've ever attempted from a gear point of view, as the focus really wasn't focused on photography at all...it was the people. And in fact, security turned out to be a prime consideration as well. The poverty in some areas drives folks to extremes. I was advised not to take even my phone out in public! And friends told stories of being robbed at gunpoint. So hauling a full camera kit around just seemed foolhardy, as you can imagine.

As a result, my shooting was limited and consisted of far more surreptitious phone shots than usual. But the images I did manage to capture will surely remind me of the kindness of the people, and beauty of the landscape!

Spent a wonderful weekend walking all over Boston. 16k steps one day! 

I'd scheduled a workshop through Leica Store Boston, and had no idea that they might postpone it. So I bought all cheap, nonrefundable tickets and hotel. Ha!

Decided to go down anyway. I was born here and have spent a lot of time here over the years. But I saw it with new eyes. 

I'd live in Boston again if I could. But alas.

So I got to visit NYC on business recently. Hadn't been there in years. What a vibrant place! I did take a 'real' camera with me which is, regrettably, exceedingly rare these days. So glad I did. Can't wait for the next trip...should be to either Germany or Brazil?

My son and I spent summer vacation again in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. We time our visit annually to coincide with Canada Day on July 1st, and of course US Independence Day on the 4th which we celebrate from afar. We had generally great weather and the food and people we experienced were terrific. See you all next year!

Ah, these are the days. Sunrises over the neighboring farm are golden. Last day of school was yesterday. The garden is planted...peas are already feet high. The pool was 53F when we opened last month [brrrrr], but much warmer now. Summer in Maine can't be beat. ​

Yay! The telescope is back from Celestron. They tell me that the auto-nav features are working perfectly for them...we'll see. Looking forward to the next clear night.

Meanwhile, I've been thinking back to the moon photography I used to do at the last house...where I could walk to the ocean with tripod and camera slung over my shoulder. The shots above were from last year, doing just that. Nice.