"A Million Steps" by Kurt Koontz (2014)

In 1995 I spent a semester in León, Spain.  It was there that I first learned of the Camino de Santiago because one of the major stops is on the Camino is in León.  The Camino is a pilgrimage across Spain that thousands of people walk or bike each year.  The most popular route starts just across the Pyrenees from Pamplona, Spain and runs for almost 500 miles to Santiago de Compostela in the Galicia region of Spain, north of Portugal.  I don't have a bucket list, but if I did this pilgrimage would be on it.

The author of this book was a successful businessman from Idaho who was able to retire at the age of 36.  In 2012, in his late 40's, he walked the Camino in 28 days.  This book documents that journey.  

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a very quick read and has short chapters that made it easy to pick up and put down whenever I had a few minutes to read.  I was taken by the personal insights he gained on the Camino and the ways he was able to think about how to put those insights into action in his life after the Camino.  I enjoyed reading about the people from all around the world that he encountered while on the journey, and how they popped in and out of his life along the way.  I don't think anyone can read this book and not come away wanting to do the Camino him/herself. 

I have always had the Camino in the back of my mind, but it is now something I think I might need to find a way to do.  I don't know that I would do the entire 500 miles; but I think I will more seriously consider now doing at least part of it.  It seems like a life-changing journey.