Somewhat strangely, the touching tale of a father who treks across Spain in tribute to a son who has passed away on a pilgrimage lit a spark in me that just would not go out. That spark, a desire to follow in Martin Sheen's footsteps on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela, burned ever brighter in my mind until I set aside the last few weeks of my 40s to travel to the south of France and start my own Camino de Santiago. Of course, I soon discovered that the Hollywood version of The Way of St James was not much like the real thing. For one thing, there were a lot more flies. And bedbugs. And blisters. The real Camino turned out to be more of an adventure than could ever have dreamt.Somewhat strangely, the touching tale of a father who treks across Spain in tribute to a son who has passed away on a pilgrimage lit a spark in me that just would not go out. That spark, a desire to follow in Martin Sheen's footsteps on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela, burned ever brighter in my mind until I set aside the last few weeks of my 40s to travel to the south of France and start my own Camino de Santiago. Of course, I soon discovered that the Hollywood version of The Way of St James was not much like the real thing. For one thing, there were a lot more flies. And bedbugs. And blisters. The real Camino turned out to be more of an adventure than could ever have dreamt.Somewhat strangely, the touching tale of a father who treks across Spain in tribute to a son who has passed away on a pilgrimage lit a spark in me that just would not go out. That spark, a desire to follow in Martin Sheen's footsteps on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela, burned ever brighter in my mind until I set aside the last few weeks of my 40s to travel to the south of France and start my own Camino de Santiago. Of course, I soon discovered that the Hollywood version of The Way of St James was not much like the real thing. For one thing, there were a lot more flies. And bedbugs.