When I started walking the caminos back in 2015, I had no idea that it was a life-long dream of my sister-in-law to also walk the Camino. She was a person of great faith and followed me through my journeys as she was unable to walk a Camino herself. As I happened upon religious sites and events on the various Caminos, she would want to know all about them and my experiences. This is one very personal thing that we shared together, even though our faith and belief in God couldn’t be more different.

For 17 years, she fought with cancer. This past June, her suffering ended as she passed away. Her husband and I will be traveling this year in her memory and taking a lock of her hair along with us. We will attempt to get a Compostela in her name. Because of her strong faith, we decided to take the Portuguese route from Lisboa to Fatima so that she could be present in spirit there with us. We will then continue on the Camino to Santiago, and then on to Muxia and Finestere. It will be a mixed trip of walking and bus travel due to available time.