“I can’t say just when the idea came to me that someday I would like to take a long walk….”
Welcome to the website of Robert Ward, author and pilgrim.
Robert is the author of Virgin Trails, an agnostic’s guide to the legends and worship of the Virgin Mary; and All the Good Pilgrims, a lighthearted account of his several walks on the Camino de Santiago pilgrim road.
On the site, you’ll find information about Robert’s books, including photos, excerpts, and recordings, plus information about the Camino.
Buy All the Good Pilgrims at Amazon
Buy Virgin Trails: A Secular Pilgrimage at Amazon
Update: January 2024
Greetings! 2023 saw the third installment of my much protracted, Covid-interrupted Caminho Portugues. (2018, Tomar-Coimbra; 2020, Coimbra-Porto; 2023, Porto-Pontevedra). Clearly I don’t want this journey to end, but maybe this is the year I polish off those last 70 kilometres.
If you’re new to the Camino (or even if you’re not) you may enjoy this talk I gave in 2021 to Toronto Oasis, a meetup group for the secular community, on the topic: “The Camino de Santiago, then and now.” You can check it out here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lwjV-ZL2WDBHDqdx1evRAPJ9pXJtSc6E/view
Hope to see you out on the road! Buen camino! Robert Ward
READ / LISTEN
Read Robert’s travel essay “Rhythms of the Camino.”
Hear him read aloud from Virgin Trails and All the Good Pilgrims.
My first Camino was over in 37 days, but when I got home I found it wasn’t over at all. I was still walking it every day. I had brought back a bagful of souvenirs – faces, questions, laughter, places, clouds, vastnesses, lessons half learned…
Robert outside The Stone Boat, a pilgrim haven in the village of Rabanal del Camino on the Camino de Santiago. (photo: Kim Narenkivicius)
About the Camino de Santiago
“Why do people walk the Camino today?
To know what it means to walk such a great distance. To be part of an ancient tradition. To escape the stress of modern life and slow down time…”