Maybe There Will Be Cupcakes

Ginny Bartolone's Blog of Many Years

Tag: life

  • 14. On Arriving

    14. On Arriving

    To read more context for the letter below, check out this post here:)  Dear Pilgrim, When you arrive in the Plaza do Obradoiro, take a moment to sit on the ground. I recommend a spot by one of the pillars toward the back of the square. This is where you’ll get the best view of it…

  • 13. On Why You Came Here

    13. On Why You Came Here

    To read more context for the letter below, check out this post here:)  Dear Pilgrim, Three-quarters of the way through our walk, somewhere right before Galicia, we passed a mother and daughter having an aggressive conversation. While we’d never shared a table with them, gossip along the trail was abundant about these two. It turns out…

  • 9. Dear Pilgrim: On Rage

    9. Dear Pilgrim: On Rage

    To read more context for the letter below, check out this post here:) An extra note this week. This letter lived between chapters about when I finally let myself get really angry (about a whole bunch of stuff I talked about in the book) during my 2017 hike. It was one of the best things I…

  • Coming Home Requires Patience

    Coming home requires patience. I’m three weeks out from my trip and I still find myself retreating into the solitary part of my mind that shielded me from a world of little red notification flags at the top of a screen. What’s odd is that I am having trouble recounting each hiking day in my…

  • If “Acting is Doing” Then What is Everything Else?

    My acting teacher in London was never a huge fan of me. Though I like to believe I’m a rather agreeable human, I consistently clash with a very specific personality. We’re like two liquids that simply cannot occupy the same space. In one of our first classes, she asked us in a raspy tone, “What…

  • A Note on Belonging

    I had a pretty difficult time returning from both of my Caminos. The noise of American televisions, the lack of connection with people in your neighborhood as you walk down the street, the speed of everyday life. The biggest shock driving home from the airport was the rigid geometry of the streets in our suburban…

  • Villatuerta to Los Arcos y Los Arcos to Viana

    I’m off on a trip for the weekend, so I’m gonna keep this short and leave it at a little Camino hindsight. Many people have asked me why I feel the need to return–and keep returning–to the same trail. With some so many other places, other trails even, to explore all over the world–why this…

  • The 2018 Writing Project, Title TBD

    1. The Inspiration About two weeks into my hike across Spain this past summer, I posted this status on Facebook: “Since I arrived, many people have asked why I decided to return to the Camino a second time. And honestly, I’ve found myself somewhat stuck on how to answer. All I know is that I…

  • 5 Elements of the Camino Our Country Could Really Use Right Now

    On many hiking days, hiding in the safety of the Camino de Santiago often offset the incessant pain of walking 15-18 miles a day, though it was hard not to feel guilty about turning a blind eye to the news back home. With spotty wifi connections and a goal to, you know, focus on the…

  • Post-Camino Zombie Phase

    I have officially entered post-Camino-zombie phase.  After Camino number one in 2009, I had one full day at home with my family before boarding a southbound airplane and launching into a “getting to know you”-new-job situation. So as strange as I feel now, I am grateful for the silence of my living room, the promise…