Chloe Naughton : Camino de Santiago

Whether a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago is secular or not, the individual experiences a spiritual journey. A reason a hiker might take the trail is to discover their purpose or cleanse themselves. Some choose to hike in order to free themselves from sin or feeling of isolation from society as a result of poor acts. Although secular pilgrims don't label their actions and feelings as sin, they simply define it without connecting religion to it. Could it be possible to label such feelings as sin without its religious connotation? Even though the Camino holds dense religious history, it can be spiritually experienced in nonreligious ways. In the discussion, a building in ruins seemed to draw attention from hikers in such a way causing them to experience it overnight into the sunrise. This could be seen as "a sacred place [that] is not chosen, [instead] it chooses." The hikers didn't choose to make it sacred, but the rich stories it possibly holds gave the place power to compel the hikers to its location. Even though the bones of the building that was only admired, the tales it could share made it intriguing.