The Golden Arrows

When I was a boy, one movie captured my young imagination more than any other. It was called Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. You may have seen it, too. The movie tells the story of a young boy named Charlie who happens to find a rare, golden ticket to a mysterious and wonderful factory, where everything is made of candy.  Now what boy wouldn’t dream of discovering a candy land where the daffodils are made of lemon drops, candy apples hang from the trees and the rivers flow with chocolate? Problem is, like Charlie, you have to find a golden ticket to get into the chocolate factory.

There may not be candy apple trees or chocolate rivers here on the Camino, but finding one of these golden arrows that point the way to Santiago can make you feel just like Charlie. Without the golden arrows, it’s impossible to get to Santiago, the chocolate factory for every pilgrim. But, unlike the Willie Wonka movie, the sweetness of the Camino De Santiago is not just the final destination, but also the journey. All along this path, there are daffodil lemon drops and candy apple trees moments we like to call Camino Connections.

You might be asking, “How do these connections happen on the Camino?” By just walking from one golden arrow to the next. Each year, over 250,000 people leave their Facebook and Twitter lives to find the way to Santiago. And with each step, the sweetness of the Camino is tasted in conversations along the way, a shared meal at a tiny cafe, or an early morning breakfast at an albergue. Just follow the golden arrows!