Welcome to the Fall in Love with Books Tour. This tour is available only from October 1 to 4, so jump on now! There are only a few stops on this blog tour, and chances to win free books along the way. For a chance to win a book, visit each author’s site below, and leave a comment on their blog. Each author will randomly select a winner.
I love fall. Even in Florida, the trees change colors, just not as dramatically as in the northern climes. The shadows are longer and the days are shorter. Gone are the deafening cicada love songs and the buzz of insects. It’s a wonderful time to laze in the hammock with a book or go on a hike, which I did. In September and October of 2011, I took my first long walk, a 500-mile hike across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. Here are a few of my favorite autumn pictures of the Camino.
I started walking in the Pyrenees (left) on September 8. A slight breeze made the effort of climbing over 4,000 feet bearable, and the sunny skies provided breathtaking vistas. As a New Englander who climbed twenty of the 4,000-foot peaks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I was taken back by the enormity of the Pyrenees. It was still too early for the autumn leaf spectacle; nevertheless, the contrast of blue skies, cirrus clouds, and green hillsides doted with white sheep was shear eye-candy.
Several weeks later, we were in the Meseta, Spain’s central high plains. The Mesata is barren of verdant trees; the predominant color is ocher, a light-brownish yellow. At sunrise, the stony harvested fields glimmered with a reddish tint. As desert-like as the land appeared, I saw signs of life. Colorful flowers attracted vibrant butterflies. I even found beauty and color in the withered thistle (right) and other dried flowers scattered by the roadside.
As we traveled west, we left the plain and entered the mountain-ranges in Galicia (left). It was now early October, and the leaves were changing, making this part of the Camino de Santiago similar in color to the New England Autumn.
I loved rustling through leaves, picking up chestnuts, and having picnics in the shade of huge gnarly trees (below). In my mind, autumn is the best time of year to walk “The Way,” another name for the Camino.
If you enjoyed my remembrances of Autumn 2011, consider reading my book: Women of the Way: Embracing the Camino. The book describes my adventures and the stories of women from various countries and cultures whom I interviewed along the way.
Book Synopsis: What do you like most when reading about adventures: descriptions about the terrain, the culture, the challenges, the personal growth, the interactions between other adventures? Women of the Way successfully combines all these elements in a heartfelt and personal recounting of Jane V. Blanchard’s 2011 five-hundred mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago–hiking from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles in Spain, and then westward across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostella.
Though Women of the Way is about Jane’s journey on the Camino de Santiago and discussions with women she met along the way, this is not a “chic” book. It is about embracing the Camino. Jane discusses how she prepared for the Camino, the daily rituals in long-distance walking, the camaraderie, the personal changes, and the beauty and appeal of the most popular of all the pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Francés.
Other stops on this tour:
Each author will be giving away a copy of one of their books. To be included in a chance to win a book, just leave a comment on their blog. In your comment, include the book you are interested in, if the author lists more than one, and a way to reach you, if you are the winner. Good luck.
Mel Toye is from down under and has something enticing for you…
Please tell your friends about the Fall in Love with Book Blog Tour. I’ve add the twitter names next to the links for those who want to tweet about the give-away. @janevblanchard @meltoye @Elaine20Black, @mshuttle, @lisaday12
