Prior to going on the Camino, I had fantasized about writing a book about The Way. I had not considered what it would entail, how it would differentiate itself from myriads of books about the Camino, or how I would personalize it. Nothing. Writing a book was just a random thought.
While walking along the Camino it is easy to start conversations with other pilgrims. As I talked with them, I enjoyed listening to their stories. On the fifth day, I decide my book would include the stories of other female pilgrims. I now had my theme, but not the logistics.
For the first conversation I took notes and quickly realized that I was inserting my voice into her story. To eliminate this, I decided to record the conversations. The first time I tried this, I failed to start the digital recorder and lost the conversation. Lesson: learn to properly use your tools.
The first time I succeeded to record the conversation, I interviewed two women from New Zealand. I basically asked them why they were doing the Camino. As a newbie, I failed to develop a list of possible questions to ask the person being interviewed. For this reason, this conversation is very short. Additionally, I failed to get contact information. Lesson: be ready to ask questions that help the interviewees and get complete contact information, not just name and country.
The good news? With the help of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela forum, I found these two New Zealanders. I have made contact with them and hope to add their story to the upcoming book.
