Pilgrim pastor pens novel
Coeur d'Alene's Stephen Towles, a retired Unity Center of Spiritual Growth pastor, is seen here in front of the Cathedral of León in Spain while walking the Camino de Santiago. He has released a book about his adventures, titled "Heaven is Walking the Camino de Santiago."
Courtesy photo
Stephen Towles' passport, showing all the stops and stamps along the Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Blistered feet, perseverance, lifelong friendships and a deep spiritual connection all come with the territory when walking the Camino de Santiago.
It's an experience Stephen Towles of Coeur d'Alene describes as "Heaven on Earth."
"It's the way people treat each other, that's really what it's about," he said Wednesday. "It's a spiritual path, but it's also about connection because you connect with people on a very deep level, very quickly. Everybody's on this journey and they all have the same intention, they want to get to Santiago. You walk with them and they just open up. They tell you their life story and you build this little Camino family."
Towles, a retired Unity Spiritual Center pastor, recounts his experiences in his new book, "Heaven is Walking the Camino de Santiago." This 500-mile pilgrimage leads to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where the remains of Jesus’ disciple St. James are said to be buried.
Towles first went on the journey as he approached his 70th birthday in 2019. It didn't last long, though — he ended up with severe blisters on his feet that required medical treatment after only two weeks of what would have been a month-long trip.
"Every step was painful," he said. "They had to take a scalpel to remove the bandages from my feet."
He returned in September 2021 to finish the journey. It took him 19 days to walk 300 miles.
"I wanted to have a complete experience," he said. "When I went back I had better shoes."
Third time was the charm. He returned in September 2022 determined to go all the way.
"It was absolutely fabulous. I met so many people and I was in good shape,” he said. "I didn’t have any body pain, I had no blisters, I’d lost 30 pounds. I was ready. It’s because I was in such good shape I had a great time. The first time was training."
He said he wrote "Heaven is Walking the Camino de Santiago" because he felt his story was worth telling, "with the struggle that I went through, bouncing back and being able to finish."
The experience was so moving he even got his first tattoo — the scallop shell that is used in Camino culture as a symbol for this enlightening journey.
The book is on Amazon and Kindle. Towles will present a lecture about the Camino at 11 a.m. March 4 at the Coeur d'Alene Library.
