A Camino Class at Santa Fe College

 We are going to teach a class about Hiking the Camino as part of the Community Education offerings at Santa Fe College. Classes will be from 6:30 to 8:00 on Thursday evenings November 1, 8, and 15 on the campus in northwest Gainesville. The College charges $24 for the course.

Registration is open now. You can call 352-395-5193 to sign up. Online registration is also available.  Go to www.sfcollege.edu. Click on Community Education and scroll down to "Register Here" the course number is NAT 0094.1F.

The class is geared for people who are thinking of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, or who just want to know about the nitty-gritty of going on this long distance hike. We will discuss the legends, history, and culture of the trail. 

The focus will be heavily on the practicalities, such as:

• How do you know where to start?
• How do you get there?
• Where do you sleep?
• What do you bring?
• How do you train for such a hike?
• Do you have to walk all 500 miles?
• How much time do you need?
• What does it cost?
• When is a good time of year to go?
• What do you eat?
• Are there rest rooms?
• Is it safe?
• Do you have to go with a group?
• Do you have to go alone?
• Do you meet interesting people?

If you saw the film The Way and were intrigued, or for some other reason the Camino is calling to you, come and learn more about it. It is an adventure to cherish.

Spanish Crocuses

These little crocuses seemed to be almost everywhere we walked this September in Spain. They were particularly abundant in the hard-packed soil of the trail. We aren't sure, but think they may be close relatives of the domesticated species used for harvesting saffron threads.