AN INTERVIEW WITH BEEBE BAHRAMI BY SANDIE SEDGBEER Since the 12th Century, Pilgrims have been walking the Camino, a network of roots traversing France, Spain, and Portugal that lead to the shrine of the Apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela in Galicia, in Northwestern Spain. In recent years, interest in this past has surged to the point where more than 200,000 people worldwide undertake some or all of this 500-mile journey every year. Over the past decade, I've interviewed several travelers who've made movies or written travel guides and memoirs about the Camino. And during that time, not in any of their narratives has anyone breathed a word about the ancient mysteries of web-footed Virgin Marys, mothers, goddesses, Templar Knights, fairytales, and geese that fill the pages of the Book, the Way of the Wild Goose.
Three pilgrimages follow geese, stars, and hunches on the Camino De Santiago. I have with me today the award-winning travel writer, anthropologist, essayist, and author Beebe Bahrami. Welcome! Beebe Bahrami: Thank you, Sandy. Sandie Sedgbeer: So you are known for your travel narratives, your guidebooks, and your memoirs, which include Café Oc: A Nomad's Tales of Magic, Mystery, and Finding Home in the Dordogne, Café Neandertal: Excavating Our Past in One of Europe's Most Ancient Places, The Spiritual Traveler, Spain, Moon Camino de Santiago: Sacred Sites, Historic Villages, Local Food & Wine, and of course, the Way of the Wild Goose. So tell us, what first attracted you to the Camino?
