Block Pilgrimage as Spiritual Journey or Aesthetic Tourism


In class, we discussed the differences of pilgrimage as a spiritual journey or as aesthetic tourism. During this discussion, we talked about the different experiences that pilgrims may encounter if they are walking versus taking a bus from place to place. A pilgrim on a spiritual journey is usually forced to carry their pack with everything they will need in it while having to walk place to place in order to find shelter that may or may not have a shower. Pilgrims who embark as aesthetic tourists have a much different experience because they do not have to carry their pack as they rely on buses or cars that they ride in. they have access to shelter and showers, so they do not endure many of the struggles that pilgrims on a spiritual journey may encounter. Dr. Redick described how he took his class on the AT and how they could tell who aesthetic tourists were based on the smell of soap. He taught our class a saying: “it’s my Camino,” which means that it is up to the pilgrim to determine how he or she wants to achieve their journey. While understanding the meaning of this saying, I believe that pilgrims who travel as a spiritual journey by foot get much more out of the journey than those who travel by car and engage in aesthetic tourism. Those who are on a spiritual journey often go in order to find themselves or the fix a part of their lives by walking and I think this would be very difficult to do if you were bussed around from place to place and not struggling to find yourself.

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