Pilgrimage in the West has spun, like education, away from the church. It seems to me no longer a Christian but a now secular notion. The by now clichéd gap year can be seen as pilgrimage. The journey is a rite of passage in a world of fast disappearing ritual and tradition. As I wandered past these artefacts of pilgrims past I expected Lonely Planet guides, backpacks and a Eurail pass to appear, amongst the artefacts of pilgrims present.
Highlands and Islands
I’m writing while on a train through the Scottish Highlands, from Mallaig to Stranraer, along a track cut close into jagged cliffs, skirting the ocean. It is a clear, sunny day, and the landscape reminds me of Cape Town.
Claire and I arrived in Aberdeen a week ago, to visit Peterculter, on its outskirts, where my grandfather spent his early life, and to properly meet his cousin, living about an hour away, in Ballater. We lugged our backpacks through long, grey streets to eventually reach the city’s only hostel, the Aberdeen SYHA. Continue reading Highlands and Islands>>
