Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago

A man, a donkey, and a very long walk: Moore’s latest European adventure (after French Revolutions and others) finds him embarking on an ages-old physical and spiritual pilgrimage across Spain to the famed cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Moore entertains with his snappy one-liners and skewed views of the locals, his fellow pilgrims and his own reasons for undertaking the camino. Against advice to the contrary, he pursues his search for a donkey to accompany him, which “upgraded his camino from big walk to revelatory voyage of self-examination.” Moore shines in detailing “Tim and Shinto’s Excellent Adventure”: during the day, he accumulates “clicks” (kilometers) and cajoles Shinto across bridges, grates and roads; afternoons and evenings are spent searching for donkey-friendly lodgings (and encountering a share of slammed doors). Fellow pilgrims (the “Baroness von Munchausen”; “New Mexico Joe”) get full portraits between details of communal living and eating, and the sordid intimacies of the shared bathroom. His sections on the pilgrimage’s history and the towns he passes, however, are dry in comparison to his anecdotal asides and may only appeal to history buffs or those who’ve traveled this route themselves. While Moore may not have found his “inner Tim,” he does take readers on an entertaining, unusual adventure.
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