A 69-year-old man from Brunswick, formerly of Oakland, is setting out on the journey of a lifetime by walking a 500-mile-long pilgrim path along the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Paul Durham, a retired park ranger, active volunteer in the Brunswick area and an avid hiker, will be undertaking the biggest challenge with this pilgrimage. His journey begins in early April and the entire journey will take more than 40 days.

The Camino de Santiago is a series of ancient pilgrim paths that converge on the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain where the remains of St. James are kept in a large cathedral there.

The Camino Frances, also known as the French Way, is the path that Durham will take. It has a history that dates back more than a thousand years and it is the most famous of the Caminos. His first day of hiking will be 15 miles up and over the Pyrenees mountains into the Basque region of Spain.

He said that his calling to walk the Camino brings with it a dedication and call to friends, family and others in the community to remember the needs of the poor and hungry in our midst, most importantly the needs of children.

“I encourage folks to walk with me on the Camino through action at home to help the poor and hungry among us,” he said.

Durham encourages people who would like to donate and recognize his pilgrimage to do so by making a contribution to the Brunswick Ecumenical Assistance Committee On Needs (BEACON), a local agency serving Brunswick and surrounding areas. The BEACON is a non-profit, ecumenical body, established primarily to provide food and emergency financial assistance to those in need, to include providing for the social, physical and emotional needs of the most vulnerable citizens of the Greater Brunswick Community.