Once Upon The Way The Adventures of Two Seniors on the Camino de Santiago

ONCE UPON THE WAY is the story of a married couple in their seventies who decided, on a whim, to hike the final hundred kilometers of Spain's famous Camino de Santiago in 2014. After five months of workouts at the local gym and outfitting themselves with hiking gear, backpacks, and every other conceivable item they might need while on the Camino, the Schallers flew to Spain and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Along the Way of Saint James, as the Camino is also called, the Schallers experienced many adventures that were not mentioned in Camino guidebooks. A charming Gypsy invited the couple into her 17th century stone barn for "tea and a chat". The three ended up singing John Denver songs at the top of their voices while sitting on hay bales. Then there was the live ostrich on the lawn of a trail-side house. No explanation why this big bird was living in Spain. Stepping stone bridges, the music of bagpipes and drums at a fiesta, a fast-pace soccer game, scenery straight out of Tolkien's Middle Earth and a lesson in witchcraft are just some of the adventures that the Schallers encountered on their hike to the Cathedral of Saint James in Santiago.

Mary W. Schaller, a native of Washington, DC, aka Harlequin author Tori Phillips, is the award-winning author of ten romances, nine non=fiction books and five published plays. She has won several writing awards including the Silver Magnolia for Excellence in Historical Romance and the Jefferson Davis Gold Medal for Historical Non-fiction. Publishers Weekly praises Mary, saying that "she's literate, witty and tells a good story." To date, Mary's books have collectively sold 2.6 million copies world-wide and her romances have been translated into 17 languages. Her non-fiction books are in the permanent collections of the Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia and in the permanent archives of the Marylebone Cricket Club in London, England. Her plays have been performed throughout the United States as well as in Canada, England and Australia. Mary lives in northern Virginia. When she is not writing her next book, she relaxes by reading and traveling both in the USA and abroad.
Hailing from Illinois, Marty is a retired United States Navy Officer and technology executive who has written for a wide range of government and industry publications. He has served as a living history interpreter at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a volunteer at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center and at the United States Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia. Marty enjoys traveling the world and photography.