Book excerpt: Powerful Places on the Caminos de Santiago is not your usual guidebook to Spain. It's not about visiting places, it's about experiencing them. It invites you to explore a carefully chosen selection of places on the roads that lead to the pilgrimage shrine of Santiago de Compostela. These remarkable sites include the mountaintop shrine of a Black Virgin, a Knights Templar chapel concealed in a canyon, a hidden valley in the Pyrenees-to name a few. The book gives detailed descriptions of these powerful places, how to get there, and what to do when you arrive. Numerous maps, graphics, and photos bring the locations to life. If you are intrigued by the unusual; if you long to connect more deeply with the places you visit; if you have a nagging feeling that there's more to some places than meets the eye-this is the travel guide for you.