Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
25 April Today was a day of slow, grinding climbs, as we crossed our final mountain pass of the Camino. The town of O Ceibreiro is more or less at the top, and we arrived at the same time as two busloads of German tourists. The view was amazing. The village was the site of a eucharistic miracle in the […]
» Read more24 April Fun hiking morning with Smith and Terra, Santiago, and Stella and Diego (from Brazil). In Villafranca del Bierzo, we mailed home a box of souvenirs and various unneeded items. Lunch in Pereje with Smith and Terra, Ian from Glasgow (who we met walking into the village), and Anya from Nuremburg. Then, the heat set in. Progress slowed to […]
» Read more23 April On paper, this should have been our easiest day. Unfortunately, a heatwave hit. We arrived in Ponferrada in good shape and good time, but there we found the old Templar castle. We waited until it opened at 11, and we spent over an hour exploring both the castle and its collection of medieval manuscripts. Not to mention the […]
» Read more22 April 2013 One of the great traditions of the modern Camino is to leave a stone at Cruz de Ferro, an iron cross marking (more or less) the highest spot on the Camino route in Spain. This, we did today. In an earlier entry, I talked about my stone, and some of the meanings behind it. I put down […]
» Read moreWe’ve been without wifi for several days now, so I thought I’d post a quick note in lieu of full updates to follow later. We’re currently having breakfast in a bar in Samos, across the street from the stupendous monastery where we spent the night. The bar has wifi (obviously), but we need to get on our way. Chant Mass […]
» Read moreRequiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon her. She shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports. Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum et gratia tua […]
» Read more21 April 2013 Francine´s second day, and the Benedictine connection continues. We were misinformed about the local Mass schedule, and it briefly appeared that we would have to wait until 10am for a Mass, meaning we wouldn´t be on the road until 11 or later. Fortunately, we were told that there was an evening Mass (7pm) at our intended destination, […]
» Read more20 April 2013 After breakfasting in the Benedictine hotel, we walked to the bus station – maybe 1.5 km – and caught the 9:30 bus to Hospital de Orbigo. We walked back across the town to Puente de Orbigo and walked across (and back across) the astonishing medieval bridge there. There´s a jousting field next to the bridge. Jousting is […]
» Read more19 April 2013 Arrived in Leon after a relatively 18 km walk, made only slightly tiring by the fact that much of it was on city sidewalks. This is a fantastic city, probably my favourite so far other than Pamplona. Narrow, crooked streets, bursting with life and song and commerce. The cathedral is glorious. There´s an audio tour, of course, […]
» Read moreIt seems like I´ve been walking the long, straight paths of the Meseta forever, though in truth it´s only been six days. Less than a week! But many of the photos taken are of the road I´m travelling, generally a straight line to the horizon. There´s a lot of time to think on the Meseta while you walk through the […]
» Read more15 April 2013 Today Eamon and I walked a record-breaking 34 km. The walk to Fromista along the Canal de Castilla was very pleasant; it was not yet hot (we left at 7:30), and a cool breeze blew through the trees beside the canal. Lunch was in Fromista, where I spent some time in the Romanesque masterpiece of the Iglesia […]
» Read moreThird Sunday of Easter 14 April 2013 Hot. Dry. Sunny. This is the Meseta, a large arid plateau that makes up the middle third of the Camino through Spain. The Meseta is said to be the second trial of the Camino. In the first third, you are tried physically. In the bleak Mesta, you are tried mentally. It has not […]
» Read more13 April 2013 Burgos Cathedral this morning. I really wish I could upload photos from this connection, as I probably took a hundred or more. We spent about two hours wandering through this – superlatives fail me – magnificent? glorious? fantastical? – Gothic marvel in stone. I was a little disturbed by the decision to turn much of the structure […]
» Read moreBoots still wet, and wind still howling, the long deathmarch through the industrial wastelands surrounding Burgos needs little in the way of narration. Suffice to say, it was not the most charming possible introduction to a city. The central portion of the old city is beautiful, but very trendy and expensive. The cathedral is beautiful – perhaps the most spectacular […]
» Read more11 April 2013 Felt much better after a good sleep and three boxes of orange juice. We left Belorado in good form and breakfasted in Tosantos. It was a sunny, if breezy still, walk through the countryside we´d come to expect – brilliant green farm fields in bowl-shaped valleys. We lunched in a picturesque truck stop in Villafranca Montes de […]
» Read morePatrick was correct, as it turns out. We found out that the local news reported sustained winds of 45 kph on the day we walked into Sto. Domingo.
» Read more10 April 2013 After the severe physical trail of yesterday, we were determined to take it easy, starting late and perhaps only going as far as Granon, or maybe Redecilla del Camino, some 11 km distant. Before setting out, we explored the Cathedral. Santo Domingo himself is buried in the crypt, and I knelt there for a while, imploring the […]
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