Walking the Camino de Santiago
And there’s not much more to say about that. Date: 28 April 2013 Place: somewhere between As Rozas and Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain) Today started: Sarria (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)
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Today is the first anniversary of my arrival in Santiago following my thousand-mile walking pilgrimage on the Via Podiensis and Camino Francés. From August 18 through October 23, 2023, I walked from Le Puy-en-Velay in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James the Greater. I received my pilgrim blessing from […]
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Today I left the albergue just after 8:00 AM. My shoes were still wet, but I had a couple of plastic bags that I hoped would keep my feet dry. The route out of town took me past the church, but at this early morning hour it was safely locked up. It looks like market day is today – there […]
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Last evening I met a couple of guys from South Africa as well as a pilgrim from Trinidad. Quite a group of folks having the usual pilgrim conversations, and it helped bring me out of my funk. And it turns out that Neil from South Africa owns a company that makes vestments. Crazy. Seriously slept in today. I guess my […]
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Apparently my body, knowing that today was going to be a short day, slightly overslept. I mean, I was up at 5 AM with a jolt, but I immediately fell back to sleep. Even so, I was packed and ready to go at just before 7:30 AM. Despite the lateness, I hadn’t actually slept very well. The most uncomfortable bed! […]
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Just a quick word about last night’s gîte: magnificent! Wide and spacious dorms, but more importantly, gracious and amazing hosts. Dinner was outside on the terrace in full view of the beautiful Basque hills. And afterwards, there was a sing-along in French punctuated by our host playing accordion and singing traditional Basque folk songs. It was just a great experience. […]
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Today was a lesson in listening to your body. Or, rather, a lesson in listening to your foot and not your stomach. Or perhaps, today was a series of lessons that I need to learn, or remember. Jacopo and I shared dinner last night with a Canadian couple, Etienne and Colleen. I immediately noticed that both of them wore the […]
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Like it or not, the Camino is full of graffiti that runs the gamut from profound to silly. This message was on the side of a farmhouse. I can’t imagine the owner appreciated it, but I found it quite moving. Date: 02 May 2013 Place: between O Pedrouzo and San Paio (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) Today started: O […]
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I’m often delighted and sometimes confused by the various bits of graffiti along the Way. This particular bit of pro-Roman graffiti falls equally well into both camps. Date: 29 April 2013 Place: between Gonzar and Hospital de la Cruz (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain) Today started: Portomarín (Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain)
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This iconic marker stands at the border between Castilla y León and Galicia. We have now crossed into the final region of the Camino. At some point after this photo was taken, but before we returned in 2016, the marker was painted in a probably vain effort to thwart the graffiti. Check out the 2016 photo for contrast. Date: 25 […]
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