Walking the Camino de Santiago
Preparations and planning.
After three days of airplanes, buses, and one miraculous taxi, we have finally arrived at the start of our pilgrimage. It is late in the evening on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. We have obtained our pilgrim shells, and we attended Mass in the local church of Santa Maria a Real do Cebreiro. The church is named after […]
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Just after the Noon Mass at our parish of Holy Rosary, Deacon Jim Fish bestowed the traditional Pilgrims’ Blessing on Francine and I – not to mention our “rucksacks”, “staves”, and shell and rosary. The blessing itself is ancient. In its current form it appears the Missal of Vich Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain, dated to AD 1078. We’re extremely grateful to […]
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We leave for Spain on Tuesday, and we’ve definitely entered into scramble mode. Equipment purchases, refinements, and testing has gone on for months, but it always seems like there’s something breaking or not working at the last minute. Our rigourous training schedule has gone by the boards this week due to increasingly frantic work pressures. And of course, there’s always […]
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Prior to each of our previous Camino pilgrimages, I’ve tried to articulate why it is that we walk. Everybody’s answer is, of course, different. It has ever been thus. Before my first Camino, I had this sense that God was calling me to it, and maybe that was enough of a reason. Maybe it was partly the sense of adventure […]
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As one leaves Triacastela, the pilgrim is confronted with a stark choice. To the left is the route to the Monasterio San Xulián de Samos, which will probably add a day to your Camino. To the right is the more direct route, which goes through the village of San Xil. In 2013, we took the left route. This is very […]
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Just thirty days from now, Francine and I will be boarding an airplane for Spain to begin our third Camino. While this one will be quite a bit shorter than the others – two weeks as opposed to six – that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. This is a spiritual journey, as well as a physical one, and who […]
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After walking the Camino Francés in 2013 from Roncesvalles and in 2016 from St Jean, Francine and I were busy planning our next Spanish adventure for 2020. The plan was that I would walk the Francés from St Jean (or possibly Lourdes), while she took a flat in Burgos to work on her historical romance book about the Camino. When […]
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After getting some bunks at the Xunta Albergue and showering, we set off to explore the village of O Cebreiro. This is where we will be beginning our 2018 Galician Camino. The shops here have everything a pilgrim (or a tourist!) could want. In 2016 I picked up some mementos and post cards here. In 2018, we plan on getting […]
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The sharpest among you will notice a new countdown on the blog. More on that in a moment. The town of O Cebreiro is the start of the Camino in Galicia. The town stands at the top of the long climb out of the valley of El Bierzo, and the views into the valley from here are spectacular. More of […]
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Though it was a Sunday, finding a Mass anywhere in Castilla y León has proved a challenge, even in the cathedral cities. Nevertheless, I did manage to do so as we were leaving town. The Way from Cacabelos eventually runs back into the El Bierzo vineyards. The day was beautiful, and the countryside filled with stunning views. Date: 24 April […]
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