Walking the Camino de Santiago
Thoughts about the spiritual aspects of the Camino.
Ventas de Narón is a tiny village, more of a shady resting spot for pilgrims than anything else. There’s a tiny chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene here, and you are not allowed to take photos inside. So here’s a photo of the sign outside. Inside the church, a blind man stamps your pilgrim passport twice – once for the church […]
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It’s one month since we arrived in Santiago de Compostela as pilgrims for the third time. Every pilgrimage is different. You’re a different person with different concerns and worries and joys each time. And the Lord gives you different graces and consolations each time. It normally takes me a month or longer to process our Caminos. Re-entry is difficult. This […]
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Give me my scallop shell of quiet, My staff of faith to walk upon, My scrip of joy, immortal diet, My bottle of salvation, My gown of glory, hope’s true gage, And thus I’ll take my pilgrimage. (from “The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage”, attributed to Sir Walter Raleigh)
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The day dragged on. By the time we reached our planned second breakfast village, Mercadoiro, it was past lunchtime. So we ate lunch and revised the plan for the day, targeting the town of Portomarín as our stopping place, rather than Gonzar 7.5 km beyond. This photo is the interior window of the restroom of the bar in Mercadoiro. The […]
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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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Who wins in the battle between human construction and nature? Between dressed stones and trees patient beyond understanding? Ultimately, the things of man cannot endure. Whether that lifespan is measured in decades or centuries, it will eventually be overcome, possibly by the tiniest of seeds. Date: 26 April 2016 Place: between Filloval and As Pasantes (Galicia, Spain) Today’s Map:
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If Navarra smells vaguely of sheep, then Galicia smells vaguely of cows. Yes, I know, we’re still climbing our way out of the valley of El Bierzo, so we’re not technically in Galicia yet. But as we’ve seen, Galician culture is bigger than the physical borders of Galicia. Date: 25 April 2016 Place: between Vega de Valcarce and Ruitelán (Castilla […]
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As we approach the town of Villafranca del Bierzo, we pass through an old farmstead that includes this building. I want to say something about this, because while it is an extreme example, you see this sort of thing all over the Camino. Indeed, in a sense you see this wherever humans live. Was the original wall medieval, or was […]
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Throughout the churches and cathedrals of Spain, many eminent churchmen and lay people are entombed within the buildings. León Cathedral is no exception. Here is the crumbling remains of a bishop’s sarcophagus, soberly reminding us of our imminent death and that even our works and memorials are doomed to crumble to dust. Date: 19 April 2016 Place: León (Castilla y […]
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