Walking the Camino de Santiago
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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After Hospital de la Cruz, the Camino crosses a busy highway and takes the form of a sidewalk next to a rural road. This little section is lovely mix of forest, farm, and pasture. This section of Galicia reminds me of early days on the Camino in Navarra. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Between Hospital de la Cruz and Ventas […]
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I got nothing. You see stuff like this from time to time in the older, half-falling-down stone buildings in Camino villages. Why? I’m sure every stage of this, probably separated by decades or centuries, made perfect sense at the time. It kind of reminds me of an inuksuk. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Hospital de la Cruz, probably (Galicia, Spain) […]
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The Spanish, and perhaps specifically the Galicians, certainly enjoy their coats of arms. These are on the side of a building in the village of Hospital de la Cruz, I believe. They are those of the Province of Lugo, an administrative region within Galicia. They seem to be a mixture of those of Galicia on top and Castile y León […]
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As the Camino skirts around the castro of Castromaior, we walk through a scrubland filled with familiar flowers. Not as pretty as yesterday’s roses, this is scotch broom. Endemic to our home state of Washington, it was odd to see here and in such quantity. Until, that is, somebody mentioned to me that the plant was originally native to Europe. […]
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We kept a terrific pace, arriving at Castromaior by eleven. These roses grow in the crowded little graveyard behind the rustic Romanesque parish church here. They were absolutely stunning that spring morning. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Castromaior (Galicia, Spain) Map of the Day:
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Although the little parish church of Gonzar was locked up, I did manage to snap a photo through a window. This is, I believe, the church sacristy. I very much enjoy the character of the early morning light in these old stone churches. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Gonzar (Galicia, Spain) Map of the Day:
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This is the Irexa de Gonzar – the little parish church of the village of Gonzar. The building behind and to the right is the busy peregrino bar where we ate our second breakfast. We were pleased to arrive and pleased to be firmly back on the Camino after the morning’s misadventure. The church was sadly locked up, but I […]
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This is not your usual Camino marker. By this point, the Camino had rejoined the highway, so at least we on the right path, even if we had been lost most of the morning. We were being much more careful about our route now and weren’t likely to fall for this false arrow! Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Somewhere between […]
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I‘ve often said that Galicia is a Catholic country. Here’s Exhibit A: the coat of arms of Galicia is the Blessed Sacrament. Most of the regional arms also feature the Eucharist in some way. You see it everywhere. Sometimes this is a little disconcerting, especially when the local municipality embosses their trash and recycling bins with their arms, but overall […]
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