Walking the Camino de Santiago
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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Somewhere in the fog, we missed a marker. We ended up walking on the highway for considerably longer than strictly required. I’ve a sneaking suspicion that we did the same thing in 2013. In our most recent Camino, we actually managed to follow the correct route, which came as something of a surprise. Date: 29 April 2016 Place: Somewhere between […]
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Welcome back! When last we visited our Camino Photo of the Day series, we were saying good night in Portomarín on the evening of the 28th of April 2016. We rejoin our plucky pilgrims the next morning as they set out from Portomarín into a dense and clinging fog. Here we see the striking Igrexa de San Nicolao o San […]
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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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Our first view of the city and the cathedral spires came on Monto de Goza – the mountain of joy. We sang “Holy God we Praise Thy Name”, and a rainbow broke out over the city. We fairly well bounded into the city, despite the urban slog. So many people! There are several conventions and a festival happening in the […]
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