Walking the Camino de Santiago
Here we are, glancing down the south side aisle of Navarrete’s Iglesia Nuestra de la Señora Asunción de María. We are standing at the Holy Door and looking past several side altars to another side altar on the far wall. On the very edge of the photo on the left, we can see the blurry brilliance of the high altar. […]
» Read moreIt has been several days and 10 journal pages since I last posted. In that time, we’ve walked 64 km. The Camino continues to teach new lessons every day. Here are three. God speaks through whom He will. If necessary, He will send updates and clarifications. Several days ago, an issue with which I have been wrestling was answered by the […]
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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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This is the interior of the tiny Chapelle de Saint-Roch. On the day that we were there, it was possible to gain a plenary indulgence by venerating the saint’s relics in the chapel, attending the nearby outdoor Mass, and drinking from the holy fountain. You can barely see the reliquary on the altar in this photo, but here we are […]
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As I mentioned earlier, Ávila and I stopped at a wayside food truck outside Chazeaux, just 5 km from what I expected would be the end of my day. My plan was to get an Orangina and eat a sandwich. We ran into Appolina there and had a small reunion. And then the craziness started. Crazy with grace, I mean. […]
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Today I completed the walking portion of my pilgrimage. I have yet to visit the cathedral and the tomb of the Apostle. That’s an adventure for tomorrow.. This morning, after a deep and blissful sleep, I woke up at about 7 AM. Breakfast began at 8:00, and I took it slowly. No sense in leaving before it was light out today. […]
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Yesterday evening, I prayed for the intentions of the Camino in an early 12th century chapel built into a cave on the site of a hermitage that was in use from the third through the sixth centuries. Since I was staying in the parroquial, they took us up to the cliff and gave us the tour. The statue of the […]
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I knew today was going to be a long, hot day, so I broke my rule about starting in the dark in Spain. After a hearty Austrian breakfast featuring good brown bread, I said goodbye to many of my Camino companions for the past few days: Allison and Morgan, Rebecca, even Philip. Given our schedules for the next few days, […]
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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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There were many churches I wanted to visit in Pamplona, including the 13th century church of San Cernín, which has a Baroque chapel containing the miraculous statue of la Virgen del Camino. Unfortunately, most all of them were closed, probably due to the chaos intendant on the fiesta. Perhaps next time. How bad were the crowds? We briefly joined a […]
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