Walking the Camino de Santiago
Thoughts about the spiritual aspects of the Camino.
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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Simply delightful. There’s just something about this home in Villamayor del Río that caught my attention. It might be the gorgeous blue colour of the crumbling plaster, faded in time to a rustic patina. It might be the potted garden out front or the large central dutch door that leads directly into the kitchen. Or perhaps it’s the combination that […]
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Pilgrims and parishioners mix in the Cathedral square in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. We are but passing through, but for many of these young Catholics, they are passing through the sacrament of Confirmation and joining the Church Militant – that portion of the communion of saints still walking upon the earth. And no doubt some of them will take […]
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I cannot remember taking this photo, and I certainly don’t know if this is part of some monument or just a plinth on a highway bridge. But for me, this image displays one of the deep strands of the Camino. There is a dignity and a quiet majesty surrounding structures in decay. They speak of the past with weary visages […]
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