Walking the Camino de Santiago
This striking plaque, mounted to a gate in the village of El Ganso, contains three symbols: the shell of Saint James, the Cross of Christ, and the Celtic Triskelion. This latter is an ancient symbol, going back at least 6,000 years, and is sometimes associated with Celtic cultures. The oldest meanings of the symbol are obscure and contested, but by […]
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A rare montage! Two views of the interior of the delightfully quirky Cowboy Bar, one facing the door and another of the bar. To say the place had atmosphere is a bit of an understatement. It’s an absolutely iconic place of the Camino Francés. You can see a wider shot of the bar area that I took in 2016 here. […]
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We finally arrived in El Ganso – the place we’d planned for lunch – at about 2pm. Of course we stopped to eat at the quirky Cowboy Bar. This place is a must-stop for pilgrims on this section of the Camino. Three years later, this was the spot where we re-met up with our friend Rebecca. Everybody stops at the […]
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The walk after Santa Catalina de Somoza was exhausting. Francine was starting to feel the strain that starts to catch up with you on your second day. Although it’s difficult to tell in this photo, the Camino is slowly gaining in altitude, and that’s proving a challenge as well. We had expected to make lunch in El Ganso, but it’s […]
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Halfway between Astorga and Rabanal seems an unlikely place for a pilgrim to purchase a shell or stick, and yet this shop in the village of Santa Catalina de Somoza is one of the more photographed businesses on this part of the Camino. Three years later, it came in pretty handy. On our 2016 Camino, Francine somehow lost her shell […]
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The brightly painted doors in the village of Santa Catalina de Somoza are delightful. There are dozens, and this is but one – for more check out the composite I made from our 2016 photos here. Date: 21 April 2013Place: Santa Catalina de Somoza (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: Astorga (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)
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We soon arrived at the utterly charming and bustling village of Santa Catalina de Somoza. As I noted previously, this village with a population approaching sixty, nevertheless appears more “alive” than villages of double the population. It has two albergues, a restaurant, a parish church, a shop, and… this fellow. We each got photos with this life-size pilgrim in his […]
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The Camino leveled out again, and a couple of locals passed us on horseback. These were the first equestrians I’d seen on Camino – though they wouldn’t be the last – and they weren’t even pilgrims. They say about 2% of all pilgrims ride the Camino horseback, but at least in the seasons we’ve gone, this estimate seems high to […]
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Here we are, walking through one of those “scrub” areas I mentioned yesterday. And it’s inexplicably uphill. And in the heat of the sun. This is Francine’s first climb, though there would be many worse ones in the days to come. She looks pretty determined to make it up! Date: 21 April 2013Place: between Murias de Rechivaldo and Santa Catalina […]
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Back out on the Meseta. We are gradually coming to the northwestern edge of this great plain, and rough scrub begins to appear every now and again. The bright red clay on the path ahead is the native soil of this area, and in 2016 we found out how horrible it is when wet. Today, however, was warm and dry. […]
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