Walking the Camino de Santiago
Seen here from near the bottom and also near the top, these steps are instantly remembered by any pilgrim walking through the town. After a long day’s hike, they are a terror to climb. Whether they are as infamous to those starting here, I’ve no idea. There’s a bar right at the top of the steps, and you can believe […]
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Vigo is the last little village in the string before you get to the large town of Sarria. You can see Sarria in the distance in this photo, and the contrast between the foreground and background is striking. At 111 km (officially), Sarria is the major town closest to the minimum distance of 100 km required for the pilgrimage. Needless […]
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As we passed through the strings of hamlets and villages, we peeked into each place’s little church in turn. This one, probably in San Pedro do Camiño, is typical: a small stone structure, whitewashed on the outside and the inside, with rustic furniture and sacred art. I found them utterly charming. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: San Pedro do Camiño? […]
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Francine refers to these sorts of trails as “goat paths”, particularly when there’s some sort of slope involved. Not a terrible slope here, but certainly slippery when wet! Fortunately, unlike the flooded Meseta, we had a relatively dry time in Galicia this year. This is also a pretty serious example of a holloway. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: Montán (Galicia, […]
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This one speaks for itself. Date: 27 April 2016 Place: San Xil (Galicia, Spain) Today’s Map:
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This is the tiny village of Balsa. It illustrates something worth discussing about this last part of the Camino in Galicia. Stretches of the Camino here are a sting of these tiny hamlets, one after the other, sometimes so close to each other it’s difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins. Many don’t have any signage, since […]
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As one leaves Triacastela, the pilgrim is confronted with a stark choice. To the left is the route to the Monasterio San Xulián de Samos, which will probably add a day to your Camino. To the right is the more direct route, which goes through the village of San Xil. In 2013, we took the left route. This is very […]
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The next morning, April 27, this sight greeted us in the common room of the albergue. There are always those who for whatever reason send their bags ahead using one of the transfer services that have sprung up all along the Camino. Normally this happens because the pilgrim is older, injured, or just plain overpacked. This is the first time, […]
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Alas, this handsome ambo sits disused in a corner of the church. I suppose that technically, the church is small enough that the use of this ambo might be overkill in terms of sound volume. On the other hand, there was a giant microphone on the altar. Given the choice, I’d go with the ambo. Date: 26 April 2016 Place: […]
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There’s a lot going on here, little of it good. I suspect this was originally a Marian altar, but it seems to have accreted various saintly statues and images as though it were a shelf for knick-knacks. And three candles? How could you use the altar for its intended purpose with a candle in the middle? Seems strangely appropriate that […]
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