Walking the Camino de Santiago
Just opposite the Holy Door we come at last to the steps leading down into the crypt where Saint James the Apostle – Santiago – is entombed. The stone steps are worn smooth and concave from the footsteps of generations of pilgrims. Day and night they file down in a seemingly unending line. The crypt itself lies under the high […]
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Compostela in hand, we head at last to the Cathedral. Here, we enter through the Holy Door. This particular door is open only in Jacobean Holy Years – those years where the Feast of Santiago falls on a Sunday. In 2016, however, Pope Francis had declared a special Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy. Holy Doors were opened in Cathedrals and […]
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And here it is, the Compostela, the proof of my pilgrimage. But it’s not over yet! We have yet to actually complete the last few steps into the Cathedral itself and down into the crypt where the Apostle’s bones reside. That’s next on the agenda! Date: 02 May 2016 Place: Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain)
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And then it’s off to the Pilgrim Office. In centuries past, you would receive your Compostela – the paper that proves you’ve walked the pilgrimage – at the sacristy of the Cathedral itself. Nowadays, there’s a whole building for this. You wait in line with the other pilgrims who have walked at least the final 100km. Of course, our distance […]
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When you finally arrive in Santiago, there are a number of time-honoured traditions that pilgrims observe. Some time offering a prayer of thanksgiving in front of the Cathedral comes first. Next, because you aren’t allowed to take backpacks into the Cathedral, you have to find and check into an albergue to drop of your stuff. With this, naturally, comes a […]
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As we walk through the older parts of the city, the spires of Santiago Cathedral hove into view above the rooftops. Date: 02 May 2016 Place: walking into Santiago! (Galicia, Spain) The final walking day, the final map:
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Our doughty band of pilgrims makes its way through the city towards our goal: the Cathedral. On the way, we pass numerous albergues for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who come to Santiago every year. On our first Camino, I wanted to stay at the Minor Seminary whose sign you see here. Instead, we’ve stayed at a number of […]
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The Camino crosses over a highway and its onramp, featuring this sign. I have to wonder if horses (and people and bikes) on the highway are really such a problem? Date: 02 May 2016 Place: walking into Santiago! (Galicia, Spain) The final walking day, the final map:
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While I don’t know what this particular piece of public art is meant to represent, I do know that every single time we’ve walked into Santiago, everybody has a go at imitating it. Most times, it’s with the same burst of joy that Rebecca has here. The urban slog through the city to the cathedral seems endless, but there’s a […]
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