Walking the Camino de Santiago
Thoughts about the spiritual aspects of the Camino.
After visiting the church, I went back to the village square. I grabbed a seat at the outdoor café there and ordered myself a refreshing beverage. The beers I encountered in France tended to be on the light side, which was perfect for the hot weather. In fact, blondes and whites were by far the most common local beers I […]
» Read more
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 – Santiago. During this pilgrimage, I walked 1,633.8 km, or just over 1,015 miles. This doesn’t count walking around and exploring the many cities, towns, and villages where […]
» Read more
I made my first visit to the Cathedral this morning, attending the 9:30 Mass. it wasn’t very crowded, as most pilgrims attend the evening pilgrim Mass rather than one of the early morning ones. In addition to the Spanish celebrant, the Mass was concelebrated by two priests from the Archdiocese of Portland. It was odd to hear parts of the […]
» Read more
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. […]
» Read more
This morning I again woke up at 7:00 AM rather than my customary 5:00. Maybe seven is the new five? I suspect it is a combination of fatigue – I really need to lay on a couch for a couple of days – and the fewer hours of daylight. In any case, the albergue café didn’t start serving breakfast until […]
» Read more
Today was not a great day. It poured rain, I only managed about 17 km, and I’m homesick. After the monastery tour yesterday, Martha from Brooklyn and I headed over to a tiny chapel on the outskirts of town. This is the oldest part of the monastery complex, though it is not physically located at the “new” monastery, which was […]
» Read more
For such a relatively small town, Villafranca del Bierzo is full of churches, monasteries, and convents. This evening, I attempted to visit some of them. First I tried to get into the 17th century Convent de la Anunciada, which contains the tomb of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, but I was ultimately unsuccessful. Since this is still an actual Cistercian convent, I […]
» Read more
On this memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, I am mindful that the great Saint also undertook this pilgrimage back in 1214. I was out of the hotel just after 6 AM. I had to walk back across the river and to the Cathedral to get back on the Camino route. The way out of town was relatively straightforward, as […]
» Read more
Yesterday after arriving in the city, I spent an unconscionable amount of time running errands. I have a room here for two nights, which allows me to completely empty and rearrange my backpack. Somewhere, tucked deep in a pocket, I found a tiny folded up map of some unknown town in France. The errands included replacing some missing or lost […]
» Read more
Today was my 40th day walking on this pilgrimage. It seems a significant day, though the actual walking portion was not too long. I was up and packed fairly early, but breakfast options along the route were a little limited. I left to hit a nearby panderia, but they didn’t open until 7 AM. It turns out that this was […]
» Read more