Walking the Camino de Santiago
All pilgrims carry a credencial to identify them as a legitimate pilgrim. They are issued by various Confraternities of Saint James, and you can also get them at Cathedrals and other places along the Way. All pilgrim albergues and refugios require that you have a credencial in order to stay there. You get it stamped at least twice each day to record […]
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As I mentioned yesterday, there had been a blizzard the week previous to my arrival. The remnants of it were everywhere, including these impressive piles of snow and ice in the courtyards of the monastery at Roncesvalles. I checked into the monastery albergue, left my stuff at my (top) bunk, and took a shower. Date: 01 April 2013Place: Roncesvalles (Navarra, […]
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From Madrid, I took an early morning bus to Pamplona. My plan from here was to take a bus or share a cab to Saint-Jean. Unfortunately, there had been a blizzard in the Pyrenees the week before, and the passes were impassible. I would have to start on the Spanish side of the mountains instead. I just missed the bus […]
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For our first Camino, I flew on Easter Sunday on Iberia Airlines, the national airline of Spain. It remains the best flight to Europe I’ve ever flown. And the food was great. Here’s a shot of the plane that’s going to bring me from my Chicago layover to Madrid. Best part of the layover? Actual Chicago-style pizza in the airport […]
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Today is the Feast of Santiago! May you have all the joy of the feast. Today’s photo is the second in this second series. Like the first, this photo was taken while still at home in Tacoma. Here we see my gear, all laid out, with the pack I carried it in. While I did ultimately use every bit of […]
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This new series of Camino Photos follows our first Camino in 2013. Prior to leaving, we received the pilgrim blessing from our pastor, Rev. Jacob Maurer, at our parish of Holy Rosary, Tacoma. The rite includes the blessing of packs, sticks, and medals, as well as the pilgrims themselves. Date: 16 March 2013Place: Tacoma (Washington, USA)
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I’m considering doing another “Camino Photo of the Day” series, this time using our first Camino, back in 2013. Anybody interested? I mean, even if nobody is, I may just do it anyway. Some weird post-Camino blues redux going on in my life right now, and I found that this helps. Francine in Sarria, 2013.
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Solvitur ambulando: It is solved by walking. Saint Augustine Some time back, our Adult Catechesis class covered the Beatitudes. One of the main themes of the Beatitudes is, of course, detachment from worldly things while still living in the world. It struck me that this is exactly the center of what I call “pilgrim spirituality” as well. When you walk […]
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May the second looms large in my life. On this day in 2013, Francine and I walked into Santiago de Compostela for the first time, at the end of our first Camino. At this point, Francine had been walking for almost two weeks, and me for more than a month. I can’t describe the joy of that day. Arrival in […]
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We stayed in Santiago for another couple of days, during the middle of the festivities for the Ascension. But this photo series, like our Camino, must finally come to an end. We began this series entering Saint-Jean, and we must end it as we leave Santiago. Although this wasn’t quite my last photo in Santiago, it was pretty close, and […]
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