Pilgrims on the Way

After spending a lovely evening in Arzúa, we headed over to the local church of Santiago. I was particularly captured by this side altar, which has a type of depiction of the Blessed Virgin with the child Jesus that I’d never seen before. Saint Roche is in the top niche of the retablo, but I’m not sure who the others […]

Throughout the Camino, you will see many eras of sculpture represented on and in ecclesial and civil buildings. Much of this tends to be Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance, with some spectacular Baroque outliers. But even 20th century styles can be found, such as this delightful Art Deco cherub. Date: 30 April 2013 Place: Arzúa (Province of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) […]

In the city of Arzúa, which we fondly call “cheesetown“, you may see this fountain, featuring a statue of a stubborn lady with her even more stubborn cow. The second person-cow pairing seem to have a much less contentious relationship. The statue is located in the plaza of the church of Santiago, which you can see in the background. It’s […]

Although there aren’t any in this photo, there are more cows than people in Galicia, and there are signs to remind you even when the cows aren’t in view. Indeed, we heard from several people the ironic unofficial motto of the country is, no hay vacas en Galicia. Because they’re everywhere – there are even monuments to them, as we […]

Ribadiso was once a traditional Galician farming village left nearly vacant as its inhabitants sought work in the industrializing cities, although it was never entirely abandoned. In the early 1990s, it was restored and re-established primarily as a pilgrim village with albergues and amenities. In this, it was returning to its roots, for several of these buildings once belonged to […]

In contrast to the immaculately kept suburban yards and houses on the road into the village of Castañeda, the old village itself was considerably more run down. Ruined, even. I note that on the current images available in Google maps that these buildings are either gone or unrecognizably restored. As the Camino has continued to gain in popularity, nearly approaching […]

Needless to say, this statue is very different from the one I posted yesterday! It’s found in the immaculately kept front yard of a suburban house in a little row of bourgeoisie homes before you get to the village of Castañeda. It has become something of a waymarker for us in this section of the Camino. When we passed in […]

This rustic statue of Santiago resides in the high altar of the Igrexa Parroquial de Santiago de Boente. While it’s no work of high art, it has a certain primitive charm that has made it iconic on this part of the Camino. Holy cards featuring the image and a passport stamp are always cheerfully given, which last long after you’ve […]

On a rainy afternoon, Francine walks into the town of Boente. To the right, we can see the local parish church of Santiago de Boente. Built in the 19th century, it’s a fairly unremarkable structure, but inside it contains bits that were salvaged from the previous church on this site, which dates to the 12th century. It also contains one […]