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Camino De Santiago
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Camino De Santiago

Léon to Santiago via the Frances Way Read more
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    Camponaraya

    May 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    My longest leg, just over 15 miles. I decided to take the slightly longer route through vineyards. Thunderstorms last night cooled things off and I started out early at 6:30 am to try to beat the heat and storms. It’s been a cool, quiet morning, just a few other people. Got an aura, probably because I skipped breakfast, but I was able to smooth it out with relaxation and breathing. Desayuno at Cafe Barnaraya. Across the street an add for traditional music lessons. Note the bagpipes. This area was Celtic before the Romans started mining gold in the hills.

    This is also the home of Lydia Valentin Perez a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalist in several Olympic Games and they have a round about dedicated to her.

    On the climb out of town I passed a Wine Institue for the local DO (Denominazione de Origine of Bierzo), then the entire last third of the day spent in vineyards!    Read more

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    Cacabelos

    May 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    The church was locked and I tried to figure out how to go in. The town created a municipal albergue ringing the church, but it has not opened since Covid, so maybe that was it. I wanted in to see their statue of St. Anthony of Padua playing cards with baby Jesus. Oh well, next time…Read more

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    Villafranca del Bierzo

    May 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    My longest day at just over 15 miles. Generally flat until last 1/3. This is a major grape growing region. Met Deiter from the Netherlands. Late 20s contemplating a pHD in Biostatistics. Excellent, Jim Meyer level philosophical discussions. The door shown is one of two holy doors East of Santiago. It existed so that pilgrims, too ill to go on, could earn a complete pilgrimage by passing though the doorRead more

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    Las Herreiras

    May 31, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Ok a dad, a mom and 3 little girls under 8 just rolled in….no more complaining! All I know is they started in León and Cruz Ferro was tough. Very impressed.

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    Foot trail breaks off

    June 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    After a short downhill the trail takes off uphill aggressively. Long ago this was paved with cobbles but now mostly washed out. There’s a business that hauls you to the top on horseback and they’re mildly successful, so there’s lots of horse shit and then flies and then birds eating maggots..a whole eco system. The valley is incredibly verdant. Being from Seattle, this tells me to prepare for rain.Read more

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    2Cloud cuckoo landTaberna Grail

    Again off the pavement

    June 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    It’s flattening out now, so I think I’m near the top. I have forgotten to comment on the cuckoo birds in the forests. I’ve been hearing them all along. But this seemed particularly appropriate looking off into the valley below with the clouds. The stands of Broome can be quite luminous. There’s a nice marker at the border going into Galicia and the trail condition is markedly improved to graded decomposed gravel. Passed two Peregrinas from North Carolina. One was the wife of a Scoutmaster and mom of an Eagle Scout. She knew about Philmont. We picked up a massive wall in the cloudy trails and followed it into dark forest for a bit before breaking out into the open and seeing the Peregrina statue telling us we’ve reached O Cebreiro. About 2000 ft in 6 km. Then the sky opened up and poured for an hour. Took shelter at the municipal fountain which was thankfully roofed and met Oso a huge specimen of the local dogs that seem related to German Sheppards. It started to get crowded and I tried to get into my lodging early, but it was closed until 12:30. Heading back to the fountain, someone popped out of a hole and it turned out to be a little tavern that the crowd had not found. Time for a coffee and croissant au chocolate.Read more

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    O Cebreiro - religious

    June 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    After two of my longest legs and todays 2000 ft climb I will take tomorrow as a rest day here. Such a beautiful place when the Sun is out!

    O Cebreiro as legend has it, was a Templar hiding place of the Holy Grail. A local farmer braved a snow storm to attend communion. The parish priest chastised him for risking his life for some bread and wine, at which the two transfigured to flesh and blood.

    This is also the resting place of O Cebreiros’ parish priest of the 1960s and early 70s. Dr. D. Elias Valiña Sampedro. Pere Elias earned his PhD, studying the ancient Frances Camino De Santiago. He is generally regarded as the reinvigorator of the modern Camino. It was he who instigated the drawing of yellow arrows to mark The Camino for pilgrims and is basis for many legends. In the late 1960s Basque separatists were fighting with the Guardia Civil. Pere Elias was detained by the guardia near Pamplona, far from home, because his vans liscense plates indicated he was not from the location. When they asked him to open up his van, it was full of cans of yellow paint. Asked what he was up to, Pere Elias prophetically exclaimed, “I’m preparing the way for a vast invasion.” The Guardia required a parish representative to drive all the way to Pamplona to pick up Pere Elias.    Read more

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    O Cebreiro - cultural

    June 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Sitting on a wall looking East I can View a weeks worth of walking. The area is lush and green, lots of ferns, signs that water is plentiful. These mountains guide the rain to the north up from Portugal. About 1 km to the East is the border, so I’m now in Galicia. Evidence of Celtic influences abound. Some building are round and thatched. The folk music and bagpipes are reminiscent of Ireland. There are Celtic markings on key parts of homes. Witches good and bad are key decorations.Read more

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    O’Cebreiro to Triacastela

    June 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    Beautiful green pastoral setting. Hit Alto San Roche at the golden moment. Met logistics specialist Pascal from Rotterdam. He just started home brewing! Had to gear up for a short rain. The Way was slick from days of rain and several had bad falls.Read more

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    El Monestario de Samos

    June 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    An enormous Benedictine monestary maintained since the 1500s, the buildings burned to the rock walls in 1951. The brothers from the famous Monte Casino house, who had to completely rebuild their house after WWII, joined with the Samos brothers and rebuilt Samos to the present condition. I toured with Brother Anton and three Peregrinos from France.Read more

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    Samos II

    June 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    Benedict of Nursia, known today as the Father of Western Monasticism, established a Rule that became the pattern for life in the monasteries of Europe and a standard for monasticism in Western Christianity.
    In about 540 AD, after founding the monastery of Monte Cassino, Benedict wrote his Rule for the monastery, which became the foundation of the Benedictine order.
    Benedictine monks are sometimes referred to as “Black Monks” because they wear black habits.

    Benedict’s principal goal was to create a setting and a way of life where the voice of God could be heard without distractions and where the disciplines of prayer, service, and good works would lead to continual progress in spiritual growth, faith, and ultimately, inexpressible joy in loving and serving God.

    Becoming a monk under the Rule of Benedict meant a life-long commitment. After a year on probation, a monk professed three vows: stability (a promise to remain in the community), the reformation of his own life, and obedience.

    Much of the Rule is devoted to developing the monastic family and how life in the community should operate. Benedictine monks spend about four hours a day in the "divine office" of prayer and another four hours a day in reading the Scriptures. According to Benedict, manual work is a form of holy prayer. Each monk is given work assignments because labor is a valued and integral part of the human experience.

    Work is also crucial because each monastery is to be as independent and self-supporting as possible. In the Middle Ages, when beer was a primary source of nutrition for most people, Benedictine monks became famous for their advanced methods in beer-making. Around 100 monks were needed to operate a brewery.    Read more

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    Samos III

    June 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    A young man from Kansas from the group ahead of us is thinking of a life of religious service. A group of brothers escorted him to the foot of the Virgins statue in the main sanctuary, touched his rosary to her feet and prayed over him.Read more

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    Hurray!!

    June 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    I don’t know why this brings me so much joy, but I have been hoping to have such a moment and I am so very thankful!

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    My first Spanish cider

    June 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    A curious flavor. I think it might be Brettanomyces yeast infection. Possible that it’s just a dirty line in the little cafe I stopped at. Might also be a regional characteristic.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultur…    Read more

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    Sarria local

    June 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    This is a starting point for the minimum distance for Compostela and mileage certificate, so it’s the town with the most albergues on the Camino Frances. Archaeologically there’s the same array; churches, built on old churches, destroyed by Moors, built on a Celtic site. The castles in the entire region of Galicia are almost entirely destroyed by a mass uprising of peasants. Only a tower and staircase exist at the castle where Isabella and Ferdinand were known to have stayed. Heard from Pascal who’s now about two days ahead. He says the numbers of Pilgrims now is awful. My guidebook told me to be emotionally prepared. I’m hoping that a Tuesday push off tomorrow will have put me behind the local wave from the weekendRead more

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    Todays Dinner

    June 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    For 11€ or $11.77
    Ensalada mixta: tomato, bib lettuce, asparagus spear, a scoop of tuna
    Pollo guidado: braised chicken with fries
    10 inches of pan (bread)
    1 entire bottle of red wine (7.5/10 IMHO)
    A generous slice of Torta de Santiago (almond tart thin with a dusting of powdered sugar.). This is a regional specialty of the state of Galicia. It is said to be the favorite of the angels who bore St. James’ remains from Jerusalem where he was beheaded by Herod back to the shores of Spain. The sugar is spread in the symbol of the caminoRead more

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    The Symbol of the Scallop Shell

    June 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    #1 The association of the scallop shell with the pilgrimage is related to its use by pilgrims to drink water from springs and streams.

    #2 Its popularization as a symbol of the Camino came after the settlement of some merchants around the cathedral of Santiago in the Middle Ages. They sold the Vieiras that they took from the Galician sea as a souvenir to the pilgrims.

    #3 The Concha of Santiago can be traced back to when the disciple visited the Spanish peninsula by boat. This was in order to bury the remains of St James. Unfortunately, a storm destroyed the ship After some time, St James’s body was found undamaged and covered in scallop shells along the seashore.

    #4 On their arrival at the Galician coast, the disciples saw a wedding that was taking place on the shore. The bride was on horseback, suddenly the frightened horse dove into the ocean with the bride still on the saddle. Thankfully, both the bride and the horse emerged from the water safe and sound covered in scallop shells.

    #5 There is another version that associates the scallop shell with Venus, the goddess of love. As Venus’s symbol signifies people’s rebirth, the resurrection. This means overcoming the ego to move forward to a true self, more humble and simple. It also means the beginnings and endings, transition and transformation. All ideas shared by pilgrims and discovered on the Camino today, a constant source of renewal and rediscovery.

    Venus rose from the sea on a scallop shell. Botticelli’s painting “The Birth of Venus”, depicts this scene. In addition, the scallop shell is associated with fertility rituals practised along the route

    The Scallop shell as a Healing Tool

    The scallop shell is associated with one of the 23 miracles performed by St James. When St James cured a knight who suffered from a throat disease by putting a scallop on the affected area, word spread and people started to put scallops near their beds, hanging them on the outside door, putting it near animals drinking places.

    Some medieval texts give the shell the virtue of chasing rodents from fields or purifying water and wine.

    The Scallop shell is not only associated with the St James Way. In the XII century, they were reportedly sold in Mont St Michel in France. Emperor Charles IV received Scallops as a present from the French king when he was passing by Paris on his pilgrimage.

     In French, the scallop is called Coquille Saint Jacques and in German Jakobsmuscheln (James mussels).    Read more

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    The Cross of Santiago

    June 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    The Cross of St James

    This particular Latin cross simulates a sword and its arms take the shape of a Fleur-De-Lys. Its red colour represents Jesus’s blood and the white background is a sign of purity.

    Its origin is related to the times of the Crusades, the Crusaders carried small sharp-edge crosses with them to be able to push them into the ground and pray in the presence of the Cross.

    It is common to see pilgrims today carrying St James cross as a pin on their backpack or hat, and some scallop shells will have the symbol painted onto them.

    St James was beheaded with a sword so the cross of St James is also a symbol of his suffering.    Read more

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