Camono de Santiago (part 3)

In most cases the trail follows ancient Roman roads. The destination for the day hovers in the distance...

...and slowly comes closer. Sometimes the town seems to move further away as you approach it, especially at the end of the day!

There are many reminders along the way of the spiritual nature of the Camino. Small rock pyramids spring up at special places. Even fence lines that follow the trail have sticks placed in the form of crosses.

The stone fences are beautiful. Most walls are dry stack rock  and have lasted for centuries. The top of the wall is a garden of succulent plants and mosses. 

It is best not to look too far ahead as the trail can sometimes seem endless. 

In some places evidence of ancient Celtic presence can be seen. Here are two menhirs standing majestically on a ridge. 

In towns you have to look for the shell symbol....

...or the yellow arrow...

...which is sometimes hidden and difficult to find. 

Jane usually got the bottom bunk and I the top bunk. The metal ladder rungs were a great problem in the morning; very hard on sore feet.

You can see that these bunk beds are arranged in a church (note the arches in the ceiling)

Our early morning walking partners. 

The inner courtyard of an Albergue. There was usually a place to hang out the washing and a place to visit with others

Some hostels had a common meal in which all the pilgrims could participate. This was a good time to get to know each other.

You'll never walk alone on the Camino!

Boots had to be removed inside the albergue and arranged on shelves. 

The courtyard of a convent hostel. The nuns were cloistered but I spied one hanging up her washing from my bathroom window!! Everything was white and black. 

A private hostel popular with the grafitti set. 

A kitchen used by pilgrims. Some of the municipal albergues have kitchens but no pots or pans or silverware. This one is well eqipped but small.

The office of a private albergue. Here is where you get your credential stamped. 

A statue of a pilgrim in front of a large municipal albergue. This one is in Astorga. 

This building was bought and converted into a pilgrim hostel by  members of a church group. They were so friendly and shared tea and busicuits with us though we did not stay there. 

Penny, Jan (from England) and young Michael (from Germany). They were part of our Camino family. We would bump into each other all along the way.

Roman bridges are a common sight.

Getting up early and striking out as the sun was rising in the east became a real joy. We were serenaded by birdsong throughout the day as larks, wrens, and field sparrows competed for pride of place with their melodic calling.  The coucou also became a favorite and evocative call, somewhat strange to our ears as it emanated from distant hedgerows. We grew very fond of these sweet morning sounds.

Of course we had no option other than to get up early. People anxious to get started usually began the first stirrings at 0530 and by 0600 the rustling of plastic bags was loud enough to wake the dead or at least to go through the thick wax earplugs stuffed deeply into each ear. (Sometimes I stuffed mine in so far I had to remove it through the other ear!). Then came the challenge of jumping out of the top bunk and getting an available toilet and  sink. Generally speaking there was a toilet for every 10-15 people, sometimes only one toilet for men and women. Pilgrims learn to get in and out quickly. Some of the albergues were run by the municipality, others private, still others by the church. Each one had their own unique stamp that was stamped into your credential (like a pilgrim passport). The passport has multiple folds, and gradually they became filled with stamps and were proof of your continued passage along the way. 
This was a requirement for the ultimate "Compostella" certificate           which is issued by the cathedral in Santiago.  Some hostels were very nice indeed, with little touches made by the hospetellier. Sometimes they were maintained by German groups associated with the confraternity of Saint James or the Friends of the Camino. We stayed in one run by an English group of volunteers which served 4 o'clock tea and biscuits in the English fashion. They had a lovely herb garden there as well. 

Early morning  was a good time of day to walk in silence. Our shadows would stretch out in front of us and the morning light bathed everything in soft glow which grew in intensity toward mid-morning. We welcomed the increase in intensity, as the weather was unseasonably cool and the breeze often stiff.   

Camino de Santiago (part 2)

The clam shell motif is found all along the way and serves to mark the trial. Many houses have beautiful shells  of various designs, painted or sculpted. 

Here we see the shell motif a tile of Saint James, and the yellow arrow which indicates the way. 

In rural Spain even very small villages have massive churches built  in the 12th century or before. Most of these churches are squat and dark typical of the Romanesque style. The curved archway and square shape is representative. 

Though dark on the inside many churches have very richly ornamented altars. Usually locked during the day, it is rare when one is open to see inside. We joke that the name of these churches is "The Church of the Eternally Locked Door"

Massive doors can be seen throughout rural Spain.  A smaller door is usually cut into the larger one making it easier to open. Perhaps the massive size was to accommodate livestock which might have been kept in an inside courtyard.  The massive stone used would also have some limitations. 

The two items I valued the most were my hat and my sticks. When the sun shines in Spain, watch out! And the path is not always easy to walk on, especially when muddy as it often was for us. My sticks saved me many a time and helped propel me up hills and mountains. Behind me you can see the wind turbines so common in Spain. 

Mud was very common in the beginning. These trails are mostly not maintained except by the regular wear of thousands who use them. They can get pretty messy. Can you see the wind turbines?

There are various memorials to pilgrims along the way. These metal sculptures represent pilgrims throughout the ages from medieval times to modern times.  

This memorial is located at the top of a hill which is covered with wind turbines. It is a very windy place. Spain has embraced wind power and they can be seen along many ridges. Although they do change the look of the landscape, I did not find them all that intrusive as they are located in isolated areas. Certainly better than mountain top removal to get at coal. 

Although not common, benches along the way provide for a welcome respite especially when shaded. 

Toes in bandages, a very common site indeed. 

It was important to let the feet air out periodically so that swelling would diminish. I developed a mysterious rash as well. 

During the first week of travel our bodies took quite awhile to adjust to the rigors of daily long distance hiking. Pain and trouble was most common in the feet, which developed blisters and hot spots and which began to change shape as well. I had a very pronounced bone sticking out of the side of both feet, and I also developed a strange rash on the lower part of my legs which stayed with me the entire time. It was important to stop every few hours and take the pressure of by sitting down and removing shoes and socks. Depending on the weather this was not always possible. We listened to the advise of others we met, including a doctor volunteering his time at a hostel, and so learned to care for the feet. In spite of a few blisters, we did remarkably well overall. We felt blessed! It was painful to see how others were not so lucky. Some pilgrims had really serious issues, and some were forced to give up because of extreme pain from shin splints. And then their were others that should have given up but who doggedly plodded on, perhaps doing permanent damage. Our regimen included putting a coat of Vaseline on each foot before retiring to bed, and really stretching them out in the morning before standing on them. Since I was usually on the top bunk, getting stepping on the metal ladder rungs was really painful, but jumping off the bed would have done damage. It took at least five minutes to feel comfortable walking on them first thing in the morning.  Our New Zealand friends shared their "hikers wool" which is really soft merino wool used to cushion sore spots or hot spots. It was a God send. Additionally, we used Ibufen, a gel containing ibuprofen that reduces inflammation.   In the early days the topic of foot care was a common conversational theme. 

I would often reflect on what the journey must have been like for medieval pilgrims. They were faced with real danger from brigands and as a result, many lost their lives. This was a serious religious and spiritual journey for them, and if they succeeded in arriving at the tomb of Saint James in Santiago Cathedral their efforts would be rewarded in heaven. The Templar Knights helped secure the way as well as creating a system in which the pilgrims could entrust their valuables and wealth (gold and jewels for some), which was the first banking system known. As a result they became very powerful, so much so that the Pope and King Ferdinand the I colluded in eliminating them. In part the King was threatened by their power and the pope was threatened by their esoteric philosophy which deviated somewhat from Catholic dogma. Even the Templar churches did not have the traditional nave and transept (cross) form.  

I often felt the presence of these long gone pilgrims. Their collective passage over nearly a thousand years created a force along the way that for me at times was quite palpable. I felt somehow propelled by this subtle force, at times pulled and at times pushed. It is similar to how I felt in Algeria visiting ancient Roman villages in the desert where I could stand alone among the ruins and listen to their whispering voices. The energy never fully leaving the ancient stones. Because we were often alone on the Camino this force could be more easily felt. Sometimes I would see heart shaped stones in the path and collect them hoping to bring some of this energy with me along the journey and back to home. 

The Camino de Santiago (Part 1)

On April 2, 2013 Jane and I started our Camino voyage which would take us from Pamplona to Santiago in 33 days on foot. The following is an account of that experience with accompanying  photographs. Each part will include 10 selected photographs taken along the way.

The start of our pilgrimage occurred nearly 6 months before we even left for Spain. Jane and I knew that preparing ourselves physically would increase our chances of actually completing the trek and receiving the compostella certificate. We began to increase the distance of our daily walks from 2 miles to 6, and then started adding a couple of longer hikes each week until we reached 14 miles on occasion with backpacks. There is little doubt that we benefited from this, but as it turned out, we were still not prepared to carry a pack for 12-15 miles every day and suffered the first week with considerable foot pain, muscle cramps, and just plain exhaustion.

We also spent considerable time planning on what to wear and how much to bring. We purchased technical clothing that was light and which wicked moisture easily. Quick drying was important since we would be washing it out nightly and wearing it the next day. Because of the variable and often difficult weather conditions, our technical clothing really paid off and kept us warm, dry, and comfortable for the most part.

We arrived at Madrid airport around 0730 and easily located the train ticket counter next to the information counter. We had to wait until it opened at 0900, not really a long wait as it took time to get our bags and pass immigration control. We purchased 2 tickets to Pamplona at a 40% senior discount for train travel in Spain! We caught the yellow bus which took us from the airport to the train station and were seated on the train at 1100am for the 4 hour trip to Pamplona.

When we arrived in Pamplona we couldn't figure out how to get a bus to the center of town and we couldn't find anyone who spoke English or French to help us so we decided to walk it. This took about 45 minutes to arrive at our first Albergue, Jesus y Marie where we got our first stamp in our "credentiale" booklet. The credentiale records your nightly stays throughout the trek and is proof of sorts that you actually made the journey. In order to get the "Copostella" certificate, you must present this credentiale at the Cathedral of Santiago (at a special office for pilgrims) who will examine it and ascertain that you made the pilgrimage without resort to mechanical modes of transport, a requirement for the last 100km. We made the entire journey, as most do, without transport.

This was our first experience of hostel living. This particular hostel was housed inside a nicely renovated church complete with vaulted ceilings. The bunks were arranged in cubicles of 4 bunks along the nave of the church on two levels, so there were many bunks. Because we were early in the season, the hostel did not fill up, but our cubicle was full and we shared it with our soon to be friends from New Zealand; three ladies who were making the trek together, Joan, Elizabeth, and Robin. They had just arrived from St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees and they were fairly beaten up by the strenuous 3 day hike off the mountain in very cold and poor weather. Joan's feet were a mess, and she had bandages on all her toes. But they were full of good cheer and never complained for a minute and made a great example for us to hopefully follow.

During the remaining daylight, we explored Pamplona and had coffee where Hemingway often went, though we had a hard time figuring out how to order anything and the waiter, who was in a huff with another waiter really didn't care if we got what we wanted. We were basically ignored, but it was fun just to take in the atmosphere and watch the Spanish easily get the waiters to bring exactly what pinchos they wanted.

The weather was perfect for our first day on the trail. Though it was fairly cold and breezy, the sun was shining enough to warm us a little. We headed out of town very early. The only people up were the street cleaners pushing hand carts. We walked to the lovely morning sound of birds and the tapping of our walking sticks until we eventually reached the edge of town and civilization gave way to wide open spaces where solitude replaced the bustling of town. Periodically we would pass old churches, some in good condition, and some falling into ruin. Whenever they were open, which was nearly never, we would be surprised at how fantastically ornate some of the altars were in spite of the rather humble appearance of the church from the outside. We also saw the occasional memorial erected by the friends of someone who died along the way. These served to remind us that many pilgrims suffered greatly while making the trek and it was anything but a vacation for them. In fact, during our first days we heard that 2 people had died on their first day out from St Jean because they had wandered from the fog obscured trail and died of exposure. Later we saw the memorial of a man who made it nearly all the way, but who died one day before arriving into Santiago.

A chapel dome allows light to filter in from above.

Saint Francis friend to all animals. Here he strolls with a wolf. 

Cafe Hemingway, named after Ernest who often frequented the establishment 

A pilgrim prepares to retire on her bunk for the evening.

Many splendid romanesque churches line the way

These mile markers measure the distance to Santiago and indicate that you are on the right path with the shell motif 

The Camino trail winds its way through open countryside and is often a solitary experience

Walking sticks are essential as the trail is often muddy or difficult to manage. They also provide a 10% power advantage. 

The Romanesque churches are squat and have small windows  with round arches

Memorials dot the way, erected in honor of a pilgrim who died while making the pilgrimage.

If gay people can get married...

The Bible and Homosexuality

 It is common for those who consider homosexuality an 'abomination' to ‘prove’ their cause by quoting every scripture they can find pertaining to sexual sin and promiscuity. It is important to understand that we Christians in the gay community also are a hundred percent against sexual sin. The difference lies in the fact that we do not believe God has singled out any particular community or nation of people as ‘evil’ or ‘sinful’, believing instead that God’s edicts are applied without prejudice to all peoples and communities; homosexual and heterosexual alike. Therefore before calling homosexuality a sin, one should interrogate Scripture to find if this premise is even true. Unfortunately, many well meaning Christians are just repeating what they have heard from the pulpit or attempting to frame God’s will around their prejudices and fears. 

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