So I am finally fulfilling a long held dream and walking part of this ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. It's supposedly the burial place of the Apostle James Saint James being Sant'Iago in Spanish). You have to walk the last 100 kilometres (62 miles) to get a certificate and we are hoping to do slightly more in a week. Pilgrim badge acquired from the Pilgrim office in Santiago. The pilgrimage route nearly died out in the 20th century but has seen a massive resurgence with a quarter of a million people walking part of it annually.
Hope you have a wonderful time and return restored and refreshed.
Very awesome, revanne. I hope the trip exceeds all of your expectations and leaves you with many memories to treasure.
I'm not sure I've expressed how totally freaking amazing I think it is that you're doing this! As an amateur historian of medieval Europe, I'm fascinated by pilgrimages in general and particularly modern iterations of pilgrimage routes.
I hope you find the experience full of wonder and knowledge and discovery, and I hope you'll share more pics with us. I love the pilgrim's badge!
I will repeat what everyone else has said. Have a wonderful time and a great pilgrimage. Do you have hostilities to stay at along the pilgrimage path? Are there specific foods to eat and historic places to pass by? Please share pictures.
Beautiful old church at start of our walk.
Oh my, revanne! So beautiful in its simplicity.
LOVE your pictures. Hope you have a lovely time. Beautiful church.
May good fortune smile on you during your walk and may God bless you at the end.
To answer Laurna there are pilgrim hostels - cheap but clean and I suspect a lot better than the facilities Columcil would have known. Also Pilgrim menus of good simple food - so tonight I had a salad, fish and chips and almond cake for 10 Euros. Very reasonable.
Today's walk is probably the longest at 16 miles. Please send Duncan to massage my feet.
It's very well signposted.
Good to hear about the accommodations and food. I do hope your long walk to day was a pleasant journey without any foot soreness.
I'm sure Bishop Duncan will be happy to help with any foot soreness. I think he would be happy to be with you on this journey in spirit. :)
I'M sure Duncan and Columcil are with you in spirit on this very special journey . Actually, Fiona and Aliset would lover to have such an adventure . You are an example. So wonderful to fulfill your dream.
To stay in the hostels you need to buy a pilgrim passport at the beginning and these can be stamped in hostels and churches. At the end as long as you have walked 100 kms (63 miles) you can get a certificate. We will have done 75 miles.
Some lovely churches en route
Such a marvioulous journey and a wonderful feat. And don't for get to tell your feet, Great Job!
Beautiful photos of the churches, revanne. Thanks so much for sharing!
Of course, I did notice that the glasses of cerveza were no longer full. ;D
Truly beautiful churches, especially the iconography. What an amazing experience!
Quote from: Jerusha on May 20, 2019, 01:49:22 PM
Of course, I did notice that the glasses of cerveza were no longer full. ;D
Strange how it evaporates so quickly:-)
What an amazing and inspirational trip! Wonderful memories to hold forever. Your feet should get their own medal for walking that distance. Hurray for you!
Went to evening mass yesterday - in Spanish so I didn't understand the readings or sermon, but my friend and I are both High Anglican (Episcopalian) so the service was very similar to what we are used to. At the end all the pilgrims were invited up to the altar, where the priest asked everyone to say where they were from and then blessed us all with holy water. So many nationalities walking the Way - Europeans, Americans north and south, Africans, Koreans etc, etc.
That is awesome, Revanne.
Finished the last couple of miles this morning and am now the proud possessor of a Compostela. In Latin no less.
Also a picture of the Cathedral, which is undergoing extensive restoration work, so the final pilgrim mass wasn't there but in the nearby church of St Francis, which works for me as DD1 is Frances. The high altar pictured is at St Francis, the mass was amazing, standing room only - - when we sang the Taize chant "Laudate Omnes Gentes" at the beginning the hairs on my neck stood up.
The reliquary contains the bones of St James and there was a very powerful feeling in the shrine. We could have queued to see the bones themselves - presumably through the bottom of the reliquary but having once had a rather unnerving encounter with the mummified hand of St Margaret Clitheroe, I decided against.
Sorry St James wanted to get in twice. Here's St Francis.
So gorgeous!
And I'm proud of you for doing something you really wanted to do, and grateful to you for sharing your pilgrimage with us!
(I'm still drooling over the calligraphy and art on your certificate ;) )
An accomplishment you will treasure for years to come. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Congratulations on fulfilling a wonderful dream. A fantastic trip that will be remembered and treasured for a lifetime. Thanks so much for allowing us to share a bit of it with you.
The architecture of the cathedral is absolutely stunning! St Frances alter is wonderful too.
Thank you so wonderfully much for sharing your journey. I might say as I said on FB, how I still smile at the sight of healthy bare feet coming out of the walking boots. Just as Alaric did in the stories. Proof to me that worthy English Deryni do exist. No cloven hooves here. I hope Duncan managed some healing on those good feet. They did a most marvelous job of getting you to where you wanted to be.
This looks and sounds so very cool. I hope that you had a great time!