A short video - starting in Porto and ending in Santiago.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018
At home at last
"Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much...."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Country Life
Well we are back in Jacksonville after a lovely night in Newark, New Jersey due to a late arriving flight and an wait of over an hour in immigration. I could post a multi-page story, but lets just say it was like the DMV operating without caffeine. Also, after 1 euro glasses of wine and free tapas we were treated to a $35 bill for two wines and some hummus at the airport hotel. Welcome back to the USA.
Our second Camino in the books and a third in the planning stages, but not until we have made a trip to Italy and France.
We had a great time with people from all over the world. It is amazing how you can sit around the table with people from multiple countries, with just a little shared language and have a great conversation. We exchanged emails with some people, others just prefer to separate the Camino experience for their day-to-day life.
It is hard to explain how walking with people each day who share a common destination, but vastly different motivations bind you together some how. We met a few devout Catholics, but mostly other Christian faiths or agnostics. Based on the number of people who understood the rituals of the Pilgrim mass, there were many non-Catholics in attendance, but there were a lot of tears from everyone by the end.
We spent two and a half days in Santiago. We found ourselves looking for cafes and bars along the route of the Camino for our morning coffee, breakfast, lunch, post siesta coffee, pre-dinner wine, dinner, and after dinner pastry. (I know we have turned into hobbits). Watching the hikers faces as they are in sight of the Cathedral - some after 40 days or more on the trail - joy. Also, looking at someone sit down in clothes that have been worn every-other day for weeks, and see their face light with the first sip of cold beer. Exchanging a "Buen Camino" or with people we saw on the Portuguese way a knowing "Bon Camino".
Great trip all around.
For you tech people out there -- I got a Fitbit just before leaving on the Camino. It was very handy to help track our mileage to determine where we were along the way and to gauge when we needed to stop for the night. So, ere are the stats for 15 days on the Camino Portuguese:
- 551,000 steps
- 1,441 flights of stairs (mountains)
- 274 miles
The ‘Botafumeiro’ is the famous incenser in Santiago de Compostela cathedral. It has been used since the Middle Ages, by legend to clear the air when crowds of pilgrims having completed the Camino arrived unwashed in Santiago de Compostela after their months long journeys.
This ritual is in writing at since the 12th century. The current ‘Botafumeiro’ dates back to 1851 weighting 120 pounds when empty and up to 25 kgs more when full.
Eight men, called ‘tiraboleiros’, are required to operate it, After being filled with incense and burning coal it is set in motion forming a 200 foot long trajectory to the ceiling of the cathedral. It reaches speeds of 40 MPH.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Heading back to Florida
When we were booking flights the round trip through Porto, Portugal was cheaper, but I am so glad we choose to pay a little more and fly out of Santiago. We saved ourselves a full day on buses and trains getting back to Porto, and we already saw that area on foot.
We make a trip across Europe to get to the plane home. But we riding a Airbus 350 that will make up for added distance by flying faster than Boing 757 we flew over on.
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| Santiago, Munich, Newark, Jacksonville |
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Day 14: Still touring Santiago
"Europe was made on the pilgrim road to Compostela"
Pope John Paul II
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| quote of the day on a sidewalk in Santiago de Compostella |
Another day touring Santiago. Two days in a row without a backpack makes it seem a little more like a vacation and a little less like Camino.
We went to the noon Pilgrim mass at the Cathedral and got to see the large insensor swing. Truly an amazing sight. It was packed with people sitting all along the walls on the base of every pillar. When you come to mass you don't know if they're going to use the incense until the very end.
When they were getting ready to swing the incense up to the roof of the cathedral, we looked to the side and saw Sue and Ann from Australia. We've been seeing them on and off since Caldas de Rea. So we got together for another Tapas lunch. We did a little souvenir shopping and then back to pack for the trip home.
We got to see the Botafumeiro fly! The video quality could have been better, but we were very close and I was shooting without looking through my camera to enjoy the experience. I cut the video length -- it flew for over 5 minutes.
The ‘Botafumeiro’ is the famous incenser in Santiago de Compostela cathedral. It has been used since the Middle Ages, by legend to clear the air when crowds of pilgrims having completed the Camino de Santiago arrived in Santiago de Compostela after their long journey.
This ritual is in writing at least since the 12th century. The current ‘Botafumeiro’ dates back to 1851 weighting 120 pounds when empty and up to 25 kgs more when full.
Eight men, called ‘tiraboleiros’, are required to operate it, After being filled with incense and burning coal it is set in motion forming a 200 foot long trajectory to the ceiling of the cathedral. It reaches speeds of 40 MPH.
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| Laurel, Sue, Ann, Mark, and Deb |
She was very concerned about us missing the Corpus Christi procession tomorrow. The holiday in Spain is May 31st and we thought we would be in Santiago for the observance of Corpus Christi. But the holiday will be celebrated in Santiago on Sunday when we fly out. She was very excited to know that there would be a special celebration tomorrow even though she's not Catholic. It wad nice of her to remember our goal of arriving on 5/31.
For the day I'll just include a few pictures of some of the wonderful statuary and altars we've seen in the city. Over the next week I'll probably clean up some of the blog posts to add captions to photos and correct some of the mistakes I've made along the way. I really enjoy doing this every night.
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| main altar in Cathedral |
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| pilgrim bikes in Cathedral square |
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| tomb of St. James the apostle |
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| one of the most striking Virgin Mary statues on the Camino |
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| watch out Mary has a sword |
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| Santiago has a sword as well |
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| John the Baptist |
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| St. Augustine |
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| St. Augustine |
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| St. Augustine |
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| St. Augustine |
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| an hour before start of pilgrim mass in Cathedral - from the transept |
Friday, June 1, 2018
Day 13: Santiago touring
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
It seemed appropriate to have a Saint Augustine quote for today after all the beautiful churches we've seen. We toured the cathedral yesterday, but today we toured several other large churches in town a couple of the monasteries and a convent. The monastery churches and the convent Chapel or incredible. Each Church we've been in makes the one before it seem less impressive by comparison. The altar pieces in the churches are amazing with hundreds of characters that are all unique.
With Shane working on his doctorate degree and concentrating on st. Augustin's writgs, I made a point of looking for St Augustine you many of the churches. He would always be there but sometimes we had to really hunt. In the large Monastery Church for example, in the choir area in the asp of the cathedral, each choir seat on the lower section hadt a separate scene from the life of Mary and each choir seat in the upper section was carved with one of the church fathers. There were a total of 80 seats on each level. I was able to find St Augustine on one of the seats. Then when we went into the loft of the church there was another choir section carved with different themes but St Augustine was on one of the seats there as well.
I think a professor could teach the entire semester on one Altarpiece or one choir loft.
This morning at breakfast we ran into our four friends from Australia. They happen to walk by while we were having our coffee. Later in the day we'd stop for a drink and we ran into them again. Yet a third time when Laura and I went to get a rooftop tour of the cathedral, the Australians were there. So we can take a hint and we went out to dinner with the four tonight and had Tapas and wine and beer and then walked to a other Cafe for hot chocolate. Tomorrow two head back for Australian, one is hiking to Finisterra and thr fourth is staying in Santiago to tour. We've exchanged emails and phone numbers. Now we have an excuse to go to Australia and someone who I have a spare room set aside for us.
It felt strange not to walk today with a pack. But strange enough at the end of the day I checked my Fitbit and we had done 16 kilometers just touring in town. I also had quite a few steps as we had to climb up into the towers of the cathedral to get to the roof.
I always remember ehen the boys were little Troy always wanted to get on the roof of whatever building we were in. One of his big disappointment was not getting on the roof of the Biltmore house because of snow one year when we visited Asheville.
The roof we got on today was from 1100, but they said 10% of it had been repaired. I put the second roof on my house since I lived in it -' what am I doing wrong?
Tomorrow we're going to tour some of the smaller sites and go to the Saturday vigil in the cathedral for the pilgrim Mass. Wewe fly home on Sunday. It's been a great trip and a good second Camino but now we have to plan for the third Camino so we can get to the ocean.
It seemed appropriate to have a Saint Augustine quote for today after all the beautiful churches we've seen. We toured the cathedral yesterday, but today we toured several other large churches in town a couple of the monasteries and a convent. The monastery churches and the convent Chapel or incredible. Each Church we've been in makes the one before it seem less impressive by comparison. The altar pieces in the churches are amazing with hundreds of characters that are all unique.
With Shane working on his doctorate degree and concentrating on st. Augustin's writgs, I made a point of looking for St Augustine you many of the churches. He would always be there but sometimes we had to really hunt. In the large Monastery Church for example, in the choir area in the asp of the cathedral, each choir seat on the lower section hadt a separate scene from the life of Mary and each choir seat in the upper section was carved with one of the church fathers. There were a total of 80 seats on each level. I was able to find St Augustine on one of the seats. Then when we went into the loft of the church there was another choir section carved with different themes but St Augustine was on one of the seats there as well.
I think a professor could teach the entire semester on one Altarpiece or one choir loft.
This morning at breakfast we ran into our four friends from Australia. They happen to walk by while we were having our coffee. Later in the day we'd stop for a drink and we ran into them again. Yet a third time when Laura and I went to get a rooftop tour of the cathedral, the Australians were there. So we can take a hint and we went out to dinner with the four tonight and had Tapas and wine and beer and then walked to a other Cafe for hot chocolate. Tomorrow two head back for Australian, one is hiking to Finisterra and thr fourth is staying in Santiago to tour. We've exchanged emails and phone numbers. Now we have an excuse to go to Australia and someone who I have a spare room set aside for us.
It felt strange not to walk today with a pack. But strange enough at the end of the day I checked my Fitbit and we had done 16 kilometers just touring in town. I also had quite a few steps as we had to climb up into the towers of the cathedral to get to the roof.
I always remember ehen the boys were little Troy always wanted to get on the roof of whatever building we were in. One of his big disappointment was not getting on the roof of the Biltmore house because of snow one year when we visited Asheville.
The roof we got on today was from 1100, but they said 10% of it had been repaired. I put the second roof on my house since I lived in it -' what am I doing wrong?
Tomorrow we're going to tour some of the smaller sites and go to the Saturday vigil in the cathedral for the pilgrim Mass. Wewe fly home on Sunday. It's been a great trip and a good second Camino but now we have to plan for the third Camino so we can get to the ocean.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Day 12: Padron to Santiago
“Solvitur ambulando, It is solved by walking.” -- St, Augustine
The temperature dropped yesterday down into the upper 40s. We walked around Padron last night and decided to try a little café that had a sign up for lasagna. Pasta sounded good on a cold night. I have to admit lasagna made with manchego and goat cheese as wonderful, but they served it with a side of french fries. Something we've seen a lot of in Spain along the Camino.
In the middle of the night it started raining a little, and by morning it was just misting rain when we started walking. It reminds me of the rains in Oregon where it's gray and rainy all day and there's only a quarter inch of total precipitation. We walked out of the town in the mist and up into the mountains for a short 800 foot climb and then down to Santiago.
The total distance for the day was about 16 miles, but we added a little bit by taking a shortcut.
The Portuguese way enters Santiago from the south and winds it's way past dozens of tapas restaurants that that looked inviting, but we kept on walking to the Cathedral Square. It was a great feeling to be standing in front of the cathedral with about 300 fellow pilgrims lying on the ground sitting against the walls and taking turns getting pictures.
In 2016 we only spent a few hours in Santiago and were rushed to get into the cathedral to see St. James, go to the pilgrim office, get our Compostela, have dinner and get to bed. This year we have two days to spend in Santiago. There are dozens of museums and churches to view, so we will take full advantage of our time here. The city is also known from the quality of their food. We will test that out by primarily eating seafood served as tapas.
The Cathedral of Santiago is the most significant building in the town as it is the end for all the Caminos wherever they originate. I can't upload enough photos for you to see all the details. For example, the entryway has over 200 figures that represent the Apocalypse. Construction on the cathedral started around 1100 on the site an existing Church that was dedicated to Santiago ( St James in English) in appropriately 900. The construction took a very short time of 70 years (for Cathedrals). Part of the reason is that pilgrims would carry stones from the quarry into Santiago for extra favors at the church and some would stay to work on the Cathedral.
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| We made it to Santiago! |
In the middle of the night it started raining a little, and by morning it was just misting rain when we started walking. It reminds me of the rains in Oregon where it's gray and rainy all day and there's only a quarter inch of total precipitation. We walked out of the town in the mist and up into the mountains for a short 800 foot climb and then down to Santiago.
The total distance for the day was about 16 miles, but we added a little bit by taking a shortcut.
The Portuguese way enters Santiago from the south and winds it's way past dozens of tapas restaurants that that looked inviting, but we kept on walking to the Cathedral Square. It was a great feeling to be standing in front of the cathedral with about 300 fellow pilgrims lying on the ground sitting against the walls and taking turns getting pictures.
In 2016 we only spent a few hours in Santiago and were rushed to get into the cathedral to see St. James, go to the pilgrim office, get our Compostela, have dinner and get to bed. This year we have two days to spend in Santiago. There are dozens of museums and churches to view, so we will take full advantage of our time here. The city is also known from the quality of their food. We will test that out by primarily eating seafood served as tapas.
The Cathedral of Santiago is the most significant building in the town as it is the end for all the Caminos wherever they originate. I can't upload enough photos for you to see all the details. For example, the entryway has over 200 figures that represent the Apocalypse. Construction on the cathedral started around 1100 on the site an existing Church that was dedicated to Santiago ( St James in English) in appropriately 900. The construction took a very short time of 70 years (for Cathedrals). Part of the reason is that pilgrims would carry stones from the quarry into Santiago for extra favors at the church and some would stay to work on the Cathedral.
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| Main altar of Cathedral |
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| scaffolding has been up for five years, but is coming down now |
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Day 11: Caldas de Reis to Padrón
“If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” - Frank A. Clark
Last night we linked up with some Australia's. Two ladies walking together and a husband and wife. They didn't know each other before the Camino but are making plans to get together when they get home. It was great fun. We had a dozen different tapas, wine, beer, and cake. We mainly had seafood - cockles, sardine, squid, and octopus. Nice location in an old grist mill with millstones for tables.
Legend has it that it was near Padrón that Apostle Saint James first preached during his stay in what is now Portugal and Spain. Soon after his death his disciples Theodore and Athanasius brought his head and his body to this area from Jerusalem in a boat. They moored the boat to a padrón (big stone). The two disciples remained to the area to preach after burying the Apostle.
There's another magnificent church in town -- Santa Marie de Cruces. It was a cathedral at one time and has 15th bishops buried at the graveyard. Some dating from 1200. This church had particularly interesting statues dressed in real cloth clothing.
Now just some pictures of today's walk with some of the smaller parish churches we saw along the way, and a slug that was going slower than the snail.
We have enjoyed talking with all the people from different countries. It's fun to hear how similar stories are portrayed in different countries. The other night someone was talking about the speed at which people walk and I said you mean like "The Tortoise and the Hare"? He didn't know that story but said he had heard of "The Rabbit and the Hedgehog" The people from Holland said their version had a snail. Today we saw the snail....
Last night we linked up with some Australia's. Two ladies walking together and a husband and wife. They didn't know each other before the Camino but are making plans to get together when they get home. It was great fun. We had a dozen different tapas, wine, beer, and cake. We mainly had seafood - cockles, sardine, squid, and octopus. Nice location in an old grist mill with millstones for tables.
Another beautiful day on the trail. The high today was 64 degrees and it was perfect weather and beautiful Galician countryside. We did have rain for about an hour but it just kept today cool, and I got my hat washed for a second time. It was around 50 degrees when we walked into town.
Legend has it that it was near Padrón that Apostle Saint James first preached during his stay in what is now Portugal and Spain. Soon after his death his disciples Theodore and Athanasius brought his head and his body to this area from Jerusalem in a boat. They moored the boat to a padrón (big stone). The two disciples remained to the area to preach after burying the Apostle.
Iglesia de Santiago is where the fabled stone is situated where the boat carrying St James remains was tied. You feel the presence of St James here with the various sculptures and artworks and you can go to the altar and photograph the stone. The first church was built here around 900, the 2nd around 1100, and part of the present day Church in the 1400's.
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| This is Padron -- the Church is to the left of the bridge |
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| The 1st century pardon - where the boat carrying James was moored |
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| Iglesia de Santiago |
There's another magnificent church in town -- Santa Marie de Cruces. It was a cathedral at one time and has 15th bishops buried at the graveyard. Some dating from 1200. This church had particularly interesting statues dressed in real cloth clothing.
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| Santa Marie de Cruces |
Now just some pictures of today's walk with some of the smaller parish churches we saw along the way, and a slug that was going slower than the snail.
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| Church popping out of the vineyards |
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| I have never seen firewood piled like this |
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| Padron city park with trimmed sycamore trees. Ocean is 15 miles downstream |
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| just another 'chapel' along the way |
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