Zafra Spain Gordon’s Total Distance Walking: 150 kms Ruth’s Total Distance Cycling: 167 Number of paintings or sketches: 7 Art teachers sometimes encourage their students to just fill their sketchbooks, insisting that every page is mileage in learning to make art. Each day, on the Via de la Plata, some of my mileage is, therefore off my bike. I brought my little art kit, and ...
I offered chairs and beer on a long day without a cafe. They call this the “clock tower” in Amaden, but it sure looks a lot like a minaret to me. The beauty of the Via de la Plata has taken me by surprise. I was anticipating that the scenery would be like the meseta, which is to say lovely in its own way, but ...
Leaving from the Seville Cathedral Day One: Seville to Guillena Day Two: Guillena to Castilblanco de los Arroyos Our first dinner on the Via de la Plata was a gathering of eight or nine pilgrims. Everyone at the table had done at least three Caminos. This is not a route beginners generally choose. It is longer and has some stages with fewer services. It’s wonderful ...
The view from our apartment. March 27, 2022 Gordon: We got off to a slow start from Victoria. Our plane had a minor bird strike as it arrived, necessitating an inspection before our departure. This delay meant we would miss our connecting flights, but Air Canada quickly and seamlessly rebooked us through Paris rather than Frankfurt. Baguettes and pain au chocolate for lunch rather than sausages. We never did get ...
With only four more sleeps before we fly to Spain, I think I might repack just one more time. The last few days I have been adding and subtracting from the packing pile. I know less is always better, but I just might need that extra…(fill in the blank with anything unnecessary). Spain actually might have a store or two if I really need something. After ...
Gordon and I at MuxiaThe prospect of walking all the way to Santiago is the initial hook for many of us, but the Camino de Santiago is not just a walk. In fact, I would argue, that the profound experiences found on the way can be achieved without walking much at all. Those who have already made the pilgrimage know that the journey is in ...
Today I rode with Marco from Italy, to Laxe. I was lucky to have a companion with a map because the route was not as clear cut as I had expected. The coast is rugged and beautiful. Laxe is said to be the spot where the Virgin Mary landed in a stone boat ( an apparently popular form of transport then ) to come to ...
Imagine before there were tomatoes, potatoes, and even chocolate: the world was a much smaller place. Finisterra was literally the end of the World until Christopher Columbus changed things. It was also kilometer zero of the Camino.The locals no longer encourage pilgrims to follow the longstanding tradition of burning their clothes, and given the amount of synthetic fibers - I tend to agree with them. ...
Gordon -For most pilgrims the Camino ends at Santiago, but about 10% continue on to Finisterra. Those that do, such as ourselves, are rewarded with a green undulating landscape, charming villages and less crowded walking. With the mist rising off the land this morning, walking though a village constructed largely of granite, I felt this may be the finest part of the Camino. The pilgrimage ...
We arrived yesterday with just under one thousand others. In Santiago we wanted to see the Cathedral, attend the Pilgrims Mass, eat Coquille St. Jacques and reconnect with many of our friends from the Camino. We were successful on all counts and lucky on many others. The mass concluded with the swinging of the botafumiero, the largest incense burner in Christendom. Eight men must pull ...