Camino de Santiago
In and around Spain
When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
Then people long to go on pilgrimages
And Palmers long to seek the stranger strands
Of far off saints, hallowed in sundry lands
The Canterbury Tales
Back in the height of the Middle Ages, Santiago de Compostela was one of the three main holy cities for Christians, with the other two being Rome and Jerusalem. As Rome was quite a political city, making a pilgrimage there was also making a political statement in taking sides between the Pope and the Emperor in their struggle for power. Jerusalem, as well as being far away, was dangerous for Christians as the land was owned by Muslims and so Santiago benefited as a pilgrimage site as it was safe and on neutral grounds.
At its height, about half a million pilgrims per year visited the holy city where the body of the apostle St. James lies. As a testamony to the numbers, the walk is commonly refered to the Spanish "El Camino de Santiago" or St. James Way which means Milky Way. A metaphor to suggest that there were as many pilgrims as there are stars in the sky.
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler ~Jason~
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1
Things can only get better...
As seems to be the habit of my travels, I have had my first bit of trouble with my transport.
Having caught the over-night train from Scuntho... Continue reading »
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2
Spain At Last
Well I caught the bus to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port or literally "St. John at the Foot of the Pass" and met an American lady by the name of Sarah. We ta... Continue reading »
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3
In Pamplona - No Bull!
Well I´m in Pamplona now! I did a MAMMOTH effort yesterday by walking 38.5Km. (Try it sometime!) I actually only gained 37.5Km distance because I m... Continue reading »
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4
La Reina in Spaina is nowhera on la Plana (updated)
Ok, the first time this didn´t work so fingers crossed this time!
I was a bit late leaving Pamplona as I had to wait for the Post Office or <... Continue reading »
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5
Choc-fest! (For religion of course!)
Left Puente and started to make my way to the second village on route, the hilltop town of Cirauqui, for breakfast, only to find that the coffee sh... Continue reading »
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6
Wine Tasting on the Camino
I got a bit of a late start today which wasn´t helped when the first port of call was a fountain with free wine! Stopped to make sure the facility... Continue reading »
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7
Logrono at last!
Well I´ve made it to Logrono which also sees the first 100 Miles complete in the first week! (Actually 163Km for the folks back home)
By far... Continue reading »
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8
A Week in one day! (50Km!!!!)
Well that was the most stupidest thing I think I´ve done in a long time. I think my ego woke up first this morning and declared that I could get to... Continue reading »
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9
The Church of San Pollo
Well I went to bed in the nunery in Santo Domingo last night only to be woken at 5:30 by some idiot in my room who had their clock set for 5:30 but... Continue reading »
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10
The Atapuercan Man
So I woke up at 6:30am for a shower. Got in and it was one of those showers that you push a button and 2mins later you have to push the button agai... Continue reading »
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11
Road Trip
Today I woke up and found it had been raining and was the cloudiest(?) I´d seen Spain. Looked like it could have rained at a moments notice!
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12
Big Sky Country!
Excuse me if I sound pissed off but I´ve got flies all around this room that "just can´t take a hint" and the security software on this INCREDIBLY... Continue reading »
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13
Bored and hot! (33C!!!)
Well I´m in Fromista with 35Km under my belt today and I´ve only stopped for lunch.
I´m aiming to be out of all the refugios from now on befo... Continue reading »
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14
What the heck?
It´s amazing how the body can get used to punishment (And believe me, I´m in CREDIT!) 55km´s today and feeling fine.
So I had my lunch and s... Continue reading »
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15
Dear Diary: Today I walked. A lot. In the sun.
Ok, so I know that title is a bit boring and could apply to any day on this camino but there really wasn´t much to write about today.
I´d lef... Continue reading »
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16
And on the 15th Day God Said "Whoa! Stop Jason! Slow down!"
Well I decided to take today off. Being such a nice hostel (except for the keyboard on this computer that doesn´t always register keystroes!) and n... Continue reading »
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17
WORSE!
Bill Cosby is an amazing comic. One of his more famous sketches was based around never saying that things couldn´t possibly get worse because if yo... Continue reading »
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18
The King of Leon
So the title of this actually has a double meaning.
Firstly, as I started walking today, I put in my MP3 player to listen to whilst walking.... Continue reading »
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19
This is empty. It´s just so the map is accurate.
And yet you still don´t believe me! Continue reading » -
20
How to walk the Meseta in 4 easy steps!
I am getting bad with these early mornings now. I shouldn´t have taken a day off. Was about 8:30am when I set off today. Walked about 4km to the ne... Continue reading »
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21
The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of <click> <click> <click>
Well I´m not actually in Manjarin but it was the closest place to El Acebo that I went through. Quite funny really as El Acebo is a nice stablished... Continue reading »
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22
Iron Man
Ok. I know, it wasn´t a big walk today. 16km. Yes I´m ashamed. But this is the last ´big´city I´ll be in before Santiago. So I need to resupply. I... Continue reading »
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23
(*Updated*) A Beach in the Mountains
*********New update at bottom*********
So it was only about 23km today. Not a lot but I had company.
I woke up this morning and just wa... Continue reading »
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24
Just add water
Well yet again this website couldn´t find the actual town I was in. Nor the ones either side of it! So Triacastela is actually 9km AFTER... Continue reading »
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25
Enough with the rain already!
So we got up late and didn´t really get an early start at all. In fact it was 9:50am by the time I was on the road.
The girls left about 15mi... Continue reading »
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26
Home Stretch
Foolish as in the Hare from ´The Hare and the Tortoise´ foolish.
I got up and had brekkie and started on my way towards Sarria, which as I ex... Continue reading »
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27
Closer!
My plan to get up early was foiled by fatigue.
I left at 9am in a setting that resembles the Bridgewater Jerry. (sorry to others, Hobart refe... Continue reading »
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28
Yo Camino Baby!
So I left rather late today. Partly because of the wine and partly because, hey, it´s only 4km!
I was aiming to make the midday mass that the... Continue reading »
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29
I´ve lost my backpack (+ 1/3!)
SLightly misleading heading but gets your attention.
I´m referring the how much weight I´ve lost on the Camino. My backpack weighs 9.5kg and... Continue reading »
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30
The Terminal
So I arrive at the airport, hoping to bring my flight home a few days earlier. Am told it is only possible if I pay the difference which ends up be... Continue reading »
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31
The Botafumerio!
So I woke up on Sunday and had a feeling that I would see the two American sisters at church. I hadn´t seen them since Portomarin a few days earlie... Continue reading »
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32
Going home.
I got talked into staying in Santiago as Jess and Kathy told me about a place that would let pilgrims and ex-pilgrims stay for €5.
The great... Continue reading »
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33
The Final Blog for Spain
This is just a short entry to thank all the people that I walked with, talked with and generally shared the Camino experience with. There may be a... Continue reading »
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