So as we leave Santiago de Compostela this morning a rush of feelings surrounds us. Up at 6, packing the backpacks, out the door, grabbing a coffee con leche and a roll, then walking for our next stop. All things we share with the 1000s of peregrinos on their "Way". This morning our Way is to the estatione' de train and to Madrid. Ours is now the Way home. In the last 24 hours we have seen pilgrims that we last saw getting on the train in Madrid on April 23rd and we've seen Camino friends from the past few days. All of us now making room for those who are just stepping out of their doors or their comfort zones and beginning their journeys on the Way. Our memories and daily habits are points in conversations and smiles, mostly. For the new pilgrims our memories and habits are lessons still to be attended and experiences to record and possibly worries yet to be. The "circle of life on the Camino de Santiago", so to speak.
The noon peregrino service at the cathedral yesterday focused on telling pilgrims that this was not the end but the beginning of their new journey, their new Way in life. Essentially this is this first day of the rest of your lives. Several conversations in the last couple days have included "what did the Camino mean to you ,,,,,,,?. I cannot say I saw or learned anything extraordinary, maybe there will be a revelation in a few months, beyond "walking sticks are nice", "long down hills on cobble stone ain't nice", "coffee con leche is nice, a days walking in mud and rain is not so nice". Maybe not. Oops,,,revelation. "Waterproof" breathable boots, gloves, pants, jackets -- yeah,,,, NOT - after several a hours trekking in the rain.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2016
An afternoon in Madrid
We finally found our way from Chamartin to Atocha station, then went in a 45 minute circle looking for our hotel, but finally stepped out to walk a bit this afternoon. Starting from Atocha station-
Past the plaza Carlos V,
The ministry of Agriculture!
Through the FABULOUS Parque del Buen Retiro -
Past the very ritzy Ritz Carlton Madrid,
complete with Bentleys and Rolls Royces.
Then on past the Prado museum, I think this is a former main entryway, if you expand it you'll see the names of all the Spanish masters -
And, after a small dinner and an ice cream bar, back to our hotel room with the very unique see-thru shower.
Last day tomorrow! Prado and the Royal Palace. Know what's really bugging me? I'm off the Camino and suddenly altogether too aware that I've been wearing the same two sets of clothes for six weeks! Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.............
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Past the plaza Carlos V,
The ministry of Agriculture!
Through the FABULOUS Parque del Buen Retiro -
Past the very ritzy Ritz Carlton Madrid,
complete with Bentleys and Rolls Royces.
Then on past the Prado museum, I think this is a former main entryway, if you expand it you'll see the names of all the Spanish masters -
And, after a small dinner and an ice cream bar, back to our hotel room with the very unique see-thru shower.
Last day tomorrow! Prado and the Royal Palace. Know what's really bugging me? I'm off the Camino and suddenly altogether too aware that I've been wearing the same two sets of clothes for six weeks! Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.............
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A little history lesson while I sit on the train to Madrid
It was familiar to wake up, pack our stuff, and set off in the quiet dark of the city's early morning (6:40) to walk to the train station. Cafe con leche and a bit of apple cake, ran into friends Mikal and MariAnn from Sweden and wished each other safe travels home. It has been amazing who we've run into, yesterday we chatted with an Australian couple we had met in the train station in Madrid five weeks ago - we'd never seen them since!
It occurs to me that for those of you who are not familiar with the Camino I should give you a short "why" of the thing. Long story short, the city of Santiago de Compostela would not exist as it is today if it weren't for a couple of legends (and miracles)!
James the greater, one of Jesus' closest friends and apostles, is said to have preached in Spain after Jesus' death and resurrection. Spain was an outlying part of the Roman Empire at the time. He returned to Jerusalem and was beheaded by the Romans; two of his followers and James' remains set out in a boat and were miraculously brought around the Iberian peninsula to Finisterre. The reigning local queen at Finisterre didn't want to deal with having a Christian martyr's relics making trouble with the Romans or her local holy men, she unsuccessfully tried to thwart the burial of the Apostle. His remains, and those of the two followers, were eventually entombed at Muxia, about 10km from Finisterre.
In the 800's, as the Christians had been losing ground steadily to the Moors and were holding the line in the northern part of the Iberian peninsula, a hermit saw a strange light in the forest, which led him to the tomb of the Apostle. He told the local bishop at the nearby seat of the Church, who verified that the bones in the tomb were absolutely those of the Apostle, buried 800 years earlier. Well! This was big news for the Christian cause! King Alfonso II built a small basilica to honor the relics, and suddenly Santiago (St. James) was making appearances in battle, such as at Clavijo, helping to slay the Moors and win back Christian territory.
AAACCK! After less than an hour's ride, occasionally at more than 200 km/hr, we have suddenly been shepherded off the train and onto buses. No one seems to know what exactly is happening, but I'm really glad we aren't trying to catch a flight out of Madrid this afternoon because I suspect the bus is going to take a LOT longer than the train..........
So, the presence of such significant relics started the trickle of pilgrims journeying to Santiago, which soon became a flood. By 1000 - 1100 there were monasteries and convents serving as and building new hospitals (pilgrim refuges) all along the Way, which followed traditional Roman travel routes. There were already folks making pilgrimage to Rome due to the relics of Peter and Paul, and of course pilgrims to Jerusalem. There were, and are, many routes to Santiago, the one we walked is the most popular, the Camino Frances.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is difficult to imagine, but apparently the same number of pilgrims were on the Way daily in 1150 as are on the Way today. What I would give for a glimpse of that!!!!
So, back to our trip - started the day at the Santiago de Compostela station -
And after we got put into the bus at Ourense we saw this unique bridge and what appears to be an incredibly steep walkway!
So a little update on our bus trip - we turned off the Autopista (big multi lane freeway) about a half an hour ago, now about 2 hours into our bus ride. We are looking out the window at Sergio Leone film-esque scenery and humming to ourselves "do ee do ee dooo, dum DUM dum.. ", repeat as necessary, visualizing Clint Eastwood in serape riding across the scene.
After nearly 3 hours on the bus we got back on a high speed train at Zamorza, and amazingly, we arrived at Madrid Chamartin station at 1:50, about 40 minutes later than scheduled! We never did find out what the deal was, I think it's just Spain!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It occurs to me that for those of you who are not familiar with the Camino I should give you a short "why" of the thing. Long story short, the city of Santiago de Compostela would not exist as it is today if it weren't for a couple of legends (and miracles)!
James the greater, one of Jesus' closest friends and apostles, is said to have preached in Spain after Jesus' death and resurrection. Spain was an outlying part of the Roman Empire at the time. He returned to Jerusalem and was beheaded by the Romans; two of his followers and James' remains set out in a boat and were miraculously brought around the Iberian peninsula to Finisterre. The reigning local queen at Finisterre didn't want to deal with having a Christian martyr's relics making trouble with the Romans or her local holy men, she unsuccessfully tried to thwart the burial of the Apostle. His remains, and those of the two followers, were eventually entombed at Muxia, about 10km from Finisterre.
In the 800's, as the Christians had been losing ground steadily to the Moors and were holding the line in the northern part of the Iberian peninsula, a hermit saw a strange light in the forest, which led him to the tomb of the Apostle. He told the local bishop at the nearby seat of the Church, who verified that the bones in the tomb were absolutely those of the Apostle, buried 800 years earlier. Well! This was big news for the Christian cause! King Alfonso II built a small basilica to honor the relics, and suddenly Santiago (St. James) was making appearances in battle, such as at Clavijo, helping to slay the Moors and win back Christian territory.
AAACCK! After less than an hour's ride, occasionally at more than 200 km/hr, we have suddenly been shepherded off the train and onto buses. No one seems to know what exactly is happening, but I'm really glad we aren't trying to catch a flight out of Madrid this afternoon because I suspect the bus is going to take a LOT longer than the train..........
So, the presence of such significant relics started the trickle of pilgrims journeying to Santiago, which soon became a flood. By 1000 - 1100 there were monasteries and convents serving as and building new hospitals (pilgrim refuges) all along the Way, which followed traditional Roman travel routes. There were already folks making pilgrimage to Rome due to the relics of Peter and Paul, and of course pilgrims to Jerusalem. There were, and are, many routes to Santiago, the one we walked is the most popular, the Camino Frances.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is difficult to imagine, but apparently the same number of pilgrims were on the Way daily in 1150 as are on the Way today. What I would give for a glimpse of that!!!!
So, back to our trip - started the day at the Santiago de Compostela station -
And after we got put into the bus at Ourense we saw this unique bridge and what appears to be an incredibly steep walkway!
So a little update on our bus trip - we turned off the Autopista (big multi lane freeway) about a half an hour ago, now about 2 hours into our bus ride. We are looking out the window at Sergio Leone film-esque scenery and humming to ourselves "do ee do ee dooo, dum DUM dum.. ", repeat as necessary, visualizing Clint Eastwood in serape riding across the scene.
After nearly 3 hours on the bus we got back on a high speed train at Zamorza, and amazingly, we arrived at Madrid Chamartin station at 1:50, about 40 minutes later than scheduled! We never did find out what the deal was, I think it's just Spain!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, May 30, 2016
Last day in Santiago de Compostela
Woke to pattering rain at the window once again, which didn't encourage us to hop right out of bed and hit the streets, and anyway, now that the mileage is not needed, hitting the streets before 10 is pretty pointless because nothing is open!
Breakfast in the hotel was lovely, watching the Spanish equivalent of
Good Morning America and the Real Madrid players celebrating the Spanish equivalent of a Super Bowl victory.
Put on my new blue Camino shell commemorative earrings,
and we set off on the mornings adventures.
We found the local market stalls, permanent ones like at the Public Market in Seattle. We never cease to ogle the unusual (to us) offerings of pig ears, snout, and feet,
along with whole rabbit, lamb, and plucked chickens. Spanish children definitely know where meat comes from!
Then we sought out the Sargadelos gallery, a Galician pottery company that makes figurines, dishes, etc. This dessert is on Sargadelos pottery.
they also make the beer taps for a Galician beer company called Estrella Galicia.
We hoped they sold miniatures of these as we found them very interesting, but no, apparently Estrella Galicia is rather proprietary about them. Oh well, maybe an eBay search in the future.
Next on our list was noon mass at the cathedral, we got seated about 11:20. It was not nearly as packed as it had been Friday night! We got to see the botafumeiro swing at the end of the service.
Sorry, tried to put in a video clip but I have to set up a YouTube channel, not going to happen just now. Watch the movie "The Way" or google botafumeiro Santiago!
We followed up with lunch with Jenny and David from Australia - muy Bueno!
After lunch we did a little shopping, then headed back to our little hotel room during siesta time.
This evening we walked to the train station just to make sure we could get there easily in the morning, then looked for dinner. Took a stab at a small creperie, which was a great choice.
Salad of lettuce, beets, apple, walnuts and roquefort cheese
Followed by buckwheat crepes, B's filled with egg, chorizo, and cheese, mine with mushrooms, tomato and cheese.
No, we haven't died from eating very nearly raw eggs - yet.
B just about passed out when I reached for the salt shaker at dinner this evening, something I rarely do at home and figured I would NEVER do in Spain, as I find everything very salty here, but tomato, mushroom and emmentaler swiss just needed a little umph!
Closed the day out with more strolling, window shopping, and an ice cream. The sign behind me points to Pontevedra, the home of one of my niece's exchange student friends.
And we've got to quit eating as though we're walking 15 miles a day - talk about a hard habit to break!! Posting from Madrid tomorrow -
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Breakfast in the hotel was lovely, watching the Spanish equivalent of
Good Morning America and the Real Madrid players celebrating the Spanish equivalent of a Super Bowl victory.
Put on my new blue Camino shell commemorative earrings,
and we set off on the mornings adventures.
We found the local market stalls, permanent ones like at the Public Market in Seattle. We never cease to ogle the unusual (to us) offerings of pig ears, snout, and feet,
along with whole rabbit, lamb, and plucked chickens. Spanish children definitely know where meat comes from!
Then we sought out the Sargadelos gallery, a Galician pottery company that makes figurines, dishes, etc. This dessert is on Sargadelos pottery.
they also make the beer taps for a Galician beer company called Estrella Galicia.
We hoped they sold miniatures of these as we found them very interesting, but no, apparently Estrella Galicia is rather proprietary about them. Oh well, maybe an eBay search in the future.
Next on our list was noon mass at the cathedral, we got seated about 11:20. It was not nearly as packed as it had been Friday night! We got to see the botafumeiro swing at the end of the service.
Sorry, tried to put in a video clip but I have to set up a YouTube channel, not going to happen just now. Watch the movie "The Way" or google botafumeiro Santiago!
We followed up with lunch with Jenny and David from Australia - muy Bueno!
After lunch we did a little shopping, then headed back to our little hotel room during siesta time.
This evening we walked to the train station just to make sure we could get there easily in the morning, then looked for dinner. Took a stab at a small creperie, which was a great choice.
Salad of lettuce, beets, apple, walnuts and roquefort cheese
Followed by buckwheat crepes, B's filled with egg, chorizo, and cheese, mine with mushrooms, tomato and cheese.
No, we haven't died from eating very nearly raw eggs - yet.
B just about passed out when I reached for the salt shaker at dinner this evening, something I rarely do at home and figured I would NEVER do in Spain, as I find everything very salty here, but tomato, mushroom and emmentaler swiss just needed a little umph!
Closed the day out with more strolling, window shopping, and an ice cream. The sign behind me points to Pontevedra, the home of one of my niece's exchange student friends.
And we've got to quit eating as though we're walking 15 miles a day - talk about a hard habit to break!! Posting from Madrid tomorrow -
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Tourist day, back from Finisterre
Well, we must truly be on vacation in Spain, we just got back from dinner and its 10:10pm!
Let's start with breakfast in Finisterre - our breakfast room and views from it.
I was interested in seeing crab pots (I think)!
We shared a taxi back to Santiago this morning with Jim from Denver,
gave our return bus tickets to some other peregrinos who were not worried about motion sickness :-). It actually felt good to have our packs on again!
As soon as we walked into town we ran into Angela from Vancouver, then we ran into Carlos and his wife Carmen - we hadn't seen Carlos in weeks! He is a Spaniard who helped us several times along the way with things we just couldn't figure out without a little more language!
It's a long story, but we had a midday meal at the casual bar at the Parador $$$$$$$
Dessert was amazing!
In the afternoon sun I was able to get some better shots of the cathedral, particularly of St. James at the top -
After a small siesta we went to the cathedral museum - we couldn't take pictures inside but we had a couple of outdoor opportunities!
And we found an outdoor altarpiece, the first one I can recall in which God is represented above with all His angels -
The outdoor cloister where many, if not all, of the canons (senior leaders) of the cathedral are buried.
At 8:00pm we had the opportunity to pick up B's boots at "Ivar the friend of all peregrinos" storeroom. We had mailed them from Logrono on about day six, he had held them for our arrival in Santiago.
I should have taken a picture of the storeroom, it was about 12 feet square and stacked floor to ceiling with shelving and boxes!
After picking up the boots we went to a tapas/wine bar for a little dinner.
So, good night from Santiago, more tomorrow!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Let's start with breakfast in Finisterre - our breakfast room and views from it.
I was interested in seeing crab pots (I think)!
We shared a taxi back to Santiago this morning with Jim from Denver,
gave our return bus tickets to some other peregrinos who were not worried about motion sickness :-). It actually felt good to have our packs on again!
As soon as we walked into town we ran into Angela from Vancouver, then we ran into Carlos and his wife Carmen - we hadn't seen Carlos in weeks! He is a Spaniard who helped us several times along the way with things we just couldn't figure out without a little more language!
It's a long story, but we had a midday meal at the casual bar at the Parador $$$$$$$
Dessert was amazing!
In the afternoon sun I was able to get some better shots of the cathedral, particularly of St. James at the top -
After a small siesta we went to the cathedral museum - we couldn't take pictures inside but we had a couple of outdoor opportunities!
And we found an outdoor altarpiece, the first one I can recall in which God is represented above with all His angels -
The outdoor cloister where many, if not all, of the canons (senior leaders) of the cathedral are buried.
At 8:00pm we had the opportunity to pick up B's boots at "Ivar the friend of all peregrinos" storeroom. We had mailed them from Logrono on about day six, he had held them for our arrival in Santiago.
I should have taken a picture of the storeroom, it was about 12 feet square and stacked floor to ceiling with shelving and boxes!
After picking up the boots we went to a tapas/wine bar for a little dinner.
So, good night from Santiago, more tomorrow!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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