On the Camino

As with many of my crafts what makes this card camino-y is the use of the blue and yellow of the Camino signs and the star from the 'field of stars'. The star could be replaced with the Camino shell if you want The card is done with a black pen and stars cut from yellow paper and is very easy to make.

We were up at 6:30 and took Mum's bag down for 7:30 before eating breakfast in our room. As we headed downstairs at 8:40 we realised that we had forgotten to write our day's destination on Mum's bag.

I cooked us scrambled eggs for breakfast and we lingered a long time over this so that it was 9:30 by the time we set off - definitely the latest I have ever set off on Camino. The day was sunny but there was a breeze so that it wasn't too hot for walking.

We were up at 6:30 and went down for our free breakfast. We got two slices of toast each with jam and a hot drink.  When we finished eating it was raining outside so we took a few minutes to get our coats and bag covers on only to find when we got outside that it had stopped raining!

Today we walked 20km after a bad night's sleep - the man in the room next door arrived back in his room at 10:59 and spent 15 minutes talking very loudly to his son on the 'phone (on a good note I learned that the weather was now much better than it had been). seeing as he was speaking on speaker 'phone I also learned that the man's son was pleased about this and that the grandchildren were well but missing their Grandad! We were up at 6:30 and packed away. Mum was having her bag carried by the Spanish Post Office on this Camino and they need all bags packed and at reception by 8:00 so by 7:40 we were down and ready for breakfast.

Our bus to Valenca was not until 10 so we had a lie-in until 8 (although the Spanish group next door got up at 6 and were noisy enough to wake me up). Before we had set off I had made us a banana loaf which we had brought with us so we ate that in our room for breakfast as well as some yogurts we had bought the day before.

Today was a day of traveling starting from home and arriving in Santiago - the flights used to be early in the morning which left enough time to travel onwards but now that flights are later in the day arriving at Santiago was as far as we could get today.

The Camino Portgues runs from Lisbon to Santiago a distance of 620km although most pilgrims choose to start in Porto which is 230km from Santiago. The route runs close to the coast (indeed there is a possibility to walk along the coast for some of the route) and the route leads you through Barcelos (where there is another version of the Pilgrim and the Cockerel story), Tui and Padron (famous for its peppers and as the spot where the stone boat carrying Saint James was supposed to have landed). Historically this was the route used by Queen Isabel of Portugal when she made a Pilgrimage to Santaigo. Image from http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/  (a blog written by a couple who walked from Lisbon to Santiago)

Using the statistics available from the Cathedral in Santiago ( http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrims-office/statistics/ ) it is possible to look at how Pilgrim numbers are increasing overall by mode of transport from 2004 (when the records on this site begin) to 2015: (Remember 2004 and 2010 were Holy Years)

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell  of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches. S callops also serve a practical purpose for medieval pilgrims as it is the correct size for getting water to drink or to use as a small bowl to eat their food from. There are also two stories about this shell which both involve the story that James did some preaching in Spain after Jesus had died and why the shell became so important: 1.After James was killed his disciples took him to be buried at the place that we now call Santiago.     But not far from Spain’s coast a heavy storm hit the ship and his body was lost in the ocean.   ...

How much money is needed on the Camino is something that I know a lot of people will wonder about - it can be a very cheap holiday if albergues are used but costs can increase a lot dependoing on whether you cook for yourself or eat out and if albergues or hotels are used. Picture taken from: http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEuro&ei=ui8RVayjJqa07ga34IH4Dw&bvm=bv.89184060,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNFah1gn8NxVatidlCpuSRbn9iicpA&ust=1427276082222583

I came across this interesting graph showing the number of Pilgrims walking the Camino for each month from 2008-16. I assume that this data has come from the Cathedral website (graph found at   https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/camino-photos/geeks-only-2.5739/ ).  

Last summer I undertook another long distance walk the 93 miles (150km) of the Peddars Way (which makes up 46 miles or 74km of the route) and Norfolk Coast path from near Rushford to Cromer.  Image taken from http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/peddars-way-and-norfolk-coast-path

There's is evidence of labyrinths dating back as far as the Egyptians in 1000BC although the term was first used in 484BC by Herodotus and they are made from a variety of materials from stone, turf (in Britain) and tiles (Roman). To be a labyrinth rather than a maze they have to have one path leading to the center and the same path out. The use of labyrinths in Churches is uncertain: it has been suggested that they had various uses:

Ever wanted to see Pilgrims arriving in Santiago from the comfort of your own settee? Or see what is going on on other parts of the Camino in Glaicia? Galician TV has a series of WebCams in Santiago and several other locations at: http://www.crtvg.es/crtvg/camaras-web

Pilgrims used to collect badges when they visited shrines and here are some that I have found in museums in London

When I walk the Camino I do so because of my faith but encounter more people walking without faith than I do with it but is faith a central part of being a Pilgrim? Pilgrimage as a word comes from the Latin word peregrinus which means ‘one who is in spiritual exile’ that is looking for a spiritual homeland (and definitions of pilgrimage are a journey to a sacred place or shrine).

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell  of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.