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On the Camino: One Day at a Time, one Photo at a Time 8.0

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Muxia October 2013:
Silhouette of a Sanctuary

Virxe da Barca sanctuary
The sanctuary was originally a pre-Christian Celtic shrine and sacred spot. This part of Spain was resistant to conversion to Christianity, and was only converted in the 12th century. The Christians built a hermitage on this location at first, and later the present church in the 17th century.
On Christmas Day 2013 just weeks after I visited, it was destroyed in a fire caused by lightning. Good news, it has been fully reconstructed and I shall see it again come September. 😇 Grateful.
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Virxe da Barca sanctuary. A photograph of the interior. Sadly, like a lot of churches in Spain, it is usually closed, apart from when services are taking place. This picture was taken through the grill on the front door. June 2016.

IMG_20160627_110945200.webp
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Blessings on all those who place a seat for pilgrims to rest, underneath a tree. This was taken on 22 May 2011, on the Chemin de Arles, somewhere between Toulouse and St-Marie-Oloron. It was in the days before my camera geolocated things.

IMG_0286.webp
 
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Blessings on all those who place a seat for pilgrims to rest, underneath a tree. This was taken on 22 May 2011, on the Chemin de Arles, somewhere between Toulouse and St-Marie-Oloron. It was in the days before my camera geolocated things.

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Kanga,
Indeed. One of the enduring camino pleasures is to find a seat.
 
Join the Camino cleanup. Logroño to Burgos May 2025 & Astorga to OCebreiro in June
I Have Not Lingered In European Monasteries from "The Spice-Box of Earth"

I Have Not Lingered In European Monasteries
and discovered among the tall grasses tombs of knights
who fell as beautifully as their ballads tell;
I have not parted the grasses
or purposefully left them thatched.
I have not held my breath
so that I might hear the breathing of God
or tamed my heartbeat with an exercise,
or starved for visions.
Although I have watched him often
I have not become the heron,
leaving my body on the shore,
and I have not become the luminous trout,
leaving my body in the air.
I have not worshipped wounds and relics,
or combs of iron,
or bodies wrapped and burnt in scrolls.
I have not been unhappy for ten thousands years.
During the day I laugh and during the night I sleep.
My favourite cooks prepare my meals,
my body cleans and repairs itself,
and all my work goes well.

Leonard Cohen

One has to assume Leonard Cohen never walked the camino, otherwise he would have spent a lot of time in European monasteries, or at least buildings that had once been monasteries. I don’t think the ‘I’ of this poem is the writer. It is not the pilgrim either. Apart from the last five lines, perhaps, most of us would say the opposite of what the speaker of this poem says. And I think Leonard Cohen would be OK with that (which may be the point of the poem anyway)

One of the European monasteries that Leonard Cohen did not linger in - Sobrado dos Monxes, with crane. CdN.
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I am hunting, but not enough time right now, to find the photo taken after that breakfast in Burguete. instead, this is to salute all those who will walk in August.
Humour me! It is funny!
IMG_1561.JPG
just realised, this should been another thread. Doesn't matter. Happy day, Buen Camino!
 
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@VNwalking Pretty sure this is the same tree
It is. And @Theatregal also recently posted a photo of the same lonely oak. 😍
A celebrity tree!

Following the loose tree theme, here is the favorite tree from all my caminos. A grand old chestnut on the Invierno. I posted the photo already on one of the early threads, but she is such a beauty!

20190603_131322.jpg
 
3rd Edition. Vital content training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
Virxe da Barca sanctuary. A photograph of the interior. Sadly, like a lot of churches in Spain, it is usually closed, apart from when services are taking place. This picture was taken through the grill on the front door. June 2016.

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This was the photo I was trying to take before finding out that my SD card had snapped.
 
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
Join the Camino cleanup. Logroño to Burgos May 2025 & Astorga to OCebreiro in June
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
For awhile I've been tempted to cheat and post two related photos from my Camino Aragonese. Yesterday I posted them in a new thread created about the town of Ruesta. So now my cheat is to just direct you to my post (but my post #6 there has one also).


@Doughnut NZ, I downloaded your tree pic to show others with mine. I only have it shown at a distance (I've posted it before on this thread). My closer pictures of the tree exist now on a card that won't cough them up.

This is a cropped version of that pic I posted. The tree is seen behind the pilgrim.
 
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My mind doesn't seem to want to leave the warmth of the Portuguese coast; perhaps due to being in the midst of winter or living in a mountainous part of the country above 7,000 ft / 2,100 meters. Either way, I'm going along with it...

Vila do Conde --> Esposende, just before the detour inland around the coastal golf course.
CP, 7 Oct 2019
 
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My mind doesn't seem to want to leave the warmth of the Portuguese coast; perhaps due to being in the midst of winter or living in a mountainous part of the country above 7,000 ft / 2,100 meters. Either way, I'm going along with it...

Vila do Conde --> Esposende, just before the detour inland around the coastal golf course.
CP, 7 Oct 2019
This is so beautiful and I can't wait to be there. Do you suppose September will be too hot or just right? Also, is it humid? I was on del Norte in July and it was extremely humid, very challenging. :)
 
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This is so beautiful and I can't wait to be there. Do you suppose September will be too hot or just right? Also, is it humid? I was on del Norte in July and it was extremely humid, very challenging. :)
You will love it.

I walked it in early-mid October, so probably not that much different in Sept.

I don't recall it being overly humid, especially since there was an ocean breeze all the time. It was more humid on the central route (but still not bad like the southeastern US) for the two days I crossed over to check it out before returning to the coast.
 
CF August 10, 2019 about 30 minutes past Sarria. This beauty is the same but different then the one pictured in @Doughnut NZ ‘s post. Natural Art. 😍
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Great minds think alike. This was going to be my tree for today. If people want to look for it, it is five minutes after crossing the railway lines, heading out of town. So here is a mono version. I like the shape of the central trunk. CF June 2019.

Old tree near Sarria. CF June 2019..webpOld tree near Sarria. CF June 2019. Crop..webp
 
Another tree some days along the Invierno from the last one - a cherry tree hanging with fruit on the way to Quiroga. One of many that time of the year. 😋
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I would have given you a ❤️ if you hadn't cropped out the elephant. ;)
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
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@Doughnut NZ same but different 🤣 or is it? This is the stretch after Carrion de los Condes before Calzadilla de la Cueza. July 21, 2019. I love these long infinite roads. Freedom. 🤩
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I have to admit that I love the Meseta. I would add the caveat that I have only been there in late spring, when it was green and full of flowers. I do not think I would be so keen on a sea of brown.
What I enjoyed as well on this stretch, was the Cafe / Bar, " The Oasis". No facilities, but food, drink, somewhere to sit and talk. Friendly owner and more or less half way along the stretch. When I arrived at breakfast time, the BBQ was cooking nicely.

IMG_20160611_075618279.jpgIMG_20160611_074953299.webp
 
@Doughnut NZ same but different 🤣 or is it? This is the stretch after Carrion de los Condes before Calzadilla de la Cueza. July 21, 2019. I love these long infinite roads. Freedom. 🤩
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I am currently in a very remote area with limited internet and so I can not check at the moment. My photo was in the same general area as @kirkie s photo (hence the reply to her post).
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I am currently in a very remote area with limited internet and so I can not check at the moment. My photo was in the same general area as @kirkie s photo (hence the reply to her post).
I thought so. I did some stupid things in my life. One was tolose a lot of the CF photos, and another, the notebook! That does not make me stupid! I had a note 18k straight on, and that was what I think is that stretch from Carrion, so spot on, Doughnut NZ! Thanks. It was hot. It was akso very peaceful, very little traffic. Maybe a cart or two!
 
Adios, ríos; adios, fontes;
adios, regatos pequenos;
adios, vista dos meus ollos:
non sei cando nos veremos
Miña terra, miña terra,
terra donde me eu criei,
hortiña que quero tanto,
figueiriñas que prantei,
prados, ríos, arboredas,
pinares que move o vento,
paxariños piadores,
casiña do meu contento,
muíño dos castañares,
noites craras de luar,
campaniñas trimbadoras
da igrexiña do lugar,
amoriñas das silveiras
que eu lle daba ó meu amor,
camiñiños antre o millo,
¡adios, para sempre adios!
¡Adios groria! ¡Adios contento!
¡Deixo a casa onde nacín,
deixo a aldea que conozo
por un mundo que non vin!
Deixo amigos por estraños,
deixo a veiga polo mar,
deixo, en fin, canto ben quero...
¡Quen pudera non deixar!...
Mais son probe e, ¡mal pecado!,
a miña terra n'é miña,
que hastra lle dan de prestado
a beira por que camiña
ó que naceu desdichado.
Téñovos, pois, que deixar,
hortiña que tanto amei,
fogueiriña do meu lar,
arboriños que prantei,
fontiña do cabañar.
Adios, adios, que me vou,
herbiñas do camposanto,
donde meu pai se enterrou,
herbiñas que biquei tanto,
terriña que nos criou
Adios Virxe da Asunción,
branca como un serafín;
lévovos no corazón:
Pedídelle a Dios por min,
miña Virxe da Asunción.

Xa se oien lonxe, moi lonxe,
as campanas do Pomar;
para min, ¡ai!, coitadiño,
nunca máis han de tocar.
Xa se oien lonxe, máis lonxe
Cada balada é un dolor;
voume soio, sin arrimo...
Miña terra, ¡adios!, ¡adios!
¡Adios tamén, queridiña!...
¡Adios por sempre quizais!...
Dígoche este adios chorando
desde a beiriña do mar.
Non me olvides, queridiña,
si morro de soidás...
tantas légoas mar adentro...
¡Miña casiña!,¡meu lar!
Goodbye, rivers; goodbye, springs;
goodbye, little streams;
goodbye, sight of my eyes:
I don't know when we'll see each other
My land, my land,
land where I grew up,
vegetable garden I love so much,
fig trees I planted,
meadows, rivers, groves,
pine forests that move in the wind,
chirping birds,
my happy little house,
chestnut mill,
clear moonlit nights,
chiming bells
of the local church,
blackberry bushes
that I used to love,
walks among the corn,
Goodbye, goodbye forever!
Goodbye glory! Goodbye contentment!
I leave the house where I was born,
I leave the village I know
for a world I have not seen!
I leave friends for strangers,
I leave the field by the sea,
I leave, in short, everything that I love ...
Everyone I could not leave! ...
But I am poor, that is my curse ,
my land is not mine
even the roadside
is only lent to the traveller
the one born under a bad sign.
I have to leave you, then.
vegetable garden that I loved so much,
the fire on the hearth,
little trees I planted,
The fountain of our little cabin.
Goodbye, goodbye, I'm leaving,
graveyard weeds,
where my father was buried
weeds that I kissed so much,
land that raised us
Farewell Virgin of the Assumption,
white as a seraphim;
I carry you in my heart:
Ask God for me,
my Virgin of the Assumption.

I hear them, I hear them, from far, far away,
The church bells of Pomar;
for me, alas, poor thing,
they will never ring again.
I can hear them, I can hear them, far, far away
Every ballad is a pain;
I'm going to sleep, without rest ...
My land, goodbye !, goodbye!
Goodbye too, darling! ...
Goodbye forever maybe! ...
I say this goodbye crying
from the seashore.
Don't forget me, darling,
if I die of longing...
so many leagues out to sea ...
My little house! my home!
Rosalia de Castro

A remarkable woman in many ways. Not the least of her accomplishments was to reinstate Galician as a language of literature and of a culture, and she did it in a society that firmly believed women did not have an active role in either. She went a long way in reinstating the culture of Galicia itself for that matter. Her poems spring from a love of the landscape of Galicia, its abundance of fresh water, its sparking grey granite and its greenery. The affinity with and similarity to Ireland are obvious. Another point of similarity to Ireland is the poverty and resilience of its people, and the often bitter experience of exile.

The photo is of a sadly familiar sight in Galicia - an abandoned farmhouse on the VdlP, May 2012.

DSCN1644.webp
 
CF August 10, 2019 about 30 minutes past Sarria. This beauty is the same but different then the one pictured in @Doughnut NZ ‘s post. Natural Art. 😍
View attachment 118993View attachment 118994
There is something about chestnut trees, they seem to live forever, and I think they probably pollard them. This one is at As Medulas, on the Invierno, 30/9/18. Various chestnut recipes are a local speciality and there are signs warning you not to pick the chestnuts off the trees or pick them up off the ground. Each tree is someone's property, not necessarily the owner of the land it is growing on, an ancient and traditional right you violate at your peril.
DSC04563.webp
 
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
I have to admit that I love the Meseta. I would add the caveat that I have only been there in late spring, when it was green and full of flowers. I do not think I would be so keen on a sea of brown.
What I enjoyed as well on this stretch, was the Cafe / Bar, " The Oasis". No facilities, but food, drink, somewhere to sit and talk. Friendly owner and more or less half way along the stretch. When I arrived at breakfast time, the BBQ was cooking nicely.

View attachment 119044View attachment 119046
I so remember this place even though I don't recall seeing it on my 2019 Camino but I remember stopping here on my first in 2013. It was a cold morning as we sat sipping our cafe con letche. An oasis indeed. 😁 I have also walked in fields of green in the Spring and fields of gold in the Fall. I love them all.
On the CF here’s an oasis before Cacabelos, check out that comfy couch. August 6, 2019.
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Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Except for the odd picture left or right I am through my archive. Although knowing myself I might still find a file someday!;) And not to count the doubles I posted already.

This one I know I posted seeing it was the first one I shared here on May the first 2020.
Ermita de San Juan. On the Vasco Interior. In between Dulantzi and Burgelu.

.Ermita de San Juan.webp
 
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Not on any Camino but a sure sign I would walk my third. October 2018 on the sands of Balboa Beach, CA. I was on a short vacation and stopped at the beach before flying home. I took a picture of these cute paw prints in the sand then what does my little eye spy? The tinniest scallop shell between my feet. Isn’t it a beauty? That’s all I needed to start planning my del Norte 2019 Camino. ☺️ Did you get any nudging? What was it?
53D31080-FB70-4EC2-83F4-EA2828C02A37.webp9B7DEADD-29DD-4C97-85DA-9A1BE9F0ECAD.webp
 
Not on any Camino but a sure sign I would walk my third. October 2018 on the sands of Balboa Beach, CA. I was on a short vacation and stopped at the beach before flying home. I took a picture of these cute paw prints in the sand then what does my little eye spy? The tinniest scallop shell between my feet. Isn’t it a beauty? That’s all I needed to start planning my del Norte 2019 Camino. ☺️ Did you get any nudging? What was it?
View attachment 119107View attachment 119109

I found the scallop shells I had on my bag for my first Camino Frances about a week before I started in Normandy, France at Juno Beach just down from the Canadian Museum there.


317.webp

326.webp


79.webp
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Join the Camino cleanup. Logroño to Burgos May 2025 & Astorga to OCebreiro in June
IMG_20211118_161519349_HDR.webp
Just before Navarrete
Nov 2021

Although I was dreading any more asphalt after the long slog into and out of Logroño, walking through this highway construction project was pretty interesting, and I appreciated how well the temporary route was marked.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
A mojon on the first day of the Invierno that caught my eye, being a shinnichi (a Japanophile).
Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry, and there were plenty of them around in that area.
The Japanese script says basically, "Tree planting to commemorate the friendship between the Yokohama Spanish Association and Priaranza del Bierzo" I wish I had known what it said then, because I'd have looked around more carefully for said trees or trees.
20190603_103036.jpg
Edit: I found this 2015 article. So touching!
 
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Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
Not on any Camino but a sure sign I would walk my third. October 2018 on the sands of Balboa Beach, CA. I was on a short vacation and stopped at the beach before flying home. I took a picture of these cute paw prints in the sand then what does my little eye spy? The tinniest scallop shell between my feet. Isn’t it a beauty? That’s all I needed to start planning my del Norte 2019 Camino. ☺️ Did you get any nudging? What was it?
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FourSeasons,
For other nudges and camino connections check out this earlier thread.
Happy reading!
 
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
Ideal pocket guides for during & after your Camino. Each weighs only 1.4 oz (40g)!
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
An evening view of the eaves of Sangüesa's ayuntamiento.
IMG_20191106_204936-02.webp
Edit: I resubmitted my photo with a square crop for looks and more pixels for more detail of the carvings. My attempt to delete the originally submitted photo failed though (the one seen below). Sorry.
 

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Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Havent been on here in a while, hope you are all well. Recovering from the bauld covid, feeling better now but it can take a fair bit out of you.
Photo is of the rooftops of Pontevedra. Thoughts and prayers with the people of Ukraine today.

pontevedra4.jpg
 
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
...and ship it to Santiago for storage. You pick it up once in Santiago. Service offered by Casa Ivar (we use DHL for transportation).
Join the Camino cleanup. Logroño to Burgos May 2025 & Astorga to OCebreiro in June
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El descanso de San Juan
San Juan de Ortega, Nov 2021

This was one of my most fun stops during two weeks of walking. It seemed that every pilgrim in the vicinity was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine with an afternoon beverage and snack. The break was also perfectly timed to see me through the last stretch up and over the Sierra de Atapuerca to Cardeñuela Riopico. My trusty blue backpack is leaning by the door.
 
Train for your next Camino on California's Santa Catalina Island March 16-19
View attachment 119286
El descanso de San Juan
San Juan de Ortega, Nov 2021

This was one of my most fun stops during two weeks of walking. It seemed that every pilgrim in the vicinity was sitting outside enjoying the sunshine with an afternoon beverage and snack. The break was also perfectly timed to see me through the last stretch up and over the Sierra de Atapuerca to Cardeñuela Riopico. My trusty blue backpack is leaning by the door.
As we passed through St John of Nettles, the Bergerac theme tune ran through my mind, a reference I suspect only British pilgrims will understand!
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
El Grifo.webp

Pricelist of vinoteca El Grifo.Leon, CF 2011.

 
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