| Remove ads on the forum by becoming a donating member. More here. |
|---|
What a beautiful story.leaving Granon
sign
February 23, 2006
View attachment 109190
Serendipity and tea
All was was bitter cold/windy as I arrived again at the San Juan Baptista parish albergue in Granon on the CF. "Work in progress" read a note on the door.
At lunchtime two fellows who were repainting the sacristy appeared and kindly cooked for three. Later a young Spanish pilgrim, Carlos, arrived.
By dinnertime lack of heat was a
problem! We four wearing coats/hats prepared and ate arroz Cubano huddled together by the fireplace. Outside sleet fell/wind howled; inside cold penetrated.
After dinner drinking hot tea sitting in our sleeping bags atop floor mats Carlos and I chatted in English, French, and my limited Spanish. He at 18 wanted to "do good" and to "find himself" and was curious how I had "found my way".
Next morning Carlos and I walked up the Calle Mayor towards the sign pictured above. Shaking hands we wished each other "Buen camino" and continued our solitary journeys across the cold countryside.
...
One week later as I arrived in snowy Castrojeriz at the door of the San Esteban municipal albergue Carlos waved excitedly. He had indeed "found his way" as an ad hoc hospitalero. Thrilled with his new duties he asked "Hola Margaret what about a tea?" Served boiling hot in jam jars it was a mutual celebratory brew.
Basic shelter comfort, chance encounter serendipity, and sincere sharing are precious at any time or age.
..Long may that be so.
Smallest_Sparrow,April 2012 Estella. This was one of my favorite stops for many reasons. We might be here while...
Sanctuario De Nuestra Senora de El Puy (just a bit off the Camino)
View attachment 109217
This is breathtakingly beautiful, well worth a little climb. I have no doubt the good sisters had a hand in the design, it is the most feminine church I've ever seen. My photos don't do it justice--it's filled with a light that dazzles the soul. It's relatively modern (1929, Victor Eusa architect), with a preserved 18th century facade (sadly the church of 1085 long gone), and of course their statue--I spent quite a bit of time just staring at her (sorry, oddly none of my pictures turned out--just as well, a good reason to revisit). Stars are everywhere, to match the legend of the apparition of the Virgin. I'd read different accounts of whether you could stay with the sisters or not, and gave up on arranging that when I was assured by a local in Lorca that was not the case (but you never know, if you want to try)--so instead stayed in the parochial albergue of San Miguel, which is tied with the monastery at Ziortza as my favorite night in three months and multiple caminos. Things happen for a reason. Anyway, this was my first time I went more than a bit off the way*, and the entire walk was stopped every few feet by helpful locals and had to explain in my terrible accent that I was headed to the Basilica. I should have pinned a sign to my chest.
*on purpose that is
When I walked no one answered my emails and the phone # I had didn’t work. When I asked in Lorca I was told (to the best of my understanding which is pretty basic) that the guest house was closed, part of the answer was the sisters were all getting on in years (I definitely understood that much) and either they temporarily lost their help (younger sisters? Other staff?) or permanently (it wasn’t worth figuring out which I was being told at that point). At any rate I decided against pounding on their door unannounced and was lucky, I really enjoyed San Miguel.Smallest_Sparrow,
This is indeed appears to be a splendid space! Next time perhaps the link below will help you stay with the Sisters.
Sabine,
Sabine,
This is a great shot of a memorable path!
When in 2011 were you there? I too
climbed in 2011 perhaps our paths crossed? What fun it would have been to meet.
CF August 10, 2019 between Samos and Sarria. Note the calendar in the window pane. Do you ever get a tickle in your tummy when you’re walking through a small area that has signs of life but it’s so quiet and not a soul around?I do.
View attachment 109232
Your image may be closer to the view of these photos of the Dublin Bay rose...Roses, Vasco between Beasain and Segura. The color seemed especially vivid because the sun was coming out after two and a half days of rain. Could this be an old friend Dublin Bay? Probably not, but it was lovely!
View attachment 109243
On the Salvador, in Pajares, I think the Albergue was either the school or the schoolteacher's house in a previous life. The view from the back windows was far better than any celluloid screen...changing from moment to moment after a storm.The door to the albergue in Ciguñuela on the Madrid, 16 Sept 2018. It is the former school-teacher's house. Some of the albergues are repurposed school houses, which is a nice idea but a touch sad because it only emphasises the depopulation of rural areas in Spain. It was a pleasant little dormitory town, something of an artists' colony if the number of outdoor sculptures and artworks is anything to go by, but don't expect a meal before 9 o'clock at night.
View attachment 109242
And another, Ozymandias... and so many more in different cultures...The Halted Moment
Wha hasna turn'd inby a sunny street
And fund alang its length nae folk were there;
And heard his step fa' steadily and clear
Nor wauken ocht but schedows at his feet.
Shuther to shuther in the reemlin heat
The houses seem'd to hearken and to stare;
But a' were doverin whaur they stude and were
Like wa's ayont the echo o' time's beat.
Wha hasna thocht whan atween stanes sae still,
That had been biggit up for busyness,
He has come wanderin into a place
Lost, and forgotten, and unchangeable;
And thocht the far-off traffic sounds to be
The weary waters o' mortality.
William Soutar
Written in Scots, but close enough to our dialect of English to get the gist. I often feel like this when we walk through an abandoned or half-deserted village in Galicia. And yes, it sends a shiver down my spine when I read this poem. I know exactly what you are talking about.
I called my patchwork of caminos “my very Gaudi Camino” and saw all of his buildings except Bodegas Guell (and would have seen that except I got lost too many times trying to walk from Terrassa to Montserrat.Astorga
Bishop's Palace
interior
photos taken March 10, 2007
View attachment 109276
Designed from 1889 by Antonio Gaudi the Bishop's Palace, now known as the Palacio de Gaudi, is a musum. Some interior spaces contain original furnishings and distinctive tiles.
View attachment 109277
When you are walking and tired it is always such a pleasure to find a seat!
Sabine your insoles look very similar to my(Anne) custom made insoles!!Exactly . So the second of this day. Two minutes after seating...Bliss.
The well used Lowas and the custommade insoles.
Smallest_Sparrow,May 2012 Norte/Primitivo transition
When I arrived at the Monasterio de Valdedios, I was told there were no other guests and no pilgrims in the albergue, and the brothers were essentially packing to leave--but I was welcome to join them in prayer. I of course immediately envisioned us walking across a moonlit night to El Conventin, the church of San Salvador consecrated in 892. Be still my beating heart!
View attachment 109336
It was neither in San Salvador nor Santa Maria (1218). It was in a room in the monks' private quarters set up as their chapel. So while it didn't fill my desire for pre-Romanesque adventure it was very kind of them to invite an outsider into their private space while they were preoccupied with a move it seemed they didn't relish, and a day they weren't normally open to guests (I was used to the idea of "dark days" for shows from living in Las Vegas, but it seemed funny to me Spain's churches also had them). So a very special day nonetheless.
View attachment 109337View attachment 109338
Their retablo--the upper piece represents God's Providence, as well as the Trinity (the triangle)...sorry conspiracy fans
And maybe a bowl of their hot lentil soup! Which we enjoyed on our arrival there but on a warm sunny day, sitting outside in June, 2018!A momentary break in the rain on March 22, 2017 just before Bon Xesús on the way to Finisterre. A stormy day but beautiful in many ways. Arriving cold and soaked in Olveira, I was grateful for the warm albergue at Casa Loncho and the fireplace in the adjoining cafe.
View attachment 109344
And then it thaws. A month later....voila!on frozen mud
Amen.I pondered how important it is on the Camino and in life to just relax and take it as it is, to let it be. Easy does it. Be a snail.
They had Caldo Galego the day I was there - a very comforting dinner on that day!And maybe a bowl of their hot lentil soup! Which we enjoyed on our arrival there but on a warm sunny day, sitting outside in June, 2018!
I've had some pretty muddy slogs but this one trumps all!!And then it thaws. A month later....voila!
View attachment 109355
I've posted this photo before, but it's a favorite. My walk that day was cold and challenging slog through the bog, and yet a fond memory.
After taking the photo, I stood there for a while trying to chart a course to avoid the worst of it. Which was impossible. The only way out was into it. Just like life.I've had some pretty muddy slogs but this one trumps all!!
Smallest_Sparrow,July 2012 Hermitage ruins above Sant Joan chapel
my one stage of Camino Catalan, which holds the all time record for number of times lost in a single stage (the lost bit was 100% my fault and totally avoidable)
View attachment 109378
they have those pretty substantial guard/hand rails but I don't know that I'd suggest it for those afraid of heights or prone to dizziness. But the trail up to the chapel was wide and if I recall correctly (big if) a combination of wide dirt path and some concrete. I don't mind heights but I wouldn't want to try to squeeze past a big crowd of people on the hermitage part. I don't remember there being any warning signs so I imagine lots of people of all ages wander up thereSmallest_Sparrow,
That passage through the ruins appears a bit precarious. Was it?
Why are they changed? Is it stressful to the birds (I imagine so being inside).Within the cathedral this historic coop houses live chickens (changed every two weeks!).
Why are they changed? Is it stressful to the birds (I imagine so being inside).
What a wonderful thing for a town to be known —happy chickens.
It's had a bit of a facelift since then, and looking a lot shinier. We stayed and attended vespers, very beautiful. It is still functioning as a monastery with about a dozen or more monks. I slept next to the window. It stayed open.Sobrado dos Monxes.
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Sobrado was built in 952, it was dedicated to San Salvador. It soon rose to prosperity in the late 10thC when the abbot of Sobrado became a Bishop in Santiago. By the 12thC it was abandoned. Eventually the Cistercians began monastic life there in 1142, it was the Cistertians who established a pilgrim hospital within the monastery. The church was added at the end of the 17thC. By 1834 the monastery, along with most monasteries in Spain, was stripped of its wealth by royal decree.
It was an interesting experience staying the night in the albergue. We had a window shut/open experience with the one window in the room with a fellow pilgrim. We wanted the window open, he didn't! The dormitory room was packed and quite a smelly experience, luckily we won the window argument.June, 2018.
View attachment 109424
Sunday roast dinner requirement......
In my experience the “open” faction always won, and I froze for my first four weeks despite sleeping in all of my clothes, including down vest and gortex jacket in a sleeping bag rated for sleeping outdoors in snow...which was sort of what i was doing since the windows were open while it was snowingwindow shut/open experience
Sunday roast dinner requirement.....
The lit fortress and the color of the sky are a beautiful combination.Looking up at the old lit fortress in Puebla de Sanabria at night was a delight. May 2018.
Dick Bird,It's had a bit of a facelift since then, and looking a lot shinier. We stayed and attended vespers, very beautiful. It is still functioning as a monastery with about a dozen or more monks. I slept next to the window. It stayed open.
View attachment 109427
My first stay in Spain, two months in early 1994, was in a barrio on the outskirts of Zaragoza. The city centre holds fond memories, more for the people I was with, but that does make a difference to how we experience life, doesn't it?View attachment 109437
Statue of Goya in Zaragoza. Camino del Ebro 2013.
I visited as a pilgrim and another year as a " regular " tourist but on both occasions I did not particularly like the general atmosphere.
Me. I’ll shorten my hilarious blog entry to note that pilgrims make or break an experience and provide the why without my joking comments.to remember somebody,
What a perfect description. The same place can be fundamentally different one day to the next, depending on who one ends up with. And who the hospis are.Albergues live in the moment, even more so than dogs
It depends not only on the mix of people but also on the weather and the actual structure. What "works" in summer can be chaos in a blizzard and vice versa.What a perfect description. The same place can be fundamentally different one day to the next, depending on who one ends up with. And who the hospis are.
Yes. Realization that my odds of meshing with pilgrims increased if I stayed in places less likely to attract a party crowd (parochial) or small with the owners sleeping at the albergue. Although when I signed in at San Miguel in Estella the hospitalera asked me three times if I understood San Miguel was the parochial albergue…guess I must look like a party animalWhat a perfect description. The same place can be fundamentally different one day to the next, depending on who one ends up with. And who the hospis are.
Curious. Did you get a top bunk, you party animal.Yes. Realization that my odds of meshing with pilgrims increased if I stayed in places less likely to attract a party crowd (parochial) or small with the owners sleeping at the albergue. Although when I signed in at San Miguel in Estella the hospitalera asked me three times if I understood San Miguel was the parochial albergue…guess I must look like a party animal
Edit: each time she reminded me the place was church run, I’d reply “yes, I’d like a top bunk if possible please”
Yes, and by the door, my favorite spot: sparrow’s perch.Curious. Did you get a top bunk, you party animal.
I think she might have been saying 'this is a donativo' albergue, or maybe she was confused by someone actually asking for a top bunk. We did two weeks at San Miguel as hospis in 2018 and I know that the parish runs and finances the albergue entirely independently. Most of the party animals stay at the muni, next to the bridge. Of course, when she said 'parish run', she may also have been referring to Sabino and Ferdinando, our two parish contacts, who were solicitous to a high degree, they couldn't have been more helpful. The only time we saw the parish priest was when someone accidentally set off the burglar alarm.Yes. Realization that my odds of meshing with pilgrims increased if I stayed in places less likely to attract a party crowd (parochial) or small with the owners sleeping at the albergue. Although when I signed in at San Miguel in Estella the hospitalera asked me three times if I understood San Miguel was the parochial albergue…guess I must look like a party animal
Edit: each time she reminded me the place was church run, I’d reply “yes, I’d like a top bunk if possible please”
Phoenix,
i wonder if the left and right sides each apply to the center panel: "bread of the poor of San Antonio" and "your petitions to San Antonio" i.e. you are donating to the poor as part of your petitionThe craftsmanship and design of this offering box in the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela, caught my eye.
Bread of the poor of San Antonio begs petitions to... ?
View attachment 109515
Sending wishes of quick and complete recovery for your daughter!Greetings fellow peregrinos. We’re having a short break away from home to help one of our daughters while she recovers from an operation, so will not be posting any photos for about a week. Will still be checking in each day and reacting to all your posts and great photos.
Buen Camino
Anne & Pat
We hope all goes well with you and your family. God bless.Greetings fellow peregrinos. We’re having a short break away from home to help one of our daughters while she recovers from an operation, so will not be posting any photos for about a week. Will still be checking in each day and reacting to all your posts and great photos.
Buen Camino
Anne & Pat
Anne & Pat,Greetings fellow peregrinos. We’re having a short break away from home to help one of our daughters while she recovers from an operation, so will not be posting any photos for about a week. Will still be checking in each day and reacting to all your posts and great photos.
Buen Camino
Anne & Pat
Wait, what?1 June...not even bothering to post camino or
I know, right? I’m clearly prejudiced but I loved pretty much everything about the Primitivo. I was confused by the stone markers at the divide between Hospitales and the other path, made my decision about which way based on a map, and knew I was headed correctly with the sign. Just that picture was all I emailed home that night to let everyone know I’d crossed without incident (and sadly noThe rest of the way (without the signage) is con oso?! Sign me up.
Wishing your daughter and yourself all the best. A good recovery and safe travels!Greetings fellow peregrinos. We’re having a short break away from home to help one of our daughters while she recovers from an operation, so will not be posting any photos for about a week. Will still be checking in each day and reacting to all your posts and great photos.
Buen Camino
Anne & Pat
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?