On the Camino: One Day at a Time, one Photo at a Time 9.0

[VNwalking]

This is a place to share memories and short reflections, one photo per day, one day at a time. Some of us will not make it to Spain this year, so this is our every day Camino fix. If you have been along for the ride since 1.0, you may find you need to repeat your posts,, but that is totally fine! We will see them with new eyes.

For new contributors, please note:
One photo per day (from a camino)
Please attach the thumbnail size so that even those of us with slow connections can see them.

My photo for the day is definitely a repeat, but it is one of my all-time favorite camino sights, from the Vasco just after Segura. Someone was so kind as to construct a chicken bridge for their hens, so they can get from their coop to happy hunting grounds in a grassy paddock across the stream. This hen was screeching, obviously not so comfortable with the crossing. As soon as she made it over, she stopped yelling.

 

[SabsP]

And this is the old town of Segura. Same Vasco Interior, 2019.

Beasain - Zegama | Recorrido | Camino Vasco del Interior | Gronze.com

Recorrido y Cultura de la etapa Beasain - Zegama de la Camino Vasco del Interior en el Camino de Santiago: Pueblos y ciudades, notas sobre el recorrido, monumentos, paisajes

www.gronze.com

 

[Former member 49149]

Yes! A new thread! Here is a photo from the Salvador in 2017 (day two, heading to Poladura de la Tercia, that served for a while as my avatar. The road ahead looked impossible (impassable!)... but I want to say that most times, there is a way through the obstacles. Keep up the faith! { this is not intended as a religious sentiment. It is specific to believing that the way ahead has possibilities I just cannot see from my vantage point}.

 

[mspath]

Yes! A new thread! Here is a photo from the Salvador in 2017 (day two, heading to Poladura de la Tercia, that served for a while as my avatar. The road ahead looked impossible (impassable!)... but I want to say that most times, there is a way through the obstacles. Keep up the faith! { this is not intended as a religious sentiment. It is specific to believing that the way ahead has possibilities I just cannot see from my vantage point}.
View attachment 120310

Kirkie,
What a route that was! Thanks for your thoughts and photo.
May we all especially now like you "believe that the way ahead has possibilities I just cannot see from my vantage point".

 

[dick bird]

He andado muchos caminos
he abierto muchas veredas;
he navegado en cien mares
y atracado en cien riberas.
En todas partes he visto
caravanas de tristeza,
soberbios y melancólicos
borrachos de sombra negra.

Y pedantones al paño
que miran, callan y piensan
que saben, porque no beben
el vino de las tabernas.

Mala gente que camina
y va apestando la tierra...

Y en todas partes he visto
gentes que danzan o juegan,
cuando pueden, y laboran
sus cuatro palmos de tierra.
Nunca si llegan a un sitio
preguntan a donde llegan.
Cuando caminan, cabalgan
a lomos de mula vieja.

Y no conocen la prisa
ni aún en los días de fiesta
donde hay vino, beben vino;
donde no hay vino, agua fresca.

Son buenas gentes que viven,
laboran, pasan y sueñan,
y un día como tantos,
descansan bajo la tierra.



“I Have Walked Down Many Roads”
translated from the Spanish by Don Share

I have walked down many roads
and cleared many paths;
I have navigated a hundred oceans
and anchored off a hundred shores.

All over, I have seen
caravans of sadness,
pompous and melancholy men
drunk with black shadows,

and defrocked pedants
who stare, keep quiet, and think
they know, because they don’t
drink wine in the neighborhood bars.

Bad people who go around
polluting the earth . . .

And all over, I have seen
people who dance or play,
when they can, and work
their four handfuls of land.

If they turn up someplace,
they never ask where they are.

When they travel, they ride
on the backs of old mules,

and don’t know how to hurry,
not even on holidays.

When there’s wine, they drink wine;
when there’s no wine, they drink cool water.

These are good people, who live,
work, get by, and dream;
and on a day like all the others
they lie down under the earth.”
Antonio Machado,

“For the strategists, for the politicians, for the historians, it is all clear: we have lost the war. But in human terms, I am not so sure. Perhaps we have won.” (Antonio Machado, quoted by Javier Cercas.)

The photo is a field in Estremadura somewhere on the Plata, 12/5/12

 

[Phoenix]

Viana
CF, 7 Mar 2014

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Choose and go.
Camino Catalan, Camino Ignacio and ???


Another photo of the chicken bridge:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/attachments/screenshot_20200904-083342-png.82341/

 

[Anik2001]

Crossing the Pyrenees in the fog and the rain, but with new found friends from Orisson, was a great day.

 

[FourSeasons]

del Norte July 15, 2019: Beaches of La Arena.

 

[Chenahusky]

Padron, CP May 2019. Looking across the river, with the early morning Sun catching the Convento del Carmen.

 

[Theatregal]

Morning, August 19, 2015. Leaving Padron and stopping to visit the Iglesia de Santa Maria de Iria Flavia. The church was closed but there was so much to explore on and around the exterior and cemetery.

SANTA MARÍA DE IRIA FLAVIA, PADRÓN

GALICIA

galiciapuebloapueblo.blogspot.com

 

[JJW]

Annie Santiago (macabi skirt) at Casa del Mitreo, Merida. Wind blew her hat into ruins not to be accessed. Camino angel caretaker appeared and provided.

 

[JJW]

He andado muchos caminos
he abierto muchas veredas;
he navegado en cien mares
y atracado en cien riberas.
En todas partes he visto
caravanas de tristeza,
soberbios y melancólicos
borrachos de sombra negra.

Y pedantones al paño
que miran, callan y piensan
que saben, porque no beben
el vino de las tabernas.

Mala gente que camina
y va apestando la tierra...

Y en todas partes he visto
gentes que danzan o juegan,
cuando pueden, y laboran
sus cuatro palmos de tierra.
Nunca si llegan a un sitio
preguntan a donde llegan.
Cuando caminan, cabalgan
a lomos de mula vieja.

Y no conocen la prisa
ni aún en los días de fiesta
donde hay vino, beben vino;
donde no hay vino, agua fresca.

Son buenas gentes que viven,
laboran, pasan y sueñan,
y un día como tantos,
descansan bajo la tierra.



“I Have Walked Down Many Roads”
translated from the Spanish by Don Share

I have walked down many roads
and cleared many paths;
I have navigated a hundred oceans
and anchored off a hundred shores.

All over, I have seen
caravans of sadness,
pompous and melancholy men
drunk with black shadows,

and defrocked pedants
who stare, keep quiet, and think
they know, because they don’t
drink wine in the neighborhood bars.

Bad people who go around
polluting the earth . . .

And all over, I have seen
people who dance or play,
when they can, and work
their four handfuls of land.

If they turn up someplace,
they never ask where they are.

When they travel, they ride
on the backs of old mules,

and don’t know how to hurry,
not even on holidays.

When there’s wine, they drink wine;
when there’s no wine, they drink cool water.

These are good people, who live,
work, get by, and dream;
and on a day like all the others
they lie down under the earth.”
Antonio Machado,

“For the strategists, for the politicians, for the historians, it is all clear: we have lost the war. But in human terms, I am not so sure. Perhaps we have won.” (Antonio Machado, quoted by Javier Cercas.)

The photo is a field in Estremadura somewhere on the Plata, 12/5/12
View attachment 120315

Thank you for posting Machado and translation. Proof that Simple does not mean not Profound.

 

[Former member 49149]

Morning, August 19, 2015. Leaving Padron and stopping to visit the Iglesia de Santa Maria de Iria Flavia. The church was closed but there was so much to explore on and around the exterior and cemetery.

View attachment 120329

SANTA MARÍA DE IRIA FLAVIA, PADRÓN

GALICIA

galiciapuebloapueblo.blogspot.com

You are so right. We spent a good while there, mooching around and learning a lot...

 

[Rowena]

The lady who takes care of the church at Ira Flavia came along at 9:00 and unlocked the door, just as I was about to give up on going inside. Here is a photo of the interior.
CP, October 31, 2019

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
Santo Domingo de la Calzada
Cathedral
musician

photo taken November 1, 2012



This musician seated between two pillars amidst the lavish riches of the Santo Domingo de la Calzada cathedral is King David.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This musician seated between two pillars amidst the lavish riches of the Santo Domingo de la Calzada cathedral is King David .

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you dont really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah.

The following link is to guitarist Paola Hermosín's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah , one of my favorite versions. Her commentary is in Spanish (use closed captioning) but she sings in English. Click on the title, not the arrow for the CC icon.

 

[dick bird]

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Well known in the UK as a big hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 60’s and as the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, a song with bittersweet memories of triumph and tragedy. Also, another song with relevance to the camino and a sincere message.

The photo is 1st Aug 2019 on the Aragonés, shortly after leaving Árres.

 

[mspath]

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Well known in the UK as a big hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 60’s and as the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, a song with bittersweet memories of triumph and tragedy. Also, another song with relevance to the camino and a sincere message.

The photo is 1st Aug 2019 on the Aragonés, shortly after leaving Árres.
View attachment 120357

dick bird,
Indeed. As you wrote "another song with relevance to the camino and a sincere message".

These timeless lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein sung to music by Richard Rodgers were written for the 1945 American musical Carousel.

For all throughout the world who now, March 2022, seek hope may these lyrics continue to offer poignant encouragement.

 

[Anne&Pat]

Following and passing under the A-8 Expressway into Unquera, CdelN, May, 2018.

 

[SabsP]

View from the Parador , walking towards Rua das Hortas. Santiago de Compostela.
Follow the yellow flecha towards Fisterre/ Muxia.

 

[mspath]

View attachment 120373

View from the Parador , walking towards Rua das Hortas. Santiago de Compostela.
Follow the yellow flecha towards Fisterre/ Muxia.

Sabine,

Your's is such an evocative shot of a favorite ramp. Thanks for posting.

Never wanting to be lazy after the bustle of Santiago it was always a pleasure to descend here to start walking towards the sea through the countryside where locals took the time to say Hola/Buen camino.

 

[VNwalking]

and on a day like all the others

This world. What else to do but be kind?

The amazing laticework of arches in the ceiling of the Parroquia de Santo Tomas, in Haro on the Vasco, May 2019.

 

[Anik2001]

Follow the « conchas »…

 

[Phoenix]

Viana
CF, 4 Oct 2016

 

[Former member 49149]

A detail of a painting in a rather small gallery. My walking companion thinks it was in Gijón the day after arriving in Oviedo at the end of the Salvador.
If you dropped me down from the sky into the little plaza, I could take you right to it!

 

[mspath]

A detail of a painting in a rather small gallery. My walking companion thinks it was in Gijón the day after arriving in Oviedo at the end of the Salvador.
If you dropped me down from the sky into the little plaza, I could take you right to it!
View attachment 120395

kirkie,
The intensity of the image is indeed strong. This might be by the Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla or José Malhoa who was Portuguese.

Here is a list of all the museums in Gijon

Update!! The painting is in
this museum. Here is a screenshot!!

 

[Theatregal]

A glorious day in my memory, between A Guarda and Oia on Camino Português da Costa. August 8, 2015.

 

[Former member 49149]

kirkie,
The intensity of the image is indeed strong. This might be by the Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla or José Malhoa who was Portuguese.

Here is a list of all the museums in Gijon

Update!! The painting is in
this museum. Here is a screenshot!!
View attachment 120417

Yes! This is the second time you have offered the name of an artist as I posted the photo not too long ago! We have had a power cut since 2am, today but it is almost fixed. I am using my phone as a hotspot, and cannot resist saying 100,000 thanks! .

 

[mspath]

Yes! This is the second time you have offered the name of an artist as I posted the photo not too long ago! We have had a power cut since 2am, today but it is almost fixed. I am using my phone as a hotspot, and cannot resist saying 100,000 thanks! .

kirkie,
Thanks for your thanks. I just sent an email to the museum for more info on the painting and will keep you posted.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

At a market in Balaguer, Catalonia.

 

[mspath]

kirkie,
Thanks for your thanks. I just sent an email to the museum for more info on the painting and will keep you posted.

Here is the reply from the museum

Enviados: Domingo, 13 de Marzo 2022 17:18:44
Buenas tardes,

La obra a la que usted se refiere corresponde a Ventura Álvarez Sala (Gijón 1869 - 1919) y su título es PESCADORAS DE MARISCO de 1912, siendo la obra, óleo sobre lienzo.

Le indicamos por si fuera de su agrado, algunas curiosidades sobre el autor y su obra:

Álvarez Sala inició su formación en Gijón como pintor decorador, trasladándose después a Madrid para estudiar en la Academia de San Fernando. Participó en todas las Exposiciones Nacionales de Bellas Artes que se celebraron entre 1892 y 1915 obteniendo diversas medallas y menciones honoríficas.

Esta obra pintada para presentar a la Exposición Nacional de 1912, representa a un grupo de pescadoras del barrio de La Arena recogiendo marisco en un pedrero. En ella, el pintor trata de demostrar su capacidad para afrontar composiciones difíciles, con varios planos en profundidad, perfectamente unificados por una composición en doble diagonal, en cuya intersección está la joven de camisa roja con un niño en su regazo.

Esperando que la información haya sido de su interés, quedamos a su disposición para cuantas consultas desee.

Dándole las gracias por su interés en el Museo Casa Natal de Jovellanos, le saluda atentamente,

 

[Former member 49149]

¿que te puedo decir, @mspath? Superas qualquier expectativa...
Agradezco un montón tu bondad en lo que has hecho por mi.
Así es el foro...

 

[FourSeasons]

You’ll Never Walk Alone

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone

You'll never walk alone

Rodgers and Hammerstein

Well known in the UK as a big hit for Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 60’s and as the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, a song with bittersweet memories of triumph and tragedy. Also, another song with relevance to the camino and a sincere message.

The photo is 1st Aug 2019 on the Aragonés, shortly after leaving Árres.
View attachment 120357

Indeed. del Norte July 12, 2019.

 

[Rowena]

Orbaneja Riopico
CF, September 27, 2015

 

[Ali@59]

Indeed. del Norte July 12, 2019.
View attachment 120473

I have this photo also and I never forget about it, minutes after I took the photo two friends stopped to remove jackets and one to the loo I walked on and took the wrong path and I was actually walking alone and very lost but managed to catch up about an hour and a half later

 

[Chenahusky]

One of the simplest Baroque churches in Spain, that I know of, The Church of the Virgin Peregrina in Pontevedra. It is a place of calm in a busy city. CP May 2019.

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
Nájera
calle Costanilla
Santa Maria la Real

photo taken October 31, 2014



On the calle Costanilla pilgrims pass this slightly sunken exterior doorway of the massive Santa Maria la Real monastery since the CF climbs the calle to exit Nájera.

 

[Anne&Pat]

On the coastal path to Pendueles, CdelN, May, 2018.

 

[SabsP]

A typical afternoon on a Camino for me . Arrive in albergue or pension. Wash clothes,shower and then to a quiet bar/café. Reading the regional newspaper.
Molinaseca , CF 2011.

 

[Phoenix]

Logroño
CF, 8 Mar 2014

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

Veer left ... maybe 3 work better than 1. Not sure where but am guessing that it might be in Sarria, May 2013

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

One of several Javelinas seen between Terrassa and Montserrat while I was taking a snack break.

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

One of several Javelinas seen between Terrassa and Montserrat while I was taking a snack break.
View attachment 120503

I had to Google that one Rick --- I've never heard of a javelina. I don't think we have them DownUnder

 

[Anik2001]

Doors on the Camino Francés. I loved all those old wooden doors!

 

[dick bird]

The Rolling English Road

Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode,
The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.
A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire,
And after him the parson ran, the sexton and the squire;
A merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread
The night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head.

I knew no harm of Bonaparte and plenty of the Squire,
And for to fight the Frenchman I did not much desire;
But I did bash their baggonets because they came arrayed
To straighten out the crooked road an English drunkard made,
Where you and I went down the lane with ale-mugs in our hands,
The night we went to Glastonbury by way of Goodwin Sands.

His sins they were forgiven him; or why do flowers run
Behind him; and the hedges all strengthening in the sun?
The wild thing went from left to right and knew not which was which,
But the wild rose was above him when they found him in the ditch.
God pardon us, nor harden us; we did not see so clear
The night we went to Bannockburn by way of Brighton Pier.

My friends, we will not go again or ape an ancient rage,
Or stretch the folly of our youth to be the shame of age,
But walk with clearer eyes and ears this path that wandereth,
And see undrugged in evening light the decent inn of death;
For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen,
Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.
G. K. CHESTERTON

The English, of course, did not arrive in England until after the Romans had left. Chesterton liked paradoxes and parables and he used them, combined with his intellect and wit to show up the supposed follies of his antagonists in debate. But his own ideas do not always stand up to scrutiny. He seems to have believed in a picturesque, feudal kind of society where even the elite had responsibilities, but everyone knew their place and kept to it. Essentially a kindly, humane man, and very talented, he had attitudes that would not be tolerated nowadays (and were sometimes a bit on the nose even then).

The camino does not always take the most direct route either, and like the ‘rolling English road’ follows a route that has always changed and is still changing in response to all kinds of human and often conflicting demands. Parts of it also pre-date the Romans.

The photo is of St. James, Shere taken from a path known locally as 'the Pilgrims'Way'.

 

[FourSeasons]

CF April 22, 2016: The Church of Santa Maria, Viana.

 

[Theatregal]

August 22, 2015. Clambering about the rocks at Muxia I found this eye petroglyph. Old? New?
It was hard to tell. This photo is a screenshot from a video I took. I couldn't find any info about the eye but there are many petroglyph sites around Pontevedra.

Petrolyphs in Galicia: Our top 5 rock art sites in Pontevedra

Planning a trip to the north of Spain? Don't miss out the petroglyphs at the lands of Pontevedra. Discover the deers, horses, labyrinths and spears from 4000 years ago.

www.travelto5.com

 

[Former member 49149]

Salvador, summer 2017. I think this was taken the day after Pajares, on the way to Bendueños. Possibly before the spot where, looking over to the right, the view is indeed as described on a stone...¡Impresionante!

 

[pasiño a pasiño]

I had to Google that one Rick --- I've never heard of a javelina. I don't think we have them DownUnder

it is a boar male, what I know is that there aren't any javelinas in Europe.


VDLP 2018 i was confused that the horse was without the princess..

 

[dick bird]

it is a boar male, what I know is that there aren't any javelinas in Europe.


VDLP 2018 i was confused that the horse was without the princess..

Correct. The javelina, or collared peccary to its friends, is native to Mexico and the southern USA. The name probably comes from the Spanish for wild pig 'javeli', a species that has started to become a feral, urban species, like foxes, and a nuisance. We saw two galloping around Tres Cantos and they have reportedly been sighted on the streets of Madrid, which would make you think coming home from a party at 3 in the morning.

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
Roncesvalles monastery
Iglesia de Santa María
interior detail

photo taken February 7, 2007



At Roncesvalles this carved coffre (??), encased on a side aisle near the main entrance, appeared enigmatic and somber amidst the Gothic splendor of the Iglesia de Santa María.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I've made two mistakes with my last post. I mis-remembered the Spanish word for the wild pig. It is jabali which led to the name for the North American mammal, javelina (as @dick bird pointed out). I was more familiar hearing javelina and so I messes up.

Things weren't as scary as the photo would lead you to think. The picture is a zoom on a high resolution photo so there is significant distance between us. Also, I was there first and in the open so I didn't startle them. The jabali was on alert but also curious. I had enough close encounters with bears (and a face to face with a bull moose) to know not to do anything stupid.

My second mistake was to post the boar picture before posting this one. This is where I stopped to sit on a rock and snack. You can see why. This is looking west. The boars then showed up and my photos of them were looking east.

 

[JJW]

Camino Frances
Roncesvalles monastery
Iglesia de Santa María
interior detail

photo taken February 7, 2007

View attachment 120554

At Roncesvalles this carved coffre (??), encased on a side aisle near the main entrance, appeared enigmatic and somber amidst the Gothic splendor of the Iglesia de Santa María.

The monogram on the left is a stylized common Christogram for the name of Jesus, next to the right is the Bishop's Crosier-- and the fleur-de-lys probably a reference to French Roncevaux and Notre Dame of Paris (which was the model for the church in Roncesvalles), next the Madonna & Child, then the Bishop's miter ( the construction of the present church was ordered by the Bishop of Pamplona & King Alphonse), last a coat of arms probably that of the Bishop, King or other patron.

 

[SabsP]

On the way to Sahagun, March 2017. A cold and windy day.
That year I walked only from Carrion de los Condes to Astorga due to an injury.

 

[Phoenix]

Navarrete
CF, 8 Mar 2014

I didn't start out on my first Camino thinking, "I'm gonna walk across Spain and take photos of every door I see." But, as a natural-born, lifelong carpenter (non-vocational) and DIY person, I couldn't help but admire and appreciate the craftsmanship of the Spaniards (and later, the Portuguese). To see and touch doors mounted in stone that have been used for decades or centuries is both a visual and tactile treat.

 

[FourSeasons]

del Norte July 15, 2019 just after Portugalete. Awe look at those faces, so sweet. Hey big momma, whatcha doin?

 

[Theatregal]

A range of prices for different varieties (grades?) of Bacalhau in Vila Praia de Âncora. CP Coastal.
August 6, 2015.

 

[Rowena]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

 

[Former member 49149]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

View attachment 120591

I hope all goes well for you. Watch out, @mspath! @Rowena is catching up on you on the CF!

 

[mspath]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

View attachment 120591

Rowena,
What happy news this is! You must be so very excited as you count down the days.
I wish you good weather and great new experiences. Looking forward to seeing your pics and reading your comments.

Stay safe, Carpe diem and Buen camino.

 

[Phoenix]

Buen Camino, @Rowena

 

[FourSeasons]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

View attachment 120591

Wow?? First of all I can't believe how clean that sign is compared to August 2019.


Secondly a big BUEN CAMINO to you. May the road rise up to meet you.

 

[SabsP]

@Rowena : Buen Camino!
I wish you nothing but the best.

 

[JJW]

A range of prices for different varieties (grades?) of Bacalhau in Vila Praia de Âncora. CP Coastal.
August 6, 2015.

View attachment 120589

good shot, thank you! The different prices are for the waters of origin, and the cheapest price is for cut pieces. A time machine that takes us back 600+ years and still is commonplace. Combining salt and north atlantic codfish was a refrigerator before electricity. Salt and cod were the stuff of international commerce and armed conflict. Now salt is common and inexpensive. Bachalhau ready to heat and eat from the mercado freezer.

 

[mspath]

good shot, thank you! The different prices are for the waters of origin, and the cheapest price is for cut pieces. A time machine that takes us back 600+ years and still is commonplace. Combining salt and north atlantic codfish was a refrigerator before electricity. Salt and cod were the stuff of international commerce and armed conflict. Now salt is common and inexpensive. Bachalhau ready to heat and eat from the mercado freezer.

I've always found the history of this ship and cod to be a fascinating account of renovation and repurpose.

 

[Rowena]

Thank you everyone for the good wishes!

 

[Chenahusky]

I have a confession to make, I do not like Bachalhau. I have tried, but never found one to my taste. Merluza (Hake), on the other hand I can eat a lot of, especially in Galicia. Picture is in A,Coruna, Camino Inglese Sept 2018.

 

[SabsP]

I have a confession to make, I do not like Bachalhau. I have tried, but never found one to my taste. Merluza (Hake), on the other hand I can eat a lot of, especially in Galicia. Picture is in A,Coruna, Camino Inglese Sept 2018.

View attachment 120610

Idem here!

 

[Anne&Pat]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

View attachment 120591

Have a very safe and wonderful Camino. You will be arriving in Santiago when we are leaving St Jean Pied de Port on the 9th, May, or before, we are going to take it slowly!
Buen Camino Rowena.
Anne & Pat.

 

[Anne&Pat]

A couple of the Austin cars we saw before Llanes. A car rally from the UK. CdelN, May, 2018.

 

[Anik2001]

Roncesvalles and it’s beautiful church. Brings up nice memories. July 2017.

 

[dick bird]

I have a confession to make, I do not like Bachalhau. I have tried, but never found one to my taste. Merluza (Hake), on the other hand I can eat a lot of, especially in Galicia. Picture is in A,Coruna, Camino Inglese Sept 2018.

View attachment 120610

It's an acquired taste. Try living in Portugal for 3 years. I'm addicted.

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
Saint Jean Pied de Port
Notre-Dame du Bout du Pont
interior

photo taken October 13, 2015



At the bridge over the river Nive In Saint Jean Pied de Port the church Notre-Dame du Bout du Pont was always a welcoming sanctuary before begining each camino.

May it still be so.

 

[Anne&Pat]

Have posted this before but one of our favourites from the restaurant in Llanes where we had dinner. Second photo today because we didn't post yesterday! CdelN, May, 2018.

 

[SabsP]

Albergue San Juan Bautista in Grañon.
Simplicity and generosity.

 

[Chenahusky]

It's an acquired taste. Try living in Portugal for 3 years. I'm addicted.

I have never lived in Portugal, but I am concerned I may have a problem addiction!

 

[dick bird]

Road and Hills​

I shall go away
To the brown hills, the quiet ones,
The vast, the mountainous, the rolling,
Sun-fired and drowsy!

My horse snuffs delicately
At the strange wind;
He settles to a swinging trot; his hoofs tramp the dust.
The road winds, straightens,
Slashes a marsh,
Shoulders out a bridge,
Then
Again the hills.
Unchanged, innumerable,
Bowing huge, round backs;
Holding secret, immense converse:
In gusty voices,
Fruitful, fecund, toiling
Like yoked black oxen.

The clouds pass like great, slow thoughts
And vanish
In the intense blue.

My horse lopes; the saddle creaks and sways.
A thousand glittering spears of sun slant from on high.
The immensity, the spaces,
Are like the spaces
Between star and star.

The hills sleep.
If I put my hand on one,
I would feel the vast heave of its breath.
I would start away before it awakened
And shook the world from its shoulders.
A cicada’s cry deepens the hot silence.
The hills open
To show a slope of poppies,
Ardent, noble, heroic,
A flare, a great flame of orange;
Giving sleepy, brittle scent
That stings the lungs.
A creeping wind slips through them like a ferret; they bow and dance,
Answering Beauty’s voice. . .

The horse whinnies. I dismount
And tie him to the grey worn fence.
I set myself against the javelins of grass and sun;
And climb the rounded breast,
That flows like a sea-wave.
The summit crackles with heat, there is no shelter, no hollow from
The flagellating glare.

I lie down and look at the sky, shading my eyes.
My body becomes strange, the sun takes it and changes it, it does not feel,
It is like the body of another.
The air blazes. The air is diamond.
Small noises move among the grass. . .

Blackly,
A hawk mounts, mounts in the inane
Seeking the star-road,
Seeking the end. . .
But there is no end.

Here, in this light, there is no end. . .

Stephen Vincent Benet

The landscape of a lot of the camino is the meseta, and this poem recalls that landscape although he never visited Spain. You could call him an old-fashioned American; patriotic, a lover of liberty but sympathetic to the poor, especially in the rural south. He probably worked himself to death, partly trying to convince as many as possible of his compatriots to oppose fascism.

Looking back at Segovia, 11th Sept 2018.

 

[Phoenix]

Grañón
CF, 10 March 2014

 

[VNwalking]

I have never lived in Portugal, but I am concerned I may have a problem addiction!

I'm staying very far away from those. Never having tasted them, there is no addiction.

Looking back at Segovia, 11th Sept 2018.

Gorgeous photo, Dick. Wow.
And it goes perfectly with the Benet.

Madrid. Where Caminos begin, for many - at least landing at the airport, and maybe taking a day or so to get over jetlag - even if not walking the Madrid.
This is the Catedral de la Almudena, with its astonishing ceiling.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Two invitations, a bench and Pueyo de Fañanás.

 

[JJW]

I'm staying very far away from those. Never having tasted them, there is no addiction.


Gorgeous photo, Dick. Wow.
And it goes perfectly with the Benet.

Madrid. Where Caminos begin, for many - at least landing at the airport, and maybe taking a day or so to get over jetlag - even if not walking the Madrid.
This is the Catedral de la Almudena, with its astonishing ceiling.
View attachment 120660

Some hold a traditional view that camino starts with their first step away from home with Santiago in their sights. It is fun to think of it this way, especially when someone asks “where did you start your camino?” And you can reply with a grin “Beaverton”.

 

[FourSeasons]

del Norte July 10, 2019: It was a long hot day on my way to Markina, even the horses knew.

 

[Phoenix]

del Norte July 10, 2019: It was a long hot day on my way to Markina, even the horses knew.
View attachment 120689

As we are in the mercurial part of winter in the Rockies, right now I'm so looking forward to being hot on any Camino path.

 

[Theatregal]

I have a confession to make, I do not like Bachalhau. I have tried, but never found one to my taste.

Idem here!

I didn't either until this very delicious dish was served for dinner at Casa Velha in Perefita. Bacalhau com Natas. Cod with cream, potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, bit of nutmeg, baked with gratin. July 30, 2015.

 

[mspath]

I didn't either until this very delicious dish was served for dinner at Casa Velha in Perefita. Bacalhau com Natas. Cod with cream, potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, bit of nutmeg, baked with gratin. July 30, 2015.

View attachment 120700

Theatregal,
The ingredients in your Spanish dish appear similar to Brandade de morue here in France and Quebec; hearty and delicious especially on a chilly or cold day during Lent.

 

[Former member 49149]

Oporto, summer 2013. Looking over from the 'other' side. We were lucky to have counted in a day to visit the city.

 

[mspath]

Santiago de Compostela
Praza da Quintana

photo taken December 8, 2014



Brilliant winter sunshine lit the praza da Quintana on a cold December day the last time I was there.

 

[Anik2001]

Cute old couple taking a stroll near Sarria. July 2017.

 

[SabsP]

Another pasteis , somewhere in Portugal. 2015.

 

[Anne&Pat]

One of our favourite photos on the Norte. Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. May, 2018.

 

[dick bird]

The Serf

His naked skin clothed in the torrid mist
That puffs in smoke around the patient hooves,
The ploughman drives, a slow somnambulist,
And through the green his crimson furrow grooves
His heart, more deeply than he wounds the plain,
Long by the rasping share of insult torn,
Red clod, to which the war-cry once was rain
And tribal spears the fatal sheaves of corn,
Lies fallow now. But as the turf divides
I see in the slow progress of his strides

Over the toppled clods and falling flowers,
The timeless, surly patience of the serf
That moves the nearest to the naked earth
And ploughs down palaces, and thrones and towers.

Roy Campbell

South African, but he somehow ended up in Spain where he and his wife at one time took the young (and clearly unwell) Laurie Lee into their care. The Civil War found them on opposite sides but they maintained a strong respect and affection for each other which I think does both of them credit.

The photo doesn't really relate to the poem except by contrast. This was on the Francés, just after Sahagún on the variant route, 30 Sept 2019. Spain is not without its problems but life is a hundred times better than it used to be. This guy had done his daily walk around the village (doubtless involving a chupito or two) and was watching the local kids playing in the middle of the road. This, to me, is what Spain is about. And maybe we could look at his life with a certain amount of envy.

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

I’m posting this photo today, of my first arrival in Santiago on October 17, 2015 because I’m about to set off again. Leaving home this Saturday and starting my Camino from Roncesvalles on March 22. This will be my third Camino Frances, sixth Camino in total.
I won’t post for a while, as I’ve pretty well run out of photos worth posting anyway, but if I get some good new photos I’ll post from the Camino!
Rowena

View attachment 120591

Go safely Rowena as your departure draws near. I am very envious. I'm sure you'll have many interesting photos to choose from when you're back in "posting on forum" land.
Buen Camino

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

Have a very safe and wonderful Camino. You will be arriving in Santiago when we are leaving St Jean Pied de Port on the 9th, May, or before, we are going to take it slowly!
Buen Camino Rowena.
Anne & Pat.

So they've let you out of DownUnder prison Anne & Pat. I'm equally as envious of you. Stay well, tread lightly and wave the Aussie flag. Buen Camino

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

I've loved the collection of doors that have been posted. Today I post an old boarded up window leaving Acebo May 2013. I have many windows and door knockers in my collection of Camino photos and like those venturing out again, I hope one day we will tread the same paths.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The sun is rising here now on St. Patrick's Day but it is fighting the fog. I want to see some color and today it should be green.

The start of the river walk alternative into Burgos.

 

[Former member 49149]

The sun is rising here now on St. Patrick's Day but it is fighting the fog. I want to see some color and today it should be green.

The start of the river walk alternative into Burgos.
View attachment 120747

 

[Phoenix]

Villambistia
CF, 12 Mar 2014

 

[Bronte DownUnder]

Road and Hills​

I shall go away
To the brown hills, the quiet ones,
The vast, the mountainous, the rolling,
Sun-fired and drowsy!

My horse snuffs delicately
At the strange wind;
He settles to a swinging trot; his hoofs tramp the dust.
The road winds, straightens,
Slashes a marsh,
Shoulders out a bridge,
Then
Again the hills.
Unchanged, innumerable,
Bowing huge, round backs;
Holding secret, immense converse:
In gusty voices,
Fruitful, fecund, toiling
Like yoked black oxen.

The clouds pass like great, slow thoughts
And vanish
In the intense blue.

My horse lopes; the saddle creaks and sways.
A thousand glittering spears of sun slant from on high.
The immensity, the spaces,
Are like the spaces
Between star and star.

The hills sleep.
If I put my hand on one,
I would feel the vast heave of its breath.
I would start away before it awakened
And shook the world from its shoulders.
A cicada’s cry deepens the hot silence.
The hills open
To show a slope of poppies,
Ardent, noble, heroic,
A flare, a great flame of orange;
Giving sleepy, brittle scent
That stings the lungs.
A creeping wind slips through them like a ferret; they bow and dance,
Answering Beauty’s voice. . .

The horse whinnies. I dismount
And tie him to the grey worn fence.
I set myself against the javelins of grass and sun;
And climb the rounded breast,
That flows like a sea-wave.
The summit crackles with heat, there is no shelter, no hollow from
The flagellating glare.

I lie down and look at the sky, shading my eyes.
My body becomes strange, the sun takes it and changes it, it does not feel,
It is like the body of another.
The air blazes. The air is diamond.
Small noises move among the grass. . .

Blackly,
A hawk mounts, mounts in the inane
Seeking the star-road,
Seeking the end. . .
But there is no end.

Here, in this light, there is no end. . .

Stephen Vincent Benet

The landscape of a lot of the camino is the meseta, and this poem recalls that landscape although he never visited Spain. You could call him an old-fashioned American; patriotic, a lover of liberty but sympathetic to the poor, especially in the rural south. He probably worked himself to death, partly trying to convince as many as possible of his compatriots to oppose fascism.

Looking back at Segovia, 11th Sept 2018.
View attachment 120651

Where on earth do you find all these poems? Do you write any yourself?

 

[mspath]

I've loved the collection of doors that have been posted. Today I post an old boarded up window leaving Acebo May 2013. I have many windows and door knockers in my collection of Camino photos and like those venturing out again, I hope one day we will tread the same paths.

Bronte DownUnder,
What happiness it can be to be together!