Unburdening Point on the Portuguese?

[Coleen Clark]

Camino Frances has Cruz de Ferro, where you leave the symbolic stone that carries all your burdens. I loved that part of my Camino, it was a high point. Now in August I will walk the Camino Portuguese, and I'm wondering if there is a like feature on this or any other route to Santiago? I've seen the photos others have posted and there are many churches, crosses, shrines etc on the way, just as there were on Frances, but is there a significant one, other than Fatima, which I plan on detouring to and visiting.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Hi Coleen, I can't think of any place that would be the equivalent to Cruz de Ferro, but on a related matter, try to attend the Pilgrim's service in Barcelos in the church of St Antonio. There you will be given a small cockle shell and a pebble, both decorated with the cross of St James and the instructions to keep it or leave it along the journey at a place that feels significant to you. I kept the shell and threw the pebble in a beautiful stream in woodland. Bom Caminho!

 

[t2andreo]

For me, it was the hills in Valenca, at the fortified old city, overlooking the bridge into Spain and Tui. From that vantage, you could see the last stretch of the Camino from Tui reaching into the distance towards Santiago. It seems like happening on the last chapter in a good book to me.

I hope this helps.

 

[Levi]

Hi Coleen. Walking at moment and leaving Porto for Santiago on Friday. I haven't come across anywhere equivalent to the Cruz yet. But your question has made me think and I will let you know if I find that place. Bom Caminho!

 

[Coleen Clark]

Hi Coleen. Walking at moment and leaving Porto for Santiago on Friday. I haven't come across anywhere equivalent to the Cruz yet. But your question has made me think and I will let you know if I find that place. Bom Caminho!

Thank you Levi.

 

[Rainerbernd]

Olá,

there is a Cruz where pilgrims put their stones. It´s the Cruz dos Franceses between Ponte de Lima and Rubiães, about 600 m before the highest point Portela Grande. And not to forget the new Cruz they set up years ago down from Portela Grande.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

I had completely forgotten this @Rainerbernd, thank you for the reminder.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I choose to unbirden myself with every bead of sweat and not by leaving traces of my passing through.

 

[MichaelSG]

Camino Frances has Cruz de Ferro, where you leave the symbolic stone that carries all your burdens. I loved that part of my Camino, it was a high point. Now in August I will walk the Camino Portuguese, and I'm wondering if there is a like feature on this or any other route to Santiago? I've seen the photos others have posted and there are many churches, crosses, shrines etc on the way, just as there were on Frances, but is there a significant one, other than Fatima, which I plan on detouring to and visiting.

There is no particular place that is a direct equivalent to the wonderfully moving Cruz de Ferro but I found many places along the Caminho Portuguese that would be appropriate to leave a small stone from home. You will see lots of small cairns and crosses but I am certain that you will also recognize the most appropriate spot for your own symbolic un-burdening. Bom Caminho.

 

[Levi]

Hi Coleen

Today I was at the Cruz dos Frances up the big hill before Rubiaes. Not just as evocative as the Cruz de Ferro but a quiet, peaceful place. (Once I'd stopped panting.)
I also liked a little chapel before the hill - at Revolta - Capela de N S Das Neves. A lot of little tokens, stones, prayers....

 

[Former member 22438]

Olá,

there is a Cruz where pilgrims put their stones. It´s the Cruz dos Franceses between Ponte de Lima and Rubiães, about 600 m before the highest point Portela Grande. And not to forget the new Cruz they set up years ago down from Portela Grande.

I do not think the Portuguese are amused if you treat the Cruz dos Franceses the same as the Cruz del Ferro. The monument was raised because of a battle against the troops of Napoleon in 1809.
some years ago I read that they cleaned up the ground-organised by volonteers of the Ponte de Lima albergue around the Cruz dos Franceses also called o cruz dos mortes-the cross of the deaths- monument from all the stuff pilgrims left because this cross has nothing to do with pilgrimage . They asked kindly to leave nothing at the ground around the monument.so please respect this.

https://www.facebook.com/events/544016402352561/

 

[Rainerbernd]

I do not think the Portuguese are amused if you treat the Cruz dos Franceses the same as the Cruz del Ferro. The monument was raised because of a battle against the troops of Napoleon in 1809.
some years ago I read that they cleaned up the ground-organised by volonteers of the Ponte de Lima albergue around the Cruz dos Franceses also called o cruz dos mortes-the cross of the deaths- monument from all the stuff pilgrims left because this cross has nothing to do with pilgrimage . They asked kindly to leave nothing at the ground around the monument.so please respect this.

https://www.facebook.com/events/544016402352561/

Olá Albertinho,

Obrigadinho for your post. I have never seen the Cruz in its real beauty. On my first way there were only some stones around the Cruz. Later there were papers and other stuff, growing year by year. You are right, we should respect this monument.

 

[Former member 22438]

Olá Albertinho,

Obrigadinho for your post. I have never seen the Cruz in its real beauty. On my first way there were only some stones around the Cruz. Later there were papers and other stuff, growing year by year. You are right, we should respect this monument.

Bom dia Rainer

When I was there ,it was one heap of left cloths, walking sticks , stones, left food etc.
There was no sign att all for warning to do so.
But we took a picture of us standing near the monument and the heap of left behinds and a Portuguese guy to whom I sent the picture answered that it was a Portuguese war monument and he added that the Portuguese are not happy that pilgrims leave everything there. I'll try to find back the picture and will post it here.
Forte abraço

 

[Former member 22438]

O cruz dos mortes.

 

[Levi]

This was the Cruz yesterday....

 

[Rainerbernd]

This was the Cruz yesterday....View attachment 33269

Thank you Levi for posting the Cruz in its conditions today. It looks better than Albertinho saw it.

 

[Coleen Clark]

View attachment 33260 View attachment 33261
O cruz dos mortes.

I dislike immensely what has been done here. Shame! Perhaps I will simply throw a pebble in the water as I cross the bridge between Portugal and Spain.
Chief Seattle told us to "Take nothing but memories. Leave nothing but footprints."
For those of you compelled to dump unwanted items or make a permanent statement with graffiti on a mile marker, I say Shame on You.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

You are right, we should respect this monument.

Let's respect all monuments and stop burdening others with our need for symbolic gestures in places where they do not belong.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Chief Seattle told us to "Take nothing but memories. Leave nothing but footprints."
For those of you compelled to dump unwanted items or make a permanent statement with graffiti on a mile marker, I say Shame on You.

Colleen, there are many more ways to deface the Caminos than dumping unwanted items and graffiti. "Symbolic" items left here and there for one's own peace of mind or unburdening is also defacing the Caminos. Setting clothes on fire in Fisterra is also defacing the Camino (and illegal).

All these "unburdenings" are a selfish expression of one's wants and perceived needs, impossed on all others who walk by them, and have to clean up.

I vote for Chief Seattle's wise words. Thank you for remind all of us about them.

 

[t2andreo]

I like the stone tossed from the bridge idea, between Valenca and Tui, VERY much. I may do the same.

Thanks for the idea.

 

[Coleen Clark]

I like the stone tossed from the bridge idea, between Valenca and Tui, VERY much. I may do the same.

Thanks for the idea.

If too many of us do that, will they need to dredge? I'll take my chances.

 

[t2andreo]

It is BOUND to be more esthetic than Cruz de Ferro. I just picked my stone from our landscaped backyard... It is small and relatively light. It will become heavier, with all the sentiment and representations it will carry...

 

[t2andreo]

To close the loop on this, when I walked across the bridge from Valenca to Tui a couple of weeks ago, I stopped at the international border line painted on the bridge. I had, several days previously, used a Sharpie marker to inscribe the stone to my father's memory.

There, I said several prayers privately, then read the Christian Prayer of Committal for a military burial at sea. Following that, I ceremonious dropped dad's stone over the rail into the river below. I followed this with a brisk hand salute, as I too am a veteran. Yes, I shed some tears, as this was my way of saying a final good bye to the man who shaped my character, and contributed into making me the person that I have become over nearly 64 years.

I had previously obtained this prayer on the web from the US Navy web site. My dad was a US Navy veteran from WWII. Although his cremains were placed in a columbarium with full military honors back in January, I felt this is something he would have appreciated. All his life he loved the water and the sea. He imbued each of his four children with an appreciation and love of the ocean. My mom is afraid of the water... Oh well...

As the oldest surviving son, it was something I could do for him, to honor him, so I did it. It was private, but it was meaningful to me, and I trust to my father.

Later, the next week, when I arrived at the Pilgrim Office, I had my Compostela inscribed "Vicare Pro" to dedicate this Camino to my late father.

Given the individual circumstances, commemorating the life and passing of this good man was better done in the middle of the international bridge separating Portugal and Spain, than simply tossing the stone on a pile at Cruz de Ferro.

I hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Thank you for sharing this @t2andreo, such a beautifully expressed account of a deeply significant moment for you.

 

[MichaelSG]

To close the loop on this, when I walked across the bridge from Valenca to Tui a couple of weeks ago, I stopped at the international border line painted on the bridge. I had, several days previously, used a Sharpie marker to inscribe the stone to my father's memory.

There, I said several prayers privately, then read the Christian Prayer of Committal for a military burial at sea. Following that, I ceremonious dropped dad's stone over the rail into the river below. I followed this with a brisk hand salute, as I too am a veteran. Yes, I shed some tears, as this was my way of saying a final good bye to the man who shaped my character, and contributed into making me the person that I have become over nearly 64 years.

I had previously obtained this prayer on the web from the US Navy web site. My dad was a US Navy veteran from WWII. Although his cremains were placed in a columbarium with full military honors back in January, I felt this is something he would have appreciated. All his life he loved the water and the sea. He imbued each of his four children with an appreciation and love of the ocean. My mom is afraid of the water... Oh well...

As the oldest surviving son, it was something I could do for him, to honor him, so I did it. It was private, but it was meaningful to me, and I trust to my father.

Later, the next week, when I arrived at the Pilgrim Office, I had my Compostela inscribed "Vicare Pro" to dedicate this Camino to my late father.

Given the individual circumstances, commemorating the life and passing of this good man was better done in the middle of the international bridge separating Portugal and Spain, than simply tossing the stone on a pile at Cruz de Ferro.

I hope this helps.

Okay, you have me curious. After telling the story of what you did with your stone on the Portuguese Camino, are you really saying that if you were walking the Camino Frances, you might have just "simply toss[ed] the stone on a pile at Cruz de Ferro"? Or were you implying that anyone else "simply toss[es] the stone on a pile at Cruz de Ferro?

I am pretty sure that there was a rather long thread on this forum with many moving stories of people leaving stones at the Cruz de Ferro. I also think that that particular thread only told the tiny fraction of the many heartfelt stories of the stones and what they represent. I've only been at the site once but other than some bicyclists, every person there was either in tears or close to it. No one just tossed their stone in passing. They each had their own story.

 

[t2andreo]

I did not mean to disparage or discount the meaning of adding a stone to the pile at Cruz de Ferro. I have done so myself on three occasions to memorialize and remember three deceased family members, friends and colleagues. If I used imprecise wording, I apologize. Please allow me to elaborate and explain.

To better understand this, you need to understand the context for my decision to walk the Portuguese route this year from Lisbon. More than a year ago, when my dad was in failing health, I made a promise to him, in front of my mom, that "when the time came," I would do a Camino and dedicate it to him, as the Church permits the gaining of indulgences etc. for a deceased person. At that time, we had no way to know that he would be gone in six months.

In late January, immediately following the military "burial" ceremony, as we were on the way back home, my mom piped up, saying: "So when are you going to do the walk you promised your father you would do...?" Let's just stipulate that mom's mind is still razor sharp at 84.

So, I made a decision shortly afterwards to find the best way to accomplish the promise, combined with a personal tribute to and an appropriate send off for my father. That is why I chose this route, and the "unburdening point" as I did, and explained above. I think it is appropriate and meaningful. Every Camino should have something similar or analogous. But, in the final analysis the choice is highly indivudal and personal.

My only other clarifying observation is that, if you are intending to add a personal stone to the pile at Cruz de Ferro, depending on the time of year, the weather conditions, and the pilgrim traffic on the mound, you could well find yourself in the position of having to gently "toss" the stone onto the pile, as opposed to deciding exactly where you wanted it and having the ability to reverently place it.

If I originally made it sound like Muslims stoning the pillar representing Satan at Mecca, I regret the allusion and again apologize. This is NOT intended as anything negative regarding followers of this faith system. It is however the analogy I am seeking. So, I think it appropriate to use it here.

I hope this helps.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

@MichaelSG what I know of @t2andreo from his many previous posts leads me to understand that his comments about the Cruz de Ferro were not dismissive of other pilgrims who leave their stones at the cross there, rather he was emphasising the significance of the place on the bridge over the river for him, and for his father, a former naval man. The internet can be an unforgiving form of communication and the most sensitive of postings can sometimes be understood by a recipient in an entirely unintended manner.

 

[Coleen Clark]

When feelings are close to the surface they are easily bruised. If this conversation was occurring over beers halfway thru a Camino there would be no misunderstanding of meanings. You are right, SEB, it can be hard to get your true meanings across when the only tool you have is a keyboard. A smile, a touch, a clink of glasses and a pat on the back makes even a conversation of pointing and gesturing by a table full of foreigners completely understandable, especially when you all have throbbing blisters and full hearts.
My original question was about an Unburdening Point on the Portugues, but the Camino has many unburdening points, including dinner tables, walking companions, mass and vespers (I love vespers!) and even quiet conversations between adjoining bunks.
So maybe I was overthinking the significance of a single stone.
Instead, I will bring myself, and unburden when the need arises, and listen to others as they do, and carry a few Kleenex.
Because I'm not crying, I have allergies. Honest. Really. Maybe.

 

[t2andreo]

This unburdening thing reminds me of something that happened the week before last while I was at Santiago following my Camino. A day or two after I arrived, I was outside San Martin Pinario one morning when I encountered a woman pilgrim entering the city, headed for Obradoiro Square. I am going to call her Donna for the sake of this story.

There was something about the way Donna was using her hiking poles and the way she was walking uncertainly that compelled me to ask her if she needed any assistance. Donna burst into tears, said "Oh God yes, please!" and nearly collapsed right there. I grabbed her arm to steady her.

Ascertaining that she had walked solo from St Jean Pied de Port (and clearly had "the look"), had chronic medical issues and serious blisters, I offered to help her. My first question was "where were you heading when I came upon you?" Her answer was simple; "...to make this all end, to be over, to stop the pain!" Donna could barely stand let alone walk further. If you've walked from St. Jean and gotten serious blisters, perhaps you can understand the anguish.

I said okay, how about I accompany you to the Pilgrim Office and get your Compostela sorted, etc. and we can proceed from there? So, I shouldered her rucksack and helped her hobble the remaining several hundred meters to get there. Her condition was such that passing folks were turning to look.

Along the way, Donna told me she was walking this for herself as she has a serious chronic medical condition and was on chemo therapy, but also for the soul of a good friend of hers who recently passed away from cancer and whose funeral was the next day, but a continent away. Donna was very upset and more so because she could not attend the funeral of her best friend.

When we first arrived, I asked Donna if she would mind sitting in the chapel adjacent to the Pilgrim Office while I went inside and arranged matters to try to help her. I helped her sit in a pew. I then gave her a package of tissues and told her to have a good cry and get it all out. I have unburdened myself in just that manner. It helps, it really does.

My consolation to Donna was to tell her that she was in the best place possible to get this out, to pray for the repose of her good friend and anyone else she had a mind to pray for. Donna blurted out: "But, I am not Catholic! My retort was "I don't care! He listens to everyone, and you are in direct contact - NOW!" I urged Donna to just sit, think, pray, meditate whatever, and that I would return shortly. The Pilgrim Office chapel is great for this sort of thing.

Because of my affiliation as a repeat volunteer with the Pilgrim Office, I was able to arrange to bring Donna into the office quietly and put her in a back office. I asked one of my colleagues if she could take care of Donna's need for a Compostela. When the staff heard her story they readily agreed to help.

I brought Donna into the back office as quietly as I could so as to not frustrate others who were waiting on line. Her condition would never have permitted her to wait on the line.

As Donna's Compostela was being written up, I interjected that it was possible to have it dedicated to a deceased person if she wished. She lost it right there, wracked with sobs, Donna asked us to make the Compostela Vicare Pro her recently deceased friend. Result!

There is more to the story, but suffice it to say that the point at which you unburden yourself is individual and personal. If I helped Donna achieve some comfort or closure regarding her life threatening medical condition, or the passing of her good friend, then all is good.

I hope this little story helps understand the thread better. There is more to it, but I DO tend to be long winded... Y'all will just have to wait for my book...

 

[Coleen Clark]

Thank you Tom. You're not that long winded.
Breezy perhaps. With intermitted gale force. But breezy.

 

[t2andreo]

Coleen: You are far too kind. You get an autographed copy of the book... Of course I have to write it. But, folks I repeat my Camino stories to keep telling me that I should write a book about my experiences and the people I've met. I am still contemplating it. Evidently, I am a born story-teller... Go figure...