I have wanted to do a picture post for quiet some time now, but it has been fairly difficult to find reliable wifi. The albergue we are staying at today has the best internet connection yet, and with it I want to give you a taste of what has become our life for the past two weeks. Enjoy!
Every night we stay in an Albergue. Albergues are hostiles specifically meant for pilgrims walking the Camino. The people working at these places are mostly volunteers and have been incredibly kind to us. They are also very efficient at what they do. Upon entering an albergue you are almost always requested to take off your boots to keep the place clean. The picture below shows a normal room in which boots and walking sticks are stored.
The Camino is not just about walking from one city to another everyday until you get to Santiago. There are many small attractions and beutiful cities nessetled along the route. One of the more memorable stops was a monestary that made its own wine. They have installed a free flowing fountain to there shop, so pilgrims can enjoy a sip or two of wine before they head on there way.
Micahel and I had been planning this trip for almost a year. In that time, a large portion of my efforts was directed towards packing. Since we have been walking 30K most days, it is extremely important that we only carry what we need. The day before I left I layed everything out for a final evaluation. This picture is the end result.
Shells and Socks. These are two of the most common items attached to pilgrims backpacks. People clip their heavy wool hiking socks to their packs to throughly dry them out in the hot sun. Placing shells on the pack is an ancient pilgrim tradition. Not only are shells ancient symbols within the Catholic Church, but they are also used by pilgrims to indicate to others that they are headed to Santiago.
There are many routes to Santiago, the most popular and the one which we are currently on is the French route. It starts it the small beautiful town of St. Jean Pier de Port and continues about 800K to Santiago. Although there are ample guide books and maps, they aren’t really necessary. Everywhere we go there are either shells or yellow arrows pointing us in the right direction. In some of the larger cities the shells are built into the streets and sidewalks.
When we are not walking through small villages, we are trecking across the country side. These sections can be blistering hot, but also scenic.
We have been extremely fortunate to find pilgrim Masses being celebrated almost everyday. The churches have all been architecturally astonishing. Most of the sanctuaries are covered in beautiful ornatments. The picture below was taken after we prayed compline, or night prayer, with other pilgrims from our albergue.
Once on the way to Santiago, the Camino is very inexpensive. One of the best ways to keep costs low is to go the local market with other pilgrims and make a communal meal. These dinners have provided much laughter after the long days walk.
For the most part, the weather has been dry and hot. Only one day so far did we need to break out our rain gear. The rain is not much fun because it turns a lot of the dirt roads and paths into small rivers. After walking in the rain for a few hours, it stopped as soon as we reached our destination. This was slightly upsetting, but it soon revealed this beautiful rainbow.
Pictured below is Hontanas at dusk. The population of the town is around 80 people. The church dominates the small town square and still hosts a daily pilgrims Mass.
Then there is the all very important wifi password. Most albergues have some wifi, but getting a good connection is a whole other story.
- Luke