Starting the Camino

By -

Sunset in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 

Just getting started up the hill.


Stop at Orisson for café cortado and Spanish tortilla.


Every pilgrim gets a shell (symbol of pilgrimage) and I made a cross along the way with sticks and dental floss. I got a similar one on the Washington Mall to remember the plight of immigrants. As we walk I'm thinking from time to time about the caravan from Central America—a pastor pilgrimage of desperation rather than by choice.


Amazing views and making our way up the 3800 ft climb. With elevation, it was a 30k first day from Saint Jean.


Elevation marker


Almost the top—amazing snow capped Pyrenees.


Beautiful descent from highest point, Col de Lepoeder, at 4000 feet.


Mass and service of blessing for pilgrims from all over the world.


In 2010, Amy and I participated in a two week course with Fuller Seminary in Orvieto. To explore the theme of pilgrimage we walked a particular place and reflected on what we saw and experienced in a poem that began “I put on pilgrim shoes...” I thought I would pursue the same theme on my experience of pilgrimage on this sabbatical.

I put on pilgrim shoes
I put on pilgrim shoes, 
Stepped off the bus
Anticipation and fear, curiosity and insecurity. Pilgrims from other places connected by adventure 
To challenge body and soul
Medieval town
Cobbled stones to gîtes, linen and jamón. 
Eight centuries of pilgrims 
Lighting Candles before exiting the Spain Gate.
More questions than answers.
More curious than certain.
I put on pilgrim shoes to take a risk 
and partner with Amy
To stretch and strengthen body and soul.




Comments

  1. Cindy CondonMay 12, 2018 at 10:33 AM

    Praying for you both! Beautiful photos! Blessings on your journey!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cappadocia

By -
Image
Amy and I have traveled to Turkey twice before, but this is our first time leading a group into Cappadocia.  What an amazing way to start our 14 day pilgrimage on the footsteps of Paul. It feels like we're in a different world. The landscape is more like the moon or a scene in Star Wars.  Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks all passed through and conquered. First century believers returned here after Pentecost and Peter wrote his first letter to encourage them in their persecution and suffering. In the fourth century, Simon devoted 42 years of his life in isolation on top of a fairy castle, seeking time alone with God. People brought him food and were drawn to his way of life and stayed. The soft tufa volcanic stone allowed for monks and whole communities to create monasteries and homes hidden inside whole mountains.  We visited a handful of those 365 churches (one for every day of the year) that once existed in the Goreme and Zelve valleys.  It strikes
Read more

Camino de Santiago Day Thirty-seven and Thirty-eight: We made it!

By -
Image
A Salceda to Santiago de Compostela We decided to walk 22km to the outskirts of Santiago and walk the last few kilometers in the morning. Neither of us could sleep, so we got up, packed our mochilas for the last time and walked to the old city at 5am. It was dark and rather than being joined by other pilgrims, we passed a few late night partiers and a woman walking her dog. It's not the entrance into Santiago we pictured, but we were all alone in the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral. It was June 17 — thirty-eight days and 780 kilometers since we started May 11, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. We were two of the first ten pilgrims in line for our compostelas , which meant we got tickets for a free lunch at the historic parador. Peter from Australia showed up and introduced us to Michael and Linda from Washington DC, who also got the lucky tickets. Peter also knew Ted and Darlene from Winnipeg, and gave them contact, since my phone died and we cou
Read more

Camino de Santiago Day Thirty-four to Thirty-six

By -
Image
Gonzar to Melide to A Salceda Today we completed two 30km days in a row and we are within 25km of Santiago. We've walked over 700km from Saint Jean Pied de Port, France, for more than a month.  And after two days of rain, the sun came out and the sky was clear and blue.  We stopped in Melide for the night where we found an amazing vegetarian-vegan restaurant Casa Alongo run by Concha. She was happy to speak English and share her passion for fresh, local food. After a Camino of meat and typical pilgrim meals, it was a great find. She served us grilled vegetables with avocado aioli and  tostada de pulpo-- Galician bread toast with local cheese and octopus. . One bar along the road has bottled their own La Peregrina lager and invites pilgrims to write something on the bottle and decorate the patio. We walked our second to last day with friends we met a week ago--John, Norbert and Agnes. We talked about our families and what it's like to make friends on the Camino.  Everyone is a
Read more