Tag Archives for Camino

Camino to Santiago de Compostela, a journey not just a destination

Rock Bridge, Galicia Spain

Rock Bridge, Galicia Spain

“Focus on the journey not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it”        Greg Anderson

One of the things we found while walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, is the same thing we have found and experienced in many other areas of our life. People are goal oriented and want to reach the next destination. On the walk people were getting up well before dawn and walking in the dark, little headlights on their forehead, trying to find the next arrow or marker.  This is fine if you have spent some time the day before surveying the route out-of-town. But why walk in the dark.  Yes it is a quiet time of the day, and you can be out-of-town before the traffic gets bad, but in the small town on the country road that we were walking traffic was never a problem.

I do understand that the summer heat of Spain can make walking in mid afternoon difficult, so that might be a consideration during the summer months for some people. But walking in the dark means that you really can’t see and enjoy the town, or the countryside, the signs, the shrines or farms that you are walking by.

It isn’t reaching our goal or destination that shapes our journey, it is each mile or milestone along the way that shapes our soul.  It it the sights, sounds, people and experiences we have along the way that is what we, what I wanted to remember.  I would say to anyone planning this journey to take your time, enjoy the sights, the sounds, get to know the people along the way, live each moment of the journey.

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The Camino to Santiago de Compostela and Thich Nhat Hahn…..

Horse stands on the windy ridge of the Pryenees Mountains

Horse stands on the windy ridge of the Pryenees Mountains 

“The mind can go in a thousand directions. But on this beautiful path, I walk in peace.  With each step a cool wind blows. With each step a flower blooms.”  Thich Nhat Hanh 

I have been reading poetry by Thich Nhat Hanh and it often reminds me of the quiet days of walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. My mind could wander in a thousand directions, but it wasn’t until I focused my thoughts on the path before me, on the beauty around me that I truly began to enjoy the walk.  But if I wasn’t in the present moment I could walk and not see a thing, not remember the road I walked.

While on the Camino I learned that I had to stay conscous, I need to be thinking of what is in front of me, how it was shaped by the light, I and to think the story I wanted to tell, if I didn’t I was just getting snap shots or passing events. But it wasn’t work, I somehow managed to make it sound like work, but it wasn’t, it make the Camino, our journey, more enjoyable, more memorable.

This is a bigger problem for me at home, driving to work, thinking about all the things I have to do that day, and before I know it I am at the office, and I don’t remember the trip, what did I miss?  Did I miss waving to a friend, or the beauty of the sunrise.  Or while at work, getting caught up in the job, the chaos, going through the motions, and not really being engaged.

How about you, are you on a beautiful path, is your life blooming before you, are you finding small nugets of joy in your day/chaos?

 

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Dancing to Basque Music in Pamplona Spain

Dancing in Pamplona to Basque Music

Dancing in Pamplona to Basque Music 

While walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, Spain we spent a couple of days in Pamplona, visiting the Cathedral and historical attractions. While out walking we walked through the Plaza de Castillo we heard the music, noticed the Basque Musicians.  There were dancers in the square, but it was the little one that captured my attention.  He seemed to have all the moves, but then the little ones always seem to know how to capture the attention and the hearts of those around them….

 

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Notre Dame_Paris France_Angel and Shadow

Notre Dame_Paris France_Angel and Shadow

 

I am preparing a slide show; on Saturday Mar 16, 2013 I will be showing some of my work to the Calgary Chapter of Pilgrims about the Camino to Santiago.  An 820k walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela Spain.

The Spring Meeting of the Calgary Chapter, Canadian Company of Pilgrims
will be held at Good Shepherd Anglican Church (408 – 38 Street SW, Calgary)
on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30).
Everyone  welcome – light refreshments served – tapas/wine gratefully accepted.

If you have been following the blog for a while you will remember that Bill and I walked the Camino in the Fall of 2012, there are many stories and photos already on the blog.  If you are in the Calgary Area, and interested in learning more about the Camino please join us.  There are many people who attend these meetings with knowledge that is both interesting and helpful if you are thinking of doing the walk

 

Vanishing moments – and the Camino to Santiago

 

”We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory.”     Henri Cartier-Bresson

travelling the Camino to Santiago, walking the many miles, brought the point of Vanishing moments back to me every so clearly…….

Camino way marker, yellow arrow

Camino way marker, yellow arrow  

scallop shell marker

scallop shell street marker  

PilgrimYield Sign

Pilgrim Yield Sign

Pilgrim at the Cross

Pilgrim at the Cross

 

once we passed a sign, I wasn’t in a hurry to walk back again to take a picture; if I thought too long about what caught my attention I would miss the moment that spoke to me. These are just a couple of the sites and signs we saw and photographed while on the Camino to Santiago.  The were route markers everywhere that was needed, not so often they cluttered the view, but often enough we knew which road to take.  In Pamplona we saw the steel scallop shells every 100 feet, other cities were equally well-marked; we saw the yield signs when we had to cross a major road or highway where we might encounter vehicle traffic;  and we saw the long rock arrows on the Meseta, the flat plains of Spain.

 

 

 

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The Church of Portal of San Juan Bautista_Obanos Spain, along the Camino to Santiago de Compostella

Church Portal, San Juan Bautista_Obanos Spain

Obanos is about 20 kilometers from Pamplona, along the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, the French Route. I learned recently that the French Route of the Camino to Santiago has the UNESCO World Heritage Designation. Every year thousands of people from all over the world travel the camino.

It was mid afternoon when we arrived in the little town, the streets were quiet and I am sure the local people were all having their siesta. The beautiful old Gothic Church sits in the main square, in front of the Nuestra Señora de Arnotegui Shrine. The sculpted portal depict stories from the Bible to the pilgrims who walked the Camino a thousand years ago, now worn by time and weather speaks to the heritage of the church in these communities.

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Guest post: Walking the Camino de Santiago – by Janice Meyers Foreman

The HitchHikers’s Handbook has published a story and photos written about the Camino:  check out their site:

Guest post: Walking the Camino de Santiago – by Janice Meyers Foreman.

Besides my guest-post you will find plenty of helpful information for world wide travel.  Good information for the traveller.

Leon Cathedral

Leon cathedral

Leon’s Gothic Cathedral, filled with stunning stained glass.  We were told that about 70% of it is original. In the early 1900′s a renovation of the Cathedral almost destroyed this great building. We are glad it is still around to admire. This image was taken with a fish-eye lens.  I was teased for bringing it with me on the 800 kilometre walk, one more thing that really wasn’t needed.  For the few times I used it, I was more than willing to carry it.

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day 37, cold and wet in Galicia…..

cold wet day on the Camino_Galicia Spain  

we travelled from Portomarin to Palas de Rei, 24.9 k according to the guide-book, and it seems the camino has saved all the rainy days for our last few days!  cold with a high of about 16 C. it rained or was misty a good deal of the morning, with the sun coming out periodically during the afternoon.  It was hard to be inspired to take photos. Rainy day camino path pictures have been showing up quite a bit on the blog!

We did pass this one barn, the doors were open and the cows were watching the soggy pilgrims walk by, is it me or do I see a sympathetic gaze in their eyes.

With our heads down we march forward through the rain to the next town, knowing our trip will be over soon. We are hoping the weather will be better tomorrow.

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Leon Cathedral, Leon Spain

Leon Cathedral, Leon Spain

After yesterday’s festival the streets of Leon were quiet today, I am sure there is much more going on this evening!  Today we had time to see the Gothic Cathedral, built between the 13th and 14th centuries, it is the  over 1800 square meters of medieval stained glass.

Leon Cathedral, Leon Spain

choir stall, relief carving, Leon Cathedral

Fresco Painting, Leon Cathedral, Leon Spain

So much has been written about the cathedral, I specifically remember someone writing that I would get a creak in my neck from gazing up at the vaulted ceiling, the beautiful stained class windows, relief carvings and fresco painting. They were right, while some restorations is taking place, and there is still much to do, it is one of those magnificant works of architeture and are that everyone should visit.