Moving at a different pace
It wasn’t looking good. Anytime I checked the weather app it said rain. When I checked back a few minutes later, hoping against hope, it was only getting worse. The threat of thunder and lightning is certainly not the ideal circumstances for a 114km walk along the ancient and beautiful pilgrimage route toward Santiago de Compostella. Still with bags packed, water bottles filled, and enthusiasm unbridled we began our Camino from the sleepy town of Sarria just before dawn. It was to be the beginning of a wonderful adventure.
Excited to be heading off
Over the course of five days walking we experienced the profound satisfaction that is found each morning in the pair of dusty boots. It’s the freedom you find in walking to the horizon with the Sun dawning behind you and when you get to that horizon you walk on to the next. There are people of every stripe on the Way. Strangers from all over the world are somehow called together to be part of a pilgrimage route that’s well over a thousand years old and that can be traced to as far away as St. Petersburg in Russia. There is something special there. For me I believe it’s the Holy Spirit moving, challenging, encouraging pilgrims to take the journey inwards.
“Man does not live on bread alone.”
So much about what is special about the Camino takes place around food. It could be the café con leche in the morning, the evening’s pilgrim meal, or our tapas crawl when we finally arrived in Santiago. Despite the persistent threat of storms, we only had two days of rain towards the end of the journey. Even that didn’t dampen our spirits. We took part in the moving pilgrim Mass in the Cathedral and attended the Corpus Christi procession in the evening. Then it was off to the first of our tapas restaurants for mini goats cheese burgers and deep fried brie covered in almonds. You can feed the soul, but the body needs a bit of care too!
Additional photos by the amazing Mary O’Sullivan
The beauty of the Camino
Walking the Way at Dawn
The beauty of the Camino