Zabaldica 3

The literature that the Sisters hand out to visiting pilgrims states that the church was built in the 13th century.  So, let's say that the church is more or less 750 years old. There aren't many churches or buildings, for that matter, in Spain or Europe that are much older.  It's built in the Romanesque style which means round arches, massive walls and small windows.  The altar piece or retablo, is a later creation and is one of the styles present in Spanish churches.

Here we have Jesus at the top, Mary directly below and St. Esteban below her.  Also present are James, Archangel Michael and St. Francis.  Church art in the middle ages had several purposes.  One was to terrify the congregation with images of hellfire and damnation.  One was to incorporate pagan images and thus co-opt the belief systems that the church was trying to replace.  The churches of the Middle Ages were the Bible written in stone and glass.  Most people were illiterate and there were very few books around for those that could read.  So the churches filled the void by surrounding the faithful with images of the life of Jesus and the saints, heaven and hell and creation.  But back to the alburgue.  The Sisters think that the alburgue building is the same age as the church, 13th century.  They think that the alburgue was a medieval hospital on the on the Camino Frances.  Pilgrims would have visited the church for mass and found a bed and a meal next door.  So here I was following in their footsteps 750 years later.  Wow!

Zabaldica 2

I arrived in Zabaldica the day before I was supposed to start, or so I thought.  The two hospitaleras that preceded me apparently thought that since I was there on the 14th that meant that they were done.  Oh well, no matter.  The day started with a Spanish camino breakfast - toast, coffee, fruit and yogurt.  From experience, it was enough to get started on a 15 mile walk but also needed several coffee and snack stops.  My day began at 6:00 when a few of the more gung-ho pilgrims would be leaving the alburgue without breakfast.  By 8:00, everyone was gone and I could have my breakfast and then began cleaning.  Sweep everything, wash some sheets and pillow cases, clean two bathrooms and mop the kitchen floor.
Here is the dormitory with twelve beds.

Next on the agenda was shopping.  Assignment: buy enough food for anywhere from 2 to 18 people.  You have an hour and the sisters will give you money.  Sister Teresa's assignment was to take me shopping.  I had to make a very complete list because there would be no do-overs.  Sister usually had errands to do and was generous about giving me plenty of time to shop but I still felt pressured.  Everyone in the store was so helpful and patient with the tall gawky American that barely spoke Spanish.  I would buy two or three of everything that I needed because 18 people eat a lot of food.  Here is dinner:

So, people started arriving about 2:00 and usually by six everyone had found a place to stay.  The local parish priest did a mass at 6:30, dinner was at 7:30 and the
Sisters did a very nice blessing and sharing in the church at 8:30.  Then we loaded the dishwasher (yes, that's no typo) and went to bed.

This is the living room and the stairway to the dormitory.  More about this remarkable building and the church next.

Zabaldica

The camino is not just about walking although that is the part that is the best known.  It's also about eating and sleeping.  One of the oldest and most basic institutions along the camino are the albergues.  Albergue in Spanish means a shelter, refuge or lodging. We would recognize them as hostals.  On my first camino I met volunteers called hospitaleros that worked in albergues and I decided that I wanted to be a hospitalero some day.  Hospitalero as well as hospitality come from the word hospital which in the Middle Ages was a hotel for pilgrims, a place to sleep, eat and receive care on their pilgrimage.  Last winter I completed a three-day training session and then I was ready to volunteer.  Taking a deep breath, I sent the email asking for an assignment.  One of my choices was a small albergue near the beginning of the camino, east of Pamplona.  I had visited there but had not stayed overnight.  I knew that I would be the only hospitalero, there were 18 beds, I would have to make dinner and somehow do shopping in a nearby city because the village of Zabaldica had only about 20 inhabitants.  And I also knew that Zabaldica was a special place so I jumped for it.

That's the village where I was to live for the next two weeks.  The church steeple and bells are in the center.  The church is named for St. Esteban.  Both the church and the albergue are the responsibility of the Communidad de Sagrada Corazon de Jesus de Zabaldica.  It is a world-wide order of sisters known in English as the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Here are my "bosses", the four Hermanas of the community plus a soon-to-be Sister from China.

From left to right: Sisters Marisol, Mariasun, soon-to-be Sister Wei Lei, Sisters Teresa and Carmenchu.  

The entrance to the church in the morning before any pilgrims are up and about. More tomorrow.

Leon, Burgos and Pamplona

The next leg of my bus trip took me to Leon, a busy city of about 200,000 in north central Spain.  Another camino good deed - I found a small hotel but was it was too expensive so the woman at the desk me sent to one nearby that was half the price. Leon is home to one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Spain and it has recently been cleaned.

The travel literature says that the three great Gothic cathedrals in Spain are in Leon, Burgos and Sevilla.  Burgos was my next stop.  

The cathedral in Burgos is a more flamboyant style than Leon.  Both of these churches were built fairly quickly and so have a unity of style that is missing in other cathedrals.  What was quickly?  Thirty to forty years.  The great Spanish warrior El Cid is buried in this church.

One does not think about churches in Pamplona but rather bulls and Hemingway and the best tapas in Spain.  

This sculpture is located in the Plazas de Toros and the bullring is only two blocks away.  

Another of the great public spaces in Spain: Plaza del Castillo.  Across the way, the brown building is the Cafe Iruna, one of Ernest Hemingway's watering holes.  Every evening this plaza fills with people out for a walk or in search of dinner and refreshment.  The lazy bus riding is over.  Now it's time to walk and then work.

After the camino

I'm going to finish the blog of this trip even though I am now back in New Mexico.  I left you hanging several weeks ago because the keyboard on my pad quit.  I'll go back to Santiago to start again with a newly-revived keyboard.  I had arranged a volunteer job for two weeks at an alburgue just east of Pamplona.  I had five days to reach there so I decided to take all five days and do some sightseeing.  My first stop was Lugo, a small city in Galicia.  I had no guidebook so I was going to trust that I would find what I needed.  Lugo is also on a camino, the Camino Primativo, so I would likely find pilgrims.  Lugo also is a walled city.

This wall was built in the late 3rd century (late 200's) by the Romans.  Lugo was a major commercial center on one of the main roads in Iberia.  This wall circled the entire old city and must have been 2 miles (3 kilometers) in length.  The height varied between about 30-40 feet and it was wide enough to have a road on top.

Lugo is a beautiful, friendly city that gave me a very good first impression.   I was standing in a plaza trying to decide where to begin to look for a hotel when a Spanish man asked me if I needed help.  He then directed me to the pilgrim alburgue and my problem was solved.  That was the spirit of the camino.  The Spanish people could be hostile and greedy with so many pilgrims flooding into their towns.  But they remain kind, helpful and appreciative.

Santiago

This is the day!  I'll finally reach the Emerald City, Santiago.  Last night's alburgue was along the camino, not really even in a village.  Fortunately, there was a restaurant within walking distance.  In the late afternoon, I was talking with a young German man staying at the alburgue.  He spoke very good English as do most young Germans and had worked for six months in Chicago.  He invited me to dinner with the rest of the Germans.  We had a good meal and talked about Santiago.  Next day, I saw them on the way and again once when we reached the city.  We agreed to meet for dinner.  What a great irony that on the last day of the Camino Portugues, after walking through Portugal almost entirely alone, I found my camino "family".

To my left is Sabrina, Christian, Ignacio and Ignacio's daughter Flavia.

According to the guidebook, one of the oldest roadside crosses in Galicia.

Purple heather and yellow gorse.

The cathedral in Santiago de Compostella.  The scaffolding was going up on the left tower when I was first in Santiago in October 2013.  The entire west face of the church is being cleaned of centuries? of dirt and vegetation.  The left tower is beginning to emerge from the wrapping and it looks clean and new.  Of all the relics in the Christian church, this church has one of the most important.  In a silver case under the high altar are the remains of Santiago, cousin of Jesus, the Apostle James.

The Galician fog the next morning.  Santiago is a busy commercial city.  It is also the destination of at least a dozen caminos.  It has a restless energy as hundreds of pilgrims arrive every day, slightly bewildered for joyful, tearful reunions and then began to make plans to leave again to go back to their pre-camino lives.  It's a place for pilgrim families to reunite one more time before separating.  I'm making my own plans to leave on my bus trip east to begin the next phase of my camino.  Stay tuned.

Padron

Padron is the last major stop before Santiago and the camino history is very rich here.  First of all, just the facts, ma'am.  The Apostle James was the cousin of Jesus and the brother of John.  He was the fisherman that Jesus called to and challenged to become a fisher of men.  After the death of Jesus, all the disciples dispersed to preach. James travelled to the Iberian Penisula.  In 44 AD, he returned to Jerusalem and was promptly beheaded by Herod.  The rest is legend, not untrue just undocumented.  It's faith not fact.  It's what people believe which is different than what they know. Belief is powerful on the camino.  The followers of James put his body in a boat and sailed to Spain where he had done his preaching.  Padron is the spot where they made landfall and his body was buried near here (Santiago) and went undiscovered for almost 770 years.

A carved plaque in the church in Padron showing the journey with the body of James to Spain.

The legend - this where James first preached the gospel message.  It's on a hill above Padron.  

James may be the only apostle with three different incarnations.  He was one of the twelve disciples and cousin of Jesus.  Here he is as a pilgrim on the camino dressed in traditional pilgrim garb.

The third appearance of James is on a white horse swinging a sword.  The Moors invaded Iberia in 711 AD.  The Visigoths began the reconquest soon after.  A major victory for the Goths happened at a place called Clavijo when James appeared as a knight and rallied the Christian army.  He became known as Santiago Matamoros - James the Moor Slayer.  The statue above is in the church in Padron.

Caldas de Reis to Valga

The days seem to be running together.  The Galician countryside is green, wet and lush.  St. James and scallop shells are everywhere, on roadside crosses, chapels and churches.  I'll just put up some photos from the last two days to give readers a taste.

The hot water fountain in Caldas de Reis.  The water is supposed to be 100 degrees. Caldas was a Roman town known for it's healthy hot water - 2000 years ago!

Another view of the Roman bridge in Caldas de Reis.

Not many more churches, I promise.  But compare this Spanish church with the earlier blog photos of Portuguese churches.

The three rules for a pilgrimage are: eat, sleep and walk.  Dinner in Valga was a Parrillada restaurant about a block from the alburgue.  Parrillada is BBQ.  This was preceded by a beautiful lettuce salad.  

Pontevedra to Portela

I'm still following my plan to walk half of each day's walk in the guidebook.  Today's goal is a little village with a restaurant but no shop.  I also lost track of the day and since today is Sunday the grocery store will open late.  Plan B - find a bakery and stock up on empanadas in case of emergency.  So I start off and the rain stops and the rain gear comes of in stages.  By halfway, I'm almost dry.  The walk was mostly wooded, lots of eucalyptus.

There was a big gathering for mass at a country church.  There was also a very large cemetary with burial vaults decorated with flowers.

The alburgue in Portela.  This place and the six other pilgrims here for the night reminded me of my past caminos.  Sergio, the manager of this alburgue owned by the village, made dinner for us.  So my lack of food problem was taken care of.  The seven of visited about the camino and where we were from.  Sergio, in his wheelchair, managed to do the camino a few years ago.  

The parish church in Portela with more burial vaults to the right.

My two walking buddies from Portela to Caldas de Reis.  Notice the hot new camino style trend - garbage bag skirts and 1 Euro raincoats.  They are both from Holland and best friends and walked as slowly as I do.  At last!  Oh, too bad, they went on another 5 miles because they want to reach Santiago the next day.  This camino has been many things but it has not been the intense social experience of the first and second.

Arcade to Pontevedra

I actually don't mind the rain.  The temperature is 60-65 and so staying warm is no problem.  In fact, being too warm is a big problem because of lack of ventilation when wearing rain gear.  The walk to Pontevedra was easy and rainy and green and the camera stayed under cover.  The rain quit when I reached Pontevedra.

Lunch.  Look closely.  Polvo in Portuguese, pulpo in Spanish.  Yes, you guessed it - octopus.  There was a canopy set up on the sidewalk outside a bar.  A man and his wife were boiling pulpo and serving it with olive oil and seasoning.  So I sat down with a cold cervesa and had lunch.  What does it taste like?  Not chicken.  More like scallops or lobster, very firm and the suckers are nice and chewy.

The alburgue in Pontevedra.  Large, clean and very well organized and full.  I'm sitting in the dining room looking through the reception area to the dark cave dormitory in the distance.  I has a capacity of 56 and about half were mountain bikers.  

The Sanctuary of the Pilgrims.  This is a very unusual church and the floor plan is in the shape of a scallop shell.  Pontevedra is filled with camino symbols.  

A closer look at the tower of the church.  The three figures are all dressed in historic pilgrim attire: hat, staff and scallop shells.

The ponte vedra (old bridge) in Pontevedra.  I crossed it in the rain (sigh) on the way out of town.  

Redondela to Arcade

Another rainy day.  This is what life is like at the eastern end of the Gulf Stream. Warm water from the Gulf of Mexico that keeps Europe warm and wet.  The day was uneventful.  Every one passed me and lots of bicycles.  Hundreds of mountain bikers that all seem to riding in organized groups with numbers and shirts.

All scallop shells.  I haven't a clue who built it or when.  It is located at the top of a hill which are special places on the camino.  Closer to heaven, I suppose.

From the window of the alburgue looking down on Arcade.  I stopped and the owner said that he was full, only 10 beds, but that I could have his room and he would sleep on the couch.  That's the camino - hospitality and capitalism or as the Quakers used to say, do well be doing good.

The pilgrim bridge in Arcade.  It's wide enough for a car and a walker.  Tomorrow on to Pontevedra.

Porrino to Redondela

This will a short entry because I walked in rain the whole day.  When there is rain the camera finds a hiding place deep in the pack.

Another beautiful public space.  This is between rain showers.  Spain and Portugal have put a lot of space, time and money into creating very people-centered environments.  The key was the money, a lot of which came the European Union and flowed from the richer countries to the poorer.  

The building in the center is the government alburgue in Redondela.  It is a incredible remodel of a 16th century manor tower house.  The lower part behind is the dormitory which sleeps 42 and is a bit tight for space.

It rained all day and so everyone was wet.  Wearing rain gear usually means not getting wet from the rain but getting soaked by sweat.  So, we have no choice to hang our wet gear anywhere and everywhere to dry.

Next morning.  Still raining, rained all night.  If I drink another cup of coffee, will it slow down, maybe quit?  Not likely.  Well, then, I'm off.

 

 

Tui to Porrino

Today will be the real test.  I have decided to walk half stages according to the guidebook.  That shortens the distance and gets me away from the crowds, if there are crowds.  After the first few weeks of this camino, ten people would be a crowd. The day started cool and foggy.

Leaving Tui, pilgrims have an encouraging sign about their progress.  Bom Caminho looks and sounds like Portuguese but this is Spain so it's Galician, which is closer to Portuguese than Spanish.  The "nh" in Portuguese is the same sound as the "ll" in Spanish, i.e. "y".  The distance to Santiago is 114 kilometers which is about 70 miles.

These structures are all over Spain and Portugal.  They were used for washing clothes.  There is always fresh water flowing into the tank from a spring.  I can imagine they were once the social center of every village.

Here is the man himself, Santiago, St. James, in his traditional pilgrim garb: a floppy hat with a scallop shell attached, a long wool coat and a staff with a drinking gourd tied to the top.  

A roadside shrine.  Similar to the descansos in New Mexico which mark the place that someone died.  These seem to be found at crossroads and are more of a reminder for the faithful.

The alburgue in Porrino.  It has 50 beds in three dormitories.  The government of Galicia has built these just for pilgrims on the Camino Portuguese, Frances and del Norte.  They are beautiful, clean and well-organized but often somewhat lacking in heart and soul.  Good news - I feel fine.