From Swampscott to Santiago de Compostela

After completing the Camino most pilgrims attend a pilgrim mass in the impressive Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. These are held daily at noon and 8pm. We attended three of these services and they were all standing room only in this huge building. It would be nice if the mass of humanity was there purely for spiritual reasons. However, we suspect many in the crowd of pilgrims and tourists were there solely to see the spectacle of the lighting and swinging of the Botafumeiro.  This 120 pound silver-plated incense burner is often, but not always, swung at the end of the mass. You can see the Botafumeiro circled in red below. The white netting above it is protection from ongoing restoration work above it. When the Botafumeiro is swung it is quite a sight! First it is lowered and filled with burning incense. It is controlled by a huge rope and 8 men. You can see the lowered Botafumeiro and the controlling rope in this annotated picture. Then the 8 men start a ca...

The most important thing on the Camino is to take care of your feet. Walking day after day for miles and miles can really take a toll on your feet and toes. It is important to prevent blisters if at all possible. And if you do get a blister, the right bandage can keep you walking. We had an evolving morning ritual, developed by trial and error. It seemed to work for us so we thought we would share it. Ian religiously followed it from the start and had no blisters. Pam was initially a bit lax. And she paid the price, earning  blisters on each foot. Her blisters had blisters after the first few days, then she too got some religion!  Putting our boots on took a while! It wasn't simply a matter of pulling on some socks, slipping into our boots and walking out the door.  Step 1. Apply adhesive moleskin, cut to fit, or generic bandages to potential hotspots. Use Bandaid Blister Gel Guards to cover existing blisters. These provide great cushioning and last...

Some pilgrims continue walking after reaching Santiago de Compostela. Often these hardy souls will go another 50+ miles to either Finisterre or Muxia, both on the Atlantic coast. These sites are symbolic ends of the journey. Finisterre (translated "the end of the land") was once considered the edge of the known world in pre-Christian times. Muxia is the site of the Virxe da Barca (translated "the Virgin of the Boat") Church.  We had never planned on visiting either place. But since we ended up in Santiago early we decided to see them while we had the time. Today we booked a trip with Discover Galicia that visited both Finisterre and Muxia. The Atlantic coast in northwest Spain, where the region of Galicia is located, is stunningly beautiful. While the water is frigid the beaches are covered in fine white sand. Other places have dramatic rocky shorelines. And everywhere the sea is an amazing aqua blue. Camino markers in Spain use Cape Finisterre as t...

It wasn't quite the way we envisioned it. Instead of walking into the city we took a train from Pontevedra. But it was still a moving day. The old part of the town is small with many narrow and twisty streets. We decided to just wander and soak up the atmosphere rather than head straight for the cathedral. Many of the streets have covered galleries that make the city feel quite ancient. After losing ourselves, we could tell we were getting close. Suddenly we turned a corner and were in the square with the side entrance to the cathedral. We had arrived! Because of renovations the front entry is currently closed. But it was still exciting to cross the small square and finally enter the church. Inside we marveled at the architecture. We also visited the Tomb of St. James. It is thought that the silver reliquary contains the bones of the disciple James who was called by Jesus at the lake shore (Mk. 1:19-20). James later traveled to Spain after Jesus' de...

Well, Pam is slowly emerging from the foggy darkness of gastroenteritis. The fever has lifted, a small appetite has developed, and the waves of discomfort are far less severe.  Today we needed to decide if there was any way she would be strong enough to walk tomorrow, and that was clearly a "No". While she is in good spirits and improving health, it will take time to fully recover, never mind being ready to walk 15 miles a day.  So, unfortunately our walking of "The Way of Saint James" has come to an abrupt end... for this year at least.  We will skip the remaining three stages of our walk and take the train to Santiago de Compestella on Wednesday.  That will allow Pam to grow in strength and appetite in the comfortable surroundings here in Pontevedra and then in a well-reviewed hotel in Santiago. Ian pursues a pilgrimage of a different sort with daily mass in church buildings from different centuries, espresso, beer, or food on the shady sides of sun-...

We should have stopped and prayed at the Bridge of Fevers yesterday! Perhaps it would have saved us the trouble to come... On the outskirts of Tui the Camino passes over a small, medieval bridge. Yesterday, we just strode over it without another thought. Other pilgrims had stopped and we thought they were just taking a quick break. There was a stone cross. But we've been passing dozens of stone crosses every day. Later we found out why this was called the Bridge of Fevers.  Saint Elmo (San Telmo locally) is a big deal in Tui. We even saw his hand carried processional platform topped with his statue when we visited the Cathedral. We had just missed his festival and parade. It was last week and the flowers surrounding him were still fresh. Saint Elmo (called Peter Gonzalez then) died on his way back from a pilgrimage to Santiago in 1246. He too walked the Camino.  He fell ill and died of a fever by a bridge where the cross now stands - now named "the...

It was a beautiful and cool morning when we set out. We had started early because it was forecasted to reach 80 degrees in the late afternoon. We wanted (and managed) to be done walking early and enjoy a siesta during the heat of the afternoon. Along the way we found an interesting stone sculpture with a traditional pilgrim  silhouette carved out of it.  Later we came upon a local biking group. They had stopped on a medieval bridge to have a pilgrim take their picture. Pam was reminded of her weekly biking group that would have posed for the same type of photo.  Pilgrims have been walking from Tui to Santiago for about a thousand years. The roadside shrines are so old they are weathered and rather creepy. We passed what we thought were grapevines. But when we looked closer the leaves and tree-shape didn't seem right. It turns out they were kiwi trees! Kiwi  fruit is a popular for breakfast and grown throughout this region.  ...

Today we really took it easy. By the time we left the hotel it was Spanish siesta time. We didn't realize it was such a big thing. The city felt deserted and practically all the businesses and tourist sites were closed. We found a cafe that was open though. After a slow bite to eat, other businesses began to open. When the nearby Cathedral opened we went and had a visit. It was huge and was built in the 12th century. It has a beautiful cloister - which Ian loved. It also had interesting old sculptures. Pam liked the lion with a metal tongue. Tomorrow we continue walking. We hope our bodies are well rested and ready for the next stages through Spain.

We are in Spain! In the late afternoon we crossed the Minho River from Valenca, Portugal, to Tui, Spain. In the middle of the bridge we had our feet in both countries. The temperature was in the 70s and it was sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. It made it hot for walking. All the miles were catching up with us so we were really dragging. We have walked over some pretty old bridges the last few days, including this Roman one. We also passed a fun signpost. We figured out we must be half way on our journey.  The sign said it was 135 kilometers to Santiago and the same to Porto. The Portuguese love their Kale. It is a staple ingredient in the creamy soup they have about twice a day. Every garden we have passed has Kale planted in it. We have seen gone to seed remnants from last year and newly planted beds. They also use almost every inch of space in their gardens.   They also have a sense of humor. We laughed when we saw these...