The Camino de Santiago was beautiful. In the event, the choice to take two weeks to become gradually re-accustomed to cities, large numbers of people, and motorized transport proved most fortunate. It seems very strange to think, on the one hand, that the time of walking took only just three weeks; but it also seems strange to reflect on how much has happened in the world, and the various communities I left behind, in that time.
The concept and practice of pilgrimage shelters a number of strange ideas and strange practices. I do feel that I had many experiences which can be communicated only with difficulty, if at all. But although there was much about walking the camino that seemed mystical, and the transcendent came in unexpected ways, it also felt like the most natural thing in the world. I'm already feeling as though I'm sounding either sententious or impenetrable, or possibly both. So I'm going to stop writing and post some pretty pictures.
The Cistercian nunnery of Las Huelgas, outside Burgos: day one. I will try to exercise restraint in the number of photos posted so that scrolling through this blog post does not unpleasantly recall childhood memories of being held captive by aunts to look at photographs on sunny Sunday afternoons (or similar situations.)
In the first week or so of walking, we passed farms,
small villages,
Details. Observation at the speed of walking is a beautiful thing. I felt only gradually that I was learning it, and I'd like not to unlearn it.
We reached Leon, with its cathedral:
We were shown kindness by many men resembling these friends. One of them took us into his house and gave us water because the village fountain was broken (en ruinas!)
More details:
About two weeks in, there came the glorious day when we started out with this snow-capped mountain on our left, and ended with it on our right. That was exciting.
It was cherry season. One day as we were walking through orchards, a man pruning cut a branch full of ripe fruit and handed it to us, wishing us buen camino. Fruit and kindness both provided refreshment.
We walked up a mountain and into a cloud...
...and, the next day, walked down and out of it again.
Towards the end of the trip we had three days of rain.
...and it felt like it, too.
Großartig, dass Du den Jakobsweg gelaufen bist, und kein Wunder, dass es schwer fällt, die Erfahrungen und Begegnungen wiederzugeben. Die Geschichte mit den Opernfreunden auf dem Jakobsweg gefällt mir besonders gut! Hast Du schon das Buch "Ich bin dann mal weg!" von Hape Kerkeling gelesen?
ReplyDeleteDas Buch habe ich noch nicht gelesen, obwohl ich Positives und Negatives darueber gehoert habe. Wenn ich es in einer Bibliothek hier finden koennte, wuerde ich es gern mal lesen.
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