Scallop Shell Ornament
Sign for St. James Garlickhythe, London
©EOP
This blog began as a general overview of pilgrimage designed for use with some courses I taught on that subject. Until now it has been comprehensive, covering numerous pilgrimages in various religious traditions in many different parts of the world. For the next several months it shall be limited to commentary on el Camino de Santiago de Compostela as I prepare to make, and then once again walk, for the third time, the venerable pilgrimage route, the Camino Frances, to the purported tomb of the Apostle .
It is with considerable trepidation that I anticipate beginning in less than than a month the walk across Northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. While I look upon this trek as more a research expedition than a pilgrimage per se, I shall walk from Pamplona to Santiago in 32 days. As I last walked from Oloron and Somport to Santiago, leaving home shortly after the events of 11 September 2001, I am intensely curious about how things may have changed. I am especially interested in how the city of Santiago de Compostela has changed in the past decade since I last walked the Camino and over the decades since I first visited that pilgrim destination in the far northwest of Spain in the 1970s. It is now not just the site of the shrine, an archbishopric and an ancient university but also the administrative capital of autonomous Galicia and a European cultural center. Changes which may have occurred in the smaller communities along the Camino and in the characteristics of those who elect to make the pilgrimage are also of interest. With plans to teach and write about pilgrimage now that I have more time for the subject, I am in a materials collection mode!
It is with considerable trepidation that I anticipate beginning in less than than a month the walk across Northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. While I look upon this trek as more a research expedition than a pilgrimage per se, I shall walk from Pamplona to Santiago in 32 days. As I last walked from Oloron and Somport to Santiago, leaving home shortly after the events of 11 September 2001, I am intensely curious about how things may have changed. I am especially interested in how the city of Santiago de Compostela has changed in the past decade since I last walked the Camino and over the decades since I first visited that pilgrim destination in the far northwest of Spain in the 1970s. It is now not just the site of the shrine, an archbishopric and an ancient university but also the administrative capital of autonomous Galicia and a European cultural center. Changes which may have occurred in the smaller communities along the Camino and in the characteristics of those who elect to make the pilgrimage are also of interest. With plans to teach and write about pilgrimage now that I have more time for the subject, I am in a materials collection mode!
Today a nurse who gave me a vaccination (tetanus, a little overdue in what should be a once in 10 year cycle) asked “do you think you can do it?” I think I can, but I am not in the condition I was in 10 years ago, especially after a broken ankle 18 months ago. At age 66, now living in the hideous climate of Northern Virginia where the July just ended was the hottest ever recorded, getting in condition has proven a challenge. A 10 day visit to the Pacific Northwest in early August provided excellent weather but all too little time for practice walking. I think I can walk 18-30 km days with several hundred meters of climbing on a number of those days, but I do worry a little that I cannot do it. My response is to plan for shorter days and, a real cheat, to pay for my pack to be carried between stops.
That should allow lots of time to take notes, to talk with peregrinos and others along the route, and to take lots of photos. I plan to use this blog to post comments and photos while enroute. I had thought I might carry a small computer or iPad, but I think I shall limit myself to an iPhone and occasional cyber cafes, so postings may come at irregular intervals. Before I depart I plan several postings on issues of preparation, information sources, and some random thoughts about the peculiar human institution of pilgrimage.
That should allow lots of time to take notes, to talk with peregrinos and others along the route, and to take lots of photos. I plan to use this blog to post comments and photos while enroute. I had thought I might carry a small computer or iPad, but I think I shall limit myself to an iPhone and occasional cyber cafes, so postings may come at irregular intervals. Before I depart I plan several postings on issues of preparation, information sources, and some random thoughts about the peculiar human institution of pilgrimage.
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