Travel Day

Transitioning from work to play can take some time…leaving to the One Who Knows people, places and situations that are dear to me is not always easy, as I still live under the illusion that there just possibly might be something I could do to fix, or at best, alleviate the suffering. However, thankfully rescued from my albeit best intentions, our flight from Malta (work) to England (transition) and then onto Spain (vacation) was booked, paid for and definitely leaving without me if I chose to stay behind, forcing me to let the God Who Can do what alas, I cannot.

Before focusing on this particular event in our lives, indulge me some musings before I begin…

Some, if not most, of the time I feel that I live inside a book of never-ending chapters full of adventures that consistently surprise me at every turn. Yesterday I was talking and listening to Christian heroes who live under threat of persecution (i.e., death) gathered for a reprieve at a conference in Malta, and yet here I am today donning hiking boots and backpack flying off to Spain for vacation. Yes, it’s true. My head and heart sometimes get left behind in the transitions of my life, yet, I am intent today to focus both sincerely and securely where I look down and see my feet are situated…and today that is with my beloved going on a long distance walking vacation…again.

This time we are walking the famous Camino de Santiago. Many people from all over the world seek this pilgrimage and for various reasons. Originally, and perhaps even now it is also known as the Way of St. James. There are varied routes to the shrine of the apostle James located in the Cathedral of Santiago in northwestern Spain depending on where you are coming from, the most famous one from France. Tradition says that the remains of the apostle James were buried there because of his time spent sharing the Gospel in this region of Spain. Many people take this pilgrimage as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth; others, it’s a goal of physical triumph to walk the entire 491 mile route. The path we have chosen is the Camino de Portugal (372 miles). Why this route? The road less traveled, mostly as due to its popularity the French route has become quite congested with pilgrims! Although hardly qualifiers to be called true camino pilgrims who are seeking special grace because of the maybe’s of mystical power in the maybe remains of the apostle James, I would still hold that we are indeed pilgrims and definitely pilgrims in pursuit God, his presence and most definitely his grace.

However, the decision to walk the camino was easily made as we have a few days in between a work assignment in Malta and one in East Africa, and home being too far to go for such a quick turnaround, what better than to seize the moment for a long distance walk.

Logistically, because of time, and if I were to admit perhaps physical wonderings as to completion as well, we are limiting ourselves to the last 100+km of the 600km route. We will begin in Valenca and end at yes, the end, the coup de gras at the great cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

So, here are a few photos from transition day:

First a flight from London to Madrid:

And, then, “Yes! Espana!!”

When we finally got to Tui it was well worth the long day of travel!! After winding our way up the steep granite block road to the neighborhood bar for a quick bite, we were shocked to wake up to this:

The Mino River…from our attic room at the tippy top of an old Spanish stone home, where Roger spent most of the time with “his head between his knees” because the ceilings were so low and slanted. 😉

A glimpse into our near future…

We will be following shells, yellow painted shells and/or arrows from one point to another…like little breadcrumbs dropped by former pilgrims leading us to our final destination. Why shells?

Evidently the scallop shells are easily found on the beach in this region of Spain. They have been the symbol traditionally of the Camino de Santiago because of people assigning mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings to them. Practically, they can be used to scoop water from the many water “fountains” or spigots along the Way. Metaphorically, the scallop shell has grooves in it which look like a fan, but all meet at a single point (i.e., Santiago). The shell also represents God’s hand guiding each of us to our final destination like the waves that gently wash the scallop shells onto the shores of Galicia, the entire northwest region of Spain where Santiago de Compostela is located.

Of significance is that many pilgrims wear a shell on their backpack to note to others that yes indeed, I am a fellow sojourner on my way to Compostela.

Some of the types of markers along the Camino that we’ve seen so far: