Issues, ethics, memory
(September 10) Tonight we are comfortably housed in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a charming town of 6,600. It has its share of accommodation for pilgrims, some of it dating back to the 11th century. The Cistercian nuns run a crowded albergue with a shaded terrace and garden but we noticed in our guide... Continue Reading →
(September 12) Tonight we are in a tiny village called Ages located four days of walking and about 100 kilometres beyond Logrono. Yesterday we passed from Spain’s smallest autonomous region, La Rioja, into its largest Castilla y Leon and we stayed in Belorado, population 2000. Belorado sits at less than 800 metres but today we... Continue Reading →
(September 13) Tonight we are in Burgos, population 150,000 and we have decided take a rest day after 10 days and more than 200 kilometres on the trail. We have about 500 kilometres remaining to reach Santiago de Compostela. We left the tiny and run down village of Ages early and in the dark this... Continue Reading →
(September 14) After the tranquility of the countryside, our guidebook warns about the hustle and bustle in Burgos (population 180,000), not to mention the possibility of being overcharged or becoming the victims of theft. Actually, we are pleased to be in a city for a day or two where we walk less than on other... Continue Reading →
(September 15) We leave Burgos early this morning and before long we are on the meseta, the large central upland plateau that covers much of the Iberian Peninsula. The meseta is in some ways similar to the high rolling prairie in the Swift Current or Maple Creek area of southern Saskatchewan. We left the mountains... Continue Reading →
(September 16) I have on this trip encountered two lovely women named Pilar. The name is a common and traditional one in Spain. There is even a Day of Pilar to celebrate an occasion back in 40 AD when the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to the apostle St. James (Santiago) when he... Continue Reading →
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has released a summary of its final report into the history and legacy of Indian residential schools. The first paragraph in the Introduction describes Canada’s entire Aboriginal policy and its implementation as “cultural genocide.” The TRC defines that term as “the destruction of those structures and practices... Continue Reading →
(September 17) We leave the tiny village of Boadilla del Camino well before sunrise this morning, planning to get most of the day's hike completed prior to about noon, when it gets hot. Martha has a small headlamp to show the way in the dark but the Camino signage, usually very good, is not so... Continue Reading →
(September 18) We leave Carrion de Los Condes early this morning for another day in the open country of the meseta and we walk for 27 kilometres, encountering only two small villages along the way. We end the day at a modern hotel just outside of tiny village called Terradillos de Los Templarios. Roman engineering... Continue Reading →
(September 19) We arrive in the village of Calzadilla de los Hermadillos this afternoon footsore and tired following a 27-kilometre walk through the meseta. The clouds gather and rain threatens just when we enter the village but fortunately the first building that we encounter is the Albergue Via Trajana where I had reserved a private... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 