Issues, ethics, memory
(September 20) We sleep in a bit this morning and get a later start than usual. We now have less concern about walking in the early afternoon because the high temperatures are in the 20s and today there is a stiff breeze. In the evenings now we have to wear long sleeves and a fleece.... Continue Reading →
(September 21) We ended yesterday in the town of Mansilla de las Mulas but today we decided to take a cab into Leon, 18 kilometres down the road. That spares us the walk along a busy highway into the city and will allow us to spend a full day in León and to visit its famous... Continue Reading →
(September 22) We begin today by taking a comfortable bus out of Leon for about 40 minutes to a town called Hospital Del Orbigo. We are dropped off at the highway and walk into the old town in search of the most famous of the surviving Roman bridges along the Camino. It spans the Rio... Continue Reading →
(September 23) Pilgrims have been walking the Camino since at least the ninth century. There is a long history of pilgrimages in the Catholic Church but this one celebrating St. James (Santiago in Spanish) has its own unique set of drivers. Origins of the Camino The reasons for pilgrimages are supposedly religious -- to petition... Continue Reading →
(September 24) We left the pleasant town of Astorga yesterday in the early morning darkness and headed toward the mountains, climbing from 900 to 1100 metres along the way. We ended the day in the tiny and hospitable village of Rabanal whose population is listed as being 60. A long climb We spent much of... Continue Reading →
(September 25) We are in the lovely mountain town of Villfranca this evening but I want to go back to yesterday in Molinaseca where we stayed in a hotel called El Palacio. There are a lot of people on the Camino this month so I have been calling ahead to arrange accommodation. I always tell... Continue Reading →
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) will release its final report into the history and legacy of Indian residential schools on June 2. There is very little suspense about what the three commissioners think about the schools: they were an aggressively assimilationist policy at best and genocidal at worst. That much was signalled... Continue Reading →
(September 26) We use a book called A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago. Its author John Brierley claims that today’s walk of 36 kilometres, adjusted to include the ascent, is one of the most difficult on the Camino. It is. Steep climb at Villafranca We begin in Villafranca just at sunup and immediately... Continue Reading →
(September 28) I have a theory not shared by my partner Martha that indecision often works out for the best. We began this day in a town called Triacastella about 20 kilometres shy of a city called Sarria which has a population of 13,500. We sleep in a bit this (Sunday) morning and I am... Continue Reading →
(September 29) This morning we leave Sarria for Portomarin 22 kilometres down the road. Many pilgrims begin their journey at Sarria because one must hike this last distance of about 113 kilometres to have your pilgrimage officially recognized. As a consequence, there are noticeably more pilgrims on the trail today. At one point, I count... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 