A Day On A Path
Week of May 18
Six walking days – 15.32 miles
Decided to eat humble pie and use my sticks. I could tell a few differences: didn’t need to watch the ground so closely- improved posture, cadence was more uniform, could tell pressure was less on my hip joints. And my brain perked up. Oh! I remember this. We’re walking!
Week of May 11
Seven walking days – 14.44 miles total
I have 20 weeks to prepare for the Camino. Starting SLOW and finishing with three ten-mile days in the hills with my pack.
Here’s the plan.
We now register via an internet form as a Spain requirement. We receive a QR code and will present the code at lodgings instead of presenting our passport.
Pilgrim Passport Registration Form
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Since December 2, 2024, Spanish law requires all users of accommodation (casa rural, Rbnb, etc. … and ALBERGUES) to register upon arrival. In order to facilitate this formality, a company has created the PilgrimPass.
Spring is here! Temps range from day to day – 75 to 30 to 60 to 40 and it looks like up to 80 in a week. The wind has been strong enough to blow entire buildings to the next state. But.. winter is over, and I look forward to getting my Camino legs back. Slowly. Steadily. I have six months to get ready. I’m ready!
I see that I’ve not posted since May. As of today, all is well with me! I am no longer in ongoing medical treatment – just the usual annual check-ups we all do + annual scans and bloodwork with the oncologist. Had a couple of surgeries in August and will be deemed fully recovered from those as of the first week of December.
Total about 326 Km / 203 miles
With travel and rest/tourist days – 30 days.
After several frustrating days of dealing with Chase Sapphire travel & Air France, Air France has decided to void the voucher I was going to use for the May/June Germany trip. So, I won’t be on the Mosel Camino this spring.
It costs very little to get to Germany once I’m in Portugal/Spain, so I may still go after I finish the Camino Portuguese (from Porto) and the Camino Inglés (from A Coruña). The Portuguese is about two weeks walking and the Inglés is only 5 days. I feel my chapter of European walks is coming to a close, so I may take this opportunity. Even if I’m not up for walking the Mosel Camino – I would enjoy seeing that part of the world. Pondering.
Direct flight: Porto to Luxemburg is $43.00 USD
“San Fernando Cathedral was founded on March 9, 1731 by a group of 16 families who came from the Canary Islands at the invitation of King Phillip V of Spain and is the oldest, continuously functioning religious community in the State of Texas.” https://sfcathedral.org/our-history
A good night’s sleep and Marie and I were ready to explore a bit of downtown. The cathedral was less than two blocks from our hotel.
“The Bexar County Courthouse is the largest and oldest continuously operated historic courthouse in Texas1. It was designed by James Riely Gordon in the Romanesque Revival style1. Construction began in 1891 and was fully completed in 18962. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 19772. The Courthouse currently functions as the county seat of Bexar County“
A perfect San Antonio ending. Dinner on the Riverwalk. There’s Marie, studying the menu.
“Named in honor of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and Juan de Acuña, the beautiful stone church known as Mission Concepción was originally founded in 1716, and transferred to the San Antonio River area in 1731.
The church is considered by many historians as the oldest unrestored church in the United States. It is a National Historic Landmark, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is home to an active Catholic community in San Antonio.” https://www.missionconcepcion.org/our-church
I didn’t get photos inside because there was a guide and a bunch of tourists in the pews. And because I was so tired that I forgot!
The Pilgrimage Center is attached to Mission Concepción by a patio. I was so excited to arrive – and so tired! That I forgot to take pictures. But here it is: https://caminosanantonio.org/pilgrimage-center/
Mendy carried my pack in her Nomad trailer both days, but at this point, we had to transfer the pack to Marie’s e-tricycle and Mendy rode back to the hotel, packed up her car, and headed to a park campsite to finish a couple of days of camping and hiking.
The Mission
“
The Rose Window
“The Rose Window is known as the premier example of Spanish Colonial ornamentation in the United States. Its sculptor and significance continue to be a mystery. Folklore credits Pedro Huizar, a carpenter and surveyor from Spain, with carving the famous window as a monument to his sweetheart, Rosa. Tragically, on her way from Spain to join him, Rosa was lost at sea. Pedro then completed the window as a declaration of enduring love.
A less romantic, but more likely theory is that the window was named after Saint Rose of Lima, the first saint of the New World.” https://www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/sanjose.htm
Mission San Jose