Category: Camino Routes

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El Camino de San Antonio Missions

Tres Peregrinas

Mendy Smith (L) Me and Marie Scott Marks

Marie and I spent our childhoods together. I was ten and she was eight when I moved to the neighborhood. Mendy’s dad & his family lived two doors down from Marie. I am 76.

The walk is through “four eighteenth century Spanish Missions and the oldest functioning Cathedral in Texas. San Antonio is the only place outside Europe that you can officially begin walking the El Camino de Santiago.” El Camino de San Antonio Missions

The Path

Pay attention to the path options. Google likes to take you along high-traffic roadways and not-so-scenic byways. We paused frequently and assessed our options. Opting for neighborhoods and the Riverwalk path added a few miles, but was absolutely worth it.

Lodging

There ain’t none.
If you want to walk from the hotel to the path (and back to a hotel), count on adding another 8-10 miles to the day. Our first day was about 12 miles and the second day, about 15 miles because we walked back/forth to hotels.

Breaks and food

Benches are along the riverwalk. There are no cafes or places to eat, so bring your snacks/lunch/water with you. One detour we took through a neighborhood brought us by a service station and convenience store, but that was a chance happening.

Day One. Start and finish at the hotel. The dark blue is a random auto trip. Light blue is our path.
Day Two. Finished at our hotel on the Riverwalk.
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Why we walk the Camino

I read this post on one of the Camino Facebook groups, and the author gave me permission to copy it here.

Why we walk the Camino by Kirk Springer

A coworker asked me why people walk the camino. I answered every person has their own reason – some happy, some sad, some simply for the adventure. As I was walking this morning, my memories took me back to my first service in the cathedral at Santiago. We all meet pilgrims along the way, seeing them here and there and building a pilgrim community. Sometimes in the conversations, others will reveal the reason for their pilgrimage.

As service was about to start, a friend from Brazil pulled me aside to talk for a minute, and when I returned, I had lost my seat and was now several pews behind my pilgrim family. My eyes touched the back of their heads and I thought of their stories: this woman’s husband recently died of a heart attack, next to her is a younger woman who’s husband succumbed to cancer in his early 40s. Here is a priest who has taken off the cloth for a sabbatical and is walking as one of us to renew his strength. Here is an Australian actor, hoping to jump the pond and become a Hollywood superstar, who has shot a pilot in L.A. and is now burning nervous energy while he waits for the results. Here is a mother with a neurological disease who has only months until she is confined to a wheelchair, walking with her daughter for one last Hurrah. So many stories, so many reasons to be there.

And as I looked at them, I thought, “We all did it. We walked 500 miles through snow, rain, sunny days, laughs and tears so we could sit here before God.”

I wept. The girl beside me asked why, and when I shrugged, she started weeping too. The Australian actor asked what was wrong with us, and when we both shrugged, his face turned red as he struggled – but he wiped away the tears and said, “Nope. Not going to do it.” And he moved to another pew.

It was such a beautiful moment. To rephrase a classic quote, “There are a million stories on the camino.” Every day more are added.

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Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica

The cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, the apostle of Jesus Christ. It is also one of the only three remaining churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus, the other two being St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai in India. Wiki.

Groundbreaking1075
Completed1211

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela_Cathedral
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Rest Day in Santiago de Compostela

There is much to see and do here, but I’m only taking one day before walking on to the Camino Finisterre. This is a day of rest and of tending to small tasks: a trip to the Pilgrim’s Office for my Camino Finisterre credential, laundry, farmacia for magic Spanish ibuprofen.
I slept until 8:15, toddled down the street for cafe con leche and fresh-squeezed orange juice then stepped a little more lively further down the street for huevos fritas and pan. Now, I’m back in bed working up the energy to shower and start my day. Maybe I’ll be out and about by noon!

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A surprise welcoming

Lars ( Germany) This fellow was hanging out in front of the Santiago cathedral awaiting my arrival. We took a picture on his phone, but I don’t have it yet. This photo was taken in Leon.
He gifted me a pretty tube for my Compostela, took me to the location and explained the Compostela-getting process. Then he was off to hail a cab and head home. What a special surprise!

Lars in Leon
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Italian Pilgrims from Rome

Alberto , 73 and son, Damiano with his girlfriend, Valentina.
Met this great family at the top of a hill somewhere while we caught our breath. Alberto is retired military and was well-prepared & trained for this walk. The “kids” didn’t have much time to train, so in the early days, they were getting pretty sore. Damiano is an IT healthcare software designer with a pharmacy solution and Valentina is a doctor. Many conversations, a breakfast and a dinner here and there along the way. Damiano thinks my next walk should be between Toscana and Rome. Hmmmmm

Valentina, Damiano, and Alberto
And here they are! Oh my. That was a rainy afternoon!

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Credential (Pilgrim Passport)

Nearly Every establishment on the camino has a stamp (sello). Pilgrims collect dated stamps to not only prove distance walked, but the credential is also required to stay in albergues meant for pilgrims.
Here’s my 2021 credential.

Stamp from Santiago