Santiago de Compostela
Pilgrim Steve Arrives in Santiago
I met Steve (from Kentucky) through my camino buddy, Simone Grosdidier. Such a nice Person! Walked with him a bit out of some village, enjoyed a number of group meals and end of day Cheers! His wife has now joined him and they are off for a Spanish vacation!
Pilgrim Ann in Santiago
Pilgrim Ann walked into Santiago several days ago! We first met through a Facebook Camino group for women, then finally in person on our first day in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port before our September 5 Camino start.
Chance for a Camino Improves
EU rumblings indicate Spain may be opening to US (fully vaccinated) tourists this summer – maybe June. If so, I’ll be on my September 1 flight to Madrid. Still up in the air, but looking a bit more promising.
E.U. Set to Let Vaccinated U.S. Tourists Visit This Summer
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/world/europe/american-travel-to-europe.html
I have a few rest days interspersed among these stages, but here is my Stage Plan.
The Sounds of Silence
The Shadow Pilgrim
EVERY NIGHT IN A CORNER under the baroque clock tower in the Plaza de la Quintana, a hunched pilgrim appears. He stands life sized, and wears the traditional garb of the religious pilgrim: cloak, broad-brimmed hat, and a staff top-heavy with a gourd for water and the traditional scallop shell, which is the symbol of the pilgrim.
Upon closer inspection, the pilgrim is a trick of the light – and an unintentional one. His body is the shadow cast by the lightning rod pillar in the corner, and his staff is the shadow of the support column of the Berenguela clock tower. There are dozens of these lighting rods and hundreds of vertical supports in the cathedral exterior, but only one pilgrim. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/shadow-pilgrim
Los Dos Marias
The two sisters became popular in the old town of Santiago de Compostela during the dark times of the Franco dictatorship. They dressed in outlandish outfits and make-up and walked every day at two o’clock – the busy lunch time and when the Zona Vella was crowded with university students. They’d flirt with the students and generally behave outrageously.
The sisters were seamstresses who lost their clientele because of family involvement with political factions opposing Franco. They brightened the days of Compostella citizens and were fondly cared for by their neighbors.
Wikipedia gives a nice recap of the sisters and the politics that impacted their lives. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Dos_Mar%C3%ADas
October 16 Santiago – Fare Thee Well
October 16 Santiago – Here is Harriet
We shared many miles, helped each other traverse some treacherous and rocky downhills. She is 74 and lives in Washington state. She walked into Santiago today, October 16th, under a deluge of rainfall. We met our first day out – on September 7. She picked up her Compostela today.
Posted by phone
Santiago – Feet
