Pilgrims, Pilgrims
This is the next installment of Spain, the Miniseries.
I haven’t thought much about Pilgrims since I read Canterbury Tales in college. And just to clarify, I’m not talking about the kind that came to Plymouth and began the gluttony-filled Thanksgiving tradition we all know and love here in the US. I’m talking about those pilgrims driven out of religious fervor to walk hundreds and hundreds of miles to a specific holy location to worship, pray for forgiveness/healing, or the like. Well Northern Spain, apparently, has a famous and well-traveled pilgrim route that goes all the way from the Pyrenees in France to the most western region, Galicia. It ends at the great cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The trail is marked with scallop shells and when people successfully arrive in Santiago, they celebrate by buying and eating a scallop. Then they would hang the shell from them or their stuff to show that they’ve completed the pilgrimage.
Well this route has been popular dating back all the way to…well, a long time ago. I don’t have the guide book in front of me but suffice it to say it was probably during those ages where pilgrimages were very fashionable. Back in the Middle Ages I think. Apparently, in the 1970’s this particular pilgrimage route become popular once again, especially within more Bohemian circles.
KA and I decided to stop in to see Santiago. It has a great story and I’m always a fan of seeing beautiful old things. The city was set up on an acropolis of sorts and old stone buildings with intricate carvings were everywhere. The cathedral was certainly grand. And the fact that it was a sunshiny day with deep blue skies and big puffy white clouds only made the scene more striking. What was most striking to me about the city was that there really were pilgrims everywhere! They were sprawled out in the big square in front of the cathedral. They were laughing and talking in groups, no doubt swapping stories from their adventures. Many sat with their legs (probably swollen) propped out in front of them looking up at the spires with that silly, gleeful look I’ve often seen on the faces of people at the end of marathons and other endurance tests.
KA and I are not religious and we did not in any means walk the route to Santiago (which apparently takes 5-6 weeks). We took more modern means of transportation and drove. But since our visit was at the end of the trip, and since we’d encountered and survived many adventures prior to standing underneath those imposing towers, we felt we deserved a scallop shell too.
I haven’t thought much about Pilgrims since I read Canterbury Tales in college. And just to clarify, I’m not talking about the kind that came to Plymouth and began the gluttony-filled Thanksgiving tradition we all know and love here in the US. I’m talking about those pilgrims driven out of religious fervor to walk hundreds and hundreds of miles to a specific holy location to worship, pray for forgiveness/healing, or the like. Well Northern Spain, apparently, has a famous and well-traveled pilgrim route that goes all the way from the Pyrenees in France to the most western region, Galicia. It ends at the great cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The trail is marked with scallop shells and when people successfully arrive in Santiago, they celebrate by buying and eating a scallop. Then they would hang the shell from them or their stuff to show that they’ve completed the pilgrimage.
Well this route has been popular dating back all the way to…well, a long time ago. I don’t have the guide book in front of me but suffice it to say it was probably during those ages where pilgrimages were very fashionable. Back in the Middle Ages I think. Apparently, in the 1970’s this particular pilgrimage route become popular once again, especially within more Bohemian circles.
KA and I decided to stop in to see Santiago. It has a great story and I’m always a fan of seeing beautiful old things. The city was set up on an acropolis of sorts and old stone buildings with intricate carvings were everywhere. The cathedral was certainly grand. And the fact that it was a sunshiny day with deep blue skies and big puffy white clouds only made the scene more striking. What was most striking to me about the city was that there really were pilgrims everywhere! They were sprawled out in the big square in front of the cathedral. They were laughing and talking in groups, no doubt swapping stories from their adventures. Many sat with their legs (probably swollen) propped out in front of them looking up at the spires with that silly, gleeful look I’ve often seen on the faces of people at the end of marathons and other endurance tests.
KA and I are not religious and we did not in any means walk the route to Santiago (which apparently takes 5-6 weeks). We took more modern means of transportation and drove. But since our visit was at the end of the trip, and since we’d encountered and survived many adventures prior to standing underneath those imposing towers, we felt we deserved a scallop shell too.
Here are a few pictures of the cathedral and the pilgrims visiting it.
posted by Follow the Frog at 9:35 AM
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