Monday, September 6, 2010

Final preparations

Hello all,


Thanks for following me as I begin this exciting journey!


First off, a little info about the Camino:


The Camino, or "The Way", de Santiago is a pilgrim trail first traveled by Christians in the eighth and ninth centuries.  It has many starting points ranging anywhere from Galway, Ireland to Rome, Italy, and many points in between.  All of these routes end in Santiago, Spain, in the region of Galicia where Saint James the Apostle is believed to be buried.   Tradition has it that after Saint James was beheaded by King Herod, he was transported back to what is now modern day Spain, where he had been spreading the Gospel after our Lord's Resurrection.


It takes about 30-35 days to walk the Camino, depending on whether or not you take a day or two to rest and tend to any blisters.  I am going with a friend I was in seminary with at Mount Saint Mary's, Jason Burchell.  We will be staying at hostels along the way along with other pilgrims who are on the route.  The Camino sees around 70,000 pilgrims every year and up to 140,000 on Holy Years, and 2010 just so happens to be one.  Since we are traveling towards the end of the popular time for the pilgrimage I don't expect a lot of people, but then again that is not based on anything but pure speculation, so who knows :-)


I leave Charlotte tomorrow morning and connect in Newark.  We leave for Paris tomorrow evening and arrive early in the morning on the 8th.  We will then take a train from Paris to Bayonne and then from Bayonne to St. Jean Pied de Port, where we will begin our journey.  It is from there that I hope to make my next post. 


I am not too sure about the availability of internet cafes along the way, but most of the little towns have grown due to the popularity of the route, so I suspect that there will be a number in between St. Jean and Santiago. 


Please pray for Jason and I that we will have a blessed and safe trip.  Know that you all will be in my prayers.  God Bless you all.  See you in a little over a month!

2 comments:

  1. Our prayers and thoughts go with you! Sounds like an amazing experience. :) The Malloy's

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