Well we made it and needless to say... my feet hurt... and so do my knees!! Hehe. It was an awesome experience. So we started out by taking the night train to Ourense - which was cool in itself because we each had our own bed! None of us slept fantastic, but it was still fun. We got to Ourense at 5am and the walk began. The whole thing was absolutely beautiful. It was very tiring, but very rewarding. Our advisor (the person who organized it all) is a very enthusiastic guy who is like a book. He knows so much and loves to tell you so much. So it is fun to hear him speak of all the different things along the way.
meet quite a few people, and it's great to go thru the experience with them too. They were always so nice. Some of them had been walking for a month!!! Holy moly!! One man who had been walking for a month, had lost 35 pounds so far on the trip! We averaged walking about 10 hours a day - a few breaks here and there... but it was pretty intense.
I were lost. So we went up to this store to ask where the Camino was. A man from the second story opened his window and asked how he could help us. He was like, "you guys are lost." We kinda laughed and then he said to follow the road and take a right at the next right. Well about 10 minutes later a car pulled up next to us and it was the guy from the second story. He was like.... "it's the second right!" Then he put his car in reverse and went back. That means he went downstairs, got in his car, and drove to tell us so we didn't get lost again (he had told us the first right originally)!! What a nice guy! Other people were in their own little world. One time a car was so close to me and went so fast that i fell over... and i was on a mountain! I was not too impressed at the time!
Hi All!Legend holds that St. Jame's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. There are some, however, who claim that the bodily remains at Santiago belong to Priscillian the fourth-century Galician leader of an ascetic Christian sect, Priscillianism, who was one of the first Christian heretics to be executed.
The Way can take one of any number of pilgrimmage routes to Santiago de Compestala. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the Middle Ages, the route was highly traveled. However, the Black Plague, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th- century Europe resulted in its decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims arrived in Santiago annually. However, since then, the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe. The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
h is basically "Dillards on Steroids." Hehe. And then I dragged them to the top of the castle! They had just walked for three straight days in London, then traveled all day, and I decided to take them up the mountain! They were troopers! I was impressed. They loved the views!!
. We took the bus and they pretended they were me so they could feel how it would be like going to school every day. Hehe. We went to the cafeteria and they had my FAVORITE chocolate croissants. :) It's worth taking the bus for 40 minutes one-way just for this croissant! Hehe.
It is also very cheap. My parents were amazed at the pig legs hanging off the walls and all the animals that were laid out for your choosing!
with Turron. This is a spanish specialty. It's really difficult to explain, except that it is a sweet. :) It kind of looks like fudge or something, but tastes nothing like it. I think it's an acquired taste, because in the beginning I didn't think too much of it... but now I love it! :)
