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Santiago Pilgrimage Pauline Winter October 98.
When Alan Warkinson first proposed the idea of a group from St. James returning with him to Spain this year to complete the final 300 kms of the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain I was, I suppose, just slightly interested. So it was hard to believe that on Sunday 30th August I was one of a party of 9 would be pilgrims being commissioned for our journey by the Rural Dean, Peter Gilbert. Having our bicycles blessed in Church and being given our scallop shells - the emblem of St. James - that were to accompany us on our route, proudly dangling from our panniers.
Pat and Hilary were to provide back up transport and they drove down through France with Alan and Jonathan to Spain. Martin, Chris, Debbie and I decided to go by plane and train. We set off very early on Saturday 5th September and caught the 8.05 train from Leeds to Kings Cross. Martin then used his local knowledge to guide us on an exciting cycle ride through central London, going past lots of famous sites as far as Kensington where we got the Underground to Heathrow. Our afternoon flight then took us directly to Santiago. The flight was a breeze. I was a bit nervous as I had not flown for nearly 20 years but it all went well and the views above the clouds were spectacular. Taking the bikes on the pane was very easy - all we were asked to do was deflate the tyres. It was a long hot day but we were buoyed up by the excitement of the journey and the prospect of what lay ahead of us. We managed to find a late-night crêperie near the hotel for a midnight supper.
Next day we travelled by train to Léon our starting point for travelling back to Santiago. We weren't allowed on the 9.00 train with our bikes so had to wait until 2.45 to catch a non-direct train on which the bikes were allowed. Whilst this was initially a disappointment we coped well by sending a fax to the transit office in Léon to inform Alan & Co of our delayed arrival. And finding an excellent bar in which to have lunch! Our excuse for such indulgence was that we didn't want to see any of Santiago and especially the Cathedral until our return in a week's time. Little did we know that that bar was to become a regular feature of our stay in Santiago!
As it was late when we arrived at Léon, we spent the following morning looking around the Cathedral and obtaining our pilgrim passports. These are issued by the Church authorities. It gives details of your name, address, date of birth, nationality, how you are doing the pilgrimage - available options are on foot, horseback or by bicycle - and where you are starting from. The idea is that various hostels, tourist information offices and bars along the route have the official 'sello' or rubber stamp. You collect these stamps along the route as evidence of your journey. There was no official charge for the passport but even with our limited Spanish we understood that the priest was asking for a 'mandatory donation' that he swiftly pocketed.
Léon Cathedral was really beautiful. A place of light and peace. It is famous for its mediaeval stained glass windows which are truly stunning. We were blessed with a fine morning and the colours flooding into the Cathedral will be a treasured memory. Photographs were not allowed but Martin bought some slides of the Cathedral and I hope that we will be able to put on a Santiago evening soon at which they can be shown. Before setting off on our journey we had some team stretches and a hug and prayers in the Cathedral square. This was swiftly adopted as a morning ritual each day before setting off.
Our journey took us 6 days (although Alan and Jonathan took only 5 days as pressure of time meant they wanted to reach Santiago as swiftly as possible having limited time before they had to start their return drive through France). We more or less stuck to our planned route stages apart from one day when it rained all day and we were so wet and cold that we decided to stop 8 miles short of our original plan.
The route was as follows
Monday 7th September Léon to Astorga
Tuesday 8th September Astorga to Ponferada
Wednesday 9th September Ponferada to Samos
Thursday 10th September Samos to Portomarin
Friday 11th September Portomarin to Melida
Saturday 12th September Melida to Santiago
Each day was a very full day not only in terms of time and distance cycled but also experiences along the way. It is really difficult to know where to start describing what it was like. I think that I can only give a few snippets here to give you a flavour of our journey. Here are some examples:
The peace and fellowship of our informal morning prayers outside Léon Cathedral and on arrival at Santiago
The real feeling of being on a journey not only shared with those we were specifically travelling with but also other modern day pilgrims - from all over Europe - and those who had trod the route from mediaeval times.
The friendliness of the Spanish people and their willingness to help - particularly the barman at Portomarin who organised a replacement tyre for Chris in a matter of half an hour of our arrival and tentative enquiry on this subject.
The wide expanse of the countryside particularly the 2 hilly days.
The fresh smell of the air - plus the fragrance of the eucalyptus trees on the final leg into Santiago.
The ease with which we managed to communicate with only basic Spanish.
The proud tiredness of arriving in Samos after our longest and hardest day's cycling, sitting outside a wonderful little bar right outside one of the largest Benedictine monasteries in the area.
Thinking we'd got to the top - several times - and finding another uphill section.
Freshly squeezed 'zumo de naranja' (orange juice). Difficult to pronounce but delicious.
O Lebreiro. Almost the highest point of our route. Famous for the 14th Century miracle when the Eucharist was transformed into actual flesh and blood.
Mount of Joy. Tradition has it that pilgrims run up this hill and the 1st one to spot the towers of Santiago Cathedral in the distance earns the right to add 'King to their surname. A bit disappointing as we couldn't spot the Cathedral anywhere!
On Sunday 13th September we went to the pilgrim mass at the Cathedral which takes place every day at noon. The Church was packed out - it is difficult to grasp the huge number of pilgrims constantly arriving there. It was a standard Catholic mass in Spanish with no real concessions for tourists or even foreign pilgrims and we did feel a little disappointed by it. However the day before we left we again went to the pilgrim service and this time stood in the transept, had a much better view of the celebrants and even had a prayer card in English. We really enjoyed this service and felt that we 'belonged'. As an additional treat we saw the famous 'botufumero' being swung - an enormous incense burner that takes 8 priests to swing on its rope and pulley mechanism. Truly a spectacular sight.
To sum up - a pilgrimage is not something that is undertaken lightly, even when it is partly holiday. I think it will take some time to absorb the whole experience. I am very pleased that I did it - particularly in the company of fellow Christians from my own Parish Church. I would certainly encourage anyone contemplating doing 'El Camino' and hope to return to Spain some time and do the 1st half of the route or even part of one of the routes starting in France. As well as being a source of strength those of us who completed the pilgrimage hope and pray that it will also serve as an encouragement to all members of St James' as we continue on our spiritual journey together.