#theroadtosantiago

[mssorinao]

Travelogue schmavelogue

In April of this year, I wrote some words on my previous attempt at keeping a travelogue, and my best intentions of doing things differently “this time”.

The public documentation of my travels currently exist in a small collection of photos on Facebook and Instagram, and some ramblings in my journal in which I am mostly trying to figure out what the hell is going on. (Those are mostly not…

[petercrumpler]

Pilgrimage is back in fashion

Going on a pilgrimage is back in fashion – and St Albans is likely to welcome lots of new visitors as a result.

With perfect timing, the Abbey is being developed to include new welcome and education centres and an exhibition area featuring Alban, Britain’s first saint.

Hundreds of pilgrims from across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire braved wet weather to gather at the Abbey on Easter Monday. Many more are expected to come for the annual Alban Pilgrimage on Saturday June 23rd.

Pilgrims have been coming to St Albans for hundreds of years and many more are likely to come in future years.

But going on a pilgrimage is more than taking a walk, or visiting somewhere special.

BBC TV recently screened a three-part series tracing the experience of seven celebrities following the pilgrims’ route to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.

The group – including Gogglebox vicar Kate Bottley, actor Neil Morrissey, entertainer Debbie McGee and singer Heather Small - bonded on the journey as they told their stories and shared their beliefs. On the road, they met other people making the gruelling trek.

This is how pilgrimage has always been. Back in the 14th century, Chaucer told the stories of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Today, millions of Muslims make their way to Mecca.

As Jesus headed ultimately for Jerusalem, and his death and resurrection, he performed miracles, taught parables, encouraged his disciples and prepared them to spread his gospel of life and hope.

In pilgrimage as in life, arriving is important. But the journey is just as vital.

[traveltwentysixteen-blog]

Last night on the journey and I'm back at the beginning, following the shells. The road goes ever onwards.

[mssorinao]

I think God just might be this thing with me

From my Facebook page, Sunday 6 May

Little did I know when I decided to spend a night here on my way between Paris and Lourdes, that Bordeaux will be the next important stop on my way to Santiago.

I ‘happened’ on the Cathédrale Saint-André minutes after I arrived.

Besides housing the most phenomenal artworks (I tried to take a photo of Jacob Jordaens’ crucifixion scene, but a photo cannot do it…

[mssorinao]

My packing list

One of the biggest talking points on any Camino forum is packing lists – everyone is looking for that all elusive holy grail of lists that will result in a pack that weighs 3.5kg, but still let you bring several cute outfits, all your electronics, your entire skin care routine and good hair day potions.

The accepted wisdom declares one’s ideal pack weight at about 10% of one’s own body weight…but…

[mssorinao]

A Pilgrim, on the Road to Santiago de Compostela

Excerpts from The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho, 1995, published by HarperCollins

Just as the Muslim tradition requires that all members of the faith, at least once in their life, make the same pilgrimage that Muhammad made from Mecca to Medina, so Christians in the first millennium considered three routes to be sacred. Each of them offered a series of blessings and indulgences to those who…