Available Light

The road above En Hakkore in the Maniototo I'm reading the Bible right through, using the Nonesuch edition of the KJV. There are no chapter or verse numbers and while this is quite an old book, the paper is still crisp and white. It's a surprisingly easy read.  It's a long time since I've read the Authorised Version, and the language takes a bit of adjusting to, but the old words have an entertaining sort of quaintness about them - Begat, wherefor, bakemeats, Earing (ploughing); ouches (sockets for jewels); pilled (stripped off). I have a bit of trouble turning off the inner Biblical critic. Reading Genesis and half of Exodus in a week means the overall pattern and structure of the text is very plain to see: the seams in the joining of the sources in the story of Joseph are pretty obvious, as are the puzzles of timing - Isaac is more than 21 years on his deathbed, for example, and Ishmael is about 14 years old when his mother abandons him under a bush to die. Abr...

The Bay of Biscao: Basque Country.  I have been reading the Codex Calixtinus , or at least a translation of it and commentary on it by William Melczer. The codex was written in the 12th Century and is the first substantial record of the Camino Santiago. It consists of 5 short books which have independent origins but have been combined by an unknown editor/author, who has appended a pseudepigraphic introduction to each in the name of Pope Callixtus II. They are all to do with the development of the cult of St. James in the early middle ages. Book 1 is a collection of liturgical bits and pieces and Book 2 a collection of miracles attributed to the saint. Book 3 records the miraculous transfer of the saint's body from Palestine to Galicia and Book 4 is an account of the military expedition undertaken by Charlemagne and Roland who attempted to drive the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. Book 5, the one which I am really interested in, is a pilgrim's guide to the Camino: the ...

I watch my grandson approach some other little boys in the park. Being Noah he soon has befriended them and organised a little expedition, in which they move from slide to swings to see-saw and back again. They are all concentrating on enjoying the playground equipment, but are learning a good number of things incidentally: for example negotiating skills; how to establish and maintain a relationship; co-operation; how to strike a deal; how to insist on rights. All of these incidental learnings are far more important for the lifelong development of all these little guys than improving their skills at sliding down steep metal slopes on their backsides. I thought about this yesterday when Father Ron Smith asked me " Do you think your recent pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, via el Camino, have any constructive part in this new facility for 'taking time' in meditation and prayer? " While the short answer is "yes" the longer answer is about the incide...

El Camino de Santiago isn't one route but a network of routes stretching across every part of Europe. When the paths converge in Spain they make their way to Santiago de Compostela in a variety of ways: I have walked all of the Camino Frances, all of the Camino Primitivo and part of The Camino del Norte. As well, I have driven parts of the Camino Ingles and the Camino Portugues. All of the routes are well maintained, clearly marked and have an infrastructure for pilgrimage that will sustain pilgrims on a daily basis: there are pilgrim hostels or other accommodation options at regular intervals, fountains providing drinkable water, shops and cafes and bars. All have a plentiful supply of interesting things to see and do and on each of the routes there are fellow travellers who will provide congenial company. No matter which route is chosen, the experience of pilgrimage will be constant: you will walk a long way and find yourself profoundly changed by the daily encounter with a...

1. Travel light. 2. Travel lighter still. You think you need that? Really? Give it to another pilgrim. Post it home. Throw it away. You can get rid of another kg yet. 3. Never pass an open church without going into it. 4. Never pass a Fuente without drinking from it and giving thanks: for whoever put it there; for your baptism; for the Living Water. 5. Blisters are the surfacing of minor irregularities in your body. Drain them quickly or they'll spread. Cover them when walking, but, whenever possible, expose them to light and air. When irregularies of your mind or your spirit surface, as they inevitably will, treat the resulting problems in the same way. 6. Walk within yourself.  7. Your body is wise. Listen to it. 8. The path is wise. Listen to it. 9. Learn enough Spanish to be able to order a meal or some groceries and manage the payment afterwards. 10. You're making your own Camino for your own reasons and in your own way.  So is everyone else, ev...

Buen Camino. Good walking !Nueva Zealanda! The Antipodes! So far! No Hablo Espanole. I do not speak Spanish Is this your first camino? It's my second. Or third, depending on how you count them. Last year I walked from Irun to San Salvadore. This year I am walking to Oviedo. I will complete my camino in about 5 years time. I started in Irun. You? Le Puys. Wow! How long have you been walking? Since the middle of April. Are you taking the hospitales route? It looks a bit foggy don't you think? Perdon senor/senora. Donde es el Camino Santiago? (or el albergue de peregrinos; or el supermercado; or el bano) Excuse me sir/ madam. Where is the Camino Santiago? (or the pilgrims hostel; or the supermarket; or the toilet) We have made pasta. There's plenty. would you like some? I got my arrow in the albergue in San Sebastian. The hospitalera makes them and gives them to pilgrims. Spain is so beautiful. We love it. Yes. But how are you finding the Basque...

This was a journey of 40 days. So here, corresponding approximately but not exactly to those days are 40 pictures. I took a small waterproof Panasonic camera with me and both Clemency and I took pictures with our phones. The gear, in other words was pretty basic though I am pretty impressed with the wee Panasonic. These pictures are not in order as resources for blog writing are limited but I hope they give a sense of the journey. Stop for a snack, sunrise on day 3, on the way out of Zarautz Winding up in the Camino Primitivo The top of the Hospitales Route, Camino Primitivo Bay of Biscao on the Camino del Norte The last day. Four routes: the Norte, the Primitivo, La Plata and the Frances have now joined and there is a teeming crowd of pilgrims. Walking through a forest in the early morning, we felt like the elves leaving Middle Earth Windmills infest all the high places. they're pretty impressive: huge and noisy, but it's hard to capture that i...

It was my call and I decided that whatever happens next we do together. None of this one of us bussing while the other one walks lark. We walked into Santiago. Embraced the apostle. Prayed before his relics. Went to a pilgrim's mass. We queued at the Pilgrims Office and got our Compostela certificates. And then made a decision about Finisterre. There was 85 km still to walk, Clemency's ankle wasn't great and the forecast was for 3 days of rain. So we hired a car. And I use the term "car" in its broadest sense. I thought I was renting a Fiat 500 but what I got was a Smart Fortwo which is actually half a car; a whole car cut in half just behind the front seats and fitted with half an engine. It's ugly. It's noisy. It's slow. With its tiny wheelbase it handles bizarrely. There is nowhere to put anything  But it's surprisingly comfy and oddly endearing and we've put a fair few km on it. The first day we drove it to Portugal. Then A Coruna (Oh ...

So here we are in the Hospideria; a sort of upmarket pension built into the old seminary, just across the square from the great cathedral of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. We've made it. Both of us. I'm writing this on my phone. Don't expect technical accuracy. A lifetime ago, on July 14 we walked from Irun on the first day of our intended journey along the Camino del Norte. Of the approximately 800 or so fellow pilgrims setting out on the Camino Santiago on the same day, 700 would have been starting somewhere on the Camino Frances and the rest of us were scattered over the other dozen or so routes. About 30 started the day on the Norte. We started early on that first day with the temperatures rising from the early 20s to the mid 30s by the early afternoon. After a gentle start, the path climbed and dipped alarmingly. I sweated. I swore. I rued my lack of preparation. We climbed through a forest and down through a fishing village of simply ridiculous quaint...