The Road Ahead

Buen Camino!

Beginning in June 2015 my dad, Albert, and I will be walking on the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James. We first walked the Camino in 2011 in memory of my mom, Lillian, and her two sisters, Arlene and Ginny, who all passed away in 2010. Our route was Camino Frances, the most popular and well-known of the Camino trails that fan across Europe and lead to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. We began at the traditional start of Camino Frances, St. Jean Pied de Port (translated as "St. John at the foot of the mountain pass"), just over the French border in the Pyrenees.

In 2013 we returned to the Road and walked segments of Camino Frances and a segment of Chemin du Puy (known as Via Podiensis), one of four French routes that converge into Camino Frances.

For "Camino Tres" we'll be walking Camino Aragones. This is the Spanish portion of the French route beginning in Arles (Via Tolosana) and includes the regions (or "autonoumous communities") of Aragon & Navarra. Additionally, we plan to walk two segments of Camino Frances, including a portion of the Meseta in Castilla y Leon and the last 100 kilometers to Santiago in Galicia.

Manfred Zentgraf; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stjacquescompostelle1.png

The map above shows the vast network of Camino paths funneling towards Santiago. Camino Frances & Camino Aragones are in red. In the upper left corner is the EU flag's circle of stars surrounding a shell, symbol of the Camino.   

The Camino's history contains many layers, beginning with the Celts who inhabited northern Spain before the Romans established a trade route there. The path's transformation into a pilgrimage route originates with the legend of the Apostle St. James, who reportedly evangelized in Spain. As the story goes, James returned to Jerusalem and was beheaded in 44 C.E. His bones were then transported back to Spain by boat, alone or with two of James' disciples (depending on different versions of the legend). The boat landed in Galicia, where the bones were then buried in a crypt. Variations include the region's Queen Lupa sending the disciples up to the hills where wild bulls lived; instead of attacking the men they became tame upon seeing St. James' sarcophagus.  

In around 813 a hermit named Pelayo saw a vision of stars above the field where the bones lay buried and took it as a divine sign. An excavation unearthed the bones, which were then attributed to St. James. A church was built in the area, and a city, Santiago de Compostela, became established. "Compostela" can be translated as "field of the star," which references the origin story, or also as "cemetery" because of an ancient burial site in this spot. Reports of miracles attributed to St. James' relics soon brought pilgrims from across Europe, and Santiago became one of three major pilgrimage destinations along with Rome and Jerusalem during the Middle Ages.

Another story related to the legend of St. James explains the shell's significance to the Camino. When the boat carrying the saint's bones sailed along the coast of Galicia, it passed a wedding taking place on shore. The young bridegroom was on horseback and began following the vessel. The man's horse spooked, and both fell off a cliff into the ocean. According to one version of the tale, the man and horse didn't perish, but rather rose out of the water, covered with cockle shells. Thus, this was proclaimed as St James' first miracle.

Perhaps a more practical reason the shell became associated with the Camino is the fact of Galicia's proximity to the sea with cockle shells readily available. Medieval pilgrims may have brought them back home as souvenirs or as Compostelas, proof of the journey's completion. Also, on a functional level, shells could have been used as drinking or eating utensils.

The importance of the shell to the Camino can be witnessed in the art, architecture, & signage that incorporate shell motifs seen along the trail. This imagery becomes visual reminders for walkers that they're on a pilgrimage route -- if you see shell designs anywhere in Europe, chances are good the location is part of a pilgrim path heading to Santiago. We modern day trekkers attach shells to our backpacks, typically at the start of the journey. It's a Camino tradition that distinguishes walkers as 'pilgrims' & connects us to the path's history.

Many sculptures of St. James can be seen along Camino routes. The Apostle is identified by his attributes -- walking stick, cloak, hat with shell, and often a gourd (used by medieval pilgrims for wine/water). The sculpture above was standing outside the French town of Navarrenx, our starting point in 2013.

My interest in the pilgrimage tradition goes back to reading Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales in high school -- the cast of characters and their journey to Canterbury Cathedral sparked my imagination. It wasn't until 1997 that I became familiar with the Camino when Mom gave me as a gift a CD titled Santiago by a favorite Celtic band of mine, the Chieftains. Although Mom wasn't familiar with the music, she knew I liked the group. As it turned out, the CD was a musical tribute to the Spanish and Celtic roots of northern Spain along the Camino. Hearing the songs and looking at the liner photos captivated my pilgrimage spirit! Then a couple years later I went to hear author Elyn Aviva speak at a bookstore about her book Following the Milky Way, which chronicles her 1982 Camino Frances walk in conjunction with Ph.D. work in cultural anthropology. Elyn's mesmerizing talk further explained the significance and history of the path, and I dreamed of someday walking it. I went on to do studies incorporating the Camino -- completing M.F.A. and graduate research that focused on pilgrimage themes and beeswax anatomical ex-voto objects from the Middle Ages.

Besides teaching art classes, I give talks about walking the Camino for various programs and also incorporate my pilgrimage studies into artwork, including a recent show of photos and ex-votos at artist Johanna Hansen's The Next Door Gallery in San Diego's South Park.

The gallery's window box space was filled with rocks, an integral part of the Camino -- they're often underfoot and also seen atop guidance markers, where stones are placed by pilgrims to signify an unloading or to announce that 'they will return.' The shell with St. James' cross was bought at a shop in Santiago.

On the felt and beeswax ex-votos I incorporated designs inspired by artwork seen along the Camino. Ex-votos (Latin for "from a vow") were left by medieval pilgrims at shrines in hopes of intercession from saints for miracles or as thanksgiving for miracles already received. This tradition is still present in Spain, Latin America, and other parts of Europe. The photo of the Virgen shrine was taken at the church next to the albergue (or pilgrims' hostel) in La Faba, a tiny town just over the border into Galicia.

To replicate the medieval ex-voto tradition, for each walk I've made objects to bring with and leave behind at sites: in 2011 I cast ceramic Dala horses to honor Mom and my aunts' Swedish heritage, and in 2013 I cast beeswax anatomical ex-votos for family and friends with physical challenges. For this next walk, I've made beeswax ex-votos again for family and friends.

The anatomical forms are done in relief and surrounded by shells and other medieval design motifs. Included are a brain, heart, liver, hand/wrist, ear, uterus/ovaries, and breasts.

Moulds are lined up during the beeswax pouring process. Casting was done at Johanna Hansen's studio. Scruffy the studio cat (in box on right) assisted.

The moulds are opened after the beeswax hardens. To finish, the pour spouts will be cut off.

Besides meeting fellow walkers from around the world, some of the anticipated highlights of the walk will be seeing the Aragon city of Jaca & nearby San Juan de la Pena monastery, visiting Rebekah & Paddy in Moratinos on the Meseta, and wandering the medieval streets of Santiago again.

Dad and I have been prepping with walks around the neighborhood and on assorted trails in San Diego. Dad's volunteer work with San Diego State's basketball team also keeps him in walking shape. After coaching for nearly 60 years, he enjoys being active.

Blogging on our walks has been helpful to keep track of where we've been and whom we've met -- in addition it's good for being 'photo repositories' in case camera chips are lost or images accidentally deleted (which has happened). As with previous blogs, I'll be adding info or reshaping it after the trip, particularly if there's technical 'difficulties' (which has also happened!).

Thank you to everyone who has helped with preparation for our journey and supported us with their enthusiasm, especially Johanna, Connie, Joe, Lynne, Roger, Tamara, Suzanne, Pam, Vicki, Uncle Ron, and cuz Wendy Anne.

Ultreia! Onward!

Training walk at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve in Poway