The Shell.  The symbol of Pilgrimage.

The many roads converge on Santiago as the groves in the shell meet at the tip.  This shell is on a children’s toy pilgrim’s staff which dates back to a holiday we had near Santiago in 1994. I think I will use walking poles to aid  me rather than a wooden staff but the shell is coming with me on a cord. Just above the shell is the wooden representation of a Gourd used at one time to carry water.  I think I will stick to my rucksack hydration pack.

In 1994 we were privileged to be at Santiago on St. James day which that year fell on a Sunday.  The city was heaving with pilgrims, many from Portugal.  Some slept on the roadside beside the coach that had brought them.  In the evening there was a firework display above the Cathedral.  I had not seen such a powerful display before. It was made all the more interesting as huge chunks of cardboard drifted down from the sky, the remains of the sky bursts exploding overhead.