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.

Twenty five years into parish ministry and a sabbatical has a certain appeal.  3 months away from regular duties to pursue something different, refreshing, new. The offer was there but what would I do? When I was a curate my training incumbent was really keen on pilgrimages, he went on them, he organised them, he led them, he encouraged others to do the same.  Our Bishop was once to remark that whilst God was everywhere this chap was everywhere except in his Parish.  He it was who arranged for my first visit to the Holy Land and I am eternally grateful for that.  One of the pilgrimages he had made was to follow a part of the Comino de Santiago “The Way”. I remember him telling me that if ever I got the chance to do such a journey myself I was to take it.  Well, since I am now heading quickly into my 60th year if I was ever to follow his advice then it would have to be now or never.  I have a brother who lives near Santiago as well so that seals the deal.

There are many roads to Santiago.  The most famous is that which goes through France over the Pyrenees and across the top of Spain.  This is the route followed in the film “The Way” and that of the BBC walkers in “Pilgrimage-The road to Sanitago”.  My route of choice though runs from Lisbon up through Portugal and into Northern Spain across the Rio Minho at Tui before crossing Galicia, past Vigo and on to Santiago. There are two reasons for this choice, one negative, pushing me away from the French route, the other positive drawing me to Portugal.  On the negative side I want this Pilgrimage to be a chance to get away, find space and time and from what I have seen of the French route it looks a trifle busy for that and on the positive, my brother lives on the Portugues route so I can drop in for a nice cup of tea as I pass that way.

So decision made, route chosen the first steps have been made before the first steps are walked.  But, there is a lot to sort out, cover for the work in the parish whilst I am away never mind the Pilgrimage itself.  And now this Blog thing as if there wasn’t enough to do, why add to my troubles?  Well, I’m hoping it will be a way to keep in touch with everyone back home but also I would like to share this journey with you in part to help with my own reflection. Space and time for thought is all well and good but sometimes it’s only when you commit your inner thoughts to words, spoken or written, that you can see them for what they truly are, uncover their inconsistencies and learn from them.   Who knows where it will take us.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton