The Pilgrim's Credential.

Everywhere we stop, we get our credentials stamped. This reminds of our journey but also acts as proof that we really have doing all this walking. At this point we have filled one whole side with stamps, and we still have 112 km to go.

Blisters and Pox Are Just Mementos of the Way.

Sent from my iPhone

Walking as World-Making

Yesterday someone addressed us as "pilgrims," and it is true that we are walking this pilgrimage route. Today, as we walked through the fog with pilgrims from all over the world, I reflected on the ways in which participating in a tradition activates the ideas, values, and images associated with it. We are literally retracing the footsteps of millions of previous pilgrims--including Isabel and Ferdinand, Saint Francis of Assisi, and good number of other saints and popes. We are walking past scores of tiny churches built to mark the Way. We are discussing our journey with the other people we encounter. By making the trip and sharing stories about it, we help to make real the world of the Road of Santiago.

And this world has its consequences. At Foncebadón a few days back, a man from Madrid immediately asked why we were walking the Way. Almost before I could answer, he said with great passion, "I have walked the Road three times, and I do it because the Road gives me life."

A Jaunt Through The Clouds…

Today we left the medieval village where we spent the night and went deeper into Galicia, another region of Spain. The valley into which we descended was filled with a sea of clouds which rolled into the hollows between the forested shoulders of the mountains, leaving only the highest places visible. Shortly after beginning, we descended into the clouds as the road wound its way into the valley.

The suns rays illuminated the suspended water droplets with an ethereal glow, making the forests and churches all look like something that came off a baroque painters canvas or from a long-lost world.