How this page works...On the bottom of this text, you will see what happend on our trip on the Camino de Santiago. As you read the text you will see "hyperlinks," these will be in different color then the majority of the text. Simply take your cursor and click onto the "hyperlink" and you will be able to see the pictures of the place the body of text is describing. When you click onto a "hyperlink," and you are finished looking at the picture, simply click onto your "back arrow" located on the tool bar to return to the main page. As an exampleof how the "hyperlink" works, click onto this...Bottom of the page...and you will be taken to the bottom of this web page. When you get to the bottom clink on the "return to the top of the page," and you will come back to here.
posted by Anthony at 2:29 PM

Día 1: El 15 y 16 de marzo
Después de un largo vuelo, que empezó el día 15 de marzo desde Cincinnati a Paris, nos dejo en Toulouse el día 16 de marzo de 2001, así empezó nuestro muy anticipado viaje. Sufriendo de jet-lag, inmediatamente empezamos el recorrido de Toulouse. El primer lugar que visitamos fue, La Basílica de San Sernin que fue construida entre 1096-1996, el edificio tenía la forma de una cruz y arquitectura de estilo gótico y romano. Dentro de la iglesia había un órgano musical hecho de madera con ángeles esculpidos. A una cierta hora del día, se puede mirar a través de las ventanas y ver las siluetas de los ángeles que todavía muestran sus remarcables cualidades. Como la mayoría de nosotros éramos estudiantes de español del hemisferio oeste, estábamos en “tiempo latino,” llegamos tarde y nos echaron de la basílica cuando estaba cerrando. Con la mayoría de los edificios en la ciudad cerrando, paramos en la plaza mayor en el centro de la ciudad, donde el capitolio esta ubicado. Desde allí fuimos al rió Garonne, el cual tiene dos elevaciones diferentes, en un lado estaba el hospital donde todos los peregrinos pobres y gente vieja se quedaban, este lado esta a la altura del río y fuera del pueblo, el río frecuentemente se inundaba y mucha de la gente de ese lado moría, pero no les importaba porque no era gente importante. En el lado más cerca al pueblo, la elevación estaba a 10 metros sobre el nivel del río, esta altura protegía la ciudad de las ! inundaciones. Cruzamos un puente y visitamos el patio del hospital San Jaime, donde nos sacamos una foto frente de una enorme concha. Después miramos la arquitectura de la gente rica y sus torres, las cuales tenían que estar a cierta altura y con restricciones de 3o metros, las torres eran un símbolo de riqueza. Después de las torres la mitad del grupo fue a una pizzería y la otra a un bistro francés y con el jet-lag a fuerza total, nos retiramos por la noche.

Día 2: el 17 de marzo
Después de lo que pareció una siesta muy corta, hicimos las maletas y nos fuimos a Albi, un pueblo cerca de Toulouse. Albi tiene una catedral que fue construida en estilo romano con paredes altas, largas y anchas, el edificio fue construido como una fortaleza para demostrar el poder de la iglesia católica. La catedral de Santa Cecilia que alojaba al cardenal de Roma el cual vivía allí para gobernar esta área de Francia. Dentro de la catedral, las decoraciones eran muy decorativas y de estilo gótico, con el coro separado de la parte principal de la iglesia. También en la catedral tuvimos nuestra primera visión de San Jaime. Fuera de la catedral, los clérigos tenían un jardín privado, ubicado en el río Garrone. Después de ver dentro de la iglesia y los jardines, nos dieron unas horas para comer, y comprar. Luego nos reunimos en el bus y nos fuimos a Cordes, que es hermosa. Cordes tenia una iglesia pequeña maravillosa, pero fue un poco difícil alcanzarla, la calle era muy inclinada. La iglesia de San Miguel, el arcángel de Dios, fue construida en estilo gótico. Durante la construcción de San Miguel la catedral de Albi también se estaba construyendo, y con mano de obra limitada, Albi tuvo la mayor ayuda y fue la ciudad más grande entre las dos. El cardenal de Albi tuvo una pelea con los clérigos y habitantes de Cordes! , e hizo que San Miguel se cerrara por un tiempo, dejando la gente de Cordes sin iglesia. Cordes también nos ofreció buenas tiendas para comprar donde había joyas y mucho más hecho a mano. Un poco más tarde nos fuimos de Cordes y regresamos a Toulouse. Ese día fue el día de San Patricio y viendo que todos tenían la edad para beber alcohol, salimos para celebrar a nuestra manera. Conocimos gente local así como muchos otros europeos, ya que Europa tiene sus fronteras abiertas haciendo fácil para que la gente viaje de un país a otro.

Día 3: el 18 de marzo
Después de tener nuestras primeras visiones de San Jaime en Albi, fuimos a un lugar maravilloso que se llamaba Carcassone. Carcassone era el fuerte más grande de todo Europa y era impresionante ya que fue construido en la ladera del cerro. Carcassone es donde Kevin Costner filmó la película “Robin Hood.” Aunque el fuerte fue reconstruido en 1844, todavía contiene originalidad y la reconstrucción fue más como una restauración del original. Caminamos entre las paredes del fuerte y nos mostraron métodos de cómo se defendían; como cortes en las murallas donde se podía tirar flechas pero nada podía entrar y donde aceite caliente se botaba a los que trataban de invadir. El fuerte tiene una catedral que se dice tener la ventana con vitrales más bella de Francia, pero estaban celebrando misa y no pudimos entrar. Después fuimos al museo de la inquisición donde vimos los instrumentos que los clérigos usaron para torturar (porque los instrumentos fueron muy gráficos, no vamos a describir lo que vimos, pero sí fue asqueroso). Después las mujeres fueron a comprar... mucho, y Traci y Berni trataron su suerte reactuando “Monty Python’s Holy Grail,” pero porque no tuvimos suficiente dinero para completarlo, la escena donde montaban los caballos no resultó como esperábamos, pero fue chistoso y divertido. Almorzamos y regresamos a Toulouse en el bus para recoger nuestro pareja Judía favorita, Los Goldings. Después de recogerlos nos fuimos para Pau, donde nos quedamos en un Best Western. Luego salimos para ver la catedral y Le Chateau, estaban cerradas pero fueron atrayentes. Esa tarde encontramos un restaurante que nos dio auténtica comida francesa y el precio fue razonable. Después nos acostamos esperando la llegada a la Madre Patria... España
Día 4, el 19 de marzo
San Jean de Port, localizado en las laderas de los Pirineos, fue nuestra primera parada en el País Vasco. Muchas de las casas están construidas a lo largo del río y pintadas blancas con techumbres de tejas. Aún siendo un pueblo de montañas, este lugar cabe perfectamente con todas sus casas y tiendas locales, en el sentimiento general del lugar, pero no nos quedamos por mucho tiempo ya que luego nos fuimos a las montañas. En el corto tiempo que estuvimos allí tuvimos la oportunidad de mirar el río el cual tenia una amplia población de truchas, lo cual indica una comunidad muy limpia. Después de dejar ese lugar, fuimos al monumento de Rolán, pero antes de llegar, oficiales españoles estaban esperando en el borde de la frontera a la gente que quería cruzar. Nos pararon y tuvimos que desinfectar nuestros zapatos, por lo que Carlos dijo que era, “por miedo de una epidemia de fiebre aftosa,” pero todos sabemos que España tiene un desorden compulsivo y necesitábamos limpiar nuestros zapatos de los espíritus malignos. Después de nuestro pequeño y amistoso enfrentamiento con los oficiales españoles, avanzamos al monumento de Rolán localizado en Ibañeta, el cual esta dedicado al héroe épico, Rolán, que en su tiempo luchó contra los moros por la Iglesia Católica y para su maestro, Carlomagno de Francia. También en este lugar, hay un montículo donde los peregrinos colocaban cruces para indicar que pasaron por allí. En Ibañeta había un hospicio donde tenían este dicho, “esta puerta esta abierta a los enfermos y sanos, a los Católicos y los paganos, Judíos, herejes, mendigos, y los indigentes, y abraza a todos los hermanos.” Este hospicio fue trasladado a Roncevalles debido al violento mal tiempo en la cumbre de la colina donde Ibañeta esta ubicado. En Roncevalles el Silo Carlomagno fue construido por la monarquía francesa para Rolán y sus compañeros que murieron en la batalla del 778. En el Silo Carlomagno hay un hoyo al centro del edificio, donde si los peregrinos morían, allí se enterraban sus cuerpos. Supuestamente la tumba de Rolán también esta allí. El centro de este ha sido restaurado y un altar moderno fue puesto arriba del osario, bajo del osario se encuentra el foso donde están los huesos. La arquitectura del Silo es de estilo romanesco.







Día 5, el 20 de marzo
Después de que descansamos en Pamplona, subimos al bus y partimos hacia Bilbao, cuando llegamos allí hicimos el recorrido con un guía, José. No aprendimos mucho del recorrido excepto de que las colinas eran verdes y lindas. Un hecho que si aprendimos fue que Bilbao tiene uno de los mercados al aire libre más grande de España, y también es donde esta el museo Guggenheim. La arquitectura del edificio fue maravillosa pero el interior fue para los que les gusta el arte moderno. El edificio fue diseñado en la forma de un barco con sus velas relucientes por el sol, desde fuera este edificio era impresionante. En la entrada del edificio había un perro muy grande hecho de flores y de tres pisos de altura. Después del museo nos dirigimos al pueblo de Carlos, Ameyugo. Cuando llegamos allí almorzamos en el Restaurante del Monumento del Pastor, donde la comida fue muy rica y muchos de nosotros probamos cosas nuevas. Traci probó pulpo, que le gustó y fue bueno. Los padres de Carlos nos dieron champagne y tarta, los dos fueron deliciosos y de otro mundo. De Ameyugo fuimos a Burgos y cuando llegamos al hotel nos dieron la tarde libre para ir de compras y conocer esta magnífica ciudad, que para los próximos días seria nuestra casa.

Día 6, el 21 de marzo
Salimos de Burgos y nos dirigimos a La Rioja donde se encuentran los monasterios de Yuso y Suso, en el camino paramos en Santo Domingo, el camino allí fue construido en la trayectoria original de los peregrinos; a la izquierda esta el camino para los que caminan el camino y al otro lado esta el sendero para los que montan bicicletas. Santo Domingo fue construido por el rey Alonso VI, y la mayoría de la arquitectura fue de estilo romanesco con un poco de gótico incluido en los lados. El cuento tras Santo Domingo va así: El milagro del gallo y la gallina. La tradición nos dice que había unos peregrinos que pararon aqui para venerar las reliquias de Santo Domingo de la Calzada, era una pareja con su hijo de diecinueve años que llegaron de Ad Sanctos. La chica de la fonda se enamoró con el chico pero sus sentimientos fueron rechazados. Ella quería venganza entonces puso una copa de plata en la maleta del chico y cuando estaba listo para seguir su jornada, lo denuncio a la policía. Bajo las leyes de ese tiempo de Alfonso X, el Sabio, el castigo por un crimen de robar era muerte, y cuando lo capturaron y juzgaron, fue ahorcado. Cuando sus padres se iban para Santiago, fueron a ver su hijo ahorcado, y cuando llegaron al lugar oyeron su voz diciéndole que Santo Domingo de las Calzada salvo su vida. Sus padres fueron directamente a la casa del oficial de la ciudad y le contaron del milagro. Incrédulo, el oficial les dijo despectivamente que el hijo de ellos estaba tan vivo como el gallo y gallina que se iba a comer. De repente, el gallo y gallina saltaron de su plato y empezaron a cantar. Desde esa época estas famosas líneas han sido recitadas: Santo domingo de la Calzada donde el gallo y gallina cantan después de ser asados. En memoria de este evento, un gallo y gallina vivos, siempre blancos, están en la iglesia durante todo el año y se pueden ver por un vidrio enfrente del corral. Son regalados y cambiados todos los meses. Nuestra próxima parada fue el famoso monasterio de Suso y Yuso. Aquí se puede ver mucha arquitectura de estilo romanesco, gótico, y plateresco con influencia española, no el típico italiano, y también unas formas de barroco, como la Sacristía de Yuso. Esta pieza contiene muchas obras de arte que datan de los siglos XVI al XVIII. El suelo de esta pieza absorbe la humedad y por esa razón, las pinturas nunca han sido restauradas. Este lugar fue muy importante para la lengua española, tiene los primeros textos de castellano.

posted by Anthony at 2:39 PM

Day one: March 15th/16th
After a very long flight, that began on the 15th from Cincinnati to Paris which eventually lead us to Toulouse on the 16th of March 2001, our very anticipated journey began. Suffering from jet-lagg we started our tour of Toulouse right away. The first place that we visited was, La Basailique of St. Sernin constructed during 1096-1996, the bulding was shaped like a cross and had Gothic and romanesque arquitecture. Inside of the church there is a musical organ made of wood with angels carved on it. At the right time of day, you can look through the windows and the silouettes of the angels still show their remarkable features. Being that most of us are spanish majors, and being from the western hemisphere, we were running on "Latino time," so therefore we were running late and got kicked out of the Basailique because it was closing time. With most of the city building closing we stopped in the main plaza located in the center of town, where thecapital building is located. From there we traveld to the river, Garonne, where they had two different elevations on each side, one side with a hospital where all the poor piligrams and old people stayed, this side is away from twon and is at river level, it flooded frequently and many of the people staying on this side died, but it didn't really matter since they were of "little" significance. On the side closer to town, the elevation was set at 10 meters above the river level so that some protection was provided from the floods. We crossed a bridge and visited the outside of the St. James hospital, where we had a group picture in front of a scallop shell. We then looked at arquitecture of the rich people and their towers that had certain height restrictions of 30 meters, the towers were a sign of wealth. Then half of the group went to a pizzaria and the other went to a French bistro and with jet-lagg at full force we retired for the evening.
Day Two: March 17th
After what seemed to be a very short nap, we loaded up and left for Albi a town near Toulouse. Albi has a cathedreal that was built on the outside in a very romanesque fashion. With tall, long, and broad walls the building was built like a fortress to show the power of the Catholic church. St. Cecilia Cathedral housed the Cardnal from Rome that was there to govern this area of France. On the inside of the Cathedral, the decoration was very ornate and gotchic, the choir owas also seperated fromt eh main part of the church. Also in the cathedral of St. Cecilia we got our first glimpse of the Son of Thunder, St. James. Outside of the Cathedral the clergy set up a private garden. This gardenis also located on the river Garonne. After seeing the inside of the church and the the garden, we were givin a few hours off to have lunch, and shop. After we all meet back at the bus we left for Cordes, which was grogeous. Cordes had a wonderful little church, but is a rough climb to reach is, since the road leading to the church was very steep. The church of St. Micheal the arc-angel of God, was constructed in gothic style. During the construction of St. Micheal's the cathedral in Albi was also being constructed and with laborors limited, Albi got the work force being the bigger town. The Cardnal of Albi had a little squabble with the clergy and townsfolk of Cordes, and he pulled his weight to have St. Micheal's shut down for some time, leaving the people of Cordes without religion. Cordes also offered us some nice little gift shops where there were hand crafted jewlery and trinkets. We then left Cordes and returned to Toulouse.
Being St. Patrick's day and seeing the legal drinikng age is 16 we all went out to celebrate in our own ways. We meet some locals as well as Europeans, since afterall most of Europe has open boarders making it easy for people to travel from one country to the next.
Day Three: March 18th
After getting our first taste of the Son of Thunder in Albi, we retracted a bit and went to a wonderful place called, Carcassonne. Carcassonne was the biggest fort in all of Europe that was inpregnable since it was built on a hillside. Carcassonne contains the castle where Kevin Costner filmed his remdition of Robin Hood, Prince of Theives. Although the castle was reconsturcted in 1844, it still holds its sense of originality and the reconstruction was more like a restoration of the original. We walked the castle walls, and were shown defense techniques such as; extreemly thin slits of the walls where arrows could be shot out but nothing could theoretically get in, and where hot oil was sotred to dump on would be invaders. Carcassonne has within its walls a cathedral that, or so we are told, the most beautiful stain glass windows of France, however there was a church service going on so we were not allowed to enter the cathedral. We then went ot the inquisition museum where we saw a display of the instruments of torture used by the clergy during this time (note due the graphic nature of these instruments, we will not go into any further detail...oh and its was disgusting and mostly pre-barfo). Thent he females shopped...A LOT...then Traci and Berni tried their luck in re-creating Monty Python's Holy Grail, needless to say due to the low budge of our crew, the horse riding seen did not turn out as expected, but it was fun...so there damnit. We all had lunch and loaded back into the "happy wagon." and headed back towards Toulouse to pick up our favorite Jewish couple, The Goldings. After pcking the Goldings up we headed towards Pau, the home of the French Calvary, which as we all know is for decoration purposes only. In Pau we stayed at a Best Western, which was under reconstruction. We the left our rooms and went to see the town Cathedral, but just the outside since it was closed, and the Chateau, it was neat. That evening we found a nice mom and pop resteraunt that provided us with authentic French cuisine that was priced reasonably. We then went to sleep and were wating for our arrival to the Madre Patria.

Day Four, Mrach 19

St. Jean Pied de Port our first time in the Basque country, this is located at the foothills of the Pyrenees. Many of the houses are built along the river and are painted white with ride tiled roofing. When of little moutain towns, this place fits in perfectly with all of its houses and smll local stores, and the general feel of the place. we didn't stay here for too long, before we headed up into the moutains. In the short time that we were there, we got a chance to look into the river, and there was a healthy population of Brown Trout, which is a good sign of a clean community. After we left here we went to the Roland monument, but before we arrived there Spanish officals were waiting for people to cross the bourder were we had to stop. We then had to bleach our shoes, for what Carlos said was, "fear of an outbreak of foot and mouth," but we all know that Spain has a compulsive dissorder and we needed to cleanse our shoes of evil spirits and what have you. So with our nice little run in with Spanish officals, we proceeded to the monument of Roland located in Ibañeta. This is dedicated to the French epic Hero, Roland, who in his time fough off the moors for the Catholic Church and for his master, Charlemagne of France. Also on this location, there is a little mound with crosses placed there by pilgrams to mark their passing. Then we pressed foward towards Roncesvalles, a magnificent little town. In Ibañeta there was a hospice with a saying, This door is open to the sick and well, to Catholics as well as to pegans, Jews, Heretics, beggers, and the indigent, and embraces all like brothers. this hospice was relocated to Roncesvalles b/c of of violent weather on top of the hill, where Ibañeta is located. In Roncevalles the Silo Carolomagno which was built by the French monarchy for Roland and his companions that died in the battle of 778. At the Silo Carlomagno, there is a pit in the center of building, where if pilgrams were to die, their remains would be placed there. This is also the supposed tomb of Roland, the center has ben restored and a modern altar was placed on top of the ossuary, under the ossuary is where the pit of bones is located. The arquitecture of the Silo is Romanesque. And hopefully this will post right but anyway next we walked into a different buiding with the monument and the tomb of Sancho, The king of Navarra. On the top of his tomb is a life size statue of himself, with his legs crossed at the end- ,eaning that you were a fighter in the crusades. In the statue, his sword is faced up, meaning that he died while fighting...if the sword is down at the side of the body, then the person died a naural death. We also learned about how they defined the warriors fromnormal people because of the position they were buried in- normal people were buried straight up and down ( so they wouldn't take up as much space) where as the people in the crusades against the moors were buried horizontally. In the museum of Roncesvalles, we encountered religious artwork and also things used in the processions of masses or cloth worn by priests or bishops. Some of the clothes we saw were the tierras bishops wore doing religious ceremonies, the crosses around their necks as well as the crosses they carried.

Day Five, March 20th

After a sortend rest in Pamplona, we loaded back up into our happy wagon and headed for Bilboa, and when we arrived to Bilboa, we had a guided tour with a local, José. We didn't get much out of the tour except that the suroungding hills were green and somewhat nice. A couple of facts that were picked up, is that Bilboa has one of the largest open air markets of Spain, and it is also home to a Guggenheim museum. The arquitecture of the building was truly a site to see, however the art on the inside left something to desire but if you can dig modern art, then this is the place to be. The building was designed after a big ship, whith its sails glistening in the sun, from the outside this building was awsome. In front of the building there was a big dog, that was a hedge of flowers, and the dog was three stories high...bfd. After exploring the museum for a couple of hours, we got back on the happy wagon and headed for Carlos's hometown, Ameyugo. When we arrived to Ameyugo we meet Carlos's parents, Don Manuel Gutiérrez and Doña Victoria Gómez and we had lunch at Resturante del Monumento del Pastor, where the food was good and many of the people tried new things. Traci tried octopus, which she liked and it was good. Carlos's parents bought us champagne and cake whcih were both out of this world. From Ameyugo we headed off for Burgos and upon arrival, we checked into our hotel and were given the evning to shop and take in this wonderful town, which in the next few days would be home base.

Day 6, March 21

We leave Burgos and head for La Rioja heading towards the monostairies of Yuso y Suso and stoped at Santo Domingo along the way. The road there was built on the original paths of the pilgrams, on the left is the road for the walkers and on the other side a path for bicycles. Santo Domingo was built for King Alonso VI, and the arquitecture was mostly romanesque with some gothic thrown in on the side. The Story behind Santo Domingo goes like this: The Miracle of the rooster and the hen. "Tradition tells that, among the many pilgrims that to Santiago de Compostela who stopped here to venerate the relics of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a married couple and their nineteen year old son arrived from Ad Sanctos. The girl at the inn where they stayed fell in live with the boy but her feelings were rebuffed. Bent on revenge for this slight, she 'planted' a silver goblet in his luggage and when they took up for their journey once more she denounced him to the authorities. Under the laws of the time (the code of Alfonso X el Sabio) the punishment for the crime of robbery was death and, once captured and judged, the innocent pilgrim was hanged. When his parents departed for Santiago, they went to see their hanged child and when they came to the place they heard his voice telling them that Santo Domingo de la Calzada had saved his life. They went straight to the house of the city official and told him of the miracle. Incredulous, the city official replied scornfully that their son was about as alive as the roast rooster and hen that he was about to eat. At that moment, the rooster and hen leaped from the plate and began to crow. Since then these famous lines have been recited: Santo Domingo de la Calzada where the hen crows after being roasted. In memory of this event, a live rooster and hen, always white, are kept in the church throughout the year, and are visible to the guests by clear glass in front of the pen. They are donated and are changed every month.
Our next stop was the famous monasteries de Suso and Yuso. Here you can see a lot of Romanesque architecture, gothic, platerescos with spanish influence, not the typical italian, and also some forms of barroque, such as the Sacristía de Yuso. This room contained many works of art dating back to the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The floor in this room absorbs humidity, and because of the paintings you encounter in this room have never been restored. This place was extremely important and significant for the spanish language. Here you are going to find the first words of the Castillian language and their first translations. The monastery also has a library that contains more than 300 original documents dating from the 11th to 15th century. In the sacristy of Yuso many paintings in barroque style that have never had to be restored due to the texture of what the floor is made of, keeping the humidity out of the room.
After the monastery of Yuso we drove up the hill to he moastery of Suso built in the 13th century. It was pretty from the outside but we were not able to go in. Once again we headed back to Ameyugo for another delicious meal, and then we said farewell and headed off to Burgos where we went out on the town and hung out with the locals.

Day ,March 22, 2001

Today we went to the Burgos Cathedral with a gothic exterior with spanish influence. We had a great tourguide, whose name was Gloria, who wass hilarious and very fun to listen too. A couple of interesting things about this church that are probably seldom seen anywhere else- in one of the side chaoels there is an enormous statue of Jesus on the cross that moves. How? Inside the statue, between the wood and the leather there is water, allowing the statue to move. It also has real hair and nails- talk about lifelike, huh? There is also a clock, that has never broken or stopped working, at the top corner of the inside of the cathedral, a few hundred feet up, that moves and makes noise on the hour (like a coo-coo clock).
Next, we went to the Santa Maria la Real de Huelgas monastery and museum. It contained a lot of interesting stuff such as the original tombs of some the royal family of Alonso VIII, their clothing, and some very intricate arabic designs on the wood of a door and also on the ceilings- due to the fact that Alonso VIII liked the arabic style. This is the first time that we had seen arabic influence in any of the architecture of the buildings. Still to this day it is a monastery for women, if you are ever hungry and without food and shelter, you can still go here for help and the nuns are more tha willing to lend their christian services. The reason this is a eoman monastery strictly is because of the wife of Alonso VIII, Leonor of England, who pursued the fact it should be for women. And because women are always right, it happened.
The next stop was Leon. We arrived, ate, and continued our way to the cathedral of Leon, but first stopped and admired the outside architecture of a building designed by Gaudi. The Leon cathedral was enormous, beautiful, and to a few people on the trip ws the most amazing cathedral they had ever seen. On the outside of the main door there are carvings of Judgement Day, and on one side the wonders of Heaven, on the side the horrors of Hell. Also on the outside was a "pole" carved into the building with the myth that if you touched it, you were healed. The inside was gourgeous, with enormous stained glass windows circling the cathedral, depicting scenes from the Bible. This stained glass covers 1,700 square meters of the cathedral. It was constructed during the years 1188 to 1230 with a gothic style (startong to sound repetitive?). After a tour of the cathedral we walked over to "San Isidoro", Romanesque paintwork in the Patheon of Kings. Inside on the walls and ceilings were stories from the Bible pa
inted everywhere.
After a long and filled day we ate and went back to the hotel, sat around and discussed our days, and the anticipation and expectations of the coming days, then fell asleep.

Day , March 23

Today we went to the cathedral of Astorga, with another building constructed by Gaudi, built in 1889 and in a neogothic style, lying next to it. The cathedral was built during the 15th to the 18th centuries. The altar has aa renaissance stle, with roman and greek architecture. We saw another statue of St. James, with his satchel, walking stick, and a book. Inside the museum of the cathedralthere were a lot of religious paintings, one of which had the twelve apostles with their different symbols. It also had relics from the church when it was first constructed, such as the crosses used during the procession, the clothing of the priests , and other artifacts that were used during the procession of mass.
After we left here we were on the road for Santiago de Compostela, but first we stopped at Lugo to eat and saw remnants of the original roman walls.
Then we arrived in Santiago, the final destination of our trip. Before driving to our hotel, we stopped at a monument outide of the city of St. James, where in 1992 Pope John Paul II had a service where millions and millions of people filled the hill.
That night, we caught a glimpse of the night life, hung out with a couple of the locals, danced, then went back to the hotel- happy becase we had another great night but sad because we only had one more great night left.
Day , March 24

Our last day in Spain before we go back to the states. Today we took a small tour around the town of Santiago and then entered the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral holds the relicas of St. James and his disciples Theodore and Athanasius. When St. James was martyred. His body was taken, sent of into the ocean, and landed in Santiago de Compostela, hence the cahedrals and religous pilgrimages. Inside the cathedral you see the chess with his remains. Also, you walk behind the altar, which has the statue of St. James, you give the priest behind the altar some pesetas, and he hands you a prayer booklet and asks you to hug the statue of St. James. You can also go to a part of the cathedralcalled the doorway to glory wher in one of the pillars at the top, St. james is carved. Underneath, you rest your forehead against a statues forehead, and rest your hand in crevices where the statues hands would be. On the other side is somehing similar, a statue or carving out of the pillar where you y
ou can rest your head. By doing this, you are supposed to be given wisdom, the wisdom of salvation- this is a part of the journey that really seperates the believers from the non-believers- those who took the journey in a spiritual or historical sense- for many on the trip it was both.
After the cathedral we went and toured a college, then spent the afternoon at leisure. That night, some rested up for the journey home, while others spent the last night on the trip to their advantage, by not wasting a minute of it sleeping- and by this we literally mean a minute.

Day , March 25

The reality of the trip being over finally it on the way to the airport when our awesome tourguide, Andre, bid us a happy and safe journey home. However, many people couldn't even think of the journey home because they were too tired they couldn't even think about walking.



posted by Anthony at 8:28 PM

PIctures/Fotos
Index of Cd1
Index of Cd2
Index of Cd3
Index of Cd4
Index of Cd5
posted by Anthony at 1:46 PM

Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Cinncinnati
The Way of St. James
Links to sites related to the Camino
Fútbol EspañolaLinks

posted by Anthony at 5:49 PM

Hey everyone! This website is all about our journey to Spain! We're going on the Camino de Santiago de Compastela. It is the pilgramage tour of St. James the Apostle, or for those with some know how..the "Son of Thunder." a name givin to him through this "booming" sermons on his quest for converts to the Christian faith.

An afterthought:
We hope this web site ws enjoyable, interesting, and a source of inspiration to do the same as we did. Travel, explore a new culture, and learn a lot about history, dating back way before the United States really existed. Our pictures, thoughts, and feelings can only be expressed so much...pictures can say a thousand words, but when your actually standing in the picture it can say so much more.




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posted by Anthony at 7:08 PM