One of the things about Spain that we were aware of prior to arriving was the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage that begins–if you choose to do the full route–in France and runs along the northern portion of Spain until is reaches the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galacia, Spain. It is here that tradition holds that the remains of the apostle James are buried. While there is no question that James was martyred in Jerusalem in 62 AD, his remains were said to have been transferred by boat to the coast of Spain. As it was approaching the shore, legend has it, there was a wedding party and the groom, on horseback, saw the ship and his horse was spooked and ran into the sea. Both the groom, and the horse, however, were miraculously saved and came up from the sea covered in scalloped shells, which now represents the Camino. A modern rendering of the shells can be seen on the sign at the left.
While there are not as many pilgrims within Ávila, in some of the larger cities of Spain it is not uncommon to see someone wearing a backpack walking along, a shell attached somewhere on them, representing the pilgrimage they are either currently undertaking, or one that they have successfully completed. Many pilgrims purchase a credencial, which is something akin to a passport. Your credencial is stamped at the various towns in which one stays along the way and having a credencial gives you access to overnight lodging along the way. The credencial is also used as proof of your pilgrimage, used at the Santiago de Compostela to receive an official compostela, or certificate of accomplishment. One must travel at least 100 kilometers, be traveling for religious reasons, and have received a minimum number of stamps along the way to receive a compostela.
One this day, one year ago, we decided to take a walk through Ávila. We may have been searching for something specific, a restaurant, perhaps, but stumbled on to the sign above during our walk. While the main route (and there are many different routes for the Camino) goes east-to-west through Spain, there are a great number of minor routes that travel throughout the country toward Galacia. One goes through Ávila and travels the same route as the Way of St. Teresa, a saint who lived in Ávila. Later in the semester, we would take a group of students along the Camino, walking from the southern end of the city, through the town and the old town within the city walls, then out toward the northwest, headed toward Galacia. Perhaps one day we will return to actually walk the main route of the Camino itself.
Also one year ago today
During the fall, a market would be set up in the Plaza del Mercado Chico (the little market square). It was amazing to walk through the various booths and see all of the different fruits and vegetables that were for sale. In a town where eating out is not really the norm, it was easy to see how people would want to eat at home, with all of the fresh options available to them. We have farmer’s markets here, but there really is something interesting about shopping in an old city square!