Camino II — Day 3

Mother and Child Show The Way

This is, of course, Madonna and child. Mother Mary holds a light while baby Jesus points the way of the Camino, and gives the open palm welcome sign. Nice! It reminds me of the sculpture on the top of Notre Dame in Jerusalem. Mary is holding baby Jesus and Jesus is stretching out his little hand over the Old City of Jerusalem. And in Jesus’ hand is the Communion wafer.

Saint James Finally Turns Up

The closer we get to Spain – we are about a day away – the more we see the image of Saint James, the oldest of the “sons of thunder.” Saint James, Santiago in Spanish, is extremely important to the people of Spain. Here are a few of the images we’ve seen so far.

As a reminder, Saint James was beheaded in Jerusalem, but his disciples carried his body to the Iberian Peninsula to bury him there. The spot of his burial is now named Santiago — meaning St James. The scallop shell is a symbol of the Camino because legend has it that the ship the disciples were in was sunk in a storm. However, the body of James floated up to the surface covered with scallop shells to protect him.

The wooden staff is a walking stick, and the gourd on the top was for drinking water, or wine — I’m going with wine. The hat is traditional as well and is simply one that can fold into a 1/2 moon.

Of course, this is all legend, except to those who believe it literally. We all know something about that.

One More Saint Then I’m Done With Saints

The Patron Saint of Lisbon is Saint Anthony. He was born there. We see him everywhere. He is holding the Christ child and a lily. The Christ child is a reminder that following Jesus means being humble as Jesus humbled himself to become one of us. The lily is a symbol of purity, living a life of chastity, charity and compassion. I’m in for two of those.

Here’s a Living Good Guy

We went into a church dedicated to Saint Anthony and met this guy. He was so gracious and couldn’t tell us enough about the church that he loved. He’s just your average Joe, like the rest of us. We liked him.

Wind, Rain and the Rest of the Day

It was a day filled with weather. We had a squall, seriously high wind and hail. It rained on and off all day. And then there were rivers of mud. It was challenging, which is what we signed up for. However, you wouldn’t want every day to be like this.

We are a beat up bunch, feet especially, but also stiff hips, back, all the parts that carry your load and enable you to walk. The fascinating part of all this is the wonder of the human body. Yes we are hurting, but this morning, as I write this, I’m much better. I haven’t talked to the rest yet, but I promise you, they will show up. A cup of coffee, some smiles and laughter, bread and cheese, and we’ll go — together.

Well, there is Bob. We get to the end of the day, walk past a playground and he grabs a bar and does four chin ups. Then he declares he could do more but he’s a little tired. I’m starting to hate Bob.

From Sally and Me With Love

Bom Caminho