End of the 500 miles

Santiago Tour.

Roughing It

Santiago de Compastelo. The end of the pilgrims journey for salvation. With fine dining.

O Cebreiro, Spain

While New Mexico Slept

Gaudi Palace Astorga

My favorite place so far in Spain.

Astorga

Another one for the ages. 

I have always had this love of flying buttresses for some odd reason.  They held up the walls and with out them these old places would collapse.

Leon Cathedral

Leon street festival

I said I wouldn't send any pictures about what we ate. But here's what we ate tonight. A nice festival in Leon Spain.

Burgos Cathedral

Monastery in Burgos

Choir

We had an extensive tour of the Cathedral this morning in Santiago de Calzada.  Our tour guide was great.  This picture in the Choir of the old church.  The guide explained that only 6% of Spanish citizens attend church these days, and that 80% of them are retired, and that 80% of them are women.
The nearby Cistercian Monastery has 28 cloistered nuns and that almost all of them are from Africa and Asia.  This is also where most of America's priests are being recruited from.  One gets the feeling the church is in an unrecoverable nosedive.  But they are leaving behind some great structures.

The Choir area was constructed in the 1500's and was made of Walnut polished with Beeswax.  They have never been refinished and still look brand-new.

Pilgrims

These pilgrims have about 350 miles left before they complete their journey to Santiago De la Compostela. Apparently, if they complete the pilgrimage they get a get out of jail card and go straight to heaven when they die. No matter what their sins were. Pretty good deal if you believe in that stuff.

Santo Domingo de la Calzadas

We had a huge lunch today. They just kept bringing more. We split a banana for dinner here at the rest station for pilgrims headed west.

Laguardia, Spain

Rioja wine region

Underground

We are in an underground winery in Laguardia, a walled city. The wine was delicious.

Evidence

We took a really good ground tour of Sos Del Rey Catolicos today.  This photo shows the results of the Decree of Expulsion in 1492 of all Jews from Spain.  On this door in the Jewish quarter the Mezuzah was torn from the stone door sill and replaced with the Crucifix.

Our young guide told us that Catholicism is dying out in Spain.  Most of the church rehabilitations are being carried out with European Union money for historical and tourism reasons.  Some of the masses we have witnessed have more people on the altar than the pews.

Crypt at Levre Monastery

Had a interesting time here listening to Benedictine Monks chanting.  

Javier

Birthplace of the St Francis Xavier.