Spain and the starting point:

Hi All,

We flew from Paris to Biaritz, taxied to Bayonne and then bused to St Jean Pied de Port to get our credencials-the official pilgrim passport that get stamped along the way-and started the Camino. We didn´t do the pyranees because we had not done enough training to conquer it so we taxied from St Jean to Pamploma and started from there.

This is the starting point on the Camino but we started in Pamploma instead.

These are the signs to point you in the right direction. It is kind of like orientering, looking for them. 

The Pyranees Moutains.

In Pamploma we saw a guy busking, we stopped, listened and tipped him.

Following the camino signs through the city of Pamploma.

We have now entered the region of Navarra.

The long dirt road ahead.

Fields of wheat line the path.

Here I am a walkin´!

In the Spanish sun.

These are the waymarkers that show you the path.

Paris

Bonjour,


So sorry again for this belated post!

On the 27th March we landed in Paris. This was such an exhausting day but still jet lagged after another long flight.

Paris was wonderful, an absolutely amazing city and I would go back any day. I went to the Louvre museum, which was incredible. I saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and lost of works by Carravaggio. The towering ceilings are breathtaking,  they are very ornate and decortated with amazing paintings and carvings.


I am facinated with architecture, so it was amazing to see Paris because it has such interesting buildings. The builings are all the exact same height and style and all the windows have shutters.


I saw all  the famous monuments, the Eiffel Tower, Saint Chappelle, the Arc de Triophe and Notre Dame. All these landmarks were wonderful and I wish I had longer there.


Of course I had to go to Champs Elysees and window shop! The Louis Vitton store is indescribable and we went to the Louis Vitton and Marc Jacobs exhibition which was interesting and the outfits were gorgeous. I still can´t believe I actually stepped foot into the Chanel store in pilgrim attire. I love new Chanel store, it is so chic!

Au revoir!

A Metro sign in Paris. I am really happy with the quality of all of these photo when I´m only using my iPhone!

A gorgeous outfit at the Louis Vitton exhibition. 

The Raft of the Medus painting in the Louvre, with me infront and it shows how massive this painting is.

Notre Dame, wow. This is an amazing church.

The Arc de Triomphe stands in the middle of a round a bout where bussling streets meet so it is kind of hard to get a good shot.

The Eiffel Tower is a truely amazing construction.

Venus de Milo in the Louvre. Is is amazing to be so close to such a renowned piece of art.

 The Mona Lisa, she is tiny! 

The famous stained glass windows in St Chappelle.

Me in front of the centre glass triangle at the Louvre.



About the Pilrimage

The Camino Frances – The French Way:

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage to the ancient burial ground of the Apostle St James, found in northwest Spain.  In Medieval times hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came from all over Europe to walk to Santiago de Compostela. Many pilgrims start on the French side of the Pyrenees where some of France’s other Caminos met before continuing on, this is why it is called the Camino Frances. I'll follow the route to the west and I'll end up in the province of Galicia in the city of  Santiago de Compostela, the town where St James’ relics lie.

The pilgrimage routes started in France, Italy, Belgium, England and many more places in Europe. A numerous amount of these pilgrimages are still walked today by modern pilgrims but they are not as busy as they were in medieval times. The most common is the pilgrimage I am walking; the Camino Frances to de Santiago de Compostela. 

The Camino Frances goes for about 780km, passing through several different environments and terrains: mountains, plains, towns and cities.

The word ‘Camino’ means ‘way’ or ‘path’ and ‘Santiago’ translates from the Spanish word ‘Saint’ (Sant) ‘James’ (Iago).

Thoughts on the Camino de Santiago

I discovered this lovely video on youtube and I just found it interesting how amazing, words on a blank page can make you feel.

Santiago and the Scallop Shell

After the Christians in Jerusalem recovered Saint James' body they set it afloat in a ‘stone’ boat onto the Mediterranean Sea. There an Angel descended from heaven and guided it through the Pillars of Hercules (now called the strait of Gibraltar) and up the west coast of Spain to the region now known as Galicia.


As his remains came close to the Galician shore, mythology says that a gallant young man on horseback galloped into the sea and rescued Saint James’ remains. When all emerged from the water; the rider, his horse and Saint James’ remains were said to be covered completely in scallop shells. Still to this very day scallop shells are the symbol of Saint James the Pilgrim and of the Camino de Santiago.  In art Saint James the pilgrim is depicted with a scallop shell holding back the wide brim of his felt hat.

Introduction

I'm Ella, I am 14 years old and I am from Australia. In only 5 days I'm off to travel through Spain. I am walking the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela with my mum. The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage to the relics of the apostle Saint James.

I'm excited to take seven weeks off school to get a break from the homework. Even though I am missing quite a lot of school, my teachers will be happy to know that I am going to write on my blog about lots of different educational things I find along the way.  I'll talk about the geography of where I'm going and the history. I will take in as much Spanish music as i can and try to pick up the language, which I am trying to learn. I am keeping a sketching diary for art and will also be visiting some of the most famous museums in the world; in France and Spain. I will of course be taking heaps of photos that I'll be able to post on as well. I am sure there will be many other educational things I will also pick up along the way and talk about them too.

There is one thing that I'm not looking forward to on my trip and that is the blisters on my feet but I've got good boots so I hoping for the best. I've been training and I've bought all my light weight gear; my boots, backpack, clothes and sleeping bag.

This is a map of where I'm walking in Northern Spain.