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Recent content by sillydoll

  1. sillydoll

    Relics of the camino

    For Fr Jeffrey- a post from 13 years ago.
  2. sillydoll

    Veterans... who walked first?

    I LOVED my first Camino in May 2002 but looking back it wasn't that romantic! When we think of the Camino 20 years ago we envisage uncrowded paths, welcoming locals, sleeping in barns or under the stars and no intrusions. We three ladies were fit athletes, had hiked the Coast to Coast in...
  3. sillydoll

    What's your earliest Camino connection?

    At the end of 1999 I was planning to lead a group of 10 ladies on the Coast to Coast in England in 2001. Then Foot and Mouth broke out in England and we weren't sure if we'd be able to walk in England. We all made suggestions for an alternative walk and, after reading about the Camino in the...
  4. sillydoll

    COVID When an airline cancels your flight and refuses refund

    What airlines are doing is against the law. Here is a copy of the EU regulations and also what Ryanair is sending out, and they must rate as the stickiest of airlines! Tell them legal action will follow which will be more expensive. (I am still fighting with Vueling for a refund of 5 tickets...
  5. sillydoll

    The wild-west days of the camino

    Does anyone know of books which are about doing the camino back the 90s, 80s, or possibly even... gulp.. the 70s? There wasn't a 'Camino' as we know it, to follow in the 1970's or early 1980's. The "Father of the Camino", Don Elias Valiña Sampedro wrote: “In the 1970’s there survived only a...
  6. sillydoll

    The wild-west days of the camino

    Georgiana Goddard King was an academic who established the department of the History of Art at Bryn Mawr College in 1913. She published a 3 volume work in 1917 tracing the pilgrimage trails and describing the most important art and architecture on the roads Santiago. These could not really be...
  7. sillydoll

    COVID Asking the pope for extending Holy year to 2022?

    If pilgrims of old returned to Santiago they would be surprised to find that the Holy Years are celebrated on 25 July because they used to celebrate in mid-winter. In the early Middle Ages the 30 December was St James’ feast day, based on the old Hispanic (Mozarabic) rite. In the 11th century...
  8. sillydoll

    Looking for information

    In 2008 Rebekah Scott and the Canadian Pilgrims devised an online Hospitaleros training course. They consisted of a series of weekly assignments based on the Spanish HOSVOL course. I was fortunate to be asked to be a part of testing the online course, but in the end, it was never accepted by...
  9. sillydoll

    COVID Asking the pope for extending Holy year to 2022?

    The 2021 Holy Year will be extended, so it will last for 2 years to give all Catholics an opportunity to receive the plenary indulgence. This has happened twice - during the Civil war and in 1885 1886 to celebrate the discovery of the remains of Sant Iago after they had been lost for over 300...
  10. sillydoll

    History of the Camino

    My Camino 'Bible' is The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David M. Gitlitz (Author), Linda Kay Davidson (Author) The road across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest was one of the three major Christian pilgrimage routes during the Middle...
  11. sillydoll

    Virtual Camino creative virtual camino anyone?

    We are under a complete lock down. Living in a gated retirement village that means we can only leave if we need to buy food, medicines or visit a doctor. Nobody is allowed in. All activities have ceased. Fortunately, we are allowed to take a walk twice a day, within the boundaries of the...
  12. sillydoll

    Sarria to Santiago de Compostella

    The best way to avoid the crowds IS to book all of your rooms ahead! This allows you to get up later than the rest of the pack and start walking after breakfast. Many pilgrims race to get a bed in the next albergue, usually stop walking around lunch time, after which the paths are fairly...
  13. sillydoll

    Where are the apostles of Jesus buried?

    There could be dozens of controlled tests possible with the many relics of Santiago in Europe. Santiago wasn't the first town to claim a relic of Saint James - various relics had been around for almost 300 hundred years before he was identified in Spain. So far I have been able to find three...
  14. sillydoll

    Multi-timers: Compare your Camino experiences

    First CF in 2002. We walked it in 27 days - sometimes doing less than 20 km per day and then had to play catch-up and walk 40 km stages. It was a fabulous hike - physically challenging, great landscapes, wonderful people, but not particularly spiritual! There were only ± 160 albergues back...
  15. sillydoll

    COVID Opening a coronavirus thread for forum discussion

    This is for those planning to walk the Via Francigena: The US on Friday warned against non-essential travel to Italy, a top destination for US tourists, over the growing corona virus epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential...
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