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Where did you get your stone, what type of stone is it, how far did you carry it and a little about its story relevent to you.
Yes, there are fabulous cathedrals along the route and sensational mountaintop views & scenary. Personally, there is something more, something magical about Crux de Ferro.
Interested to hear the story about the shattering stone, wayfarer.
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Where did you get your stone, what type of stone is it, how far did you carry it and a little about its story relevent to you.
Beautiful stories. Thanks to all of you.
Don't know if I dare to share my own story: It lies in the near future, 6 months from now.
Coming from a remark about the varied geology of the stones which are placed at the Cruz de Ferro by pilgrims on another thread I decided to start this thread.
Where did you get your stone, what type of stone is it, how far did you carry it and a little about its story relevent to you.
When I decided to walk the Camino I was discussing the tradition of placing the stone at the Cruz de Ferro with my family, about a week later two of my grand daughters each brought me a stone from a local beach on the West coast of Clare, water polished limestone, one was of a size that I would have wanted a donkey or horse to carry it, the other was about two inches in diameter and about one quarter of an inch thick, perfect. I wrote my own name with the date of my Camino on the stone along with the names of family and friends who were deceased, ill or who I just wanted to remember. I carried this to the Cruz de Ferro and placed it there on 15/05/12, a beautiful morning. The stone shattered as I placed it at the cross, (there is another story here for another day) which I took as a bad sign, we Irish are big on signs. I was very disappointed and more than a bit sad, but the remainder of that day was probably the most beautiful day I spent on the Camino so I was happy that it was not all bad karma.
It will. I know. Been there and have felt the spirit of 1000 years of pilgrims. Jump, Karen. And bring your own stone of burdens. Miracles do happen.My heart feels so full of emotions of which I can only express by hoping that your camino and your visit to Cruz de Ferro will be all you hope it to be.
It will. I know. Been there and have felt the spirit of 1000 years of pilgrims. Jump, Karen. And bring your own stone of burdens. Miracles do happen.
I started my Camino at SJPP. I carried from Indianapolis a smooth, flat stone which I picked up while doing my training walk before I started my Camino. I washed it then glued & taped a picture of my daughter I lost to cancer 9 yrs ago. Laying that stone on that hill gave me my much needed closure & acceptance of God's plan for her and me. It gave me the peace that I View attachment 6726 unknowingly have been searching for all this time. I felt a big burden lifted off my shoulders & I went down that hill of stones in tears. A gentleman pilgrim hugged me then helped me get down that hill, and so did a couple of pilgrims. Then they bowed their heads & prayed silently. I also carried with me a stone wrapped in a piece of paper with prayer request from my neighbor who had liver transplant a few years ago then open heart surgery 6 mos ago. This is why the Cruz de Ferro is a very special place for me. Buen Camino.
My stone was a fist sized fossil shell in lime stone from my home place in Paderborn-Germany.Coming from a remark about the varied geology of the stones which are placed at the Cruz de Ferro by pilgrims on another thread I decided to start this thread.
Where did you get your stone, what type of stone is it, how far did you carry it and a little about its story relevent to you.
When I decided to walk the Camino I was discussing the tradition of placing the stone at the Cruz de Ferro with my family, about a week later two of my grand daughters each brought me a stone from a local beach on the West coast of Clare, water polished limestone, one was of a size that I would have wanted a donkey or horse to carry it, the other was about two inches in diameter and about one quarter of an inch thick, perfect. I wrote my own name with the date of my Camino on the stone along with the names of family and friends who were deceased, ill or who I just wanted to remember. I carried this to the Cruz de Ferro and placed it there on 15/05/12, a beautiful morning. The stone shattered as I placed it at the cross, (there is another story here for another day) which I took as a bad sign, we Irish are big on signs. I was very disappointed and more than a bit sad, but the remainder of that day was probably the most beautiful day I spent on the Camino so I was happy that it was not all bad karma.
Early last October, at the (new) Pilgrims' Office of Santiago, an elder man from Canada sadly told me that he had traveled with a stone for a very dear friend all the way, with the intention to place it at the Cruz de ferro as a prayer. Once there, he frantically searched all over his pack and didn't find the stone. With great disappointment and sorrow he finished his pilgrimage in Santiago and ......... found the stone in his pack!.... Where did you get your stone, what type of stone is it, how far did you carry it and a little about its story relevent to you...
That makes it two of us, dear fellow pillow pilgrim.It was the most moving and emotional experience of my life and also for the friend I met along the way. My stone was not with me I had lost it along the way which was a good thing I thought. I wrote a note to my dad and left it on the cross, and prayed for him and there was a great uplifting in doing this. it was here that I was able to leave my father behind - a gentleman I hardly knew but who to this day has an a huge impact on me without even knowing it and sadly I never got to tell him that. Today i am my father's son and I see him each day in the mirror.
Yes there have been plenty of tears and a great spring of tears as I write this.
It took me almost a lifetime to learn that my God was in my dad and that he is with me daily.
There are many reasons why one walks the Camino. Some people walk the Camino just to walk. Some people walk the Camino to search. Some people walk the Camino as a penance. Some people walk the Camino to give thanks. But whatever the reason one walks the Camino, I am certain that if he walks with his heart open to God, he will receive many blessings. I believe that you, Jonas, will receive many blessings....
I promised my Lord
If I would ever be able to walk again, without pain
I would go to Santiago
...
Been trying to post this first photo on my blog but a recent software update has changed what I used to be able to do.
These are the stones I will carry to the Cruz de Ferro with one more still to come.
From right to left:
The first four are from my daughter Nicky, her partner and 2 of my grandsons. (Nicky obviously didn't understand what I meant by "a small stone")
The next 3 are from my son Mark, his very soon to be wife Mafe ( they get married in the Phillipines the same day I start my Camino on 25th May and my grandaughter Isla. They gave me these stones during a walk we took together in my beloved Scotland.
The next one is from my partner Jill's' daughter and therefor my adopted' grandaughter, her husband and two grandsons. They were on holiday in Scotland last year and bless them, went specifically on a walk in one of my favourite places for a stone. I've included a second photo - the Great Scottish Stone Search by a 3 year old boy and his 4 year old brother. Closely watched by Barney the dog.
Then we have a stone from Sue, a life-long friend of Jill my partner. They are inseparable. Sue is one of life's givers and this stone is from her garden.
Following Sue is Dan. Dan is a family friend who is looked on as a son. This stone in particular is, I truly believe of some very great importance to Dan.
Next in line are the The Smiths (Jill's brother Rick, his wife Stephanie and their children Amy, Lily and Christopher). I am convinced that Rick, if he could would love to walk a Camino.
Kim is next in line. Kim is another dear friend of the family who has had to face and continues to face many of life's cruellest challenges.
Ah! This next one is from the Bakers who again are dear friends of the family. Their stone has a story in itself. They have a small white West Highland Terrier. The stone you are looking at came from her bladder after an operation along with four others, two of which have apparently been sent to somewhere in America for testing. It seems there was something very unusual in their make up?
After the Bakers there's a stone from the grave of my mother and father.
The last two are coming back with me. Both are from Sue (she of the inseparable friendship with Jill). The spotted one is Californian Jasper whilst the final stone is Bloodstone. Sue gave both of those because of what they are reputed to do for a person.
I look at these stones often. I carry them in my pack as I train for my Camino. When I hear them 'chink' as I walk I am reminded of the love and friendship I am blessed with, the love and friendship I have shared, the love and friendship I can look forward to, and how very fortunate a man I am.
Buen Camino
Six thousand years ago Mt Mazama in Oregon blew up. The 12,000 foot stratovolcano was reduced to a 7000 foot caldera, with a 2000 foot deep lake in the middle. A layer of ash and pumice covered over 500,000 sq mi including nearly all of Oregon,Washington, northern California,Idaho, westernMontana, and parts ofUtah,Nevada,Wyoming,Alberta,British Columbia, andSaskatchewan.
Pumice is the perfect rock for carrying on a pilgrimage, so light that it floats. I picked up a piece and stuck it in the bottom of my bag. Now it is part of that weird and wonderful rock pile.
...I have wondered on the Geology
the strata of the stones placed there
how many generations of Pilgrims does it mark, if not for the seasons, the years,
if not those, the decades, the centuries and the millenia?...
I kind of wondered that too, as there seems to be a lot more than rocks filling the baseI read that the Cruz de Ferro was actually relocated closer to road a few years ago, which would indicate that the mound at its base may not be composed entirely of stones left by pilgrims. Perhaps someone will verify this.
JochenHello.
My stone is a lime stone fossil shell from my home town Paderborn / Germany.
Buen Camino
Jochen
The 4 little rocks in the center of the photo are mine. The blueish one, the tan one, and the gray one are rocks I picked up here at home during the summer of 2013. The black one with the white stripe is one I found in Spain. I happened to look down and thought, "This is a rock for the Cruz!"
I didn't really have much of a moment at the Cruz. I thought it was nice that God decided to stop the rain for 15 minutes so I could get a few pictures. But the rain came back, so I started making my way down the hill. Or rather, the series of downs and ups that make up the decent from the Cruz. I can't explain why, but I just felt light afterwards. Physically, I mean. I felt lighter. I was practically running on some parts. I am the slowest walking pilgrim in the history of the Camino, but that day, I was passing people. I didn't get tired and it didn't feel I was exerting myself.
But I never got that feeling of lightness again on the Camino. I guess it was a one time thing.
As the resident geologist, I ought to comment. There isn't much pumice in Hawaii, as the silica rich magmas required for a good pumice are rare in oceanic volcanics. There are some pretty light cinders that might be tempting.Word of Warning to Pilgrims from Hawaii and pilgrims that decide to take a piece of lava rock (pumice) from Hawaii to place at the foot of the Cruz...
Pele, goddess of Fire, put a curse on anyone taking a lava rock from the islands. Now, I don't believe in curses, not island goddesses; but I sure am not going to tempt the Fates.
Buen "leave that stone unturned" Camino,
Arn
The word "huck" was a new one to me. I was curious and looked it up. Sure enough it predictably means throw or toss, but definition No 3 amused me...... To cross an obstacle while executing a stunt. Hmmmm.I just picked up a rock and hucked it onto the heap ... same as I do with any hilltop cairn.
This is a tried and true thread but I thought I should add my donation at the Cruz de Ferro in 2014.My annual Camino is in memory of my lost daughter. I am fortunate enough to be able to ask someone to send me a small volcanic stone from her hometown in Bend, Oregon every year. Two years ago I also left her small gold crucifix posted on the column. Beside lighting a candle for her in St. Jean Pied de Port periodically. I also do the same thing in the cathedral in Bayonne which was the last church she visited while she was alive and I'm convinced her spirit resides there.
AMBER from the Baltic sea is sitting in my backpack waiting to be placed by the Cruz. As there are not so many people from my country going the Camino, then this piece will be for everybody: myself, my family, relatives, friends, neighbours, acquaintances, people I don't know and never will, just everybody, including the government. Not writing anything on it, its too small for the volumes that should be written.
Caminobd, that is a beautiful, spiritual thought, and why not? Messengers, swirling up all the hopes and prayers and delivering them to God. I used to work in old mining districts where there were often small groups of old miners cabins and buildings, the remains of regular, working communities, now still and empty. One morning, at sunrise in the Butte Highlands District in Montana, I watched as puffs of mist, people-sized, drifted silently up the slope, singly or in small groups from the creek and up into the groupings of cabins. That was a magical experience. So, who is to say what is and what isn't? MooncatI walked the Camino France's for the second time in July of 2014. When I got to the cross, there was a crowd of bicyclists taking pictures of one another with the cross as a backdrop. The noise and lack of privacy caused me to wander over to a picnic table and wait until they had left. Then I went over, climbed to the top of the rocks, faced away from the cross and threw a tiny pebble I had carried from a beach in Nanaimo, BC, over my shoulder. I had no expectations of this becoming a spiritual experience but what happened next made it one. I went back, sat on the picnic table and just gazed at the cross. Soon the wind kicked up and dust devils appeared, circling their way upward from the base of the cross. It felt to me that the prayers were making their way to God.
That should have read that my brother died July 18th.In 2008 on my first CF I carried 3 stones with me. 1 I found in my garden and two were given to me by my nieces.
My brother had died Aug 18 2008 and I was due to start my Camino on August 4. In fact I was called home by my wife while on a training walk in preparation for the Camino on the morning of the 18th.
I was not sure about continuing on with my plans after the funeral but was encouraged to do so by my sister in law and my 2 nieces.
I agreed to carry on and asked that both nieces provide me with a stone to leave on the Camino in memory of their dad, my brother
So I started out from SJPP with three stones. It was my intention to carry them to the iron cross. At a moment when I was feeling heavy with the loss of my brother and friend I stopped in my tracks and removed the stones from my pack. I placed them in a row where I was standing at the time. It was at the apex of the bridge in Puente la Reina. I said a prayer and nudged the three stones into the water below.
Now I have a special place to return to to remember a very special person.
Not all stones are meant to make it to the Cruz de ferro.
Sorry for the loss and thank u for sharing. I lost my brother 3 years ago and I quit my job and thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in the US and spread his ashes atop MT Katahdin at the finish. I saved a bit of his ashes for the Camino . Do you all think it's appropriate to use a bit of ashes instead of a stone?That should have read that my brother died July 18th.
Sorry for the loss and thank u for sharing. I lost my brother 3 years ago and I quit my job and thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in the US and spread his ashes atop MT Katahdin at the finish. I saved a bit of his ashes for the Camino . Do you all think it's appropriate to use a bit of ashes instead of a stone?
Digger
I think its very appropriate Digger, and I'm sorry for your loss.Sorry for the loss and thank u for sharing. I lost my brother 3 years ago and I quit my job and thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in the US and spread his ashes atop MT Katahdin at the finish. I saved a bit of his ashes for the Camino . Do you all think it's appropriate to use a bit of ashes instead of a stone?
Digger
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