And So It Begins

Bryn and I arrived in Porto yesterday after an uneventful 4 hour train ride. We visited the Cathedral Se, the starting point in Porto of the Camino de Santiago. It was exciting to see the scallop shell, the sign of the pilgrim walking the Camino, and the arrow pointing the way to Galicia, the location of Santiago de Compostela.

We procured the first official stamp on our pilgrim credential, and will start bright and early tomorrow!

I have enjoyed Porto a lot—again, there are bazillions of tourists here, but despite the unbelievable crowds, everyone of every nationality has been friendly and courteous to one another. A very good thing, given if anyone misbehaved in these massive throngs of people, all hell could break loose.

Porto is just as a old as Lisbon but it was never invaded by the Muslims in the 12th century. It remained a protectorate of the church and was known as a Vatican City removed from Rome. For several centuries, whomever was Bishop of Porto lived in a palace next to Cathedral Se for and ruled the city like a monarch. That has all changed, of course, and all the ancient monasteries and convents have been reappropriated as public government department buildings, but Porto still has 60 churches within the UNESCO protected old city center.

I did want to clarify, before we start the Camino, that the James of St. James is not the same James as the James that wrote the New Testament book of James (did you get all that?) St. James is James the brother of John; both James and John were among the 12 apostles of Jesus. James that wrote the New Testament book was James the brother of Jesus. 

Anyway, it turns out that reading and reflecting on the book of James, even thought it wasn’t written by St. James, is perfect for my ailing faith and my purpose for this trek. I will likely reflect upon that here in these pages.

Above is a famous statue of the Pilgrim on the Way of St. James that stands in Cathedral Se. Bryn thinks he looks a bit worried…

This afternoon, Bryn checked out the special Banksy exhibit here, which she will have to tell you about in person. I had a solitary ramble about town and past a few more ancient churches, then went back to the Cathedral and found a quiet place in the grass to read and think a bit without the press of the crowds.

Onward tomorrow!