MSc Thesis Pim Lucassen

EXPLORING THE WAY

TOWARDS DESIGNING A NEW SPIRITUALITY ON PILGRIMAGE LANDSCAPES Pim Lucassen Master Thesis Landscape Architecture Wageningen University

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Exploring the Way

Towards designing a new spirituality on pilgrimage landscapes Masterthesis Landscape Architecture Wageningen University Pim Lucassen, 2015

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Exploring the Way

Towards designing a new spirituality on pilgrimage landscapes Copyright P.C.R. Lucassen & Wageningen University chairgroup Landscape Architecture, 2015 Pim C.R. Lucassen Registration number: 910409531070 pcrlucassen@gmail.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of either the author or the Wageningen University Landscape Architecture Chairgroup.

This publication is written as a final master thesis in landscape architecture by order of the chairgroup of landscape architecture at Wageningen University.

Chairgroup landscape architecture Phone: +31 317 484 056 Fax: +31 317 482 166 E-mail: office.lar@wur.nl www.lar.wur.nl Postal address Postbus 47 6700 AA, Wageningen The Netherlands Visiting address Gaia (building no. 101) Droevendaalsesteeg 3 6708 BP, Wageningen The Netherlands

This research has been partly made possible through the generous funding of Stichting NHBos

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Supervisor: Ir. Rudi van Etteger Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture Wageningen University External supervisor: Ir. Niek Hazendonk Senior policy officer leefomgeving Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie Examiners: Ir. Paul Roncken Assistant Professor Landscape Architecture Wageningen University Prof. Dr. Ir. Adri van den Brink Chair Landscape Architecture Wageningen University

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PREFACE This thesis marks the finalisation of my study here at Wageningen University. This thesis is to my study what Santiago de Compostela is to the Camino de Santiago. It is the final destination of a journey that crossed and turned, through ups and downs, and beyond boundaries I did not know I could cross them. In the end, much like arriving at the beautiful Plaza de Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela, I know that I can be proud of what I have accomplished. After arriving at the cathedral I knew that the physical end of my journey was reached, but that the pilgrimage in my head would continue, crisscrossing through my mind. This however, is not a bad thing. Up to this day I keep remembering things I experienced in Spain. I keep learning from them and drawing lessons from them. It is a comforting thought that I will always have these memories to fall back on, much like the knowledge I gained while studying here in Wageningen, but also in Munich. Here I gained my backpack for the future and it is my assignment to fill it. I will travel light at the start, but the backpack will gain weight, pressuring my shoulders. But like walking, you grow stronger every day and things will start to go all by themselves, and soon the backpack does not seem to feel as heavy as from when you started. Lightening the load by the adding more to it. What lies beyond the walls of the university is the great wide open and I am eager to explore it.

First and foremost I want thank my supervisors Rudi and Niek, whose comments made me explore directions I had never been thinking of and made me feel confident to pursue my plans. In the long meetings we had they provided me with fresh ideas, food for thought and books to read.

I also want to thank Manuel Borobio Sanchiz, professor in Geography at the University of Santiago de Compostela, who made some free time to have a meeting with a dirty pilgrim in Santiago de Compostela.

Moreover, I want to thank all the people I met on my Camino de Santiago. Even though time seemed relatively short, interesting talks were made and memorable experiences were shared. It was this small community of pilgrims that made feel at home on the paths of Northern Spain.

Finally, I want to thank my parents for supporting me during the course of my thesis. They helped to look at my thesis from a different point of view and listened to the questions that were roaming through my head.

My feet still bare marks of some of the hardships on the Camino de Santiago, but they, like me, pulled on, grew experienced, and succeeded.

Buen Camino!

Pim Lucassen

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ABSTRACT The religious situation in Europe is changing towards a more plural character; a new spirituality. Current traditional religious infrastructure does not seem to be flexible enough to cope with this change. In the continuing move towards pluralism the more individually orientated phenomenon of pilgrimage is becoming increasingly popular among believers and non-believers. Being the most geographical form of religious devotion it is remarkable that there exists little knowledge on how to design on pilgrimage landscapes from a landscape architectural point of view. Landscape architectural design could play a meaningful role in facilitating new spirituality in pilgrimage landscapes.

In this research the case of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela; the Camino de Santiago, is subjected to two phenomenological methods, of which one includes a first-person experience of the author walking the route. Through a landscape- and diary analysis, aided by an elaboration on rites de passage, it is discovered that the landscape types of the Camino FrancĂŠs form a clear overlap with the experiential structure of the pilgrimage ritual. With this structure forming the groundwork of the design a design concept is formulated in which the individual and plural experience of pilgrimage is put forward in a number of small-scale designs along the route. The nine designs, called stations, are used as a tool to empower unique experiences and strengthen the existing larger landscape- and experiential structures.

As there exists a general experiential structure within the pilgrimage ritual, a similar approach to design can be adopted on other pilgrimage landscapes.

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READING GUIDE This research focusses on the landscape and experience of the Camino de Santiago; the Christian pilgrimage route to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela.

This research investigates in what way the pilgrim‘s experience of pilgrimage and landscape can lead to a design on a pilgrimage landscape.

Chapters 1 to 3 form the foundation on which the research is built. Here, the larger problem setting, the base concepts, the chosen case, and the design of the research are put forward.

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the outcome of the analysis and provide the set-up for the design. Chapter 6 elaborates on the design itself, while chapter 7 provides a number of summarizing and concluding remarks on the outcome of the research.

Chapter 1 introduces the reader into the current situation on religion and spirituality in Europe; new spirituality. Furthermore, a connection is made to the phenomenon of pilgrimage, which has received increased attention in contemporary times.

Chapter 2 puts forward the emerging opportunity for landscape architecture in facilitating new spirituality in pilgrimage landscapes. This leads to the formulation of the research’s problem statement, case, research questions and research framework.

Chapter 3 elaborates on the case of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Next to its origin and history, the focus lies on the origin and landscape of the most popular route; the Camino Francés.

Chapter 4 summarizes the diary kept by the researcher and analyses it within the grander sphere of other researches on the Camino de Santiago. Aided by an elaboration on rites de passages this chapter culminates in laying out the groundwork for the design concept.

Chapter 5 prepares the reader for the design. In this chapter the final design concept is elaborated upon. Aided by a pictorial overview of modern design interventions and traditional ecclesiastical architecture on the Camino de Santiago critical regionalism is put forward as the design’s approach.

Chapter 6 discusses the design interventions on the Camino de Santiago. Here, the reader is guided along a journey-like overview in which the personal experience of the researcher takes on a leading role.

Chapter 7 puts forward the concluding remarks of this thesis. Here, the answer to the main research question is given in the conclusion and essential remarks on the research are given in the discussion.

Chapter 8 consists of the appendices. The appendices contain a short elaboration on the concept of walking, the personal diary of the author and a list of images.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS VI Preface VII Abstract IX Reading guide

1 - INTRODUCTION

Religious pluralism and pilgrimage 2 The pluralisation of religion in Europe 4 Pilgrimage and its position in Europe 9 Sources

2 - RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Transcending the pilgrimage landscape 12 Opportunities for landscape architecture on pilgrimage landscapes 15 The shape of a design research on pilgrimage landscapes 19 Sources

3 - THE CASE

The archetypical pilgrimage of St. James 22 The story of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela 26 The geographical recognition of the Camino Francés 29 Explaining the geography of the early Camino Francés 29 The landscapes of the Camino Francés 41 Sources

4 - THE WALK

Backtracking towards the foundation of design 44 The geography of my experience on the Camino de Santiago 61 The common grounds of the ritual 63 The overlapping geographies of pilgrims 68 Setting up the groundwork for design 70 Sources

5 - LAYING OUT THE CONCEPT

Packing up for the design

72 The conceptual framework 72 Towards critical regionalism on the Camino de Santiago 80 Sources

6 - DISCOVERING THE DESIGN

A future-walk through a new spirituality 82 85 95 105 115 125 135

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The 9 stations of new spirituality Crossing the threshold Comfort in the new Old footsteps among stones On the stage Reward through deviation Preparing for transcendence

145 155 165 175

An eternal monument Settling old and new Solitude amidst the centre A landscape architect in a museum

7- CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

Towards designing pilgrimage landscapes 178 179

Concluding on the pilgrim‘s experience Discussing a design research on pilgrimage landscapes

8 - APPENDICES

On walking the Camino de Santiago

Appendix 1 - A short on walking Appendix 2 - My personal diary on pilgrimage Appendix 3 - Image sources

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VILLATUERTA

POBLACIÓN DE CAMPOS

SAN MARTÍN DEL CAMINO

SARRIA

1 - Introduction Religious pluralism and pilgrimage

29 October 2014 Puente la Reina - Estella 46 kilometres

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- INTRODUCTION

THE PLURALISATION OF RELIGION IN EUROPE The landscape of the old continent; Europe, is dotted by many great works of religious expression. Where Christianity ruled the land there would be churches.

With religion often being the only domain in society it were the ceilings of the church that served as the sacred canopy for society (Berger, 1999) for centuries on end. Today however, the ceilings of the church are crumbling, if they have not fully collapsed yet. In the postmodern society we are living in today the sacred canopy is increasingly moving from the common ceilings of the church to the privatised ceilings of home. Churches are getting emptier as attendances drop and in some cases they are sold to the public to be converted to houses. In this chain of events the ceilings of the church once again return as the sacred canopy, but now within the confines of a single family home. A peculiar circle is created.

Secularisation and the move to the private domain Like the church building, religion in postmodern Europe has moved from a dominant status towards a more peripheral phenomenon as being one of the many domains by which society identifies and demonstrates itself ( Knippenberg, 2005). In this statement religion is coined as a primarily social phenomenon (Miller & Thoresen, 2003) by which large groups of people identify themselves through adhering to a certain set of beliefs and institutions. In effect religion has become increasingly more privatised and individualistic. Looking from a statistical point of view it can be said that religiosity among the European has dropped significantly. Religiosity addresses the individual sphere in which religion manifests itself. Exemplified in the frequency of participation in rituals or the acceptation of certain dogmas, religiosity determines to what extent an individual is rooted in religion.

The move of religion towards a more peripheral phenomenon in society opened the way for a broader manifestation of spirituality. As for religiosity spirituality too manifests itself on the individual scale, but according to contemporary definitions its holistic character means that is not as much rooted in institutionalised religion (Gorsuch & Miller, 1999). The gradual privatisation and marginalisation of religion can be summarized by the term secularisation.

While secularisation is a timeless phenomenon, exemplified by the church’s authority challenged by the rise of Protestantism in the 17th century or the enlightenment in the 18th century, it is mainly used to describe the religious landscape of postwar Europe. In the period of 1850-1950 the church, and particularly the Catholic Church, still held a strong position within European societies. However, secularisation as a marked phenomenon, with its declining church attendances, is a process apparent since the second half of the 20th century (fig. 1.1). In analysing the post-war religious situation Habermas refers to five aspects (Mendieta, 2010) that strengthened the secular trend.

First, the security that the European welfare state and growing material wealth provided meant that people were no longer dependent on the reassuring, controlling and regulating mechanism of religion. Second, with the peripheral move of religion to one of the social subsystems religion moved to more clearly circumscribed realms in social interaction. Third, the so-called disenchantment of the world through scientific and technical progress made appeals to religion less credible. Fourth, the increasingly diversified social subsystems liberated the individual from proscriptive behavioural patterns and enabled them to look beyond the realm of the traditional religion. Fifth, the rise of religious pluralism in the wake of the globalizing world opened up more opportunities and options for individuals to encounter different dogmas, norms and values instead of the prescribed doctrines.

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The combined effect of these five aspects contributed to a situation in which a more holistic approach towards belief and society could be adopted. The new-age movement is a popular and widely known example of this development as it is based on elements taken from traditional religion and nature-based beliefs. Various European surveys conducted in the eighties and nineties supported the fact that there was a trend among that declining religiosity existed next to an increasing interest in non-traditional spirituality, especially among young people (Lambert, 2004).

70% 60% Catholic

50% 40% 30%

Protestant

20% 10%

Fig. 1.1 church attendance in Europe 1930-1990

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Towards a middle ground in religion However, the process of secularisation does not mean the disappearance of religion.

Mendieta (2012) states that as a society or state undergoes secularisation, as a part of the general modernising process, religion itself is modernised too to fit within an increasingly secular society. According to Habermas (2008) this situation of refitting religion in a more secularised world, has become applicable to the majority of European countries, can be defined as post-secular.

European-wide surveys conducted around the new millennium pointed out a modest revival of religion and re-imagining of spirituality (Lambert, 2004). The revival can mainly be appointed to the baby-boom generation; which rebelled against the traditional religious beliefs of their parents, but found a renewed availability of traditional religion once their lives became established. Among young people a new kind of spirituality emerged dubbed ‘believing without belonging’. First quoted by Davie (1994) the term signifies a trend that belief in the supernatural is still high, but religious practice is substantially lower. This trend states that faith does not fade away, but simply changes form. Essentially building on the post-war development which produced the new-age movement this trend indicates a more autonomous and diffused religiosity. It consists of elements that are less typical for Christianity or other traditional religions, like ‘a belief in a higher power’ or ‘life after death’.

In short, it proposes an increased flexibility to switch between different parts of different faiths. Religion and spirituality become privatised as it is filtered through an individual’s own subjectivity. This trend contributes to a growing middle ground of religion called nominalism (Brierley, 1999). This group covers the range of people that are neither especially religious nor overtly secular (Voas & Day, 2010). Belief therefore exists in varying levels. In many cases people’s stance against traditional religion is not that of rejection or hostility, but that of indifference.

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New spirituality and the future of religion Long-term predictions for the European situation on religion project that this indifference will gradually lead to the disappearance of traditional religion (never belonged) and impose a sharp decline in nominalism (fig. 1.2) (Voas, 2009).

Although this situation may only present itself over the course of two centuries the fact remains that secularism will be a growing dominant force to be reckoned with.

Through the decline of traditional religion, the contemporary growth of ‘believing without belonging’ and the awaiting secular future, the current religious situation in Europe can be coined as plural. Here, in this new spirituality, levels of belief differ from person to person, with belief of individual liking reaching deeper into the individual state of mind across a greater number of people. Instead of the sacred canopy being supported by only a few columns the plural sacred canopy of today is supported by many more, although this ceiling itself may be a bit lower.

Never belonged

Believing but not belonging

Believing

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Fig. 1.2 a future of religion in Europe

PILGRIMAGE AND ITS POSITION IN EUROPE With the European landscape still dotted with churches is remarkable to see that in contemporary times people are ever more found outside than inside the church. One can theorise that, in the wake of the emptying churches, the religious infrastructure of traditional religion (read: Christianity in Europe), represented in the abundant ecclesiastical architecture, may not be flexible enough to cope with the apparent pluralism of the contemporary new spirituality. As the contemporary religious situation is becoming more plural in Europe, people are finding new or reinventing practices and frameworks to accompany their own approach to religion

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300.000

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and spirituality. To cope with this development traditional religious sites and institutes are in the process of modifying their symbolic meaning (Lois Gonzalez, 2013) as they have become also have become an attraction in Europe’s new spirituality.

Amongst these various sites and institutions the increasing popularity of traditional Christian pilgrimage may be the most visible example of this trend. Rediscovered and reinvented in postmodern times the number of pilgrims on the roads and in the landscapes of Europe seems to be countering the falling church attendances (fig.

1.3). Frijhoff (2002) indicates that pilgrimages, either religious or secular of origin, contain certain characteristics that enable them to generate, stimulate or revitalise devotion and (religious) identity. In the postmodern ‘shopping around’ atmosphere in practices and beliefs, the framework of pilgrimage seems to be an increasingly more popular shopping mall.

The practice of pilgrimage In her account of a pilgrimage somewhere in New Mexico Rebecca Solnit (2001: 50) describes the phenomenon of pilgrimage as the following: “Pilgrimage walks the delicate line between the spiritual and the material in its emphasis on the story and its setting: though the search is for spirituality, it is pursued in terms of the most material details – of where Buddha was born or where Christ died, where the relics are or the holy water flows.”

This description captures the twilight zone in which pilgrimage resides; where the immaterial touches upon the material. Pilgrimage is one of the religious rituals in which belief and action is united, where the body and the soul of the individual merge together in a quest towards a sacred and meaningful experience.

In the simplest sense of the word, pilgrimage encompasses “a journey that people undertake based on a religious inspiration, to a place that is regarded more sacred or salutary than the environment of everyday life” (Margry, 2008:323). In his quest the pilgrim seeks to acquire some form of spiritual or emotional healing at the encounter of a particular relic at a shrine. In this sense pilgrimage is understood as a wholly transformative experience that is focussed on reaching a certain destination where the object of veneration is located.

Pilgrimages exist in all forms and sizes all over the world. Famous and well-established

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Fig. 1.3 number of pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela 1985-2014

pilgrimages include the Islam’s hajj to the Kaaba in Mecca, Christianity’s pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem or Hinduism’s pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi and the river Ganges. The given examples are pilgrimages that attract a massive amount of people from all over the world using different modes of transport, varying from walking, driving to flying. Next to these large scale pilgrimages there exists a majority of more locally oriented and lesser known pilgrimages which function along the same line of thought but manifest themselves in a much smaller circle (Margry, 2008).

In a geographical sense a pilgrimage consists of two elements: the journey and the destination. The journey is tied to the action of movement. The performance of pilgrimage is visible as a spatial movement while the site of pilgrimage; the shrine or holy place, is fixed in space (Coleman & Elsner, 2002). Up until the 19th century the action of movement consisted mainly of walking, onhorseback or by boat. The majority of pilgrims walked towards their destination, not only because the particular ritual sometimes required them to, but because of simple economic reasons. In the wake of the industrial revolution new and faster modes of transport were introduced onto the scene. Motorised transport and the introduction of cheap air travel allowed a greater amount of pilgrims to reach the destination in a shorter time (Reader, 2007). Pilgrimage sites that were previously a strictly local or regional event that, like Shikoku in Japan, turned into large events attracting pilgrims from all over the world. The second component of pilgrimage is the destination. At the destination the pilgrim might find the relics of a saint, holy water or the site of a miracle, whether or not ordained with a religious structure like a church, temple or shrine. One can see that the sacred landscape is closely intertwined with the religious landscape. The phenomenon of pilgrimage is one of the few rituals in which the individual operates on the intersection between materiality and immateriality.

A recent history of pilgrimage in Europe Swatos JR (2011) states that until the 16th century pilgrimages were apparent in all major religions as a form of a devotional experience. The Protestant break-away in 16th century Europe posed a break in the tradition as major sites of pilgrimage were destroyed and the act of pilgrimage was condemned. Fast-forwarding into the 19th century it is the situation in Europe, often described as the island of secularisation, which will be highlighted in the remainder of this section.

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As a phenomenon, pilgrimage is essentially a rule-based activity in which the regulating power lies within the hands of the organising religion. To be regarded as a true pilgrim the individual has to comply with a certain set of rules, activities and rituals or carry a predetermined symbol as an expression of their piety, like the scallop shell on the road to Santiago de Compostela. In order to accomplish a proper pilgrimage the pilgrim is required to meet certain predetermined conditions before, during and at the conclusion of the pilgrimage. Special authorities were set by the local parish or church to make sure the pilgrim was guided and controlled in a proper way. Even in the advent of train travel in the 19th century this new mode of travel was tightly controlled by ecclesiastical prerogatives and deeply engrained piety (Swatos JR, 2011). Pilgrimage was used by the Catholic Church as an instrument to fend off the ideas of Enlightenment and rationalism to revitalise religious devotion for the masses.

Speeding up towards the second half of the 20th century the church in Europe was again going through an institutional crisis. To propagate the religious message of the church more empathically, pilgrimage was used as pastoral instrument to guide the church-going population (Antier, 1979). As a drastic attempt the Catholic Church even removed itself as the primary regulator of pilgrimage-related rituals and activities. This attempt to modernise the Church as a way to fight popular religion was however quickly abandoned. The power of pilgrimage and shrines in enabling to revitalise, generate or stimulate devotion was moulded into a political instrument to fend off atheist political strategies and secularisation (Margry, 2008).

This attempt of the Catholic Church to counter the decreasing religiosity in Europe meant that the phenomenon of pilgrimage was getting more and more attention in the everyday media. By the 80’s the term pilgrimage became part of the common vocabulary and it evolved from being a religion-related concept towards a concept that had an increasingly more subjective, privatised and even secularised character.

The concept proved to be flexible enough to transcend the new millennium and cope with the changing religious and spiritual tide. Reader (2007: 226) states this development in the following: “(...) pilgrimage has always offered a highly individualised scope for self-expression and religious search, as well as for escape from the restrictions of everyday social bonds and contexts, but in earlier eras it was commonly located within the frameworks of religious traditions”. He hence mentions that “what is new is that, even while utilising the frameworks provided by traditional routes, pilgrims find it wholly reasonable to describe themselves as having no link to those traditions and to present their journeys solely in the context of a personalised and individualised framework of search and self-development”.

Even though pilgrimage was in essence still a religious phenomenon it was not solely concerned with a religious activity anymore. It opened up the way towards an other-spiritually motivated people drawn for the increasing nominalist middle group.

Next to this evolution a wholly new development emerged on the European pilgrimage scene that would change the face of long-distance pilgrimages. In most pilgrimages it was the destination that was the primary object of focus. As Margry (2008: 24) describes it: “the core or rationale of Christian pilgrimage lay within the physical boundaries of the shrine”. It was the direct environment of the shrine and the shrine itself that provided the pilgrim with salvation, healing or redemption and not the journey towards it. The focus was increasingly shifting to the (spiritual) journey as the primary focus of the pilgrim. The Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of St. James are kept, proved to be the most powerful reflection of this development. In its rediscovery by new-spiritualists, heritageenthusiasts, researchers, media and politics the classical pilgrimage turned into a so-called transitional pilgrimage.

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- INTRODUCTION

In transitory pilgrimage the end and start are not relevant for the experience. In this new type of pilgrimage it is the freedom and accessibility of the ritual, the motion of walking and the tranquillity of being in nature or a cultural landscape that provides the pilgrim with salvation, healing and redemption. In contemporary times the Catholic Church is using the new pastoral image of the transitory pilgrimage to revive interest in religion among young people (Margry, 2008), who tend to be much less interested in the cult of relics associated with traditional pilgrimage. Even though the transitional image is based on just a few popular long-distance pilgrimages it is currently the most dominant definition of the term pilgrimage. Despite the fact that there exist a great density of ill-researched small pilgrimage routes over Europe.

The revival of traditional Christian pilgrimage routes in Europe like the Camino de Santiago (Camino de Santiago Informe del ano 2004-2014 (annual statistics), 2015), the Way of St. Andrews in Scotland (The Way of Saint Andrews, 2013) and the Via Francigena to Rome (Culture-Routes, 2008) is an indication that the existing framework of pilgrimage is gaining greater popularity and attention.

Towards facilitating the new spirituality Thus, throughout history the phenomenon of pilgrimage has been regarded as a relatively individual form of devotion, consisting of a journey and destination. In the case of Christianity, pilgrimage has been regulated by the Church and used as a flexible instrument to cope with major constitutional changes within the Church and the spiritual and religious situation in Europe. The open and pluralistic character of the pilgrimage practice provides a base framework to adopt the new workings and motivations of the new spirituality in Europe.

In this context, pilgrimage is, according to Dora et al. (2015) the most geographical form in which religious experience or spirituality is expressed. Like landscape, pilgrimage offers an interesting blend of movement and vision, cultural meaning and performance. Madrell & Dora (2013) and Crowley (2012) identify that for many pilgrims the landscape is essential to the experience of pilgrimage and that landscapes that contain the process of pilgrimage are more susceptible experiences of spirituality and religion. With the numbers of pilgrims on the rise, the point of attention will be on how the religious infrastructure of pilgrimage; pilgrimage landscapes, will be able to facilitate the current-day and future new spirituality.

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SOURCES Antier, J. (1979), Le Pèlerinage retrouvé. Paris: Centurion.

Berger, P. L. (1999). The desecularization of the world: Resurgent religion and world politics. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Solnit, R. (2001). Wanderlust: A history of walking.

Penguin.

Camino de Santiago, Informe del ano 2004-2014 (annual statistics). (2015) Available at: http:// peregrinossantiago.es/eng/services-for-pilgrims/ informes-estadisticos/

Swatos Jr, W. H. (2012). Religious Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage Spirituality and Everyday Life. In Religion, Spirituality and Everyday Practice (pp. 33-43).

Springer Netherlands.

Coleman, S., & Elsner, J. (2002). Pilgrim Voices: authoring Christian Pilgrimage. Journeys, 3(1), 1-16.

Voas, D., & Day, A. (2010). Recognizing secular Christians: Toward an unexcluded middle in the study of religion State College, Pennsylvania State University: ARDA Guiding Paper Series.

Culture-Routes. Available at: http:// www.culture-routes.lu/php/ fo_index.php?lng=en&dest=bd_ar_ det&id=00000325&PHPSESSID=1084e3b293 Davie, G. (1994) Religion in Britain since 1945: Believing without Belonging. Oxford: Blackwell.

Dora, V. d. (2012). Setting and blurring boundaries: pilgrims, tourists, and landscape in Mount Athos and Meteora. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 951-974 Frijhoff, W. (2002), Embodied Belief. Ten Essays on Religious Culture in Dutch History. Hilversum: Verloren.

Habermas, J. (2008). Notes on post-secular society. New perspectives quarterly, 25(4), 17-29.

Knippenberg, H. (2005). The changing religious landscape of Europe. Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis.

Maddrell, A., & della Dora, V. (2013). Crossing surfaces in search of the Holy: landscape and liminality in contemporary Christian pilgrimage.

Environment and Planning A, 45(5), 1105-1126.

Margry, P. J. (Ed.). (2008). Shrines and pilgrimage in the modern world: New itineraries into the sacred.

Amsterdam university press.

Mendieta, E. (2010). A Postsecular World Society?

An Interview with Jürgen Habermas. The Immanent Frame. Available at: http://blogs.ssrc. org/tif/2010/02/03/a-postsecular-world-society/ Mendieta, E. (2012). Spiritual Politics and PostSecular Authenticity: Foucault and Habermas on Post-Metaphysical Religion. The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society. New York: New York University Press.

Miller, W. R. (Ed), (1999). Integrating spirituality into treatment: Resources for practitioners. , (pp. 47-64). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.

Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003).

Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American psychologist, 58(1), 24.

Lambert, Y. (2004). A turning point in religious evolution in Europe. Journal of Contemporary Religion, 19(1), 29-45.

Lois González, R. C. (2013). The Camino de

- INTRODUCTION

Reader, I. (2007). Pilgrimage growth in the modern world: Meanings and implications.

Religion, 37(3), 210-229.

Brierley, P. (1999) ‘Numbering the Nominals.’

Pp. 69-88 in H. Wraight (ed.), They call themselves Christian. London: Christian Research.

Crowley, M., G., (2012) The Experience of Place and Non-place Within the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage.

Guelph: University of Guelph.

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Santiago and its contemporary renewal: Pilgrims, tourists and territorial identities. Culture and Religion, 14(1), 8-22.

Voas, D. (2009). The rise and fall of fuzzy fidelity in Europe. European Sociological Review, 25(2), 155-168.

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2 - Research framework Transcending the pilgrimage landscape

3 November 2014 Nรกjera - Santo Domingo de la Calzada 152 kilometres

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- RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ON PILGRIMAGES LANDSCAPES The framework that pilgrimage offers proves to be flexible enough to adopt the new spirituality, however it is the challenge for pilgrimage landscapes to facilitate this new spirituality. Through the ritual’s division in destination (including sub-destinations on the way) and journey the pilgrimage landscape itself encompasses both the local, fixed, and self-contained space of the destination, and the more fluid and broader landscapes of the journey. Together, the landscape that holds pilgrimage is able, through motion, to transcend these different elements in the geographical space to form a body of “surfaces with multiple inscriptions that build up over time and mark the presence of different cultural groups“ (Anderson 2010: 20).

Exploring the boundaries of current research With the pilgrimage landscape covering a range of layers on multiple scales the challenge in facilitating the new spirituality would be the design domain of landscape architecture. Considering the similar connotations between landscape architecture and pilgrimage, landscape architecture as a whole is able to transcend the limited space occupied by architecture to better grasp the broader concept of the pilgrimage landscape. In this way, providing a well-suited approach to facilitating new spirituality. However, despite pilgrimage being one of the most geographical forms of religious expression, and the limited coverage of the architecture practice (occupying the layer of destination through i.e. ecclesiastical structures), there has been very little attention from the domain landscape architecture concerning pilgrimage landscapes and the pilgrimage phenomenon in general. As a cause of this, the issue on how to design on a pilgrimage landscape has only been narrowly researched in the field of landscape architecture.

One of the few researches conducted on a pilgrimage landscape through the lens of landscape architecture was done by Crowley (2012). In this thesis, focused on the landscape of the Camino de Santiago, Crowley conducted a qualitative research on the experience of place and non-place in the landscape of the Camino de Santiago.

Although the research proves to be a valuable insight from a theoretical point of view Crowley does not make an attempt to translate the results of the fieldwork to a workable and testable design. Touching upon the inner workings of a pilgrimage landscape, relatable studies in the field of landscape architecture are mainly concerned with the experience of places and the results do not reach beyond the level of theory- or reference study-based design approaches. Researches like Moura (2009) and Krinke (2005) discuss the elements that make or can make a space or environment more susceptible to sacred, spiritual or contemplative experiences. In the study of Moura a set of twelve concepts for a contemplative experience of landscape are derived on the basis of quantitative research, while Krinke elaborates on general spatial settings that can stimulate a contemplative experience through a series of reference studies on contemplative designs. Further away from the discourse one can find the research on the design of traditional meditative or contemplative gardens in Europe and Asia (Berthier, 2000; Hales, 2000).

This elaboration on the spatiality of spiritual and religious experiences and sacredness can be expanded by including comparable studies in the field of architecture and urban environments (Barrie, 1996; Lee & Kim, 2008; Shashidhar, 2011). Next to this, the little real-world design on pilgrimage-like landscapes is mainly found in the architecture practice (Saiph, 2008; Scott, 2014). Unlike landscape architecture, architecture holds a vast number of designs that are concerned with the religious or sacred space of pilgrimage, however they are primarily focused on the ecclesiastical structure itself and the interior configuration of buildings.

Moving away from design-related fields, the act of pilgrimage in relation to the

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landscape is mainly discussed through the lens of tourism studies, in which the relation between the pilgrim/tourist and the environment is elaborated on different sites of pilgrimage (Andriotis, 2011; Dora, 2012; Miles-Watson & Miles-Watson, 2011; Shinde, 2007). The way in which pilgrims and tourists experience and deal with the landscape on their pilgrimage is the focus of the aforementioned studies.

In studies on pilgrimage and its relation to the landscape a popular pilgrimage remains the Camino de Santiago. This deep rooted (European) pilgrimage is often used as a case study in predominately Spanish research to describe the impact of the renewed interest in pilgrimage in relation to particular regions or cultural landscapes (Lois González, 2013; Lois González & Lopez, 2012; Santos Solla & González, 2011). Next to these specific cases on the Camino de Santiago general inquiries into Christian pilgrimage and its spiritual and religious connotations from an anthropological and sociological point of view are provided by researchers like Eade & Salnow (1991) or Turner & Turner (1978). In these studies the object of focus is not so much the landscape of pilgrimage but the inner workings of the phenomenon itself. Lastly, a large body of literature is found within the field of (cultural) geography and relatable studies concerning sacred or spiritual landscapes.

Here, studies range from the aesthetic assessment of Christian pilgrimage (della Dora et al. 2015), to the theorizing of body and faith relations in relation to spiritual landscapes (Dewsbury & Cloke, 2009), and an integral study on landscape preservation along pilgrimage routes (Quesada-Embid, 2008).

The phenomenon of pilgrimage and its influence on the experience of spirituality, religiosity and the cultural landscape are the main issues that are studied in the literature stated above. Besides that there is a field of architectural studies which discuss the structural elements involved in experiencing certain levels of sacredness, religiousness or spirituality. The aforementioned sources on landscape architecture only touch a broad range of contemplative landscapes and meditative gardens. Studies within the field of landscape architecture that do touch upon the phenomenon of pilgrimage lack deeper inquiries into actual design and physical spatiality with regard to the pilgrim’s experience of the pilgrimage landscape (and thereby the religious infrastructure).

Problem statement Laid bare in the aforementioned lack of knowledge, it is within the dimension of a design research on pilgrimage landscapes where a useful approach for landscape architecture on facilitating new spirituality can be found.

A problem statement can thus be derived as follows

In pilgrimage the landscape is an important catalyst for stimulating religious and spiritual experiences, however in the field of landscape architecture the knowledge on how to design on pilgrimage landscapes is insufficient to play a meaningful role in facilitating new spirituality in pilgrimage landscapes.

Introducing the case of the Camino de Santiago As stated in the previous chapter there exists a great body of different pilgrimages (and therefore also different pilgrimage landscapes) all over Europe.

Notwithstanding this vast array of options, the pilgrimage landscape focused upon within the dimensions of this research will be the Camino de Santiago. The archetypical pilgrimage to the relics of St. James at the Spanish city of Santiago de

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- RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Compostela is one of the best documented and researched European pilgrimage routes. This pilgrimage boasts a vast body of literature, ranging from medieval guidebooks to modern-day research. Next to that, the Camino de Santiago is one of the major exponents of religious pluralisation in Europe and the prime example of a transitional pilgrimage route. More precisely, the most well-travelled branch of the pilgrimage, the Camino Francés, will be the case observed in this thesis. The choice for this particular pilgrimage hinges on both the personal reasons emanating from the researcher’s own experience and interest, and the richness of religious, spiritual and historical associations embedded in the Camino de Santiago. The route is open to a variety of explorations and perspectives, including landscape architecture.

Purpose statement Emanating from both the problem statement and the case of the Camino de Santiago the following purpose statement for this thesis can introduced:

The purpose of this thesis is to facilitate the new 21st century spirituality on the Camino de Santiago through landscape architectural design.

This involves addressing the manner in which the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage can shape design, and adding a new layer of spiritual infrastructure on the existing religious infrastructure through landscape architectural design.

Research questions Main research question:

In what way can the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage be used as a basis for designing on pilgrimage landscapes?

The main research question is supported by three sub-research questions:

In what way is the pilgrim’s experience of the landscape of the Camino de Santiago shaped?

The development of the experience of the pilgrimage landscape is not a linear process. This question deals with how the landscape of the Camino de Santiago influences the individual experience and state of mind of the pilgrim in the process of walking to Santiago de Compostela.

What are the spatial characteristics of the landscape of the Camino de Santiago?

Pilgrimage is not only shaped by the subjective experiences of pilgrims, but forms a dualism with the objective real-life landscape in which the pilgrimage route is situated. This question deals with the description of the physical landscape the Camino travels through.

How can a design for the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago be derived from the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage?

The dualism between the subjective experience of pilgrimage and the objective physical landscape forms the basis for the design on the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago. This question discusses on the development of the design and elaborates on design solution itself.

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THE SHAPE OF A DESIGN RESEARCH ON PILGRIMAGE LANDSCAPES With the research questions providing the outline, it is my own philosophy that shapes my approach to this design research. In the face of this thesis it is important to acknowledge that I am a Catholic of origin. I was raised according to the general values and norms that are present in almost every faith in the world, including Catholicism. Even though I am strictly taken still Catholic, I am not practising my faith actively. I choose to believe that there are some higher powers, although they do not have be necessarily associated to any kind of faith.

Moving away from my upbringing I believe that landscape can be touched upon in as many ways as there are people. The landscape is a work art. Like art, the landscape is one of the physical ways in which human thought and culture are translated. In this way I see landscape (architecture) not only as a form of art (Crewe & Forsyth, 2003) but also as one of the bearers of the human legacy in the world. The stories man tells through the creation of, and involvement in the landscape is the reflection of the ways he views the world he is living in (van Blerck, 2013). The lived landscape is an experienced landscape; it connects people to the landscape and it reveals its secrets to the past and the future. Landscape architecture has the privilege deal with the lived landscape, in this case the pilgrimage landscape In the design of a landscape I take the condition of man and human aesthetics as a point of departure. Man is an essential part in the mechanics of the environment and has to power to alter for the good and for the worse. I believe that an environment that optimizes the human potential and spirituality can go hand in hand with an aesthetically beautiful and naturally balanced living environment without sacrificing the elements that store and shape stories and experiences.

The landscape architect stands on the shoulders of others. I, as a future landscape architect, have the opportunity to stand amongst those many shoulders. The multilayered landscape composed by my predecessors needs to be respected, but one must not fear to alter what is already there. Like man, landscapes need to grow and evolve. Most landscapes, landscape elements or stories only need to be highlighted to bring them within view and appreciation of man. As one appreciates a landscape, one takes care for it, and as one takes care for it results in a balanced relationship between human spirituality and the beauty of the environment. In the landscape of pilgrimage this balance between spirituality and beauty should be optimal.

In my constructivist knowledge claim (Creswell, 2009) I seek to discover how experiences of landscape are shaped and created, and how they are embedded in the lived landscape. Pilgrimage is embedded in the material and immaterial history of man and is a constructed, lived landscape. Next to that, the value of pilgrimage is also constructed through landscape and nature. Here, pilgrimage forms the physical and spiritual bond between man and environment; where material meets immaterial.

The grand sphere of phenomology For this design research it is necessary to engage in a deeper inquiry of the landscape of pilgrimage, this is not only done through the inventory of theory but also through understanding the landscape by immersing oneself into it; to become a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago. Research through immersion. This constructivist approach, however, needs be grounded in the real-world to have significance for facilitating the religious and spiritual well-being of postmodern man, and thereby also the well-

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ACTIONS

METHODS

real world issue

TOOLS literature study

research problem

SEPARATION

personal worldview

research objective

research questions

the experience of the pilgrim-self

first-person phenomelogical method

diary keeping, sketching/ drawing, photographing graphing, dialogue marking, theming mapping

fieldwork analysis

LIMEN the experience of the pilgrim-other

existential phenomelogical method

literature study

defining landscape characteristics

sequential landscape description

landscape analysis, mapping literature study

site design

research-based design

sketching/drawing mapping

choosing design location

AGGREGATION

defining design priniciples

conclusion and discussion

reflection

Fig. 2.1 the research framework of this thesis EXPLORING THE WAY -

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being of the environment. This thesis not only produces new knowledge, but also implements it as an example of how landscape architectural design can provide a more meaningful experience of pilgrimage and the pilgrimage landscape in contemporary and future times.

In order to create design and gain the necessary understanding of the phenomena and experiences of pilgrimage a phenomenological approach is adopted. As a research strategy the phenomenological approach falls within qualitative approach of Cresswell (2009) and can be categorized in the interpretive strategy of Deming and Swaffield (2011). The phenomenological approach addresses the experiences that pilgrims gain by landscape during their journey. As described by Seamon (2000) phenomenology is the exploration, description and understanding of phenomena.

In this, phenomena are objects, events, situations or experiences as human beings experience them. The pilgrimage landscape of the Camino FrancĂŠs to Santiago de Compostela is the referred phenomenon in this case-study.

Marking the stages in research Using phenomenology as the point of approach the progress in the research design can be seen as a ritual-like process that can be divided in three stages (fig. 2.1). As pilgrimage, the development of a design-research can be seen as a ritual in which the researcher plays the role of the pilgrim in search for answers and meaning. The ritual can be divided in several rites of passage. First developed by van Gennep (2010) and later adopted by Turner & Turner (1978) the ritual falls apart in three stages; separation, limen, and aggregation. This division is the overarching theme in this research design and provides a framework upon which the different methods, procedures and actions are be pinned down upon.

The first stage comprises the research actions signifying the detachment of the researcher from his fixed point and to become immersed in a different world. For me, the researcher, this means I have to prepare myself to become immersed in the subject of pilgrimage landscapes; to become a part of the pilgrim community.

In this preliminary phase the main objectives and questions are formed through a literature study. The knowledge gained will provide me a foundation which allows me to arrive at stage two, and to which I can fall back to in later stages of the process.

In the second stage, limen, the individual becomes immersed in a liminal world.

In this stage the researcher becomes part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage community; a community in which, according to Turner & Turner (1978), the (social) differences between individuals are de-emphasized. The phenomenon is experienced from the walking pilgrim’s point of view. The knowledge obtained in stage one served as a way to arrive at the second stage, and will stay on the background for the remainder of the limen stage. In this way the phenomenon of pilgrimage landscapes can be approached and analysed in a less-biased way; better adhering to the experience of the pilgrim.

In the third stage, aggregation, the researcher emerges from the world of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. In this stage the researcher is no longer part of the pilgrim community and has returned to the world of the landscape architect.

Insights and knowledge gained in the liminal stage are applied in a real situation and reflected upon. The researcher will combine his knowledge on the experience of pilgrimage with his knowledge on landscape architecture. In the process of making the final design the researcher will switch between these two identities.

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Identifying the research-methods Progressing through the research and the pilgrimage landscape, the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago is to be observed through two methods of phenomenological research and one descriptive method (fig. 2.1) First-person-phenomenological method Seamon (2000, p.164) defines the first-person phenomenological method as a method in which “the researcher uses his own first-hand experience of the phenomenon as a basis for examining its specific characteristics and qualities”.

This method deals with immersion; the researcher becomes deeply involved with the phenomenon (and landscape) he is studying. This method and data collection ensures that attention is paid to the way in which the landscape of the Camino Francés is subjectively perceived by the individual; me, the walking pilgrim. The data will be framed to only include the Camino Francés and contains only the researcher’s experience on the route. The tools for attaining the data are diary keeping, sketching, photographing, mapping and graphing (Emerson et al., 1995).

The result of this first-person phenomenological method is a textual and visual overview of my experience of the phenomenon of the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino Francés.

Existential phenomenological method While first-person phenomenological research deals only with the lifeworld of a single individual it is also necessary to involve the worlds of others by means of the existential phenomenological method; a method that includes a generalization of experiences by others (Seamon, 2000). von Eckartsberg (1998) puts forward in Seamon (2000, p.165) that “the specific experiences of specific individuals and groups involved in actual situations and places” is the basis for existential phenomenological research. This method revolves around the gathering and studying of secondary accounts of individuals regarding their experience of the phenomenon in order to identify commonalities and patterns (Seamon, 2000).

Due to the time constraint the data sources used in this method consists partly on collected research on pilgrim’s experience, either online or printed. The result of this existential phenomenological method is a textual overview of the experience of other pilgrims of the phenomenon of the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago.

Sequential landscape description As described in Deming and Swaffield (2011) a landscape can be described through journey-like sequential descriptions of the landscape. Although this method is based on observational description I will use it here as a secondary description. This method holds a description of the objective landscape in which the Camino Francés is situated. The data sources used in this method consists of literature and a series of topographical and elevation maps that together form the total picture of the Camino Francés. The result of this sequential landscape description method is a series of maps of particular landscapes of the Camino Francés. The maps are supplemented by text in which the landscape is identified and explained. These results are used to ground the subjective experiences obtained in the phenomenological methods.

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SOURCES Anderson, J. (2010). Understanding cultural geography: Places and traces . London/New York: Routledge

Conflicts and connections in the landscape of the Manimahesh pilgrimage. Tourism, 59(3), 319-333.

Andriotis, K. (2011). Genres of heritage authenticity. Denotations from a pilgrimage landscape. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 16131633.

Moura, B.C., (2009) Contemplation-Scapes: An enquiry into the strategies, typologies and design concepts of contemplative landscapes. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh.

Barrie, T. (1996). Spiritual path, sacred place: myth, ritual, and meaning in architecture. Boston: Shambhala.

Quesada-Embid, M. C. (2009). Dwelling, Walking, Serving: Organic Preservation Along the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Landscape. ProQuest

Berthier, F. (2000) Reading Zen in the Rocks: The Japanese Dry Landscape Garden. Translated from the French and with a Philosophical Essay by Graham Parkes. Chicago; London, The University of Chicago Press.

Crewe, K. and Forsyth, A. (2003). Landscapes: A typology of approaches to landscape architecture.

Landscape Journal 22(1):37–53.

Crowley, M., G., (2012) The Experience of Place and Non-place Within the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage.

Guelph: University of Guelph.

Creswell, J. (2009). Research Design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Deming, M. and E., Swaffield, S. (2011).

Landscape Architecture Research: inquiry, strategy, design.

Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Dewsbury, J. D., & Cloke, P. (2009). Spiritual landscapes: existence, performance and immanence. Social & Cultural Geography, 10(6), 695-711. della Dora, V., Maddrell, A., & Scafi, A. (2015).

Sacred Crossroads: Landscape and Aesthetics in Contemporary Christian Pilgrimage. In The Changing World Religion Map (pp. 745-765). Springer Netherlands.

Dora, V. d. (2012). Setting and blurring boundaries: pilgrims, tourists, and landscape in Mount Athos and Meteora. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 951-974.

Eade, J., & Sallnow, M. J. (1991). Contesting the sacred: the anthropology of pilgrimage. University of Illinois Press.

Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995).

Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. University of Chicago Press.

Hales, M. (2000) Monastic Gardens. New York, Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Krinke, R., (2005) Contemplative landscapes, restorative landscapes. In. R. Krinke, ed., 2005.

Contemporary Landscape of Contemplation. Routledge.

Lee, J.-h., and Kim, I. (2008). In the era of spectacles, contemplating the beauty of tranquil architecture. Space(490), 50-53.

Lois González, R. C. (2013). The Camino de Santiago and its contemporary renewal: Pilgrims, tourists and territorial identities. Culture and Religion, 14(1), 8-22.

Lois González, R. C. L., & Lopez, L. (2012).

El Camino de Santiago: una aproximación a su carácter polisémico desde la geografía cultural y el turismo. Documents d‘anàlisi geogràfica, 58(3), 459-479.

Miles-Watson, J., and Miles-Watson, S. B. (2011).

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Saieh, N. (2008) The Pilgrim Route. Available at: http://www.archdaily.com/?p=10258 Santos Solla, X. M., and González, R. C. L. (2011). The Camino de Santiago in the context of new forms of tourism. / El Camino de Santiago en el contexto de los nuevos turismos. Estudios Turísticos(189), 95-116.

Scott, R. (2014) Team Led by ONZ Architects + MDesign Wins Second Place In Gallipoli National Park Contest. Available at: http://www. archdaily.com/?p=524137 Seamon, D. (2000). A way of seeing people and place. In Theoretical perspectives in environment-behavior research (pp. 157-178). Springer US. Shashidhar, V. (2011). Aesthetic contemplation.

Architecture & design, 28(4), 36-38.

Shinde, K. (2007). Pilgrimage and the environment: Challenges in a pilgrimage centre.

Current Issues in Tourism, 10(4), 343-365.

Turner, V. and Turner, E. (1978). Image and pilgrimage in christian culture. New York: Columbia University Press. van Blerck, H. (2013). Listen Landscapes Sing: Reflections on a narrative approach in Dutch landscape architecture. Henk van Blerck. van Gennep, A. (2010). The Rites of Passage.

Routledge Chapman & Hal.

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3 - The case The archetypical pilgrimage of St. James

9 November 2014 Hornillos del Camino - Castrojeriz 192 kilometres

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- THE CASE

THE STORY OF THE PILGRIMAGE TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA The pilgrimage route to St. James, or the Camino de Santiago, is one of three important Christian pilgrimages of Christian western-Europe, together with Rome and Jerusalem it forms the core of the Christian pilgrimage (González & Lopez, 2012). The pilgrimage leads to the relics of St. James in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain. For more than twelve centuries the relics have attracted pilgrims to the city via a network of routes that spread all over Europe. Through its lifetime the shrine was visited with mixed popularity, with its golden era in the 13th century the pilgrimage recently enjoyed a revival in the late 20th century.

Pilgrims, often called peregrinos, who wish to travel along the Spanish routes can do that by foot, bike or horseback. Upon arrival in the city the pilgrim can obtain a so-called Compostela, which states that the pilgrim has either walked a minimum of 100 kilometres or cycled a minimum of 200 kilometres. On the way to Santiago the pilgrim is guided by a dense network of yellow markers and scallop shells; the symbol of St. James, to their destination. A network of hostels, called albergues, provide the pilgrim with cheap lodging upon showing their credencial; the pilgrim’s passport.

Currently, the Camino de Santiago is one of the most travelled long distance pilgrimage and walking route in Europe. Where the pilgrim of today finds his way along the marked paths to the city of Santiago de Compostela fairly easy, the story of how St. James; the origin, reached his final destination remains a lot less clear.

How St. James came to Spain The origin of the story of St. James and his veneration (fig. 3.1) is embedded in a rich mixture of facts, myths and legends. According to the gospel, James, together with his brother he was recruited by Jesus as his fourth apostle (Matt. 4:21). His passionate, and sometimes aggressive, devotion to spreading and preaching the word of Christ gained him a favoured position within Jesus’s circle of apostles.

His preaching eventually led to his death as he was captured and subsequently beheaded by the Jewish king Herodes Agrippa in Jerusalem in the year A.D. 44 (van Heerwaarden, 1983). According to Frey (1998) this is the point where the biblical facts concerning James dry up and the interplay between myths and legends begins.

The connection of James to the Iberian peninsula was first made in the eight century when a vague mentioning in an A.D. 400 text of an apostle preaching in the western most limits of the known world (finisterre) evolved in a full blown story of St. James as the patron of Spain (van heerwaarden, 1983). In the general order of supposed events (Frey, 1998) James returns from his marginally successful Iberian expedition to Jerusalem, where he was eventually executed. Subsequently, two of his most faithful disciples took his body onto a stone boat without sails and rudders. By miracle the boat managed to land on the shores of present-day Galicia, a few kilometres from the future city of Santiago de Compostela. After successfully withstanding a number of trials the disciples managed to win over local pagan queen Lupa to bury the remains of the apostle in a tomb.

For reasons unknown the tomb slipped into oblivion for the next eight centuries until it was rediscovered by the hermit Pelayo after he had a vision of a bright light shining above the apostle’s tomb (Starkie, 1965). After an investigation confirmed that it was indeed the tomb of St. James, bishop Theodemir, financially backed

by King Alfonso II of Asturias, ordered a church to be built on the site. As the word spread about the buried apostle people began to move to the small shrine; the image of Santiago Peregrino (St. James the Pilgrim) was born (fig. 3.2). The site, to

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791-842 A.D.

42-44 A.D.

St. James the Greater Son of Zebedee

44 A.D.

Fig. 3.1 the life of apostle James the Greater

Santiago peregrino Fig. 3.2 Santiago‘s two identies

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- THE CASE

Santiago matamoros

become known as the campus stellea (starry field), laid the foundation for St. James’s patronage of Spain and the thousand year history of veneration by pilgrims from far and wide (Frey, 1998).

The golden era of pilgrimage Important in the emergence of the pilgrimage to St. James was the Moorish conquest of the Iberian peninsula during the apostle’s 800 years of sleep. Spirited on by the apostle’s relics within their ranks the Christian Kings of northern Spain managed to withstand and drive back the Moors. In his finest moments St. James appeared as Santiago de Matamoros (St. James the Moorslayer) (fig. 3.2) at the mythical battle of Clavijo in 845 to deal the Moors a crushing defeat (Girlitz & Davidson, 2000). With his help in resisting the Moors the number of pilgrims venerating and paying tribute at his tomb increased from a handful to flood.

By the 11th century the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was firmly established (Goddard, 1920). As the number of pilgrims increased, the infrastructure to accommodate the pilgrims expanded. Various hospices, churches and cloisters were established along the road to provide shelter, food and medical care. The old Roman road on which most of the pilgrims travelled was improved with the building of new bridges, ferry crossings and passes. Institutions like the Peones Camineros were occupied with mending bridges and roads (Goddard, 1920) and individuals like Santo Domingo de la Calzada and San Juan de Ortega became saints by building bridges for pilgrims. Romanesque art and architecture, often called the ‘bible in stone’, was used along the road to promote Christianity and tell the stories of the saints of the bible (Frey, 1998). This was not only done to promote the cult of saints and the act of penance, but also to reassert Christian dominance in the north of Spain. Around 1140 the first guide on the pilgrimage, the Codex Calixtinus (van Heerwaarden, 1983) was published. The book, essentially a promotion for pilgrimage, described the roads, towns, rivers and peoples on the way to Santiago de Compostela. A number of different paths were mentioned, of which the Camino Francés (French route) was most travelled. During the height of the pilgrimage between the 12th and the 14th century, pilgrims from all walks of life travelled to the roads, with motivations ranging from faith, punishment, atonement, acquire merit or to venerate relics. It is estimated that in the 13th century over 500.000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostela each year (Graham & Murray, 1997).

Downfall and the rediscovery of St. James From the 15th century the number of pilgrims travelling to the relics of St. James declined significantly (Girlitz & Davidson, 2000). With rise of Protestantism the veneration of relics and pilgrimage was banned in many areas of Europe. Also the rampant black plague made travelling a risky business. In 1589 the relics of St. James were hidden and subsequently lost by the city of Santiago de Compostela to protect them from an impending invasion by Sir Francis Drake (Goddard, 1920). Although the number of pilgrims dwindled to a trickle for the next three centuries the pilgrimage never came to complete stop. Despite the influence of the Enlightenment, the rising industrial revolution and the Spanish Civil War of 1820-23 some, mostly Spanish, people still visited the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, especially during Holy Years. An absolute low-point however came in the Holy Year of 1867 when no less than fifty pilgrims showed up at the mass in the Cathedral of Santiago (Mullins, 2000).

The remains of St. James were found again in 1879 and in 1884 their authentication

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as being the saint’s bones was ratified by pope Leo XIII (Norman, 2011). The rediscovery of the relics started a revival of Santiago de Compostela as a site of pilgrimage. The numbers of pilgrims began to increase again from the start of the 20th century, although this rise could be mainly assigned to non-walking pilgrims (Starkie, 1965). Only hardy and devout Catholics, medievalists and academics like Goddard (1917) and Starkie (1924-52) tried to follow the walking route to the city. Due to the rise of motorized transport and the relics’ promotion in Franco’s National Catholicism (Norman, 2011) the number of visitors rose into the millions by the 1960’s. Only a handful of these visitors came by foot. The number of walking pilgrims continued to dwindle well into the 20th century.

On the threshold of a new golden era During the centuries of stagnation the paths had become deteriorated, overgrown and hardly visible. In the atmosphere of renewed interest in the Camino de Santiago by academics and medievalists like Starkie and the subsequent formation of various St. James associations since the 1960’s (Lois Gonzalez, 2013), the work of Don Elías Valiña proved to be a strong advocate of walking-pilgrimage. In 1984 the priest, scholar and advocate of the pilgrimage had voluntarily started marking the original trails with bright yellow arrows. In the wake of the designation of Santiago de Compostela as UNESCO World Heritage in 1985 he was entrusted with the coordination of rebuilding the infrastructure and the promotion of pilgrimage trails. Partly due to his efforts the number of foot-pilgrims began to increase steadily again into the thousands and the trail was appointed as the first European Cultural Itinerary. For the Holy Year of 1993 the government of Galicia set up a massive promotional and restoration effort for the route in combination with an upgrade to pilgrim facilities, including region-wide network of hostels (Quesada-Embid, 2008).

In the same year the route itself was appointed World Heritage site and the number of pilgrims arriving on foot neared the 100.000. The second half of the 1990’s saw an explosion of the number of pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela, helped by improved facilities and infrastructure along the whole Spanish section of the route. The combined effort of regional governments and private initiatives ranging from Santiago associations to academics and returning pilgrims helped to move the route back into the European spotlight (Frey, 1998). The number of pilgrims on the routes to Santiago de Compostela have been steadily increasing from merely a 1.000 in 1985 to almost 240.000 by the year 2014 (Camino de Santiago Informe del ano 2014 (annual statistics), 2015).

Today, the increasing numbers cause the trails to be packed with pilgrims in the summer months of June, July and August, while the amount of pilgrims dwindles during December and January. To cope with the rising number of pilgrims the trails have been extensively renovated and upgraded. Especially in Spain former dirt roads have been tarred over or paved, stairs and bridges were renovated, extra paths were laid and road-side trees were planted for shade. Various regional and local governments have used the renewed interest in the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela as a way to promote tourism in their area. Formerly dormant and crumbling villages along the trails sprung back into life as inhabitants saw the opportunity to make a living on the increasing number of pilgrims crossing the village; stimulating the local economy. Exemplifying this is the rebirth is the village of Foncebadón, nearly completely deserted in the 1990’s the 25 inhabitant village now boasts four albergues catering the passing pilgrim. Although the increased interest in the route offers many opportunities and benefits for the local governments and businesses there exists also a growing awareness of the dangers and problems the route’s popularity brings in its wake. Matters like the absence of common regulation for albergues, disingenuous promotion of the Camino as a

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tourism product, unregulated uses of waymarking, and undesirable demolition and building activities along the trails, are the main points to address in future policies concerning the Camino de Santiago (FICS, 2014).

With its origin shrouded in myths and legends the Camino de Santiago went through a number of ups and downs throughout its history. Now, in the (possibly) new golden age of the pilgrimage route the number of pilgrims are slowly reaching Medieval numbers again. Good or bad, the Camino Francés is once again packed with pilgrims.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL RECOGNITION OF THE CAMINO FRANCÉS In Medieval times the pilgrim began his or her pilgrimage from their own doorstep.

Today the network of waymarked routes to Santiago de Compostela extends all over western-Europe, stretching as far as Poland. Yellow arrows or scallop shells are used as the universal waymarkers for all the routes. Fed by springs all over Europe, it is in Spain where there river is at its broadest (fig. 3.3).

The aforementioned Camino Francés, with its starting point at the French town St. Jean Pied-de-Port, is currently, and historically the most popular route, absorbing almost 70 percent of the pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela (Camino de Santiago Informe del ano 2014, 2015). Four of the seven Iberian routes join the Camino France at some point before Santiago de Compostela while others like the Camino Portugues, Camino Finisterre and the Camino Inglés have their separate routes to or out of the city.

Establishing the route In many cases, when one refers to the Camino de Santiago it is actually about the Camino Francés. The hegemony of the Camino Francés is centuries old and hardly challenged. Only during the time when Moorish invasions and the Reconquista ravished the lands of Castilla y Léon, pilgrims preferred the Camino del Norte, at the northern side of the Cantabrian mountains. Even though the veneration and the cult of St. James being established in the early 9th century it was only until the second half of the 11th century that the Camino Francés became officially recognized as a route to Santiago de Compostela (Lopez Alsina, 1989). By the efforts of King Sancho III of Navarra, who cleared the lands between the Pyrenees and Nájera from Muslim invaders, the classical route into the Iberian peninsula from Roncesvalles to Burgos and onwards to Galicia became established as the Camino de Santiago. The establishment of the Camino Francés was used as a political instrument by the ecclesiastic and secular powers in Asturias to connect the remote kingdom with the rest of western Europe and hence rid the area of Moorish influence.

A lifeline for Asturias The discovery of the remains of the apostle were key to the foreign policy of Asturias, being fully aware of the potential of the remains to become a centre of pilgrimage. Not only the efforts of the Navarran king, but also the conquering in 850 and subsequent repopulation of the Meseta by Asturias helped the Camino de Santiago become the lifeline that the remote kingdom so desperately needed (Lopez

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Alsina, 1989). Next to the establishment of fortifications along the Douro river and the recovery of abandoned Roman of cities on the Meseta, it was the increasing influx of religious travellers that, despite the scant early documentation, was the primary boaster of the early Camino de Santiago. With Christian rule recognised from Asturias to the Pyrenees the religious authorities of Santiago de Compostela sought actively to acquire possessions along the route. By the 10th century the monasteries of Triacastela and Portomarín and several villas ranging from Vega de Valcarce to Carrión de los Condes provided logistical support under the control of the clergy of Santiago de Compostela.

One can say that this is the point in time where the ‘wild west’ era of the Camino de Santiago ended. Guarded by the soldiers of the Christian kingdoms of Northern Spain and supported by various clergymen and monks, pilgrims, but also goods and traders, began to steadily flow to and from Santiago de Compostela and other cities.

Thereby firmly cementing the Iberian peninsula in the European network through the Camino Francés.

Kingdom of Asturias 750

Gijón Finisterre

Cantabrian Mounta ins

Santiago de Compostela

Astorga

León Burg

Christian repopulation 866 Zamora Porto

Madrid Christian repopulation 913

Lissabon 27

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Vezelay Tours

Périgueux

Arles Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

Toulouse

Irun

s

os

Le Puy

Bordeaux

Pamplona Logroño

Jaca

Pyre nees Girona

Zaragoza

Valencia

Fig. 3.3 the Camino Francés and its tributaries EXPLORING THE WAY -

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EXPLAINING THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE EARLY CAMINO FRANCÉS Notwithstanding the politics behind the establishment of the route the early geographical setting of Camino Francés is based on three distinct developments (Otero, 2010).

First, it is remarkable to see that the route avoids mountain ranges and river courses.

Instead of following these perpendicular elements westwards to Galicia it chooses to remain in the middle, at equal distances of both. The river valleys of the Douro and the Ebro to the south were Moorish controlled territories and thus inaccessible.

Next to that, the proximity of the mountain ranges, like the Cantrabrian Mountains, posed nearby refuge if a Moorish attack from the south would occur. By choosing to stay in the middle the difficult crossing of major rivers would be avoided. Minor tributary rivers, flowing from the mountains to the Douro or Ebro, like the Arga, Pisuerga or Elsa, posed a much easier and manageable passage.

Second, the route extensively used the existing Roman road network. Even though Romans left the area, together with their roadbuilding techniques, centuries ago their roads and related infrastructure remained useable and important. Most important was the road that originally stretched from Burdigala (Bordeaux) via Asturica Augusta (Astorga), with its goldmines, to Bracara Augusta (Braga). Settlements and villas along the road were long abandoned but the roadbed and pavement largely remained. Still existing Roman bridges like the ones near Cirauqui and Portomarín and fords like Vareia in the Ebro near Logroño were incorporated in the route.

Third, where deemed necessary, like at strategic crossings of rivers or passes or where Roman infrastructure proved to be deteriorated, new villages and towns were created. In many cases this often meant that the route would deviate from the original Roman road. A noteworthy case is the city of León. Founded on the remains of a Roman army camp, the city controlled the strategically important convergence of two mountain rivers and mountain passages into the kingdom of Asturias. The major axis of transportation was diverted from the deteriorated Roman road, twenty kilometres south to new roads leading into León. Next to that, previously abandoned Roman settlements were re-established as part of the repopulation policy imposed by Asturias.

Today, the Camino Francés is still, apart from some minor deviations, based on the path that was established 900 years ago. In this time, millions of pilgrims have travelled through the landscapes of Northern Spain to reach the tomb of St. James.

Landscapes that almost seem as permanent as the route itself.

THE LANDSCAPES OF THE CAMINO FRANCÉS The Camino Francés has its starting point on the French side of the Pyrenees where the French routes from Paris, Vezelay and Le Puy join up. The trail is 769 kilometres long, of which 20 kilometres lies in France and the remainder in Spain. The Spanish part of the route crosses four autonomous communities; Navarra, La Rioja, Castilla y León and Galicia. The main landscapes crossed along the route roughly cover the extents of the autonomous regions. The main landscapes of the Camino Francés can be divided in five parts from east to west: the Pyrenees and its foothills, the rolling fields and vineyards of La Rioja, the Castilian and Leonese Meseta plateau, mountain passes and valleys on the Leonese and Galician border, and the rolling green interior of Galicia (fig. 3.4). The following is mainly derived from the book Atlas de los paisajes de España by Mata Olmo & Sainz Herráiz et al. (2003).

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st.-jean-pied-de-port

N

roncesvalles

zubiri pamplona

puente la reina

The Pyrenees and its Navarrese foothills

estella

los arcos viana logroño

nájera

The rolling fields and vinyards of La Rioja

santo domingo de la calzada

belorado

san-juan de ortega

burgos rabé de las calzadas hornillos del camino

castrojeriz

frómista

carrión de los condes

The Castillian and Leonese Meseta terradillos de los templarios sahagún calzadilla de los hermanillos

reliegos

león

hospital de órbigo astorga

foncebadón

ponferrada

Mountains and valleys on the Castillian and Galician border

villafranca del bierzo vega de valcarce padornelo triacastela

Route elevation profile sarria

The route crossing landscape types

portomarín

palas del rey

Elevation 1400 m

200 m

Fig. 3.4 the Camino Francés through Northern Spain

The rolling green interior of Galicia

arzúa

o pedrouzo

santiago de compostela

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The Pyrenees and its Navarrese foothills Taking the most used day-stages as a guideline the pilgrim will cross the peaks of the Pyrenees and its foothills in the first four days of his journey, roughly until the town of Estella. With altitudes ranging up to 1500 metres, the western part of the Pyrenees around the French-Spanish border is characterized by the predominance of gentle limestone peaks separated by valleys. While the peaks are often exposed, a clear distinction exists between the forested slopes, consisting of oak and beech, and the cultivated valleys in which most villages are settled (fig. 3.6). As the trail continues southwards the slopes get more gentle and the valleys eventually flow out into the lower lying basin of Pamplona (fig. 3.7). This relatively fertile land has been settled since ancient times as it is dotted with remains and structures from Roman and Medieval times. Here the landscape becomes particularly more drier opposed to the humid slopes of the western Pyrenees (fig. 3.8). Outside the metropolitan area of Pamplona the gentle and open rolling fields of wheat with their brownish soil continue until roughly Estella. In between these fields the steep shrubbery ridge of Alto del Perd贸n offers a wide view over the Ebro basin.

Fig. 3.5 the Pyrenees and Navarra set in Spain

Fig. 3.6 descending from the Alto del Perd贸n 31

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Fig. 3.7 view towards the basin of Pamplona

Fig. 3.8 low peaks near Cirauqui

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The rolling fields and vinyards of La Rioja Passing Los Arcos the brown soils are slowly replaced by dark reddish soil and vineyards and wooded groves of almond and olive are taking up more and more space (fig. 3.11). Descending into basin of LogroĂąo, shaped by the tributaries of the Ebro, the landscape gives rise to extensive soft rolling land with wide valleys, cradled by flat sandstone hills which play a key role as watchmen in the La Rioja landscape and village settlements. The fertility of the soil made these lands favourable for cultivating vineyards since Roman times. The small vineyard plots are dotted with groups of oaks which manifest themselves on the more rocky outcrops (fig. 3.12).

In between these lands various tributaries to the Ebro form small flat floodplains which tend to have a more greener character caused by riparian forests. Nearing Santo Domingo de Calzada the scale of the landscape increases, views become wider and vineyards slowly disappear (fig. 3.10). Rising up to the peaks of the Montes de Oca along oak forested slopes the landscape become less occupied. First glimpses of the Meseta are given as the trail descends into the lands around Burgos which have been occupied since prehistory.

Fig. 3.9 La Rioja set in Spain

Fig. 3.10 red soils near the cliffs of NĂĄjera 33

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Fig. 3.11 vinyards in the rough near Viana

Fig. 3.12 view towards the Sierra de la Demanda near Ventosa

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The Castillian and Leonese Meseta Leaving the metropolitan area of Burgos the small green valley of the Arlanzón river the path quickly enters a landscape of flat-top mesas and extensive fields.

These grey soil fields of predominately barley, cradled by the often 30 metre high mesas (fig. 3,15), are riddled with stones, which can also be seen in the local architecture. Passing Castrojeriz the high open plateau of the Meseta unfolds. In this extensive, largely treeless area the landscape is formed by large windswept plots of grain fields with very few population centres (fig. 3.14). The small towns and hamlets are centred along the axis of transportation with roads dating back from Roman times. The gently rolling fields with wide horizons are interspersed by the green valleys of tributaries to the Duero river, often posing a contrasting green, geometrical character. This interplay continues, interspersed by the urban outskirts of León (fig. 3.16), until the river Órbigo. From there the Meseta starts rising, views become smaller as hills grow more frequent and forests start to fill the landscape again. Upon reaching Astorga the Meseta finally ends.

Fig. 3.13 the Meseta set in Spain

Fig. 3.14 the Via Aquitana on the Tierra de Campos 35

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Fig. 3.15 descending a flattop mesa to Hornillos del Camino

Fig. 3.16 nearing the end of the Meseta on the outskirsts of Le贸n

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Mountains and valleys on the Leonese and Galician border From Astorga the landscape starts to rise gently along vast areas of grasslands with wide views, littered with strands and forest of oak and beech (fig. 3.19). The steeper rise indicates that the trail is reaching the Montes de Le贸n. With peaks rising up to more than 1500 metres. The soil is rocky and dry, the wide slopes of the mountains are dominated by beech and oak, which are replaced by coniferous trees at higher altitudes. In this area, projected to increasing depopulation, towns are scarce and often situated along narrow passes among overgrown and wooded fields. The peaks are mostly open, providing open views on the Bierzo valley below. (fig. 3.18). The basin of the Bierzo is completely cradled by mountains. Its low lying fertile soils provide the basis for extensive fields, vineyards and wet meadows, concentrated around the urban centre of Ponferrada (fig. 3.20). To the west of the Bierzo lie the so-called Sierras Gallegas.

Fig. 3.17 the Leonese and Galician mountains set in Spain

Fig. 3.18 overlooking the Bierzo valley near El 37

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Fig. 3.19 the outskirts of the Montes de Le贸n near Astorga

Fig. 3.20 vinyards in the Bierzo valley

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The rolling green interior of Galicia Reaching into the lower land past the Sierras Gallegas the green landscape of Galicia unfolds (fig. 3.23). The landscape is littered with small towns, connected through a coarse network of enclosed fields (fig. 3.22). This area has been intensively cultivated far before Roman times resulting in a small-scale landscape. The many small streams provide lush meadows for intensive animal husbandry while steeper slopes tend be occupied by mixed deciduous forests. At the town of Portomarín the landscape is interrupted by a large reservoir of the river Miño. This interplay of landscapes continues well into the lower lying area nearing Santiago de Compostela.

Vast cultivations of eucalyptus dominate the wooded areas of this landscape, in which the relief is becoming ever less pronounced (fig. 3.24). The hills of Santiago de Compostela provide a last rise in the landscape before it evens out in, and past the city of Santiago de Compostela into the Atlantic coast.

Fig. 3.21 Galicia set in Spain

Fig. 3.22 a rural hamlet near Portomarín 39

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Fig. 3.23 descending through the lanes into the basin of Sarria

Fig. 3.24 eucalyptus plantations near O Pedrouzo

Through time the landscapes of Northern Spain have seen the passing by of many pilgrims. A pilgrimage landscape however does not only exist out of objectifiable characteristics found in the landscapes around the path, but also out of the experiences and stories of the pilgrims that walked within its surroundings.

In a pilgrimage landscape these two elements are intertwined in a close relation; a relation that poses remarkable similarities between the experience of the pilgrim and the crossed-through landscape.

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SOURCES Camino de Santiago, Informe del ano 2014. (2015). Available at: http://www. catedraldesantiago.es/es/node/394 FICS, (2014). Manifest of Villafranca del Bierzo.

Available at: http://pilgrimageandplace.blogspot. nl/2014/12/manifesto-of-villafranca-del-bierzo. html Frey, N. L. (1998). Pilgrim stories: On and off the road to Santiago. Univ of California Press.

Graham, B., & Murray, M. (1997). The spiritual and the profane: the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Cultural Geographies, 4(4), 389-409.

Gitlitz, D. M., & Davidson, L. K. (2000). The pilgrimage road to Santiago: the complete cultural handbook. Macmillan.

Herwaarden, J. (1983). O, roemrijke Jacobus-bescherm uw volk: pelgrimsgids naar Santiago. Luyten.

King, G. G. (1920). The Way of Saint James (Vol. 1). GP Putnam‘s sons.

Lois González, R. C. L., & Lopez, L. (2012).

El Camino de Santiago: una aproximación a su carácter polisémico desde la geografía cultural y el turismo. Documents d‘anàlisi geogràfica, 58(3), 459-479.

Lopez Alsina, F. (1989). The development of the Camino de Santiago in Castille and Leon between 850 and 1050. In The Santiago de Compostela pilgrim routes: a Council of Europe congress organised in cooperation with the Deutsches Komitee für Denkmalschutz and the Deutsche St.-Jakobus-Gesellschaft eV: Schney Castle/Bamberg (Federal Republic of Germany) 29 September-1 October 1988 (No. 16). Deutsche St. Jakobus-Gesellschaft (Ed.). Manhattan Pub. Co..

Mata Olmo, R., & Sanz Herraiz, C. (2003). Atlas de los paisajes de España. Madrid, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente.

Mullins, E. (1974). The pilgrimage to Santiago (No. 3).

Signal Books.

Norman, A. (2011). Celebrity Push, Celebrity Pull: Understanding the Role of the Notable Person in Pilgrimage. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 24(3), 317-341.

Otero, F. A. (2010). El Camino de Santiago Francés. Paisaje y territorio. In El paisaje, valores e identidades. Madrid, Fundación de Duques de Soria, Ediciones de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Quesada-Embid, M. C. (2009). Dwelling, Walking, Serving: Organic Preservation Along the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Landscape. ProQuest Starkie, W. (1965). The road to Santiago: pilgrims of St. James. Univ of California Press.

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4- The walk Backtracking towards the foundation of design

13 November 2014 Terradillos de los Templarios - SahagĂşn 274 kilometres

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THE GEOGRAPHY OF MY EXPERIENCE ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO Within the scope of the Spanish landscape atlas one would consider the landscapes of Northern Spain like any other landscape. Here, the carefully categorized landscape types lie as a patchwork of different colours on the surface of the Iberian Peninsula. The distant view of the eyes gleaming over the maps hide what lies truly behind the brightly coloured patches, squiggly rivers, and red smudges of cities. The guidebook that I used on my journey to Santiago de Compostela posed a similar abstract representation of the landscape. Though here, I could see beyond the abstract coloured patches. A vast array of lines, colours, smudges, dots and symbols, representing mountains, roads, rivers and cities, littered the page.

It would be nothing out of the ordinary if there was not a thick blue line running from left to right on each map. The transparent blue line would dip and rise over the surface of the map, crossing through smudges, following thick lines or steer beyond some dots, seemingly going its own way. This line represented the Camino FrancĂŠs; the road I would be following from Pamplona to Santiago de Compostela. With this line, landscapes that at first seemed nothing out of the ordinary are suddenly considered pilgrimage landscapes; where the postmodern pilgrim can walk the same path as his Medieval counterpart.

This is where the landscape transcends the objective representation on the map.

The pilgrimage landscape that I have been speaking of does not exist only on maps.

The fact is that the majority of what this landscape is made of is hiding in the memories and the texts of the pilgrims that have walked the paths to Santiago de Compostela. To gain a deeper understanding of the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago it is necessary to become part of the legacy and to embed oneself in the experience-machine that is walking the paths of Northern Spain. For it are the values that are gained through a personal experience of the landscape and the phenomenon that make it worth designing on it.

On the threshold of the first-person experience Since the 1980’s, when the Camino de Santiago revived as a pilgrimage, diary-writing had shifted from an activity that was solely for the privileged to an activity that was common practice for almost every pilgrim (Hesp, 2013). The accounts by the medieval monk Picaud, Renaissance cleric Laffi or 20th century medievalists Goddard and Starkie, can be classified as exceptional rather than representative.

Today, diary-writing has become an essential aspect in recovering the transitory and transformative experience an individual (may) had in these once-in-a-lifetime adventures that are pilgrimage and long-distance trekking. According to Hesp (2013) diary writing has become a way by which pilgrims can identify themselves and relate to other pilgrims.

My diary, which can be found in the appendices, envelopes my journey on the Camino FrancĂŠs which started on 27 October in Pamplona and ended on 4 December in Santiago de Compostela. In total my experience of the Camino de Santiago compromises 38 days and covers 720 kilometres through the landscapes of Northern Spain. In memorising my experience, the diary was added by quick jottings, sketches, charts of my well-being, and a vast collection of photographs.

Together with the memories embedded in my head they form the complete image of my experience (fig. 4.1). Taking into account my experience and reflection on walking on the Camino de Santiago I neither treat walking as a solely aesthetic or meditative experience or design tool. I would rather, taking my background as a landscape architecture student, place it as parts within the greater confines of longdistance trekking that pilgrimage is, for it is an activity that greatly expands the mind.

Here, I not only share my data, but also my story.

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st.-jean-pied-de-port roncesvalles

1

N

day

zubiri pamplona

puente la reina 0 0

estella

los arcos viana logroño ?

New confrontations

nájera

santo domingo de la calzada

belorado

day

san-juan de ortega

9

burgos rabé de las calzadas hornillos del camino

castrojeriz

frómista

carrión de los condes

Rhythm found

terradillos de los templarios sahagún calzadilla de los hermanillos

reliegos

león day

21

hospital de órbigo astorga

foncebadón ?

personal day-experience

Being alone together

?

?

ponferrada

well-being chart villafranca del bierzo

+

elevation well-being

vega de valcarce

towns

padornelo day

triacastela

50.000+

30

15.000-50.000

sarria

5.000-15.000 1.000-5.000 100-1.000 1-1000

portomarín !

Arriving home together

palas del rey

arzúa

Fig. 4.1 my personal experience on the Camino Francés through Northern Spain

o pedrouzo

santiago de compostela

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day

36

The story of my journey to Santiago de Compostela can be summarized in four chronological parts. Each part distinguishes some overall commonalities experienced in the field and in the collected data. In analysing my experience the five-element setup devised by Crowley (2012) was chosen as a means to dissect each part.

0-152 KM: New confrontations Stepping out of the airplane in Pamplona and touching the Spanish soil marked the start of my journey to Santiago de Compostela. A new experience and landscape lay ahead of me, ready to be discovered. The experience was about to get real and I, despite the uncertainties and curiosity, wanted to make the best of the confrontations that were awaiting me.

Environmental As in any other case, arriving in a new environment with different customs and values requires the mind to be re-calibrated. It was during this time that I discovered the comforting effect of the simple rural landscape of Navarra and La Rioja and the comforting hand of the pilgrim community. The flat landscape I saw from the airplane proved to a myriad of mountains, forests and rivers with villages dotted in between. The path wound itself through these elements, along goat’s paths, rural drives or next to busy roads. From the start I had all kinds of romantic pastoral images set within my mind, and to a certain extent they seemed true. The real landscape of the Camino de Santiago is not made by pilgrims, but by farmers.

In many cases the pilgrim serves as a mere bystander. The rural villages I passed through almost all seem to possess this kind of eternal character, as if the sturdy stone houses were there to stay. The various Roman artefacts I passed along seemed to prove the point.

Noticeable was the growing aversion against passing through the larger cities of the region like Pamplona, Nájera or Logroño. To me they, despite their valuable heritage, did not seem to fit within the image of pilgrimage and all seemed to have a different take on inviting the Camino into their town. The general feeling of a good walking day could be severely altered when the last half hour consisted of dreary commercial plots or grim modernist urban outskirts. The attention for the environment seemed to rise and fall with my physical and mental wellbeing. With my physicality being so pronounced in the last day up to Santo Domingo de la Calzada I began to see they path as an enemy I had to conquer, an enemy which kept throwing another hill with another beautiful vista at me. I overcame, but nevertheless felt kind of guilty for accepting the particular landscape in this way; it was not its fault.

I never expected the weather to be such a great influence on the route. With mornings often shrouded in fog you could only hope that things would clear up, of what otherwise would be beautiful stage would be confined to a little bubble of visibility around you. With a landscape so noticeably different from the Netherlands almost every feature seemed to attract my attention. The particular stony and evergreen environment of Navarra and the intense red soils of La Rioja, with the grapevine’s damp leaves glistering in the midday sun. To me these collections of small-scale landscapes were a joy to discover, waiting for what lay after yet another corner in the path, or past a rocky ascent. The feeling that I was abroad, doing something really special grew stronger every day.

Physical I would not dare to go as far to call this stage in my pilgrimage a suffrage, but it

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was certainly the case that I had seen the bottom and found my way back up again.

During this phase of my Camino I kept adhering to my self-proclaimed rat race of trying to keep up with others. The first day I felt confident, but also worried, I was not sure if I would be able to live up to expectations of the walking pilgrim. As a frequent walker I never had to care for any blisters until the first day of walking in Spain. This sudden strain of climbing up to Alto del Perdón and the still heavy backpack were probably the main instigators.

Blisters proved to be common among pilgrims and in many cases it turned into an evening ritual in which one would exchange band aids for cream. I tried to push the pain to the background and left it being. Besides blisters I had not yet found an adequate response to the changing weather conditions. At times I wanted to change clothes, but did not feel the need to stop as I wanted to keep the momentum. I experienced the same with my eating. In many cases it simply was not enough to keep walking on just some snacks.

A physical highlight would be the trek to Nájera, for the first time I really felt like an experienced trekker and comfortable in what the landscape and weather threw at me. For a moment I felt invincible, but like the Syrian giant Ferragut I too eventually found my Waterloo around Nájera. Revelatory proved to be moment when the bodily strain finally hit its peak on my way to Santo Domingo de la Calzada (fig.

4.2). The increasing amount of blisters, my stubbornness to keep on walking and the unsanitary care of my wounds were the reason for this moment of revelation.

I struggled into town; this was not the experience I had in mind at the start of my pilgrimage. In hindsight this was maybe the defining moment in this phase, the moment I discovered that I had to go with the rhythm the new environment and society were unconsciously projecting on me, instead of forcing myself. I got patched up, but I was not allowed to walk. This stage proved to be nothing more but a learning curve in the practice of walking.

Mental My mental and emotional state was clearly marked by my physical wellbeing. During moments I felt nauseous or blisters were poking my shoes, negative thoughts also rose up in my head. Particularly strong were feelings of homesickness and the longing to belong to something. As I expected the continuous walking offered me a lot of time to think. Recurring items were the uncertainty about the experience, but also the expectation of what lay ahead and how I would cope with this new culture and it’s still hazy values.

Memorable experiences and sights were revealed to me at moments when my mind was foggy and hazy and my body stressed and strained. There were three of these moments. The moment I sat down on the lonely rock outside Lorca my worries and doubts sank away in the silt of my mind. How an ordinary farmer’s landscape could have such a major influence on my emotions was amazing. I believe that these moments already laid dormant in my mind and that I was unconsciously building up to them, either negatively or positively, up until the point that only a small spark was needed to ignite the fuse. The latter was also true for my entire walk passing Ventosa. This walk was an emotional high in a rainy environment, where I finally felt at home. All of this was part of the learning curve into becoming a pilgrim but also into becoming more knowledgeable about my own physical and mental capabilities.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned physical negative spiral I got myself into, the other side of the spectrum revealed to me the beauty and uniqueness of the total experience of undertaking a pilgrimage. The third moment proved to be the moment I had to stop walking on the doctor’s advice. For the first time I truly felt bad for not being able to continue. In hindsight I do feel bad for not seeing

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the landscapes past Santo Domingo de la Calzada. Unexpected, it was in the early morning, sitting in a bar, whilst the streets of Santo Domingo de la Calzada slowly emptied themselves of the last pilgrims, that I became a pilgrim.

Social I was aware of the pilgrim community before I left for Spain and I felt nervous about the new social conventions I was about to discover. I engaged this new social order head on. In these first days I tried to clamp on to the people I met on my first day, but found out that this was not only strenuous on the body but also on the mind. These people, already experienced pilgrims in my view, did not follow the conventions I had set my mind to. Worrying about arriving at the same hostel at the same time made head feel tense and conflicted, the pace I had set myself was unreasonable (fig. 4.3).

During the first days encounters with other people during the day were confined to greeting and a short exchange of words, of which country of origin and starting point were the most frequent subjects. Most of the more intense interaction took place at the hostel where the common homey setting invited to have some small talk with strangers. Interaction proved to be more fluid than I originally expected. It seemed that everybody was on their own amongst strangers. This sense of equality made it easier to spring a conversation. In having got to know some people I tried to clamp on a bit more and occasionally found some comfort in walking the same pace and talking. Subjects were very mundane and hardly spiritually profound. Talking seemed to take the mind of walking.

The community proved to take care of each other. I was assisted to the emergency service by somebody I had only known for a few days, but never saw again after that day. Contacts were coming and going and were never really sturdy, and gradually I, like the others already did, began to accept this as a part of being on a pilgrimage.

Spiritual I expected the Camino de Santiago to be string of profound spiritual experiences.

On the contrary to what I expected the spiritual component of pilgrimage was not as present in the environment as I thought. Spiritual moments proved to be more of a temporal character and had mostly to do with the particular weather conditions.

The hazy morning in Nรกjera with the cloudy red sky had a truly mystifying effect while descending its winding cliffs. It were mostly these small moments that proved to be the most valuable and uplifting to me. Moments like these were almost always found within a rural setting, in the absence of buildings. Only on rare occasions the actual built space itself induced a kind of sense of higher being. To be inside the cathedral of Burgos in the early empty morning calmed me down and made me feel much more connected to the undertaking. For a mere five minutes the mumbling voices, the relative warmth and incense filled this particular moment. By any means the spiritual component seemed to be most heavily influenced by the other elements. As if it was some kind of dormant entity which would only reveal itself when the mind, body and environment were in synch with each other.

In this stage I learned to become a pilgrim in an experience that was both beautiful and painful. It was a clear fact that I had to get rid of the preconditioned images I had of undertaking a pilgrimage by loosening the strings in my mind and body. In many cases the landscape seemed to be able to strengthen the experience for the good or for the worse.

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Fig. 4.2 The painful road into Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Fig. 4.3 Keeping up with others near Estella

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152-331 KM: Rhythm found To many the phenomenon of pilgrimage is inherently connected to the physical act of walking, but to feel like a pilgrim one does not necessarily has to move. In Burgos I recovered from the grinding halt I made in Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

Although it was a strange sensation to be stranded among pilgrims, fully dressed and equipped, but nowhere to go, I did not feel out of place. It was in this phase that I found my rhythm.

Environmental For some reason I had been looking forward to crossing this particular landscape. In all their abstractness the maps in my guidebook could spell nothing but surprise, the long straight lines were intriguing to me. In my preparation I had caught up with the fact that this was supposed to be one of the most enduring and harsh parts of the Camino. A place where pilgrims where succumbing to the blistering heat in summer and enduring icy cold winds in winter.

Objectively seen the Meseta was a simple landscape, with easy distinguishable parts; the path, the field and the sky. Yet, more than in any other part of my journey the cloud-filled sky caught my attention. The curvy clouds, with their myriad of forms posed a sharp contrast between the simple lines and empty spaces existing on the surface. With the winter approaching the barren fields only strengthened this image.

This rural landscape smelled like dirt and rough grass. In the few villages that existed the houses smelled like the dirt they were made of. In the first few days the vastness and earthy colours invoked some sublime vistas.

In general it was an environment that held few rewards but the views ahead, centred along the horizon on a village that lay behind the next rolling hill. The simple landscape of the Meseta, with its sparse villages and lonely roads, made my worries less as there were fewer options and thus fewer choices to make. In some cases this was beneficial. The need to keep track of signage and the road ahead decreased and opened up space for a more meditative spirit, based on the grinding stones beneath my shoes. There were moments were I wanted to escape the dominance of the line.

Sometimes it worked, but in many cases the line made in impossible to be relieved from the harsh weather or depressing environments.

In a landscape that is as simple as the Meseta it is easy to disturb the balance. As all along the Camino modernity had caught up, but here in the Meseta the interventions like highways and urban sprawl seemed to be more profoundly present. Nevertheless this landscape also held some beautifully preserved relics of old rural Spain, put forward by the hospitality of its mostly aging inhabitants.

Physical The rhythm of walking did not feel like the constrained routine of the first week. I confronted the journey in a more flexible and relaxed way. In Burgos I had the time to recover from the wounds on my feet. Challenging the doctor’s advice I left two days earlier than his advice. There was some incomprehensible feeling that wanted me to walk on.

During the long trek across the straight roads of the Meseta the blisters that had put me out days earlier, did not return. Soaked with disinfectant and carefully wrapped in gauze and bandage my soles seemed to withstand the monotonous crunching beneath my feet. Maintaining this protective shell around my soles was a doctor’s advice that I painstakingly held on to. In the end it paid off. In this stage I was

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more aware and careful of the physical capabilities I was able to endure. The past experiences had made me stronger and wiser. I think the developing tendonitis was not only suppressed by the ibuprofen and cream, but also by wit.

On the Meseta physical challenges came from the outside instead of the inside.

It was the battering wind, the monotonous traffic noise, and the sharp rain that bothered me the most. With most pilgrim literature describing the Meseta as the most demanding landscape of the Camino nothing less than the opposite was true for me. Walking here was, for the majority of time, a joy. I found comfort in my increased knowledge of my own body, but also in the company of a like-minded and supportive community. Somehow this lack of physical hardship opened up space for other themes to flourish.

Mental With the mental wellbeing seemingly coupled to my physical wellbeing there were very few mental hardships to endure. A more clear sense of direction in the journey and my thesis made me less worried and enabled me to enjoy the things that surrounded me.

In this part of my Camino my mental state was mostly influenced by the social dynamics and aesthetic experiences on route. In essence I got more in touch with what it meant to be part of the pilgrim community and what the true identity of the pilgrim was. The sudden encounter with some like-minded youngsters made me feel overly joyful at a time when I felt lonely and forgotten. The other side of the spectrum was represented by the homeless man I saw in Sahag煤n, forgotten by society he embodied the harsh truth of a true wandering spirit that every modernday pilgrim seemed to be pursuing. I kept recalling and overthinking how lucky I was in my situation and how it seemed that everything was simply bound by sheer coincidence and goodwill of others.

In general I felt happy and comfortable in presence ofa tight group and a simple and sublime landscape. Aesthetic experiences where closely bound to the monotonous motion of walking along a line I was not able to escape. However, it is interesting to recall that it was during this stage that for the first time in months a profoundly angry emotion overwhelmed me. Encountered with temporal situation I had no influence on I could do nothing but scream at the pouring rain, something I had not done in years. Then, a primal reaction to the moment, but now a memory that stands out (fig. 4.4).

Social In trying to distil the social experience between Burgos and Le贸n there is actually only one element that really stands on top. If it was not for this great group of young pilgrims I met in the cosy hostel in Hornillos del Camino this stage would have been a lot harder. Like in the game of the goose I fell down the well and when I managed to crawl out of it I realized that I, and the world around me, had changed.

People I came to know passed on and my own physical condition demanded me start off this new beginning leading out of Burgos more slowly and carefully. By sheer coincidence, or by godly intervention one may say, I met this group of young pilgrims at moment when I was in dire need of some like-minded company.

As the days went by I felt ever more welcome and incorporated, as if it was a miniature model of the giant pilgrim community. Even in the decision-making I felt always could fall back on the comfort of the group without having any hard feelings about it (fig. 4.5). For me this was the perfect balance of control and routine.

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Fig. 4.4 Persisting rain and nowhere to shelter on the way to Reliegos

Fig. 4.5 The group gathers for a rest at Calzadilla de la Cueza

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It could be described like being tied on an elastic band. In essence you have the freedom the stress or loosen the band, but you would never be able to break it without damaging yourself. I managed to control this elastic band quite well.

Ironically it was the moment that the journey paused in León that I realized that I was merely living in a temporal condition, that the elastic band I started with two weeks ago had become brittle. The group, which provided me many comfort and enjoyment, in my eyes became too brittle for me to stay tied to. In recalling my diary entries the previous phase taught me how to walk the walk and this phase taught me to talk the talk.

Spiritual Like in the first part spiritual moments were mostly invoked by temporal weather conditions. I recall a visit to the Iglesia de Peregrina in Sahagún where we were able to collect a halfway-stamp. Entering the building with dark clouds glooming over our heads and opening the door on our way out to a view of stark rays of sunlight piercing through the clouds, turning them into fiery beacons.

Also, moving out of Rabé de las Calzadas in the dusk morning with the bright moon still in the sky I found a profoundly peaceful moment alone. While walking around the stone shelter and reading the messages that other pilgrims had written on the bricks I experienced a clear moment of solitude and invisible connection to the ones that were here before me. Spiritual moments were set in a rural landscape in which it was easy to be alone, even within the presence of other pilgrims. Next to that, light and sky are one of the guiding elements present in nearly all experiences I would describe as spiritual. To me it seems that what we see above our heads represent the things that we are unable to grasp.

While crossing the Meseta I had somehow managed to work my way into being a pilgrim and to be part of the community. My feet and brain were finally set to the correct mode. The simple and barren landscape made it easier to think and move, but also posed few rewards.

I began to form a new image of how I would be walking to Santiago de Compostela.

331-496 KM: Being alone together The warm bath of the pilgrim community had numbed me down and thus decided to leave León all by myself. Mimicking the departure from Burgos there was only the unknown to be discovered in the walk that lay ahead of me. But, instead being nervous or afraid I approached the new situation with a clear mind a sturdy feet.

Environmental The way out of León presented me with the last voices of the Meseta. On the borders of the high plateau rurality and urbanity seemed to coexist in curious and unnatural anomaly, it was something I gladly left behind me. The landscape that followed was marked the topographical high points of the Camino de Santiago, where some of its mythical monuments stand as ivory towers. These monuments, embodied by Cruz de Ferro and El Cebrero had bounded generations of pilgrims together. Between these forces the landscape seemed to be suspended as a string.

It was the first time on my way to Santiago de Compostela that I had encountered such a rugged and rough terrain. Apart from the Alto del Perdón on the first day it was the first time I had to do some serious climbing. Instead of being paved by gravel the path now wound itself over barren rocks, eroded by either water or

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pilgrims. The line that had been so dominant on the Meseta now seemed to be more fluid and natural and more prone to surprise its user. The varied vegetation and topography made views change more often and created a mystifying environment in which rewards could lay just around the corner. More than the valleys below the mountain peaks offered a sense of seclusion from the rest of the world. People, cars and businesses were living down below in the bustle, while the higher altitudes emanated a sense of quietness and permanence.

Here, on the sparsely inhabited ridges and crumbling villages, nature was a more dominant factor in the landscape than in the previous landscape settings. At the Montes de Le贸n a dry crisp smell of pine filled the air while the humid slopes up to El Cebrero the air was filled with fresh dew and rotting leaves. I had somehow missed walking through forests. Next to that, more than any time before the element of colour influenced my aesthetic experiences. The last gusts of autumn were receding from the land and only the brightest colours seemed to persist among the evergreen slopes. This bright palette perfectly matched with the smelly sensations of the forest.

Physical In hindsight I seemed to be at my physical peak. My feet seemed to become ever more disconnected from the rest of body as the mesmerizing motion melted with the thoughts in my head. For the past weeks the walking motion had embedded itself within in the daily rhythm and I could not imagine any other way of transporting myself forward. There were times that distances did not seem to matter. If I wanted to think more I simply walked another few kilometres even though the results were not always as rewarding as I had imagined.

I scaled the two peaks with a surprising ease. Coming down however, was a noticeably tougher than going up. The playful way in which I hopped on and over the loose rocks felt careless at the moment, but I had to pay the price the day after. Nevertheless I accepted this as an inescapable effect. Being released from the group dynamics my sense of physical wellbeing had become more natural, but also less pronounced. With the weeks passing by physicality had moved from the forefront to the background of my attention. Pain in general had become less and new occurrences ebbed away quickly. In essence the climbing up the topographical high points of the Camino de Santiago also marked the culmination of my fitness (fig. 4.6).

Mental This culmination of physical fitness seemed to be closely intertwined with my mental wellbeing. The mind had replaced the body as the guiding element as the path ascended the peaks of the Camino de Santiago. To some extent my mind was occupied by my imagined arrival in Santiago de Compostela, but the greater part of attention went to the two Camino monuments I came across during this stage.

The predetermined image and the aftermath of the experience of Cruz de Ferro and El Cebrero were major sources of thought. I imagined them as mythical symbols, sprouting out a never-ending stream of stories and memories. I too memorise my experience there, but it was not the experience I had hoped for. In hostels I had seen many pictures of the Cruz de Ferro on what looked like a barren mountain top. Instead I was offered roadside monument amidst some plantation of trees. El Cebrero bore more resemblance to an open air museum where tacky pilgrim memorabilia could be bought by busses of tourists (fig. 4.7). Here one may point at the increasing generalization of the undertaking as an increasing number of

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pilgrims flock the paths. All of different descents pilgrim try to find identity in the pilgrim community but also in the common experiences, hoping for similar effects.

The road offers many common experiences but also leaves room for those who do not find satisfaction in the common story or feeling disconnected from it.

The two monuments triggered some kind of reflective switch in my mind. Famous places always numb me down, leaving me with more thoughts about what is right and what is wrong and one which path I am at that moment. I do not want to put myself above all the other pilgrims as some sort of enlightened individual because I believe that even though Camino generalises, everybody has a chance to finds one’s own special moments.

Social The third phase in my journey is marked by a time of solitude. The group of young pilgrims with whom I walked across the Meseta helped me not the feel alone or worried. On the one hand the elastic band was becoming brittle, but on the other hand I had the feeling that my relationship with the group was becoming more and more sticky. The more I spent time with them the harder it seemed to abandon them. My mind seemed to be more occupied with social elements than mental aspects. When I left the group with which I had walked across the Meseta I somehow chose for a time of solitude.

Solitude is somewhat peculiar concept. While often associated with loneliness they do not represent the same. While loneliness has a negative connotation to it; the pain of being alone, solitude represents the joy of being alone. It was between Astorga and Triacastela that I enjoyed the seclusion and lack of contact. Being alone together perfectly illustrates the situation me, and the others around me were living in. Somehow there was a sense of belonging to a greater community that manifested itself in the hostels. Here I would come cross acquaintances of the past days or talked with complete strangers. It was joyful to come across people you had not seen in days. I seemed perfectly happy with the life of the single pilgrim, living among the family and finding commonalities in the destination and differences in motivations. Overall it had a very liberating effect on me.

The walks in this phase were more marked by a kind of laissez-faire attitude. I was the one that decided when to walk, how fast to walk and how far to walk. I made the decisions and bore their positive or negative consequences.

Spiritual The single most profound spiritual moment I experienced whilst descending the hills of the Montes de León. Up until then the whole day had been a particularly pleasant and joyful experience. The encounter with Cruz de Ferro wandered through my mind and I found comfort in the natural beauty that surrounded me. For already a long time I had marvelled at the stark colours of the chestnut trees dotted on the slopes. The sunlight gave them a glimmering effect, almost as if they were on fire.

At the end of a slippery section of barren rock, just around a little corner lay one of the impressive set of trees I had ever seen. Within this grove of chestnut and oak I could experience this mystical aura, as if I had travelled back in time and knights on horseback could pass at any moment. The trees themselves radiated a sense of permanence and wisdom. Their rugged trunks had seen many passers-by and have obviously been touched by thousands of people before. For a moment I felt perfectly alone amongst these ancient beacons. It seemed to me that this was the predestined reward I was direly looking for after the Cruz de Ferro.

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Fig. 4.6 Running up the hill with a Slovenian towards Foncebad贸n

Fig. 4.7 The tourist town of El Cebrero

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In this phase I took control of my own thoughts and feet, decided on my own how far I should walk, when to rest and what to think. Unhinged from people to wait on and open to new, more flexible contacts, the way opened up to me. It was during this stage that I felt at the top of my pilgrim identity.

496-642 KM: Arriving home together The fourth and final phase marked my entry into Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of my journey. My body and mind had descended from the peaks of El Cebrero into the lush green landscape of Galicia. Santiago de Compostela was becoming ever more nearer, as was the end of my experience.

Environmental The difference in landscapes could not be more pronounced when I passed into Galicia at El Cebrero. Not only did this place demarcate the border between two autonomous regions, but also between two wholly different landscapes. It looked as if the peaceful green landscape was carefully kept away from the disturbing influences of modernity.

The landscape on my way to Santiago de Compostela reminded me by many features to the landscape I left behind at home (fig. 4.8), where I was born and grew up. In the landscape of Galicia home felt closer and made it easier for me to connect to the physical end of journey; Santiago de Compostela, to my actual homecoming back in the Netherlands. Here, body and mind went into a cooling down mode.

The robust large scale landscape of the Meseta and rough mountain peaks clearly were a setting that subdued the pilgrim into an actor role at the stage of landscape, keeping you in trance most of the time. Among the ancient walls the positive tension in the body and mind eased off. Here the landscape felt most at ease with time, organically grown and aged. Villages and hamlets became so numerous that I barely registered them in my mind. The humid air felt thicker and was filled with all kinds of rural smells, ranging from smelly cow manure to sharp wood fire. This was a landscape of discovery. I remember playing with the roadside water on two occasions, following the water downwards and making leaf-dams as I went along.

The twisting paths, cradled by trees, hedgerows or stones transported the pilgrim in what almost seemed to be a fairy-tale landscape. Where modernity came alight, like at PortomarĂ­n, the sheer scale and contrast of the setting overwhelmed me.

Closing in to the final destination of my pilgrimage the environment became ever more adapted to pilgrim-related tourism. I could sense that in summer this section would be packed with pilgrims streaming into the city. Walking into the city posed the same burdens as nearly all large cities I had encountered on the way. The dreaded walk through modernity’s suburbs was an inescapable, but necessary evil.

The historical centre city was a well-deserved reward. On the winding streets the last meters of the Camino de Santiago curved around the corner of a gate, flushing the pilgrims onto the square, turnings their heads to view the world-famous facade.

Physical Although I noticed some physical wear and tear sneaking into my legs the final days up to Santiago de Compostela I seemed able to suppress it. With the final destination being so close, my body almost felt magnetised to the city that lay a few days westwards. The landscape seemed friendly and comfortable, as if it wanted to give the full opportunity to experience its wonders. Some physical discomfort mostly emanated from the damp weather conditions when walking through the

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rain. In one stage I was desperately looking for water, having forgotten to refill I fiercely hoped that the next village would have a source of potable water. None did. Far from being threatening it did made think of what pilgrimage was in hotter or older times, when water either much more need or scarce. A few times I slipped on some wet rocks, but never during this stage had I experienced a profoundly demanding challenge. It all seemed to part of closing the experience, having proved myself as a pilgrim, softening the mind and body for the upcoming arrival.

Mental My mind was increasingly focused on the arrival and my return home. I wondered how the people back home would accept me and how this experience would shape the results of my thesis. I was looking forward to seeing my family again, but at the same time I would not have minded to prolong my stay for a couple more days. The fact that I was not really missing them made me feel conflicted, but somehow not worried. It was in this peculiar dilemma that my thoughts were suspended.

In my mind I recalled and rehearsed many times how the arrival at the cathedral would turn out. I tried to subsequently block it because I was afraid that it could only lead to disappointment. Initially it ended up as a disappointment. The world of the pilgrim, which I had become so used to suddenly touched upon reality in a hard way.

Like many times along the way I was recognized as a pilgrim, but I never felt more uncomfortable being one as at the epicentre of the phenomenon. The twilight zone I had lived in, the warm bath I comfortably settled myself into, especially in the last few days, got cold very quickly. I felt very conflicted about the city of Santiago de Compostela. Here I was as a pilgrim, having my pictures taken by tourists, looking at the uncountable pilgrim souvenirs, questioning what was really authentic.

In hindsight I was not able to predict any of the innumerable outcomes of the journey, both in physical and mental recovering and reflection, nevertheless I tried and found out that the end did not lie in Santiago de Compostela but somewhere in a future that I had yet to discover.

Social At the bottom of the hills I met up with the remaining members of the group I left behind more than a week ago in León. At that moment it seemed necessary for me to leave, but after spending some time in solitude among others I felt it was time regain some energy from the group. The dynamics in the group were like old times and it felt good to have some company at the end of the day. Despite some hiccups on the way the elastic band had regained its tension even though I spent most of my time walking alone.

The sense of belonging to this particular set of people and the pilgrim community in general grew stronger as the end came nearer. I felt comfortable to end the experience with the people I had come to know so well during my journey. Coincidence and sheer luck decided that I would arrive with them. Memorable was the dark morning trek from O Pedrouzo to Monte del Gozo to see the holy city arising in the sunset.

In the dark the group stayed close together. Relying on each other’s sound and the occasional pocket lights everybody walked silently through the forests surrounding the city. The dark gave an extra dimension to the togetherness. With the fiery sunrise in our backs (fig. 4.9) we descended into Santiago de Compostela. Within the city acquaintances would randomly pop out of a shop or a street, ready to exchange some congratulations. The sense of accomplishment brought everybody together and for a brief moment each man or woman seemed equal. Here, where it all seemed to end the feeling of community seemed the strongest. We all reached our

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goal. During the days in the city,other people with whom I lost contact with in the past weeks trickled into the city. These random encounters I experienced as most joyful. The breaking up of the core group was an inescapable fact, but we made the most out of it. This fluid society I had grown so accustomed to evaporated into thin air.

Spiritual In what I would count as a profound aesthetic experience was not instigated by the mystifying ancient landscape of Galicia, but by a work of modernity. The massive bridge, the lush green colours and the crumbled village down at the Belesar Reservoir were simply awe inspiring. There was this sublime sense of coming down a forested hill and gazing into this wide open void where once people lived and worked. Sitting on the stairs I simply watched, my thoughts could not keep with my eyes.

At the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela the rush of the moment did not really gave much time to reflect on the gravity of the experience. The rituals inside the cathedral were memorable, but not fulfilling, and by far not able to mark the end of such a profound experience that was my undertaking. Before I left the city the next day I decided to take a last evening stroll to the square in front of the cathedral. The dusk was setting in and people were flocking into the many restaurants or wandering seemingly aimless through the streets. For sure the city felt as most peaceful to me in this moment. I carefully walked onto the square to the exact spot I stood still a few days ago. The cathedral was wrapped in scaffolding and plastic and its lights radiated a yellow glow against the darkening skies. As I gazed up to the cathedral the sounds on the square seem to ebb away. For a brief moment it was only me and the cathedral. Like on that rock outside Lorca on day two, my eyes seemed to peer right through the impressive faรงade. It was at this moment that it felt right to finish the experience that was the Camino de Santiago. As my eyes wetted a deep sense of accomplishment finally sank in. Here I was.

In this phase the landscape and the community gave me small hints that the experience of pilgrimage was nearing to end. Despite this, the impending arrival did not weigh me down.

Like the landscape, the experience had become so fluid and natural that it almost seemed I would be able to continue indefinitely. In hindsight the physical end of the journey did not mark the mental end.

An evolutionary journey My journey to Santiago de Compostela can be divided in four stages. The four-stage development of my experience follows a linear course in which a certain evolution is can be identified. During the journey I slowly grow into the values, customs, and rhythms that belong to the temporal identity of a pilgrim. At first the new identity feels strange and uncertain as I had an urge to go against the current. However, much like in evolution, it is best to let the natural course of events and experiences take over. Through a constant exposure to the routine of the new environment the body and the mind adapted to fit the situation. During the course of this constant exposure the steady line of development is sometimes interrupted by either positive or negative outliers; events which carry a certain shock-effect in them. It is within the radius of these events where a transition to another stage on the evolutionary ladder takes place. Eventually a hard ceiling is reached; the point upon which it seems impossible to grow any further. From here the temporal identity starts to ripple out into a merger with the identity I started off with; the person Pim Lucassen.

Identifying it as a merger I want to point out that the temporal identity does not disappear into thin air as the environment of pilgrimage starts to fade away. It, on

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Fig. 4.8 Feeling at home on the way to Sarria

Fig. 4.9 A fiery sunrise at Monte del Gozo

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the contrary, adds, varying on intensity from person to person, new knowledge and values to your existing set. It is through the process of pilgrimage; essentially a ritual process, that this evolution is instigated and catalysed. On a personal level the ritual process I underwent may be wholly unique to my temporal situation. However, on a general level common grounds can be identified.

THE COMMON GROUNDS OF THE RITUAL A ritual process, may it be religious, secular or social, can be separated in three consecutive parts. These parts, summarized under the general term rites de passage, mark the transition of an individual or a group at both a physical and psychological level (fig. 4.10). The concept of rites de passage was devised by the French ethnographer van Gennep (2010) and later expanded by Turner (1969). At a physical level the three stages are generally referred to as the rites of separation, rites of margin, and the rites of aggregation. The psychological level is marked by the consecutive differentiation between pre-liminal rites, liminal rites, and postliminal rites. In this model the physical rites mark the phases themselves, while the psychological rites contain the body of instruments used in passing to another phase.

On rites of passage The stage of separation marks the withdrawal of the individual or group from a fixed point. This fixed point can be either a particular status in a social structure, a physical place or a set of cultural conditions, or a combination of the three (Turner, 1969). The pre-liminal rites consist of certain behavioural or ritual acts by which the individual or group signifies their upcoming withdrawal from the fixed point. With the separation complete, the individual or group enters the realm of the margin.

Here, the subject is physically marginalized from their existing status or place and are psychologically in a liminal stage. This stage is defined as a twilight zone in which the subject has left the fixed point; original status or place, but has not yet attained his new status or arrived at a new place. The subject is on a threshold but has not crossed it yet, he is in between the previous world and unknown new world (Zhang, 2013). In this stage the subject is stripped from his existing identity and social status and acquires a common, non-unique identity in which there exists no predetermined boundaries. The stage of aggregation marks the reincorporation of the subject back into the social structure, place, or cultural conditions. Passing the ritual threshold in between worlds the subject is approved to return. From the unstable marginal and liminal stage the subject returned to a stable state in which he has acquired a new status, rights and obligations. Here, the subject is able to adhere without any boundaries to the norms and cultural standards coupled to the new form (Turner, 1969).

In describing the concept of rites de passage van Gennep (2010) marks two important aspects when applying the concept. First, while the rites of passage can be universally applied to many rituals one should be aware that there exist variations on his three stage transitional process and that there exists a great deal of other rituals that do not fit or adhere to the three stage rites de passage. Within the body of rites de passage variation ranges from life cycle, seasonal, to calendric rites (Zhang, 2013). Second, rites de passage can be applied on multiple levels. This means that the three-stage model can for instance be applied within the stage of separation. In

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this model, overlap between multiple levels is possible.

With the subject returning into the society he left behind, rites de passage can be seen as a circular process. Zhang (2013) however states that in many modern societies the concept follows a more linear process in which the subject does not return to the original society, but is incorporated in a new group or society. Here, Zhang (2013:705) notes: “(...) physical or geographical change can be relative to the changing notion of border in a society or nation (with the influence of globalisation), while the psychological transition remains the same”. In touching upon the concept of a physical, geographical place within the ritual process the phenomenon of pilgrimage can be discussed.

LIMEN SEPARATION

marginal status

old status

AGGREGATION

new status

time contestation

communitas

Fig. 4.10 the common structure of a ritual

Rites de passage within pilgrimage As discussed, many rituals can be divided in three stages. To pilgrimage, in its general form, the concept of rites de passage can also be applied. In their book ‘Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture’ Turner & Turner (1978) introduced van Gennep’s rites of passage concept in rituals concerning Christianity. The main discussion put forward in this book was how Christian culture might show a transcendence of historical, geographical and historical boundaries. Within this discussion, pilgrimage proved to be good case to trace this transcendence, as the ritual is physically concerned with the interaction with visible and invisible boundaries.

During pilgrimage people are not only encouraged to move in a physical way, but also motivated to move in a psychological and metaphorical sense. During pilgrimage, as Turner & Turner put, people move physically to become separated from their normal everyday lives (the fixed point) to a enter a psychologically temporal and marginal world. As said, the subjects, in this case pilgrims, lose their identity and acquire a new one. So, who might normally be a student, teacher or carpenter, they all become a pilgrim when involved in the ritual of pilgrimage. In accommodating the multiplicity of identities and meanings found within pilgrimage it is necessary to create sociological empty space which these meanings can inhibit. This empty space Turner & Turner (1978) is defined under the term ‘communitas’ (fig. 4.10).

As quoted by Coleman (2002: 361) “the necessary empty space is produced by stripping off identity, which results in communitas; ideally a state of unmediated and egalitarian association among individuals who are temporarily set free from hierarchical roles”.

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By living in this temporal world there is a chance that the subject; the pilgrim, would undergo a transition or transformation to a new status or state of mind.

The acquisition of a different status is exemplified in Frey’s (1998) fieldwork on the Camino de Santiago in which many pilgrims, after arriving in Santiago de Compostela, coined that they were in a way different, or even better, than other non-pilgrims.

The general concept of communitas however is not uncontested. In their work Eade & Sallnow (1991) the empty space is not created through communitas, but through contestation (fig. 4.10). Instead of being based on egalitarianism contestation is based on the competition of different meanings attained to the act of pilgrimage or the shrine. Summarized by Coleman (2002:361) Eade and Sallnow “wish to indicate how shrines do not strip away mundane conflicts and assumptions, but rather provide exceptionally accommodating (and possibly amplifying) contexts for them to be expressed”. Next to that Haab’s (1998) closer examination of various types of pilgrimages shows that communitas is often an ideal rather than a reality, and social limits are not raised in each case. According to her, it seems that communitas is more common to long pilgrimages (both in distance and in time) than short locally oriented pilgrimages. Within shorter pilgrimages the social fabric of everyday life is strengthened rather than lifted.

In whatever way the transformation or transcendence may be achieved, either by communitas or contestation, pilgrims on long distance pilgrimages like the Camino de Santiago are susceptible to experience a certain kind of rites de passage. The psychological move within the ritual of pilgrimage is well researched and discussed, however the physical move through the rites de passage; crossing different sets of landscapes while walking, received only little attention thus far. In the light of this thesis and the field of landscape architecture it is interesting to have a look at the research of Haab (1998) in which the physical- and geographical component of the transformative experience of pilgrimage is put forward.

THE OVERLAPPING GEOGRAPHIES OF PILGRIMS In her dissertation ‘Weg und Wandlung’ (1998) Haab investigates the interrelationship between the geographical and inner way of the pilgrim. According to Haab the process of transformation and transcendence is coupled to the different landscapes of the Camino Francés. In an attempt to summarize the experiences of all the involved pilgrims it is interesting to the see that the structure of the geographical way and the common experiences is analogous to each other. In this way, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela can be divided in four parts; starting at the Pyrenees and ending at Santiago de Compostela. The following is mainly derived from Haab’s ‘Weg und Wandlung’ (1998).

The general staging of the Camino de Santiago The first part, from the Pyrenees to San Juan de Ortega, sometimes continuing until Burgos, is referred to as the stage in which the individual is subjected to the socialization process of becoming a pilgrim. In an attempt to let go of the reality the individual left behind, he or she may be confronted with strong emotional swings between the fascination for the new on the one side and physiological or physical crises (questions concerning the purpose of the undertaking) on the other. In this

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first phase Roncesvalles is called upon as a place of most intense emotions, mainly because of receiving the pilgrim’s blessing in the local church. Both religious and non-religious pilgrims are deeply touched by the ritual. This is even more apparent in the case they left home without a blessing or a farewell ritual of their own. Here there is a chance to take what they missed out on at home. The next important place Puente la Reina, and more in detail its bridge. The knowledge that the energy of the four main routes converge at this point recalls a special feeling. The bridge is a point of transition. What follow is the town of San Juan de Ortega. This is said it is a place with strong spiritual energy: a place of light, a place that gives you the peace of mind to find yourself. It is the place where the pilgrims first conveyed words like light and energy. It is a kind of announcement of a possible revelation. According to Haab (1998), in the approximately ten days this stage lasts, the act of constant movement will start to feel more and more naturally. The life of everyday will be experienced as a faraway phenomenon; pilgrimage has become the life of everyday.

The second part is concentrated on the high, windswept plains of the Castilian plateau between Burgos and León: the Meseta. The pilgrim is now fully accustomed to the aspects and rhythms concerning the ritual. The experiences on this stretch of the Camino Francés are dominated by themes of emptying, cleaning, catharsis and confrontation with death. In essence the pilgrim is confronted with a spiritual opening of the self. Within the structure of the rites de passage this stage is considered to be part of initiation death, where the individual temporary loses their identity and enters a twilight zone. The Meseta is recalled by the majority of pilgrims as the most difficult parts of the Camino de Santiago. Here it is the infinity of heaven and earth, the burning sun and the monotony of the road ahead that shape the experience. Many pilgrims reach their physical and mental limits. When crossing the Meseta pilgrims seem more susceptible to a crisis. Most often mentioned is the stretch between Carrión de los Condes and Sahagún, with Sahagún as the absolute nadir. Such a crisis may be expressed both physically and mentally, and usually the two go together. Sahagún was repeatedly mentioned in a negative sense, in many cases without an obvious reason. Seemingly without noticing the Meseta wears you down and at Sahagún the pressure is released. Pointing at the general experiences the pilgrim is highly susceptible to having spiritual experiences while crossing this landscape.

The third part of the Camino Francés is both in a topographical and psychological sense a massive threshold. Geographically it passes through two, climatically and physically rough passages through mountainous areas, interspersed by the fertile valley of El Bierzo. At the mountains of Rabanal it is interesting to note that in some groups of pilgrims it is precisely in this area that tensions, which were already brooding for a while, suddenly erupt. For some, this led to a break-up, while others saw it as a moment of purification and cleansing. In these mountains several pilgrims encountered thoughts of death and impermanence, partly due to the dilapidated and abandoned villages which seem to arise from the earth and then reverting back into the earth. On the first pass the monument of Cruz de Ferro is encountered: a small iron cross on a pole amongst a massive pile of stones. Tradition holds that the pilgrim adds a stone he or she brought from home to the pile. In depositing this stone it is believed by many that by this act they mark the end and confirmation of the initiation death, here they leave their current lives behind. After passing the second pass of El Cebrero, commonly referred to being one of the most spiritual places along the Camino Francés, the individual is deemed ready to encounter the transcendent. Many pilgrims could not say exactly where the special feeling of El Cebrero comes from, but it is without exception named by many as something special. In essence the way into Galicia acts as a double threshold: a negative one, linked to death and letting go, and a positive one, where one is filled with new vigour. The first threshold may correspond to the mountains of Rabanal while the

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second may refer to El Cebrero.

The fourth and final part, the lush rolling hills of Galicia, is perceived by many as a labyrinth. Here, the overview is lost amongst the sunken road and misty woods. At the same time one is fascinated by the earthy and ancient beauty of the landscape.

It is as if the earthy atmosphere of the landscape is part of the preparation towards the impending return to everyday life. The parallels between the journey of life and pilgrimage are striking as the pilgrim approaches the centre of the labyrinth. When one passes this point they are too approaching the point where their pilgrimage dies. A renewed and transformed individual is supposed to emerge from the death of the pilgrim. Just before the arrival in Santiago de Compostela two very different tendencies can be distinguished among pilgrims. One group is trying to postpone the arrival by going more slowly. They are having trouble with the idea that the long road is coming to an end and that one will return to everyday life. The other group can hardly wait for the arrival and accelerates towards the city. Some cry when entering the cathedral, whether of joy or relief; about the reached goal, or of sadness; coming to terms with the physical end of the experience. Connecting the inner purpose without having the outer, physical road ahead of you, poses challenges. The tourist crowds in the cathedral are perceived as a problem as they imprint the reality of daily life into the pilgrim. While some leave Santiago de Compostela disappointed the next day, others manage to persist the atmosphere and manage to find inner peace. Here it will become clear if the spiritual change along the road has occurred or not. According to Haab (1998) the crowds among the cathedral and the city are considered the final test of the Camino de Santiago.

Within the confines of the general staging of experiences set out by Haab (1998) there exists a vast body of individual experiences. Growing from the same base it is noteworthy to discuss how a single individual account is represented in the generalisation.

The individual within the general staging As addition to the account of Haab (1998) and as an example of an individual account, I would like to discuss the research conducted by Crowley (2012) on her experience of place and non-place on the Camino de Santiago. It is remarkable to note that the auto-ethnography of her journey is summarized and themed in three parts, namely body, mind and spirit. These three parts are applied to three geographical spaces along the route. Body covers the walk between St. Jean-Piedde-Port to Burgos, while mind stretches from Burgos to Astorga, and spirit from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. Although she indicates that this division is mainly a manner to manage the research (Crowley, 2012: 26) there are aspects that point closely to experiences described by Haab (1998). “(...) when my body felt strong and capable then my mental or emotional response was positive. When I felt physically strong I was happy, when I felt physically weak I was most often unhappy. Although, the further along I went on the Camino, the less intense were my emotional reactions to the physical challenges or rewards. I’d also say that the more familiar I became with the Camino, the less any one thing influenced my overall experience�. Crowley (2012: 83) In the stage up until Burgos, physicality was a major point of attention in the experience, especially in combination with the environment of mountains and valleys. Although in many cases she experienced the scenery in a positive sense, it was the topography of the terrain that caused negative experience with physicality.

In the first few journal entries, worries about leg pain and blisters are frequently

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mentioned (p. 34 p.37, p.46). Here, physical pain was directly coupled to emotional and mental challenges. Pointing at the last sentence of the quote it is within this stage that she gradually became to accept the pain as a part of the experience and thus pilgrim life. The mountainous geography of the first days challenges the pilgrim in such a way that all other challenges were approached with less uncertainty and doubt. It was when doubts about physicality started to move to the background she first experienced the formation of the communitas phenomenon (p.49). In the process of moving past pain and socializing with other pilgrims the experience of pilgrimage eventually moved to become the everyday practice: (my) “body is adjusting to the pains and challenges of walking, feet still hurt, hip stiff but feeling good anyway, despite the pains” (p.62).

“The Meseta forced me to face my limitations physically which was for me a very emotional and mental process of accepting as well. As I was adjusting anew to the Meseta as a different aspect of the Camino my wellbeing was levelling off to match the terrain. The days walking on the Meseta were more about endurance and resolve and with that realization I was coming to appreciate companionship in the afternoons to distract me from the physical wear”. (p.100) As the quote illustrates it are the plains of the Meseta where the pilgrim is most prone to face his or her demons, be it physical or mental. In the second part of the journey the attention shifts to the sublime landscape and the encounters with the community of pilgrims. Although at first she was averse of walking in companionship or meeting up with other people (p. 93), the further she progressed on the plains the mentions of walking in company grew more frequent. In fact, it was a general emotional struggle of controlling the social setting. Walking on or staying with familiar people was a strong and seemingly unavoidable dynamic in this part of the way (p.130). Struggling between solitude and community had also become an influence on the physicality. She mentions that “it was personally difficult to accept the demands of my body when they did not fit the demands of my mind” (p.130). Without the challenge of topography the Meseta became a challenge of the mind, and in it the end the drive to push on further and crossing one’s own limits eventually made the topography return to the domain of physical and emotional struggles.

“As I neared Santiago I found that my body was just growing weary and ready to finish. I talked to my feet telling them that the day was coming soon that they could rest and begin to heal. And yet at the same time, it had become so natural now to rise early and walk all day that I didn’t want that to stop. If I’d had time I might have turned around at the sea and started walking back, or walking somewhere new”. (p.200) While nearing Santiago pilgrims get the sense that they do not want the experience to end, to keep on walking. The practice had become so common that the physical challenges the mountains brought had a mystifying effect rather than daunting. In this last part Crowley frequently mentions the mystifying effect of the landscape.

Acknowledging the sunrise at the Cruz de Ferro and El Cebrero (p.138 & 151), she draws her spiritual experience not from the place itself but rather the proximity of the sky. Going into Galicia, the earthed and organic landscape sets her up to connect to a more ancestral and mystifying experience of the environment: “the sense I had of emotional memories held in the landscape seemed to me like ancestral memories” (p.148). Group interaction gets stronger as the feeling of imminent arrival at Santiago de Compostela, and therefore the death of the pilgrim community she had come to know, came closer. By the end a superior feeling of a changed mentality began to arise (p.165). It is interesting to see that the arrival at the cathedral seemed only seemed fractionally more elevated than any other stops

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Lucassen, 2014 Haab, 1998 Crowley, 2012

st.-jean-pied-de-port

N

roncesvalles

zubiri pamplona

puente la reina 0 0

estella

Lucassen, 2014 Haab, 1998 Crowley, 2012

los arcos viana logroño

?

nájera

santo domingo de la calzada

belorado

san-juan de ortega

burgos rabé de las calzadas hornillos del camino

castrojeriz

frómista

carrión de los condes

terradillos de los templarios sahagún calzadilla de los hermanillos

reliegos

león

hospital de órbigo astorga

foncebadón ? ?

ponferrada

villafranca del bierzo vega de valcarce padornelo triacastela sarria

portomarín !

palas del rey

arzúa

o pedrouzo

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santiago de compostela

Fig. 4.11 overlapping stages in experience and landscape

along the way. Rather than acknowledging the end at the shrine, her finish lay at Finisterre, which opposed to the rest of the journey had a more personal goal and less influenced by Christian rituals. Still the experience felt unfinished (p.192).

The structure of Haab, and thereby the one of Turner, are recognisable through the personal texts of Crowley. This discussion of the experience of Crowley serves as an example of how the general structure and experience of pilgrimage perpetuates into the personal experience of the pilgrim. Even though her diary is also part of research it is representable for the thousands of other diaries available on the Camino de Santiago.

SETTING UP THE GROUNDWORK FOR DESIGN The rites de passage on the Camino de Santiago bear a geographical component in them. Looking at the stages I experienced and the stages indicated by Haab and Crowley a pattern can be identified. My stages and the stages of Haab have an almost parallel line-up. While Crowley’s stages bear a more cruder sight its themes can be seen as analogous to mine and Haab’s. Lining up the different stages next to each other it can be concluded that there exists a great overlap in both themes and duration of the stages (fig. 4.11). The points where the stages are succeeded by another are in many cases the same and where not, they lie in close vicinity of each other. Thus, the geographical context of the rites de passage have a common ground that in essence can be the same for any individual on the Camino Francés.

In each landscape type a pilgrim is prone to have the same basic set-up of the experiences as the pilgrims that have gone before them. The final coupling of the themed stages and the landscapes is to be described as follows.

The final groundwork of landscape and experience The first stage is themed as the time in which the individual has to get accustomed to the ways of the pilgrimage as their separation commences. The initial hardships will be experienced as learning-moments. By accepting the new rules, values and norms the individual will slowly be adopted by the new environment. Running from the Pyrenees to the somewhere on the edge of the Meseta the landscape poses a varied palette of elevation, sights and weather conditions. This stage traverses two landscape types of which the boundaries lie somewhere in the vicinity of Logroño.

Although the difference in landscape types is visually noticeable it is less noticeable for the mind and the body as they are still processing the new situation after coming down from the short, but intensive trek from the Pyrenees. The relatively small-scale landscape poses enough rewards for the pilgrim to keep going.

The second stage is closely tied to the landscape of the Meseta. Approximately strung in between the gatekeeper-cities of Burgos and León or Astorga, the vast open plains can pose challenging weather conditions all year round. Here, the pilgrim, now fully accustomed to the new rhythms and adopted by the new temporal community, is tested on his mental and physical hardiness. Group dynamics play an important role in this stage. Here, awareness about the individual’s own mental and physical conditions will heighten and adapt. The empty landscape holds very few rewards for the pilgrim and greater distances have to be covered. The long walks bear a certain meditative essence where a sense of in-betweenness can be

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experienced.

Reaching out from the outskirts of the Meseta up until roughly the pass of El Cebrero the third stage poses a dominance of the mental and mystique aspect of pilgrimage. As the topography rises the spiritual and mental bar rises too. In engaging the often strong individual experience, especially around Cruz de Ferro and El Cebrero, one might find it more comfortable to be in solitude to better grasp the gravity of the experience. The Meseta has tested the pilgrim and his rewards are placed in the high mountains, where the pilgrim seems the closest to God or any other higher power. The physical challenge however will be less pronounced as the pilgrim has gained certain robustness after crossing the high plains of Castilla y León. The edge of the in-betweenness is reached in the mountains.

The final stage in Galicia is put forward as a stage where the return plays a central role. El Cebrero does not only mark a clear boundary in the landscape, but also in the pilgrim’s rites de passage. The return, or aggregation, marks the physical end of the journey the passing of the pilgrim identity. Besides the busy crowds in summer the friendly landscape of Galicia poses very few challenges for the experienced pilgrim. The down-to-earth look of the landscape hints the pilgrim that he cannot stay in this condition forever. The aura of eternalness softens the mind and the body in preparation for the arrival at Santiago de Compostela.

These four stages mark the commonalities in the staged experience of pilgrimage and the landscape types of Northern Spain. Knowing that experience and landscape are closely intertwined and overlapping, their combination is to serve as the groundwork upon which a design concept can be built.

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SOURCES Coleman, S. (2002). Do you believe in pilgrimage?

Communitas, contestation and beyond.

Anthropological theory, 2(3), 355-368.

Crowley, M., G., (2012) The Experience of Place and Non-place Within the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage.

Guelph: University of Guelph.

Eade, J., & Sallnow, M. J. (1991). Contesting the sacred: the anthropology of pilgrimage. University of Illinois Press.

Frey, N. L. (1998). Pilgrim stories: On and off the road to Santiago. Univ of California Press.

Haab, B. (1998). Weg und Wandlung: zur Spiritualit채t heutiger Jakobspilger und-pilgerinnen (Vol. 15). SaintPaul.

Hesp, A. (2013). Creating community: diary writing in first-person narratives from the Camino de Santiago. Studies in Travel Writing, 17(1), 78-94.

Turner, V. (1969). Liminality and communitas.The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure, 94-130.

Turner, V. and Turner, E. (1978). Image and pilgrimage in christian culture. New York: Columbia University Press. van Gennep, A. (2010). The Rites of Passage.

Routledge Chapman & Hal. Zhang, J. (2013). Rites de Passage. .In Theory in social and cultural anthropology: an encyclopedia. SAGE Publications.

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5- Laying out the concept Packing up for the design

19 november 2014 Hospital de Ă“rbigo - Astorga 381 kilometres

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THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK In facilitating new spirituality on the Camino de Santiago the framework of the common rites de passage is used as a way to tell the story of the pilgrim’s progress through the landscape, but also to highlight the unique personal experience that pilgrimage is. Here, in the light of the plural new spirituality, it is chosen to broaden the playing field to encompass today’s variety of pilgrim’s backgrounds, motivations and values. In this argument the aforementioned four stages represent the grand story. Within this grand story, the pilgrim is, much like the postmodern man’s flexible approach to religion, able to ‘shop around’ on a smaller and more personal scale.

This general concept is hinged on two requirements.

First, this outset inherently requires the designation of multiple locations along the route to mimic the sequential staged interplay between mind, body and landscape within the individual as he travels along the path. In the designation of the locations along the route it is important to qualify the particular stage within the ritual. By accepting and adopting the features of the mind and the landscape the pilgrim should, unconsciously, be able to reflect more clearly on their experience and place within the larger landscape. In making this argument it chosen to rely on the common unconscious experiences every pilgrim is going to have and the notion that unique experiences or events have a larger discovery and revelatory component embedded within them, they might happen, but they also might not.

Second, the concept posits design interventions on a small scale. The small scale landscape reflects the individual while the large scale landscape reflects the community. It is this interplay that makes the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela the experience it still is today. Within this larger frame of landscapes a number of smaller landscape settings can be indicated. It is within this range of settings that the unique individual experience, the one that people will remember, has be sought. As the groundwork is already laid, it are the smaller settings that pose the most freedom to intervene because they relatively have the largest influence on the experience.

To support the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago towards a new spirituality, landscape architectural design is used as a tool that enables to empower unique experiences and strengthen the existing larger landscape- and experiential structures.

TOWARDS CRITICAL REGIONALISM ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO With the general outset of the concept established it is necessary to discuss in what way the specific location choice and actual design of the interventions should be approached. The following brief overlook of a current situation on the Camino de Santiago not only shapes the design, but also supports the argument that the existing (ecclesiastical) architecture of the Camino de Santiago is not flexible enough to cope with the apparent pluralism of the contemporary new spirituality.

In the following I want to provide a pictorial overview of the vernacular landscape of the Catholic Church; represented in ecclesiastical architecture, and the spiritual emptiness of modern architecture; represented in the suburban and (post-1993) tourist developments along the Camino de Santiago. This two-sided selection best represents the unhinged reality between the traditional cultural landscape and the contemporary modern developments along the Camino de Santiago.

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First and foremost the Camino de Santiago boasts wide range of what can be called religious infrastructure. Within this group, churches, monasteries, hermitages, chapels, crosses and other shrines can be attributed (fig. 5.1). Being the original backbone of the Camino de Santiago the structures span numerous centuries, incorporating different architectural styles. Within the designation of the Camino Francés as world heritage site close to 1.800 monuments along the road are taken into account, of which the majority are religious structures. In their architecture they incorporate both the style of the era and a certain set of regional influences.

For a deeper inquiry into the styles and monuments of the Camino Francés Girlitz & Davidson (2000) offer an adequate architectural description of nearly every monument found along the route.

Fig. 5.1 ecclesiastical architecture on the Camino de Santiago

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1

Torres del Rio

2

Navarette

3

San Juan de Ortega

4

Hornillos del Camino

5

Itero de la Vega

6

Sahagún

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7

Santibáñez de Valdeiglesias

8

Molinaseca

9

Villafranca del Bierzo

10

Hospital

11

Portomarín

12

Arzúa

In the past the Catholic Church did not merely serve as a provider of spiritual services, but also as a backbone of physical service like beds, food and healthcare.

Nowadays, this landscape seems to be more diversified, and these so-called physical services are spread out over a broader set of actors and entrepreneurs in which the Church’s share is dwindling. Buildings that used to belong to the Church have been privatised and restored in perfect state. An example of this is the Ermita de San Nicolás at Itero del Castillo, which in 1996, after laying in ruins for centuries, was bought and restored by an Italian St. James Confraternity to serve as a hostel.

Although inherently seen as the bearers of the Christian legacy of the Camino de Santiago the various religious structures are now increasingly becoming part of the wider cultural landscape. The Church’s architecture does not mark the sole spiritual and infrastructural domain of pilgrimage anymore, instead it is moved to the periphery. Although it is still found by pilgrims that are keen on looking for (Christian) devotion and worship, an increasing majority of pilgrims values it’s architecture for its profane and historic qualities. This is supported by the pilgrim’s motivations (Camino de Santiago Informe del ano 2012 (annual statistics), 2013), which indicates a steady dominance of culture-related pilgrimage.

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Fig. 5.2 urban outskirts and modern interventions on the Camino de Santiago

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The route of the Camino Frances remained virtually unchanged since its definitive establishment 900 years ago. The route itself therefore may have changed very little in orientation, but the area around bears the look of centuries of landscape developments. In Spain, urban developments have grown rapidly in last quarter of the 20th century; often creating very marginal spaces with little connection the existing landscape (Ibraz, 2007). Their readable style boasts nothing but spiritual emptiness. This trend persisted until the building-crisis in the early 2000’s. The path of the Camino de Santiago is often running through large areas of urban and suburban developments that posit little connection to the historicity of the place.

Mainly apparent in the larger towns and cities the Camino winds itself along and across busy roads and sidewalks, sided by large urban blocks (fig. 5.2). This stony environment is a necessary evil that has to be crossed, but is, speaking out own experience and the increasing number of alternative routes, hardly an aesthetically or spiritually worthwhile experience. Noticeable modernist urban developments along the Camino de Santiago are the villages of Fuentes Nuevas; part of the Francoist colonisation (Cabo Alonso, 1997), and Portomarín, which was rebuilt in more regionalist style to make room for the Belesar reservoir (Eiroa, 2007).

1

Logroño

2

Nájera

3

Léon

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Virgen del Camino

5

Ponferrada

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Portomarín

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Logroño

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Itero de la Vega

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Mansilla de las Mulas

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Rabanal del Camino

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Trabadelo

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Monte do Gozo

Modern developments to serve the pilgrim have mainly sprouted from touristic development plans set up by regional governments. These regional plans, of which Plan Xacobeo 93 (Frey, 1998) is the best known, compose of a vast array of interventions ranging from improvement on the paths and on signage, to the construction of rest areas and hostels. These plans were developed to exploit the increased tourist attention for the Camino de Santiago and undermined the original character of the pilgrimage. Its culmination lay in the reconstruction of Monte del Gozo into an auditorium, a massive hostel, and a (later aborted) theme park (Frey, 1998). Most visible for the pilgrim are the many rest areas found all along the route.

These areas boast the basic of needs and pose a very recognizable style. However, often positioned just outside town limits their layout and design does not make them stand out. They purely cater to the pilgrim’s physical needs; a place to sit, eat and drink. Modern developments are also found in the extensive restoration of buildings that never had any affiliation with the Camino de Santiago, but are incorporated in the contemporary network. An example is the municipal hostel of Burgos, originally an 16th urban villa, which was restored and enlarged in a modern style. One of the modernist interventions that managed to grasp a sensibility towards pilgrimage and spirituality on the Camino de Santiago is the 1960’s basilica of Virgen del Camino by Coello de Portugal on the outskirts of León.

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the vernacular landscape of the old Catholic Church

ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

the spiritual emptiness of modernist architecture

POST-1993 TOURIST AND SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENTS ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

CHANGING RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN EUROPE

vernacular romanticism

critical regionalism

X

modernism

X ‘locally embedded modernism’

21st century spiritual infrastructure

WHERE EXPERIENCE AND LANDSCAPE MEET

Fig. 5.3 a framework towards critical regionalism 77

- LAYING OUT THE CONCEPT

Towards design where experience and landscape meet On the Camino de Santiago two divergent styles can thus be indicated. One, represented in the vernacular landscape of the Catholic Church, stands for the historic and traditional pilgrimage. Despite that its regional representation still holds a great sacral and religious value its power is waning. Continuing this style will result in a kind of vernacular romanticism. The other, represented in the urban and tourist plans on the Camino, stands for the pilgrimage in modern times. With its primary goal focused on volume and capacity it boasts little sacral or religious value. Also here, continuation of the style is undesirable. In short, both developments have their positive characteristics, but fail to capture the future new spirituality.

A style that captures both the embedded localism of the Church’s vernacular landscape and the ideals embedded in the modernist style is critical regionalism.

In what can be called ‘locally embedded modernism’ the plural character of new spirituality can be more satisfyingly facilitated (fig. 5.3).

Critical regionalism as a concept emerged in the 1980’s by the hands by Tzonis, Lefaivre and Frampton as a critique against the undermining force of globalist modernism on traditional, agrarian-based, autochthonous cultures (Eggener, 2002). Frampton (1983) identified the concept with existing works of non-western architects like the Mexican Barragan or Japanese Ando. Here, critical regionalism it was not seen as a style, but as a process that could be applied in range of independent situations all over the world. Even though critical regionalism criticised modernism it treaded a careful balance between the modern and the traditional. As Eggener (2002: 229) describes: “critical regionalist architecture necessarily, discriminatingly, identified, abstracted, and melded local physical and cultural characteristics with more ubiquitous modern practices, technologies, and economic and material conditions”.

In this sense it fitted within postmodernism’s pluralisation of architecture and its apparent diverse subjectivities. Inspiration is drawn from the vernacular styles of the region and the local topography, light and climate. It tends to prioritize place instead of space, offering more room for tactility, and putting greater emphasis on experiencing rather than informing (Frampton, 2007).

Originally conceived within the field of architecture the concept can also be applied to landscape architecture. However, with the primary point of critique to be the increasing disengagement of modern architecture from the daily life and culture, landscape architecture holds a stronger case in this argument. Although there exist some exponents, landscape architecture tends to hold a stronger rootedness in the landscape. More than architecture the precondition of its design lies in its surroundings. Based on the conceptual framework of the design, locations along the Camino de Santiago thus have to be found on the places where landscape and experience meet (fig. 5.4) Within the framework of the different small, scale locations along the Camino de Santiago the dialogue between modern and traditional, apparent within the concept of critical regionalism, can be used to bridge the differences between the different regions while keeping a recognisable style for the pilgrim. In adhering to this dialogue it is possible to capture the international yet local character of the Camino de Santiago. The international community of pilgrims will be able to recognise the locations as a single unit of landscape architectural design whilst keeping the individual character of each single location. In a way it builds on the concept of the Roman style that was implemented in medieval times as a way establish Christian dominance along the route. Here the universal design offers a framework for the Camino to stronger establish itself as international and regional phenomenon by facilitating the plurality of new spirituality.

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Lucassen, 2014 Haab, 1998 Crowley, 2012

st.-jean-pied-de-port roncesvalles

zubiri pamplona

puente la reina 0 0

estella

los arcos viana logroño ?

nájera

santo domingo de la calzada

belorado

san-juan de ortega

burgos rabé de las calzadas hornillos del camino

castrojeriz

frómista

carrión de los condes

terradillos de los templarios sahagún calzadilla de los hermanillos

reliegos

león

hospital de órbigo astorga

foncebadón ? ?

ponferrada

villafranca del bierzo vega de valcarce padornelo

green hills of galicia

triacastela sarria

portomarín !

palas del rey

arzúa

o pedrouzo

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- LAYING OUT THE CONCEPT santiago de compostela

Fig. 5.4 where experience and landscape met on my pilgrimage

SOURCES Cabo Alonso, Á. (1997). Repoblación y colonización en Castilla y León. Investigaciones geográficas, nº 17, 1997; pp. 5-35.

Camino de Santiago, Informe del ano 2013 (annual statistics). (2014). Available at: http:// www.peregrinossantiago.es/esp/wp-content/ uploads/informes/peregrinaciones2013.pdf Eggener, K. L. (2002). Placing resistance: A critique of critical regionalism. Journal of Architectural Education, 55(4), 228-237.

Eiroa, F. J. O. (2006). Traslado y restauración iglesia de San Juan. Abrente: Boletín de la Real Academia Gallega de Bellas Artes de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, (38), 21-50.

Frampton , K. (2007). Ten points on an Architecture of Regionalism: A Provisional Polemic. In Architectural regionalism. Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press.

Frampton, K. (1983). Prospects for a critical regionalism. Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal, 20, 147-162.

Frey, N. L. (1998). Pilgrim stories: On and off the road to Santiago. Univ of California Press.

Gitlitz, D. M., & Davidson, L. K. (2000). The pilgrimage road to Santiago: the complete cultural handbook. Macmillan.

Ibarz, J. V. (1998). The study of urban form in Spain. Urban Morphology, 2(1), 35-44.

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6- Discovering the design A future-walk through a new spirituality

24 November 2014 Vega de Valcarce - Padornelo 496 kilometres

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THE 9 STATIONS OF NEW SPIRITUALITY The Vatican Museum houses many of the finest classical sculptures and renaissance artwork in the world. The massive complex, with over 50 different rooms, poses a real challenge for the lay visitor. To view the collection in its entirety it is said that one should take at least a week’s time. The casual visitor of course does not have the time to spend a week inside a building located in one of the most historically enchanting cities in the world. It is here were the guide comes into play. The guide takes the visitor by his hand and leads him through the various halls, highlighting the works that best capture the overall timeline of the art shown and the experience of the museum. This way the visitor gets an approximate idea of what the museum has in store. Differences exist among visitors, while some wander behind the guide as willless pets behind their owner, others use the guide’s information to form a meaning of their own. In the end it is not up to the guide to decide what the visitor should like or not, he is but a mere introducer to a new world.

By the loose hand of the guide along the stations To appreciate art one has to understand what is meant. An experienced guide knows what to choose and which hidden gems lie in vast halls of the Vatican museums.

A hidden gem like the Translation of Christ (fig. 6.1) by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael, carefully stored away in a dark room to protect the canvas from the harsh light. The entrance to the room is easily skipped, and quite many do so, rushing their way to another hall. Unlike the rest of the halls it is very quiet here, its location does not attract much people. In the dimmed light the vivid colours work their way into your eyes and the composition of the work starts to unfold, the other paintings in the room suddenly do not seem to exist anymore. This painting must be the most beautiful in the world, or not? The guide led me to this hidden gem, to a work that is not only of great importance but also of great beauty according to his passionate explanation of all its hidden details and workings. In my case, the guide got lucky and the painting spoke to me, but in other cases people might say that this work is nothing compared to the work they saw a few halls ago while passing by. In this situation the eyes of the guide are not marked by disappointment, but by accomplishment. To value the beauty of an object or an experience is also to know what not to value. The accomplishment of the guide is not to propagate his own taste or condemn other’s, but to make his selection serve as a platform on which different tastes and appreciation can evolve.

In the same sense the halls of the Vatican Museum can be replaced by the landscape of the Camino de Santiago. In the following I will take you, the reader, along for a future-walk along the stations of new spirituality on the Camino de Santiago. With their locations based on the places where my experience met landscape (fig. 6.2) I will take on the role of the guide, leading but not dictating.

The design interventions are called stations. Referring to stations in the context of the Way of the Cross, in which each station represents an event in Jesus’s way to the cross, the stations here represent a certain stage in the pilgrim’s progress to Santiago de Compostela. Despite this Christian reference, the stations, which take the form of a rest area, viewpoint or retreat, do not propagate a distinctly Christian message or experience like the old religious infrastructure of the Camino de Santiago does.

Instead they propagate events, experiences or messages that can be interpreted in multiple ways, but always have their basis in the common rites de passage in the pilgrimage ritual. They represent places where experience and landscape could, but not necessarily should, meet.

Take the loose hand of the guide to Santiago de Compostela.

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Fig. 6.1 the transfiguration of Christ by Raphael 83

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Lucassen, 2014 Haab, 1998 Crowley, 2012

st.-jean-pied-de-port

N

roncesvalles

zubiri pamplona

puente la reina 0 0

estella

los arcos viana logroño ?

nájera

santo domingo de la calzada

belorado

san-juan de ortega

burgos rabé de las calzadas hornillos del camino

castrojeriz

frómista

carrión de los condes

terradillos de los templarios sahagún calzadilla de los hermanillos

reliegos

león

hospital de órbigo astorga

foncebadón ? ?

ponferrada

villafranca del bierzo vega de valcarce padornelo triacastela sarria

portomarín !

palas del rey

arzúa

Fig. 6.2 the stations along the Camino Francés

o pedrouzo

santiago de compostela

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CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

MURUZÁBAL

OBANOS

PUENTE LA REINA

The student, teacher or carpenter who had started out from St. Jean-Pied-de-Port is slowly making his way west, becoming more of a pilgrim with every step they take.

Crossing the Pyrenees, enduring the first steps into the ways of the pilgrimage, they cross Pamplona and pass the bridge of Puente la Reina. Here, the outskirts of the Pyrenees gently flow out into the Ebro Valley. The path follows a similar flow. By this mark their choice to follow the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela is finalized. How physically fixed this choice may be, within the pilgrim’s head things may not be as certain yet. The image and thought about being on an experiential crossroad seems imminent. The true reality of being on a pilgrimage starts to unfold itself on these first few days. From here it is still roughly 700 kilometres until Santiago de Compostela.

The initial euphoria is starting to wear off. The mind and body of the pilgrim is working on adjusting itself to the new condition and environment. Crossing the river Arga near Puente la Reina the pilgrim finds himself in landscape that can be characterised by dryland wheat farming in the lower lying areas and forest and shrublands on the higher rocky hills. For some the whole situation still may seem a bit uneasy. Questioning what the pilgrim has called upon himself, the purpose of this experience and the expectation of what still lies in the future. It is still easy to abort the pilgrimage; home seems close and far away at the same time. The winding, hilly nature of the landscape provides the opportunity for a wide range of views in changing directions, but the pilgrim should always be focused west, towards the holy city. Thrown back and forward between thoughts the pilgrim wanders on, trying to convince himself to continue walking. The separation from the world the pilgrim left behind is a heavy load that clings onto the already heavy backpack. It will take time to lose this weight. The forests here consist of a mixture of pine and oak while the shrublands hold fragrant herbs like rosemary, lavender and thyme. The towns of Estella and Puente la Reina are situated in the river valley, and Cirauqui and Lorca; acting as passes, are built on rocky outcrops. A recurring rhythm of small olive groves and vineyards can be found passing through the towns.

MAÑERU

CIRAUQUI

„FOR THE FIRST TIME THE LANDSCAPE ACTED LIKE A CANVAS FOR MY THOUGHTS, IT WAS MIND-BLOWING“

LORCA

Leaving the town of Lorca the path runs parallel to the provincial road.

(1) The noise from the highway nearby can be clearly heard. The first blisters are hurting my feet and my back is still adjusting itself to the backpack, my lower back feels strained. The path splits onto a narrow gravel track, here the roadside vegetation comfortably obstructs the view onto the road, more than seven kilometres until Estella (2). Even though it is autumn the heat is still beyond my comfort zone. I had felt bad almost the whole day, but now the nausea and homesick thoughts are close to pushing me over the edge. In spite of trying to look beyond rolling groves and fields next to me (3) my head stays focused to the gritty path below. In my current condition there is not much attention to be paid to the scenery.

In the distance the path goes up a slight incline and disappears beyond a faraway edge in the field (4).

VILLATUERTA

ESTELLA

IRACHE 664.5 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

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AZQUETA

LORCA 0.4 KM

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3.0 KM

VILLATUERTA

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5

I regret myself for not stopping in Lorca and was direly looking for a place to sit down.

Passing downwards over the edge the path turns to the left, away from the highway, onto an asphalt road. From here I see the outskirts of the nearby town of Villatuerta, and further away the peak of Montejurra captures the eye. However none of this mattered because in the shrubbery bank, under a tree, laid some stones waiting for me to take a seat. Breaking the momentum of walking, sitting down and gazing upon what lies ahead, beyond what can be seen with your eyes and looking past the thoughts of uncertainty and doubt to expose a new source of energy. Here the landscape is the catalyst that initiates an upwelling positive mental and physical energy. All the negativity sinks in, I feel soothed, refreshed and reenergized. Onwards to Villatuerta and beyond.

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3.0 KM

VILLATUERTA

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In the first days a mental threshold is crossed. Going back or going forward are the only options. The station offers to add strength to this decision. The basis revolves around the paved rectangle perpetrating from the bank. The pavement, crossing the asphalt road at the same level, is cut by two, slightly raised, cortensteel edges emanating from the bank leading into the fields. These edges are slightly raised to form a tactile reminder of the site as the pilgrim’s shoe presses on the unfamiliar edge thereby interrupting the rhythm of walking. Residing within the confines of the concrete walls, the pilgrim can look forward, to the uncertainties, challenges and rewards ahead, or look back at the already conquered path and his distant home.

The station offers a secluded place to contemplate and find reconciliation.

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Fig. 6.3 a Roman road near Cirauqui

Along this stretch of the route remains of the region’s Roman heritage are scattered among the landscape. On many occasions the Camino FrancÊs follows old Roman roads, of which some are still recognizable at the surface (fig. 6.3). With Roman roadbuilding not only dominant in the foundation of the Camino de Santiago but also this particular region the station’s pavement is fashioned as it were a Roman road, tested through time.

Large natural stones, interspersed with wide joints form the basis of the station (1).

Inside, the concrete retaining walls are horizontally grooved, with a rough finish on the outside and smooth finish on the inside (2). A slanted concrete edge separates wall and pavement. The grooved walls dampen the sound emanating from the nearby highway and form the structure on which the cortensteel seat rests. The cortensteel edges run along the entire length of the structure, with its ends either protruding the pavement at the base or concrete at the top. Together the materials form a rugged, but simple whole that through its finish is able to resist the wear and tear of year-round pilgrimage.

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„FOR THE FIRST TIME THE LANDSCAPE ACTED LIKE A CANVAS FOR MY THOUGHTS, IT WAS MIND-BLOWING“

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COMFORT IN THE NEW

LOGROÑO

Days have passed and the pilgrim has become more experienced in the ways of the pilgrimage he is undertaking and environment he is residing in. The choice to pass onwards to Santiago de Compostela has long been made. Now, the student, teacher or carpenter have started shedding their own identity to become a pilgrim and to be adopted by the community of pilgrims. Slowly but surely the pilgrim is making the landscape of the Camino de Santiago his own, he himself is becoming embedded in the environment and community. This part of the route lies in the heartland of the wine growing region of La Rioja. Here the landscape is squeezed in between the river Ebro and its tributaries Najerilla and Varea, and to the south the Sierra de Moncavillo. The landscape offers a gentler picture, as if it wants to reward the pilgrim for passing the physically demanding heights of Navarra. The only challenges lie within the messy urban outskirts of Logroño and Nájera.

NAVARRETE

VENTOSA

Apart from some urban settlements and some garden-sized plots of vegetables the landscape is covered in a vast checkerboard of vineyards. The red soil provides a particularly fertile basis for wine-making and contemplation. Even though home is faraway, the path itself starts to feel like home. Thoughts of home have transformed from being a source of discomfort to a mechanism to relativise the contemporary experience. Trees are scarce in between the seemingly endless rows of grapevines. In the flatlands there are few groves of poplar while on the higher elevations wooded shrubland can be found, consisting of beech, holly and younger pine forests. Unlike the smooth flowing asphalt line of the nearby Autovía del Camino the winding path is gritty and stony. The linearity of the vineyards, lack of forest cover, winding hills constantly frame the view of the pilgrim as if he was walking through an art gallery.

Sometimes there is an image that strikes in such a way that all the endured hardships suddenly seem worth it all. All the elements residing within the landscape fall into place to create an uplifting and reassuring experience. Uplifting as in knowing what lies ahead and reassuring as in being master (a king) of this new domain. For every pilgrim there will be a moment like this, in which he is able to grasp the uniqueness of his personal experience of pilgrimage. It is here where he truly starts belonging to the landscape of the Camino de Santiago.

„AS THE RAIN STOPPED THE SUNLIGHT AND THE CLOUDS OPENED UP OVER THE HILLS AND A POWERFUL, ALMOST PRIMITIVE, FEELING RUSHED THROUGH ME“

NÁJERA

587.5 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

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By leaving Ventosa I decided to make this walk the longest one yet. Down the rocky hill of Alto de San Antón the rain is still pouring on my rain cap. Somehow the rain makes me feel comfortable. Beneath the highway underpass (1) the trickling noise is shortly interrupted. Walking through the rain made the blister-filled discomfort of the past days move to the back of my head. For the first time in days it seems that I am truly enjoying the landscape. Running along the highway (2) for some time the path breaks away, slowly descending into a small valley. In the lower parts the wet and red soil spills onto the gritty path, making a grinding noise with every step I take. The rain sets free the odours of the soil and grape leaves, resulting into a fresh earthy smell all around. The path continues to descend and the views and clouds are opening up (3). Looking west I can see the first sunlight of the day lighting up the landscape.

VENTOSA 2.6 KM

1

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3 4 6.6 KM

NÁJERA

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For a moment my eyes seemed to be magnetised to view on the left side of the path. Just before entering the lowest part of the small valley, overlooking a small grassy bank all the elements of the day seemed to line up to form a truly unique image. The rolling hills of La Rioja, trickling rain and a canvas of sky and clouds ahead provided me with an image that will never be shown again to anybody but the pilgrim in the current place and time: me; like a king looking over his land. All alone I felt privileged to be part of the situation. Here I experienced that pilgrimage is worthwhile and that home did not seemed to matter as much anymore. I did not stop walking, I enjoyed the view in motion and as soon as I dipped into the valley the whole scene was gone. In hindsight it seemed that the whole day, and maybe even all that had passed already had been building up to this moment of revelation.

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With the knowledge that a certain moment can never be recreated the station offers a glimpse of my experience. The station offers the pilgrim to feel as a master of his new home. Centred on the diagonal axis cutting though a small hill, the focal point is the elevated lookout point at the end. Leading up to the lookout the path is condensed by smooth, slightly tilted, concrete retaining walls. Again, cortensteel edges demarcate the edge of the concrete pavement. Like a king walking through the palace doors upon the balcony and up to the railing to look upon his domain the series of steps offer a similarly staged experience. The route to, and the wooden platform itself are narrowed down to fit only one person at a time. Hereby hinting that the staged experience should be enjoyed individually, fitted to the moment and the individual.

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Fig. 6.4 the ruins of Castillo Villamayor de Monjardin

The landscape of the La Rioja has been ruled by many kings and has been subjected to many battles. In the vicinity of this site the legendary knight Roland slayed the Syrian giant Ferragut. Besides the legends the kings left the landscape of La Rioja littered with castles, mastering their domain through their sturdy towers, perched on rocky outcrops (fig. 6.4).

The station offers the pilgrim to be master of his domain in a similar fashion. The solid tower penetrates from the hill, boasting a decked viewing platform (1). As if they naturally arise from the rocky soil the walls of the tower are made of masonry of the brown, yellowish rocks found in the surrounding hills (2). The masonry is tightly fitted between large corner stones. Upon this stone base sits a concrete structure, topped with a wooden decking and finished with a high cortensteel edge. The double edge of the lookout serves, in the absence of a railing, as a safety precaution and seating space. The concrete surface around the deck is covered in an abrasive geometrical finish while the broader edge at the end offers a smooth finish.

Set among existing body of lonely towers and mighty castles the station marks a landscape conquered by the individual pilgrim.

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„AS THE RAIN STOPPED THE SUNLIGHT AND THE CLOUDS OPENED UP OVER THE HILLS AND A POWERFUL, ALMOST PRIMITIVE, FEELING RUSHED THROUGH ME“

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OLD FOOTSTEPS AMONG STONES

HORNILLOS DEL CAMINO

HONTANAS

SAN ANTÓN

CASTROJERIZ

322.5 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

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The pilgrimage has been in full swing; the pilgrim has adopted the path as his temporary home and has become accustomed to the new, alternative reality. The student, teacher or carpenter have shed their identity. From now on they can all call themselves pilgrims. Coming down from the Montes de Oca the horizon reveals an almost flat sea of fields. Here the pilgrim stands upon the crossroad into a twilight world; the old landscape of Castilla y Léon lies ahead. Burgos acts as the gatekeeper to the Castilian plateau: the Meseta del Norte. In Burgos the pilgrim has the opportunity to be rewarded through the material and immaterial riches of the big city. However the pilgrim cannot be immobile for a long time, the path is calling and Santiago de Compostela beckons beyond the horizon. For the upcoming weeks the pilgrim has to find refuge in the few small towns, often only a few houses big, that are scattered along the main roads, for this a land of fields.

At its outskirts the plateau appears to be still fairly hilly. This area, the so-called Meseta Alta, consists of flat-top mesas with steep slopes running into relatively narrow valleys. The flat mesa hilltops allow the wind to have free play. Here large piles of stones can be seen, sometimes arranged to form a small grassy elevation amongst the fields. The old stones are a reminder to a more primitive time, a time the pilgrim of today tries to replicate as he moves forward in space and backwards in time. Even as the roads seem empty at the moment they are in fact crowded by millions of individuals. Ghosts of past times accompany the contemporary pilgrim on his journey. They engage with the pilgrim through the materiality of the place and environment. The stones of the old towns, the ruins along the road and the pebbles on the path radiate on the passer-by. Apart from the area around towns and in the wetter valleys, characterized by oak and poplar, the landscape is virtually treeless. Atop the mesas the range of view over the plateau can be extremely far.

The curious pilgrim not only looks, but also touches and feels; now he is part of the ritual and the community. The pilgrim builds the landscape and landscape builds the pilgrim in return. Albeit being surrounded by stones and ghosts it is wise to accompany oneself with real company, especially with the challenges that lay ahead.

Where this company of ghosts and stones only enables you to engage in a oneway conversation the pilgrim community allows you to return calls and converse.

Nearing Castrojeriz the mesas flow out into a large flatland area where the conical hill of Castrojeriz catches the eye.

„THE CRUMBLED WALLS ON THE WAY OUT OF HONTANAS MADE A STRONG IMPRESSION IN THE OTHERWISE EMPTY LANDSCAPE, I GOT A SUBLIME SENSE OF HISTORY“ Leaving the rugged town of Hontanas the path follows the asphalt road for a few minutes before bending right onto a gravel path (1). The valley starts to open up in front of me. Being among new company makes feel comfortable and accepted. Worries about my physical condition have eased down, by walking I am recovering. The path, consisting of bright pebbles, flows in smooth bends ahead of me (2). Positioned halfway on the slope of a mesa it follows the natural relief. To my left I overlook a small valley where the bright autumn leaves colour the otherwise grey, brownish landscape palette. To my right there is only thick shrubbery with the occasional stones popping up through the topsoil. In front of me I see the reassuring bright backpacks of my new acquaintances. The air is dry and is filled with the smell of dusty soil. Beyond the bends, past the electricity poles, further into the valley a striking object magnetises me, I want to discover it (3).

HONTANAS 0.7 KM

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SAN ANTĂ“N

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A stark, stone object perpetrates the grassy slope ahead. On a slight distance from the path a large stone column fills my view. For reasons unknown I want look at it in more detail, there is an urge to touch and feel it. In the walls of loose rock to my right an opening appears. A narrow and steep path leads up to the column. The worn-out path reflects that I must not have been the only that has been captured by this sublime setting. My company keeps on walking, not noticing or seemingly ignoring this sublime sense of history. The stones of the column feel rough. These stones must have been the sturdiest part of something much larger. With the column to my left I overlook the landscape in front, to the distant flatlands ahead. For a moment I too feel as a watcher of the pilgrims and landscape, a thing these stones have been doing for centuries. From now on I am also part of its history.

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The site is dominated by two elements: a rough, stone column of the former monastery of San Miguel and a circular concrete structure around it. As with the former monastery, the new ringed structure too invites to an atmosphere of congregation and community. With the old monastery gone, the new minimal intervention takes its place, but stays in dialogue with the old stones and their stories.

The ring and the column area within can be entered from the top, where the edge is nearest to the surface. Within the ring, the surface is kept as it is, keeping the slope intact. The ring, made of smooth concrete, is topped by a concave rim. The rim serves as a panoramic seating area and invites conversation among curious pilgrims.

The narrow path leading to the site is kept as it is up to the individual to discover the site.

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Fig. 6.5 stone mounds near Hontanas

Leading up to the site the pilgrim has been passing through a landscape that is littered with heaps of stones. In ploughing the field the stones come up the surface.

Posing nothing but an inconvenience to the farmer the stones are deposited at the edge of the field to form large heaps which can subsequently be used for building purposes. In some cases the heaps grow so big they become part of the landscape, overgrown by shrubs and trees they form striking new stone islands among the fields (fig. 6.5). History comes to the surface.

In much the same way the station intends to replicate a similar sense of contrast, but now with concrete as the striking material. Next to that, the ring is a modern recreation of the palisaded enclosures that protected the villagers in Medieval times against packs of wolves roaming the Meseta Alta. Now the ring protects the monastery’s remnants. The ring is slightly tilted in the slope of the hill to allow a more open view when sitting at the top. To prevent standing water in the rim, a shallow cortensteel gutter runs embedded along the entire length of the circle (1).

The smooth finish, rounded edges and angle of the concave ring allow a natural and comfortable position for the pilgrim to lie in (2).

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„THE CRUMBLED WALLS ON THE WAY OUT OF HONTANAS MADE A STRONG IMPRESSION IN THE OTHERWISE EMPTY LANDSCAPE, I GOT A SUBLIME SENSE OF HISTORY“

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CARRIÓN DE LOS CONDES

ON THE STAGE While passing the town of Frómista the straight line ahead is becoming a more dominant feature in the pilgrim’s field of view. With every kilometre the pilgrim covers the landscape becomes ever more simplified. The seemingly endless fields are meeting the sky with its enchanting clouds at the horizon. In what was previously a more hilly part of the Meseta, the plateau completely flattens out in this section of Camino Francés. The area is very sparsely habited and towns are located far away from each other, often consisting of no more than a few adobe houses. In summer this part of the Camino de Santiago can turn into an oven while in winter sharp, icy cold wind sweep over the open plains. No matter the season, the pilgrim, whatever his physical or mental condition may be, is always challenged in some way or another.

Crossing the river Carrión the pilgrim enters an empty landscape. This area, the Tierra de Campos, as its name propagates consists solely of vast flat fields of wheat and barley. Water is sparse, a few seasonally dried-out streams cross the vast clay soils. The focus of the pilgrim lies in the horizon, where the rolling road ends its journey. The few roadside ditches offer a wide variety of wildflowers. The neverending motion of walking is becoming a habit. The individual enters a meditative state and is enveloped in trance where the grinding of the pebbles beneath the shoes turns mesmerising. With physical forward motion achieved, space is freed to engage the challenge mentally. The Meseta does not only put a toll on the physical state of the pilgrim but also on their mental hardness. In the open space the elements have a free play; the pilgrim is reduced to a pawn on the giant playing field, an actor on the stage of the Camino de Santiago. The undulated fields form a wide horizon and faraway views. The road ahead is the stage and everybody on it is engaged in the play, one can see others suffer, resist or radiate of joy. In this play everybody is living their own scene; everybody is being watched by the pilgrim’s in their back, hundreds of metres behind. This initiation holds no secrets but the ones locked inside the individual pilgrim’s head. Trees are virtually non-existent apart from the few solitary oaks scattered on the fields and the recently planted poplars along streams and paths. Here, the landscape is the wall against which the play unfolds. Westwards, the town of Calzadilla de la Cueza stands as comforting beacon at the end.

CALZADILLA DE LA CUEZA

LEDIGOS

TERRADILLOS DE LOS TEMPLARIOS 360.0 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

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„I BELIEVE I HAD A MOMENT I REALLY GOT A HIGH OF THE LANDSCAPE, IT FELT LIKE I WAS GLIDING OVER LANDSCAPE BENEATH ME“ For more than two hours my view has been focused on the road in front of me. The wide, white path sharply contrasts with the fresh green fields around me (1). For some time trees have kept me protected from the wind, but on this part of the way the wind is relentlessly battering into my left ear. Within viewing distance, but probably 30 minutes away I see some backpacks belonging to my fellowship (2). Today, there has not been any talking yet. The leaves of the still small poplar trees on my right produce constant rattling noise (3). Together with the wind and the grinding gravel they form the symphony of the moment. The only motion is forward and it seems that I have switched to the autopilot. I pass along a rest area, but do not feel the need to break the momentum and trance yet. Rows of trees are passed (4). My body and thoughts seem to flow with the wind, momentarily longing for it to stop blowing. In the distance, beyond a shallow slope, the line seems to end in the horizon.

CARRIÓN DE LOS CONDES 12.1 KM

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With the row of tall poplars the straight path passed one of the few perpendicular elements in the landscape. Hardly noticeable in the perpetual motion of walking the path slowly slopes upwards. I have put my walking pole in the back of my neck. Instead of resisting the gusts of wind I allow them to have a free play. With my arms dangling over the pole the wind sweeps me back and forward, pushing and pulling me as the path continues to rise. I am longing to take a rest in the nearby village of Calzadilla de la Cueza, hidden from view.

I wonder if the upcoming hill will provide the comforting view of some houses. Going up the slope and nearing its summit the wind seemed to lift me up even more. Getting closer to the edge of the horizon I am overwhelmed by a sublime sensation of flying. As I seemingly fly over the edge views open up and a village is nowhere to be seen.

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The station consists of a single wall along the edge of the path. The wall-form offers to invoke and strengthen the feeling of being on a stage. The wall forms the physical background. From its original tall beginning the wall follows the slope until it ends at ground level. The basic form is constructed of layers of rammed earth, a construction style indigenous to the area. Walking alongside the wall strengthens the sensation of going upwards. With the wall becoming ever more lower the tension builds up to the moment when the sensation of flying is achieved. In the hot summers pilgrims can find shade around its base and in winter the thick clay walls can share the warmth of the sparse sun with the pilgrim. Adding to the element of flying the concrete capping allows swallows to build their nests underneath the wide ledge. From afar the wall is hardly visible as its slim section blends into the straight line.

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Fig. 6.6 local rammed-earth house in Palencia

Throughout its history trees have always been sparse in the lands of the Meseta del Norte. Through the absence of wood the dominant building materials are centred on the different uses of clay (fig. 6.6), otherwise called barrio. The walls of houses are constructed through the method of rammed earth. Here, the clay is mixed with dry straw and pebbles or gravel and subsequently compressed to form solid blocks.

Fig. 6.7 rammed-earth construction

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With rammed earth requiring a flat base the wall consists of a number of sections.

On top of the concrete base the rammed earth blocks are constructed on site using a traditional system of wooden retaining boxes (fig. 6.7). When thoroughly compressed the boxes are removed and the wall is left to harden and dry. This process continues until the desired height is reached. The wall, resulting from the blocks, is called the tapial. Through the uses of various mixtures a smooth layered look is created. With the unusual height of the wall the rammed earth blocks are internally reinforced by steel bars embedded in the concrete base (2). The wall is capped by a tilted slab of concrete covered with cortensteel plating. The tilted slab protects the wall the wall against rainwater penetrating from the top. Cut-outs in the plating form seating areas (1).

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„I BELIEVE I HAD A MOMENT I REALLY GOT A HIGH OF THE LANDSCAPE, IT FELT LIKE I WAS GLIDING OVER LANDSCAPE BENEATH ME“

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REWARD THROUGH DEVIATING Crossing through the desolate Tierra de Campos the pilgrim ends up in Calzadilla de la Cueza; a single street town down a small valley. For a moment the pilgrim is released from the image of the flat horizon. Westwards, past Calzadilla de la Cueza the flatland dips and is intersected by a small valley with oak forests on its slopes, marking that a tributary of the Duero river is nearby. First rising and then dipping again the land continues in a similar flat fashion like one has grown accustomed to.

Within a day’s walk the halfway mark of the Camino Francés at Sahagún can be reached.

In a landscape that is as unforgiving as the Meseta deviating from the road, leaving the trail or going backwards for that matter is something that the common pilgrim is wary about. In older times deviating from the road was a dangerous and risky move CALZADILLA DE LA CUEZA that spell death for even the most pious of pilgrims. Even though the risks of dying on the Camino are not as high as they were in Medieval times and the landscape is a lot less unforgiving than it used to be, deviating is still not a rewarding business.

Following the road to the west, moving forward to Santiago de Compostela or the end of the world, is what counts. In contemporary times it is maybe more a question of authenticity. Can the pilgrim who deviates from the marked road still be worthy of being a pilgrim? One can question if you can still feel purified and tested when crossing this twilight stage by bus or train. The pilgrim’s feet do the talking and decision-making and it is tempting to stay on the trodden path, afraid to break the trance and fruitful thinking. In this section the path closely hugs other lines of transport. In this occasion the N120 follows the path to Santiago de Compostela simply because it was and still is one of the most efficient routes. To question if it is worth to stay faithful to the ritual even if it is not fulfilling is a thought that will LEDIGOS eventually pass the mind. The Camino de Santiago has become a journey much less bounded by top-down control. It is a common and popular notion nowadays to state that everybody is walking their own Camino and that everybody in their own TERRADILLOS DE LOS TEMPLARIOS way finds a deeper sense of purity within.

„I DEVIATED JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WAS REWARDED WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT I HAD SEEN UNTIL NOW“ MORATINOS

SAN NICOLÁS DEL REAL CAMINO

SAHAGÚN 370.5 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

125 - DISCOVERING THE DESIGN

After passing the lonely fields it is nice to have a more varied landscape around me. After having spent some time alone my company is clinging more together now. While talking and trying to keep the keep the pace of the others the landscape is going by unnoticed. A rest stop near the road barely captures my attention (1). The path feels noticeably rockier. Even though ascending to a more higher and open part the dominant force of the wind in the symphony of sounds has died down. The air around me smells of dry wood and dust. To my left and right yellowish fields bend downwards towards a hill’s edge in front of me (2). In the distance I can see glimpses of the vast flatness again. Not able to keep up with their pace I let the people in front walk away from me. I see their heads dipping away behind a downward bend, straying away from the highway (3).

CALZADILLA DE LA CUEZA 2.9 KM

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Down the bend the path surface changes. The highway used to turn around the mesa, but now cuts right through. Cut off from the rest of the mesa this small hill has a steep incline to the west and a shallow incline to the east. Contrary to the people ahead I had become curious about the view from the top. Crossing through the rough grass and shrubbery and climbing upwards I reach the flat top of the hill. A few meters down to my left and right are respectively the old- and new road. A magnificent sight opens up to me, allowing me to view many kilometres ahead. Villages are dotted among the endless fields. I sat down among the rough grass to take in the sublime view. Sudden gusts of wind made sharp grass poke my legs. Not wanting to lose the others out of sight I crawled and slid down the far end of the hill. I was the only one to have this unique experience. At this place deviation was rewarding.

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A long straight concrete path follows the curvature of the hill until it reaches the panoramic lookout-point. The straight concrete line focuses the pilgrim’s view ahead. The lookout consists of rectangular wooden decking covering the width of the hill. One can either choose to follow the path down the hill again or wander of onto the deck. With the concrete path being slightly elevated along the side of the wooden deck a seating area is created. Sitting here, views towards the plains and villages in front can be enjoyed while the extended deck to the right deck offers a more 360° view all around. From the deck it is possible to enter the downwards stairway again at an equal level. To minimize the interference with the original slope of the hill, the stairs carefully hug the slope until flowing out onto the path. Also here cortensteel edges demarcate the walking space. In essence the station guides the pilgrim towards a rewarding deviation that is worthwhile remembering.

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Fig. 6.8 wooden soportales in Ampudia

Besides the common use of concrete and cortensteel the station incorporates two local building techniques. The wooden decking and its base are built like the houses found in the villages of the Tierra de Campos (fig. 6.8). Besides the rammed-earth method another popular type of wall consist of masonry of adobe bricks. Locally won from the rich clay deposits in the area the clay is mixed with straw and sand and pressed into small blocks. Through drying and baking in the sun the brick hardens out. Built like any ordinary brick wall the adobe bricks are laid out in stretcher bond and cemented together by a mud-mortar.

Fig. 6.9 traditional roof construction

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The wooden decking is built like a traditional roof (fig. 6.9) and the nowadays rare soportales. On the adobe brick wall thick wooden beams with slanted ends are laid out (1). Running perpendicular to the beams the deck is topped by traditional long poplar planks (2). The simple techniques used allow a quickly replacement of elements like broken planks. Viewed from afar the lookout seems to arise naturally from the hill and its rough textures impose a sharp contrast with the smooth finish of the concrete path.

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„I DEVIATED JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WAS REWARDED WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT I HAD SEEN UNTIL NOW“

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LEÓN

PREPARING FOR TRANSCENDENCE

TROBAJO DEL CAMINO

VALVERDE DE LA VIRGEN

SAN MIGUEL DEL CAMINO

VILLADANGOS DEL PARAMO

For already some weeks the line has been the dominating force in the landscape of the pilgrim; guiding him through the different stages of pilgrimage. The line takes on different shapes, from gravel paths to asphalt roads. Nowhere else but on the vast Meseta, which is about to end, the line has been so visual and demanding.

The westward border of the Meseta del Norte is locked in between the messy urban outskirts of León and the river Órbigo. With Burgos being the gate into the Meseta, León acts as the way out. In preparation for the spiritual highpoints that are still to come the bustling surroundings of León offer little moments of silence or contemplation. Moments that were so abundant on the rest of the plateau. In escaping the bustle there is an option to take a quieter, though less original, alternative route down south. Here, authenticity is questioned. But now, instead of dealing with the pilgrim and his journey, it deals with the path itself.

The landscape of the Camino de Santiago is a working landscape, a landscape were pilgrimage happens to take place. In many cases, like here, the Camino is still a working landscape, but not the landscape many people imagine in their minds or see in the popular pictures. The area is highly urbanised and intersected by a dense network of infrastructure. Long stretches of (undeveloped) commercial- and housing areas are concentrated along the main infrastructure axes. To what extent should the path be honoured, like a model ship in a glass, never to be moved or touched, or like a living organism, evolving and adapting to changing circumstances?

This particular section puts the pilgrim through a last test, if he is really worth it to leave the Meseta and walk further to the Camino’s great monuments. The flat, linear landscape offers few views other than forward. From the road the surrounding landscape is hardly visible, even though vast fields, dotted with rural villages, can be found to the south and forested heathland to the north. Many will be glad to finally put this stage behind, to break the trance and the burst the bubble the Meseta has been carefully developing around them. To the west the path crosses the border of the so-called el Paramo territory, a significantly different part of the Meseta. Passing Villadangos del Paramo the landscape becomes greener, less urban, and views widen. For now the pilgrim has to deal with reality and try to discover or make up his own little rewards. Hugging the highway, the path does not seem to be handing them out on a silver platter. In places where there is little aesthetic enjoyment the mental state sometimes thrives when the body just wants to escape the situation.

„I COULD CLOSE MYSELF OFF FROM THE NOISE OF THE CARS MORE EASY THAN EXPECTED, IT WAS LIKE WALKING WITH A SPACE HELMET ON“ For hours my ears are subject to the constant whizzing of the cars zooming by. The original route takes me past indifferent urban developments. I cannot believe that the ancient path of the Camino Francés now passes in front of a shabby truck stop (1). The urbanised environment poses hardly any other vegetation than rough grass, some lonely oaks and shrubs on undeveloped plots. I am all alone and the hard, stony environment sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable. The air is a bit hazy and smells of exhaust gasses. With every road I cross I have to be watchful for cars.

To my right there is the provincial road, lined with some retail stores, and to my left in the fields lies the Autovía del Camino. I manage to close my mind to the disturbing sensations of the outside world and find comfort in thinking. The pilgrimage route transitions into a concrete sidewalk. To my right lies a seemingly strange looking seating area (2). With my eyes peering forward I wonder if this place offers any comfort.

SAN MARTÍN DEL CAMINO

252.0 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA HOSPITAL DE ÓRBIGO 135 - DISCOVERING THE DESIGN

SAN MIGUEL DEL CAMINO 5.5 KM

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VILLADANGOS DEL PARAMO

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Walking further down the sidewalk a big white sign, indicating a rest area, captures my attention. Around the prefab concrete tables and benches the area is seemingly randomly dotted with small trees. The site occupies a no-man’s-land between two roads. Always looking to learn a bit about the place I read the nearby information sign, telling me about the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. The ironic message of the sign and the seemingly absurd position of the rest area momentarily took my eyes away from the line I had been so carefully following for the last twenty kilometres. However, the rest area failed to impose on me what it is meant for, namely to take rest. I could not image that someone would find it comfortable to take a rest here, amidst the nothingness and noise. Here, breaking the visual dominance of the line rewarded me with a tiny moment of pleasure. A helpful break, but hardly a physical escape. This absurd place deserves more, especially with what is yet to come on the Camino de Santiago.

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A slanted, walled structure penetrates the road surface, making the road and sidewalk bend around it. Sections within the walls allow a view forward down the road and to the insides of the structure. The station attempts to break the dominance of the line. It hereby fully exploits the indifferent nature of the landscape by imitating the geographically distinct dovecotes (palomares) of the Paramo to lure the pilgrim to this relative oasis. From the sidewalk the pilgrim can look through the structure.

From the backside the pilgrim can enter the inner enclosure. A high wall shields the space from the noise of the nearby highway. In the middle one finds grassy garden, highlighted with wildflowers found on the Meseta. The garden is encircled with a concrete path lined with covered seating in between the sections. It is a space where the pilgrim can rest in a comfortable and silent situation, carefully shielded from the unruly sensations of the outside world.

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Fig. 6.10 rectangular palomar in the Paramo

Fig. 6.11 palomar interior construction

The station is roughly inspired by the dovecotes found in this region of Castilla y LeĂłn. Originally the dovecotes are intended to capture pigeons for human consumption. The dovecotes are found in all kind of different shapes and sizes, ranging from circular to rectangular layouts (fig. 6.10). Whatever their shape they all follow the same construction principles. The structure consists of an outer and an inner wall. The outer wall serves as protection to the elements while the inner wall provides a comfortable and ventilated place for pigeons to nest and rest (fig. 6.11).

The station follows a similar layout but uses modern materials instead of the traditional clay. The outer wall is made of concrete, with its surface finished in rough vertical lines to more effectively dampen the sound of the nearby highway. The wall follows the distinct slanted form that is found in many original dovecotes. The inner wall is constructed from ceramic bricks used in the many modern housing projects nearby (2). Placed the ‘wrong way’ the little openings in the framework reminds of the nesting niches for the doves. The covering of the seating spaces and the edge of the sections are furnished from cortensteel (1). In contrast to the pigeons the pilgrim can as easily leave the place as he entered it.

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„I COULD CLOSE MYSELF OFF FROM THE NOISE OF THE CARS MORE EASY THAN EXPECTED, IT WAS LIKE WALKING WITH A SPACE HELMET ON“

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RABANAL DEL CAMINO

AN ETERNAL MONUMENT By passing the old Roman town of Astorga the pilgrim is approaching the highest points of the route. The Montes de León are the top of the Camino Francés.

Reaching new heights in this stage of the Camino de Santiago can have enlightening effects on many pilgrims. The mountainous terrain offers both a physical- and mental challenge. With the monuments of the Camino de Santiago; Cruz de Ferro and the El Cebrero pass dawning upon the pilgrim the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela does not seem far away anymore. The way up to the roof of the Camino enables the pilgrim’s mind to be set into a different modus. The monotony of the line is broken along the winding, rocky paths up, over and down the mountains.

FONCEBADÓN

MANJARÍN

EL ACEBO DE SAN MIGUEL

RIEGO DE AMBRÓS

Passing through the reanimated town of Foncebadón the path rises through the pine forests, interspersed with patches of juniper, spiked shrubbery and ferns.

Here, in the absence of agriculture on the steep slopes, the landscape seems to feel more and more isolated. Ruins of abandoned houses are abundant along the path as the population dropped significantly during the past decades and is only slowly recovering. On the slopes sharp granite rock penetrates the surface. A real Camino-monument like the Cruz de Ferro, embedded in ancient, medieval folklore, is a big player in the landscape and ritual of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

Deep down inside there seems to exist an urge among pilgrims to make predictions about the coming enlightenment and to imagine what is going to happen. While challenging the Meseta some may have lived up to this particular moment. This sacred place that has been passed by millions of visitors seems to trap some sort of eternal aura in the midst of a changing environment, yet it somehow seems tainted by contemporary developments. The monument on the peak stands amidst a production forest and seems have fallen prey to modernity and overcrowding.

Passing onto the bare mountaintop vast views can be enjoyed towards the fertile and urbanized Bierzo valley below. Amidst this mountainous landscape lie dozens of spaces that emit a similar eternal aura as Cruz de Ferro, but are not as well-known.

On the western slope, towards de Bierzo valley, the forest cover is less dominant; here a mixture of deciduous trees like oak, chestnut, willow and birch grow among the shrubland. The few villages found on the slope are mostly linear in layout, concentrating along steep mountain roads. In the valleys below, forest cover is more dominant. Towards Ponferrada urbanity noticeably increases and forest cover is gradually replaced by vineyards and grasslands.

„NEVER THE LANDSCAPE LOOKED AS SERENE AS HERE, AS IF THE SPACE WAS RESERVED FOR MYTHICAL MEETINGS FOR KNIGHTS“

MOLINASECA

PATRICIA

PONFERRADA 215.5 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

145 - DISCOVERING THE DESIGN

The bad aftertaste of Cruz de Ferro still lingers on in my mind as I descend downwards to the Bierzo valley. As I enter the village of Riego de Ambrós I keep thinking about the experience a few hours earlier, one of the grand monuments of the Camino de Santiago left me disappointed and filled with questions. The pavement turns from gravel to concrete slabs (1). The houses, erected from thick solid rocks, emit the smell of burning wood. In the siesta time the town is eerily quiet, the only sound comes from autumn leaves blowing down the street. Descending through the village the path takes a sharp left out of the forest (2). The path follows an old Roman road down the hill, the pavement is worn-out and uneven. The water running down the path makes the granite rocks very slippery and I have to slow down and watch my steps (3). The surrounding trees smell damp and create a tunnel-like setting. Gradually the trees are replaced by shrubbery and path turns to gravel. Glimpses of magnificent autumn colours can be seen in the distance (4).

EL ACEBO DE SAN MIGUEL 3.0 KM

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3.6 KM

MOLINISECA 5

Amidst the play of colours of the increasingly open descent I came across today’s treasure.

Following the gravel path, passing through series of grassy patches and thick shrubbery I take a sharp turn to the right to come across a magnificent scene. The Cruz de Ferro was not near as mythical as the grove of mighty oaks I came across just outside Riego de Ambrós. The colours, smells and feeling were more intense than at Cruz de Ferro. Never the landscape looked as serene as there, as if the space was reserved for mythical meetings for knights, watching their land and its pilgrims. It is here that the landscape can be felt in the way the high ceilings of a church try to replicate the sky, where thoughts can soar and contact with a higher power can be felt. The autumn palette made the solitary oaks on the opposing hill lit up as fiery beacons.

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The circular wooded grove, encompassing a number of age-old oak and chestnut trees, is partially encircled with a low wall. The wall serves both as a demarcation of the site and a measure of protection. Within the grove the ground is covered with grass while outside, the slopes are occupied by a mixture of low juniper, heather and rough grass. Following the curvature of the slope and the difference in groundcover vegetation the wall winds itself around the grove. Along the path it acts as a retaining wall while inside the grove it adopts a more freestanding character. Although its low height makes the wall easy crossable the formal entrance to the grove is marked by a shallow indent in the wall, allowing an easy pass inside. In essence the wall is one long seating element, allowing pilgrims to have varied views along the many curves.

With the oldest chestnuts approximately 500 to 800 years old the option exists to plant new trees within, to ensure the continuation of this seemingly eternal place.

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Fig. 6.12 granite construction in Riego de Ambr贸s

The base of the wall consists of granite masonry. The large granite stones, with colours ranging from dark brown to bright yellow can be found among the slopes of the Montes de Le贸n. As seen in towns like El Acebo de San Miguel and Riego de Ambr贸s granite is the prime building material (fig. 6.12). This type of rock is very resistant to wear and tear, ensuring the longevity of the station.

The granite wall is capped by slabs of smooth concrete and lined with cortensteel plating (2). The even colour and the smooth finish of the concrete strengthens the flowing character of the wall, while the reddish cortensteel adds to warm colour palette of the granite and tree bark. At the formal entrance to the grove the concrete capping slabs are adorned with the image of the grooved pattern of the bark of the nearby dying chestnut, ensuring its legacy (1). The relief pattern is pressed into the concrete, allowing pilgrims to have a tactile experience following the grooves with their fingers long after the original tree disappeared.

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„NEVER THE LANDSCAPE LOOKED AS SERENE AS HERE, AS IF THE SPACE WAS RESERVED FOR MYTHICAL MEETINGS FOR KNIGHTS“

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FURELA

PINTIN

SETTLING OLD AND NEW

AGUIADA

SAN MAMEDE DEL CAMINO

Having descended down from the heights of the Galician mountains, past the mythical El Cebrero the pilgrim finds himself on the final stretch of the Camino de Santiago. The many roads that lead to Santiago de Compostela seem to be blessed with an image of eternity. In the landscape of Galicia, where an aura of mysticism floats around the ancient villages and walled fields, the trail feels and looks like a constant entity. The labyrinth-like fashion in which the Camino winds itself over the hills, crosses streams and glides through villages prepares the pilgrim to return to the real world, where the twilight of pilgrimage ends. To many, entering the green Galician landscape feels like a reward and a return home after all the challenges while crossing the landscapes of Northern Spain.

SARRIA

VILEI RENTE A SERRA

A PENA

PERUSCALLO LAVANDERIA

A BREA MORGADE FERREIROS MIRALLOS A PENA AS ROZAS

MOIMENTOS

„IN A SPECTRUM OF FRESH COLOURS A LARGE CONCRETE BRIDGE DOMINATED THE RUINS OF A FORMER VILLAGE BELOW“

MARCADOIRO

A PARROCHA

VILACHÁ SAN PEDRO PORTOMARÍN

O SOUTO

TOXIBÓ 85.8 KM

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA GONZAR 155

The lush green landscape of the Sarria depression has been inhabited since ancient times. The rolling hills are covered in a palette of green pastures, forest and hamlets.

Settlements are abundant and often contain no more than four houses, fashioned in thick, robust stones. The small pastures are either walled with granite or enclosed with bramble hedgerows. This deeply rooted landscape, where the path is submerged in a history that goes beyond Christian times, past Roman times and well into ancient Celtic cultures. The mystic aura seems to penetrate from every crack in the granite or bark. Solitary trees and the few forests that remain are mainly made up of oak and old chestnuts. The path, often a narrow wooded lane, no more than a gravel or sandy path, invokes a sense of security and seclusion. The maze-like layout of the landscape offers constantly changing, mainly narrow range, views. On the slopes nearing Portomarín the forest cover grows is more abundant. Having experienced the transcendent Galician and Leónese mountains the pilgrim is reminded that not only he is living in the moment, but also the very path he is walking on. Sometimes even the atmosphere of ancient mysticism is temporarily broken up by the reality of the contemporary world. It also here in Galicia that there the pilgrim is reminded that nothing is eternal and that that the real-life end of his pilgrimage is nearing.

The damming of turned the river Miño into the Belesar reservoir, drowning the old pilgrimage town of Portomarín at the bottom of the valley. So too the path becomes literally submerged in the tales of more recent times. The space where generations of pilgrims used to make their way to the holy city now lays at the bottom of a bridge, like fossilized remnants found in the soil of another era.

- DISCOVERING THE DESIGN

The string of nameless villages did not seem to end. Meeting up with old friends and the friendly Galician landscape made me feel happy. Passing along the walled asphalt path out of Vilacha the path sharply turned right down a steep hill (1). The air felt humid and fresh. The map in my guidebook made feel curious and excited about what landscape to find walking into Portomarín. The descent is quite severe and the toll of the joyful walking of today starts to work its way into my legs. The descent is becoming a bit painful. With trees obstructing my view I can only see the top of the other side of the valley. At the bottom the path follows wide road through another hamlet (2). Still, thick walls of shrubbery and trees are in the way of my final destination. Walking along the edge of the valley the trees started to thin out. A striking, large, concrete bridge leading into the town of Portomarín envelopes my view (3). Underneath lies a river which looks very different from what I expected from my guidebook. As I am afraid of heights I feel a bit nervous to cross it (4).

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0.0 KM PORTOMARĂ?N

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Contrary my normal behaviour while crossing high bridges I could do nothing but look down the thirty-metre deep valley. In a spectrum of fresh colours the concrete bridge dominated the ruins of a former village below. The lush green grass on the banks of the river, the blackened ruins and the old bridge made me want to go down and explore. Turning a sharp right after leaving the concrete bridge I descended along a robust stone staircase. At different levels I stopped and gazed to the sublime beauty of a lost landscape. The low water levels of the reservoir made it able to walk on the old valley bottom and cross the old stone bridge.

Halfway down the bridge I turned around and looked at barren rocks, with the modern village peering over the edge. This is where the old rises up from the deep and mixes with the spirits of the new reinvented pilgrimage. A reality-check transmitted from older times. The plural spirits of today meet the old at the bottom of the reservoir.

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A continuous railing runs from the eastside of the bridge to Portomarín, reaching solid land it sharply bends to the right down the stairway and follows the staircase down the bottom of the reservoir before ending in a seating element. Here, the bottom five beams blend together to form the base, while the uppermost handrail widens into a seating area. The cortensteel embeds itself in a narrow concrete path, embedded in the ground. On the lefthand side the original railing is kept intact, strengthening the image of a smooth-flowing line from top to bottom. The railing atop and the path below represent the new and the old ways of pilgrimage. The beams of the railing represent the plurality of today while the single stark line below represents the single-minded approach of the pilgrimage’s medieval past. At the bottom the pilgrim is able to feel both. The station emits that nothing is permanent, both the eternal path of the Camino, and the experience of the pilgrim himself.

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Fig. 6.13 metal handrail at the Belesar reservoir

The railing is completely constructed from steel. Six cortensteel beams are suspended in between steel guiding poles. The railing closely adopts the dimensions and form of the old railing, still visible on the left side of the bridge (fig. 6.13).

The top beam is fashioned in wide T-shape while the bottom five have a narrower dimension (2). The choice for cortensteel not only lies within its aesthetic qualities, but also in its robustness and resistance to water. The water levels in the reservoir tend to fluctuate throughout the year, partially submerging the lower levels of the railing for extended periods of time. The guiding poles are finished in black waterresistant coating. Openings between the beams are kept wide to minimise the drag of the water flow when the structure is submerged. The concrete path is embedded in the reservoir’s floor (1). Finished in a smooth surface it sharply contrasts with the ruggedness of the remains of the old stone bridge and the ruins.

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„IN A SPECTRUM OF FRESH COLOURS A LARGE CONCRETE BRIDGE DOMINATED THE RUINS OF A FORMER VILLAGE BELOW“

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A FRAGA ALTA

RIVADISO

SOLITUDE AMIDST THE CENTRE ARZÚA

PREGONTOÑO

AS QUINTAS A CALZADA

OUTEIRO

BOAVISTA

A SALCEDA

A BREA

SANTA IRENE

O PEDROUZO SAN ANTÓN

O AMENAL

SAN PAIO

LAVACOLLA 10.0 KM

VILLAMAIOR

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Towards Santiago de Compostela the lush green landscape is gradually becoming more forested. The abundant hamlets and villages all offer similar layouts. Small gardens surround the houses, which are in their turn surrounded by green pastures.

The pastures are often covered in swathes of dandelions and interspersed with solitary oak or lime trees. As in much of the interior of Galicia the view in this landscape is close range. Where the old Christian kings and bishops of northern Spain used the charity of the devoted pilgrims to their monetary advantage so do the modern-day entrepreneurs, hoteliers and restauranteurs along the Galician roads. Seen as an infringement to the sanctity and character of the route the mechanism persists and continues: the Camino de Santiago as a banal money-cow.

Separating from all of this is hard and tensions maybe start to the build-up within the mind of the experienced pilgrim. The landscape grows with the Camino and the Camino grows with the landscape. Since the 1970’s many pastures have been replaced by plantations of eucalyptus and pine and granite walls and hedgerows have been replaced by fencing. Many winding and hollow paths and roads have been straightened and paved. Here, the paper and furniture industry largely replaced dairy farming. The plantations are set up in a large scale and rectangular matter. The trees are planted close together in linear rows to form dense patches of forest. In between the plantations patches of original oak forest remain while in the relatively deep valleys, near streams, old stocks of birch forest can be found. The thick plantations offer almost no view to the outside. Though, where the heather made way for eucalyptus plantations, a place too created by unscrupulous commercialism, the unsettled pilgrim ironically may find a release from the sticky nets before he is caught by St. James

„AS THE CAMINO WOUND ITSELF THROUGH NICE SMELLING EUCALYPTUS FORESTS IT MANAGED TO INSTIL SOME FRUITFUL THOUGHTS IN MY MIND“

A RÚA

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Santiago de Compostela lies within a day’s walking. On this stretch of the route pilgrim numbers increase as many people choose to only walk the required 100 kilometres from Sarria. Where the pilgrim is ever closer to breaking the surface, releasing him into the world anew, modern-day commerciality along the road act like fishermen trying to lure the pilgrim in their nets even before they meet the relics of the fisherman-turned-saint at Santiago de Compostela. The exponents of the world beyond the Camino de Santiago are slowly becoming visible again to the pilgrim.

With the increasing number of pilgrims in the final kilometres it is becoming ever harder to escape the nets. One starts to question if the popular journey from Sarria is worth as much as the complete Camino Francés.

The landscape of today is not as interesting as the previous days. The path had been winding along a provincial road for the most of the day (1). I leave the small of hamlet of Santa Irene with its old chapel. I cross the road again and find myself walking on a gravel path in between a guardrail and a patch of eucalyptus trees. To my right I can look up the slope, down the linear rows of trees. The path soon enters a thick eucalyptus plantation. Only when you are completely surrounded by the trees the fresh smell becomes noticeable (2). Here, the herds of pilgrims I came across today are nowhere to be seen. The sunlight tries to penetrate the canopy, but only partially succeeds. Again the path crosses the highway, now through a narrow tunnel, decorated with all kinds of motivational and less-motivational graffiti (3). Thoughts about arriving in Santiago de Compostela have been floating in my mind all day. The path continues through another nameless hamlet. Another eucalyptus plantation dawns.

Through the trunks a distinct entrance is spotted (4).

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A narrow, sandy path leads the pilgrim through the eucalyptus plantation. The narrow trunks form an almost cathedral-like atmosphere within the plantation. Here, the strands of eucalyptus do not seem to be as thick. Rays of sunlight light up the canopy and some make it even to forest floor. The path and the forest floor almost become one. Beside the path edges there exists virtually no undergrowth beneath the trees. It feels as if there is no path.

Towards the leftside one can watch down the linear rows trees to a little valley below. The air is a mix of fresh eucalyptus and humid forest floor mulch. Where the eucalyptus branches desperately try to find their way to the sky and the light above the mind of the pilgrim may as easily float up with them as a preparation for meeting the high ceilings of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Here, a momentary escape before the end of the labyrinth is given. The sounds of the road do not seem to penetrate.

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This last station requires more attention of the experienced pilgrim. A small distance away from the path a slim concrete structure lies within the eucalyptus plantation. Two cortensteel edges cross the path, running parallel to the linear strands of eucalyptus, indicate that there lies something beyond the path. The path is elevated above the forest soil and steeply folds, like the pilgrim’s mind and the spires of the cathedral, towards the sky at the end. The path is supported by poles, constructed in a similar fashion as the hórreos found all over Galicia. The fold in the path forms an overhang under which a seating area is situated. The seating area, consisting of several concrete steps, can be entered through a narrow gap at the end.

The concrete foundation upon which the overhang rests is cladded by a stone wall of stacked, slabs of local granite. The seating area is located where evergreen and deciduous meet, providing different views as the leaves grow and wither.

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Fig. 6.14 Galician-style granite hรณrreo

The station takes inspiration from the traditional hรณrreos: storing houses found all over rural Spain. Within these storing houses farmers kept their harvests dry and safe from wild animals. With their station differing from region to region the typical Galician hรณrreo is fashioned in a robust and heavy style (fig. 6.14). Primarily made out of locally won granite a narrow rectangular structure is elevated above the ground by thick poles. The poles are capped by rounded slabs to keep animals from climbing into the storage area and damaging the crops.

The station incorporates similar elements for the elevated path but uses the form only as a strictly aesthetic function and as way to cover the downward slope. With the cortensteel edges running all the way from the bottom before disappearing into the sky at the top of the fold, the station hints to the devotional elements found on many Galician hรณrreos. The freestanding fold is firmly anchored in a concrete base (1). Despite its looks the granite cladding only forms the outer layer of the concrete base (2). The basic form of the station remains recognisable for the pilgrim as the Camino de Santiago in Galicia is still littered with old hรณrreos.

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„AS THE CAMINO WOUND ITSELF THROUGH NICE SMELLING EUCALYPTUS FORESTS IT MANAGED TO INSTIL SOME FRUITFUL THOUGHTS IN MY MIND“

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A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT IN A MUSEUM On this future-walk to Santiago de Compostela I took on the function of the guide of the Vatican Museum. Being on a pilgrimage like the Camino de Santiago is a wholly personal and sometimes private matter and it is certain that no experience will be the same as mine. To me, the landscape architect it is impossible to grasp the experience of every individual, but I can show them where my experience met the landscape of Northern Spain. To show the pilgrim mine is a mere act of introduction. Along the paths and roads to Santiago de Compostela lie many views and experiences that are equally beautiful to the work of Rapheal. However, it is not necessary to provide the pilgrim with a fully accurate representation. Space is left open for the pilgrim to form an opinion or a feeling about what is shown. These stations should serve as catalyst to think about the experience of being a pilgrim, the landscape around you, to understand the state and stage you are in, and to question yourself what is meaningful to being on a pilgrimage. This bundle of sensations, experiences and thoughts do not have to happen on the spot, but can also happen a few kilometres down the road. I can show the pilgrim the beauty of my pilgrimage to make them appreciate their own even more. It is this sense of hindsight and reflection that counts.

As new beads on a necklace the stations are added to the existing religious infrastructure on the necklace of the Camino Santiago. Together these new beads form the visual and physical representation of a new spirituality. Like this new and old religious infrastructure, new spirituality and traditional religion should be able to coexist in the same space, interchanging and adding to each other. By walking on the Camino de Santiago it should be possible to experience this history of religious expression and experience in the light of one’s own individual experience of pilgrimage. How religious, secular or plural it may be, your own experience will inevitably be added to the millions that are already invisibly floating through the mountains, woods, rivers and valleys of the Camino de Santiago as a testimony to spirit of pilgrimage. Even though the necklace of stations only forms the visual top of this iceberg, it carries the important task of making what is to be added below its surface even stronger.

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7- Conclusion and Discussion Towards designing pilgrimage landscapes

1 december 2014 O Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostela 642 kilometres

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CONCLUDING ON THE PILGRIM‘S EXPERIENCE In what way can the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage be used as a basis for designing on pilgrimage landscapes?

In this thesis a series of landscape architectural interventions were made on the Camino de Santiago to facilitate contemporary and future new spirituality. In itself the pilgrimage landscape of the Camino de Santiago is as unique and plural as the many pilgrims that walk its paths. However, as for the pilgrimage ritual, the process of designing on a pilgrimage landscape can be too subjected to number of general steps. So, the particular case may be unique, but the process does not necessarily have to. In this way the design and research process that was applied here can also be used in other pilgrimage landscapes by adhering to similar approaches through which a design on a pilgrimage landscape is constructed.

In designing on pilgrimage landscape the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage is used as the common thread in identifying: The existing vernacular landscape Being one of the most geographical forms of religious devotion pilgrimage is inherently connected to the traditional landscape it takes place in. Therefore, the pilgrimage landscape should not be seen as a single line of transport, like a highway, but rather as a sequence of different surfaces the path of pilgrimage has to wind, dip and rise through; actively engaging with the vernacular landscape as the pilgrim moves forward. In the total landscape pilgrimage is just one of the few agents that influence the way the landscape looks and functions. In the case of the Camino de Santiago it is mainly the vernacular landscape of Northern Spain that shapes the pilgrimage landscape. Not the pilgrims, but the residents are the primary builders, for the pilgrim is just a temporary visitor.

The experience of the ritual and landscape The highly individualised scope of self-expression that pilgrimage offers results into a myriad of different experiences and nuances of both the ritual and the landscape.

To understand what processes are at play within the landscape and the mind of the pilgrim it is necessary to engage in a full embeddedness in the particular pilgrimage.

Through living the life of a pilgrim the true nuances and interplay between environmental, physical, mental, social and spiritual factors composing the total experience can be discovered. Through this immersion one is better able to relate, qualify and interpret the written and visual accounts of other pilgrims. The more complete the image is the better one is able to identify where strong experiential and spiritual focal points are located within the pilgrimage landscape.

The common grounds in the ritual and landscape As in any ritual, the ritual process of pilgrimage contains a number of common stages through which the experience is constructed. Expanding beyond the scope of the individual pilgrim’s experience of the ritual a grander narrative can be established that is applicable on every participant within the ritual. It is this framework that both forms the foundation of the pilgrimage ritual and the amount of freedom the pilgrim gets to shape his personal experience, whether it be religious, spiritual or secular. Overlapping both the geography of the experience and the geography of the pilgrimage landscape (and thereby also the existing vernacular landscape) a connection can be made to the immaterial and the material. From the basis of this geographical coupling of the larger experience and –landscape a design can be constructed.

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Where experience and landscape meet at the individual level Within the larger experiential and landscape framework personally worthwhile, memorable or crucial experiences are found within the smaller landscape settings.

Contained within the larger stages, these experiential focal points are the most direct shapers of the pilgrim’s individual experience of pilgrimage. While the larger framework stays within the sub-consciousness of the pilgrim it are these places where experience and landscape that are directly noticeable in the field. The rootedness of the pilgrim’s experience in the landscape posits a direct approach to strengthen these experiential focal points through a design that both connects to the locality of the vernacular landscape and captures the essence of the particular stage within the ritual. This physical representation of the pilgrim’s experience forms the culmination of the process of designing on a pilgrimage landscape.

Through following the common thread of the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage a design is reached that both accommodates 21st century new spirituality and the local embeddedness. With pilgrimage being an instrument that draws people together, treating them as equals, and opening physical and mental portals to whoever may partake, it is important to treat design on the route in an equally plural way. The meaning of the design is to have an open-ended character through which visitors are easily able to accept, ignore or relativize the design and their particular experience of pilgrimage and landscape. Even if the design itself is personally dissatisfying, its key factor is that it should show the visitor what he or she appreciates on route.

DISCUSSING A DESIGN RESEARCH ON PILGRIMAGE LANDSCAPES In exploring the way how the pilgrim’s experience of landscape pilgrimage can be used as a basis for designing on pilgrimage there are number of subjects that are important in the discussion and interpretation of this design research.

In this research the author was embedded in the community and landscape of the Camino de Santiago. In this situation the identity as a researching landscape architect was moved to the background to make way for the pilgrim’s identity. However, the identity of the researcher stayed visible throughout the fieldwork. In this research the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage was both based on the author’s individual experience and other’s experiences. One can question how pure the experience of the author was, as the experience of pilgrimage was part of a broader design research instead of being purely based on personal motivations like other pilgrims. A way to overcome this issue would be to include two pilgrimages in the research. Here, the first would be done outside the margins of the research on a purely personal basis and the second one would be conducted within the confines of the research. In this, the first pilgrimage provides an unbiased basis for the second pilgrimage to conduct research upon. In this way it would be possible to reflect upon the interplay between the free personal approach and the regulated research approach. As the approach for this thesis was constructed on the way to Santiago de Compostela the research presented here posits a mix between the two aforementioned approaches.

The image of pilgrimage is formed by large sites like Santiago de Compostela, Lourdes or Fátima. Long-distance pilgrimages like the Camino de Santiago only represent a minority of the existing body of pilgrimages. In Europe there exist a vast

179 - CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION

number of smaller, more locally orientated pilgrimages that can hardly be categorized as a transitional pilgrimage. As there exists a great difference in motivations, ways of devotion and transport between the three aforementioned it is logical to assume that within the total body of pilgrimages in Europe a myriad of diversity is at hand.

Unlike the popular pilgrimage sites the majority of pilgrimages have remained outside research’s scope. The vast and diverse body of research on the Camino de Santiago thus represents only a narrow body. However, the framework of the staged pilgrimage ritual put forward in this thesis can be translated to pilgrimages that differ in scale and size. It is possible that the same kind of staged processes in the pilgrim’s experience of landscape and pilgrimage are at hand, but manifest themselves within a shorter or longer span of time and distance. Outside the scope of this thesis a comparative analysis between pilgrimages differing in distance, motivation and size could reveal a broader scope of nuances available within the grander framework.

From here a similar design approach could applied on a different scale.

The nine design locations in this thesis were all selected on the basis of important experiential focal points in the individual experience of pilgrimage and landscape of the author. The choice for these personal locations is backed up by the larger general framework of the pilgrimage ritual. As they are presented here they form both a representation of facilitating new spirituality on the Camino de Santiago and the personal pilgrimage of the author. Within the scope of this thesis it was not possible to gain a deeper entry into the contemporary broader body of individual experiences of pilgrimage and landscape on the Camino de Santiago. In this thesis this particular body of knowledge relied for a great deal on the research of Haab; a research conducted in a time when pilgrim numbers where smaller and the pilgrimage itself less touristic. By studying personal diaries of contemporary pilgrims it would have been possible to extract a greater number of experiential focal points which possibly could result into an adjusted positioning of the design locations. A greater spread of locations could have been one of the outcomes.

The design research conducted in this thesis inherently puts forward the recommendation for further research. As seen in this thesis there lays a great possibility for landscape architecture to contribute to the facilitation of new spirituality. As new knowledge is presented on how to design on pilgrimage landscapes from a landscape architecural point of view direction should be sought in applying similar approaches on other pilgrimage landscapes. Pilgrimage landscapes that have different sizes, locations and motivations. Landscape architectural design enables the pilgrim to gain a deeper understanding of his individual experience of pilgrimage and place in the landscape in a manner that extends far beyond the direct proximity of the design.

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8- Appendices

APPENDIX 1 A SHORT ON WALKING The phenomenon of pilgrimage is inherently connected to travelling. Traditionally, this travelling has been most associated by the act of walking. Like human evolution made us to the kind we are today it is the bipedalism of man that shaped many of the world’s most important pilgrimages. In the light of current events in which many pilgrimages can be done by motorised transport or even through cyberspace walking should be classified as movement instead travelling. As Solnit (2001: 6) describes that “one can walk in circles or travel around the world immobilized in a seat”, while “a certain kind of wanderlust can only be assuaged by the acts of the body itself in motion, not the motion of the car, boat or plane”. In the case of this thesis pilgrimage is narrowed down the motion of walking.

Defining walking Even though every human has to learn to walk, it is a perfectly natural aspect embedded in the foundations of the conscious. The importance of a baby’s first steps marks a new step into an individual’s personal freedom. Every walk is unique and every individual develops his own style and character (Slavin, 2003). Is essence walking is an act that can be performed without a conscious thought, in the same line as breathing it is possible to walk without actively thinking about it. However, walking also poses challenges, as new terrain is encountered one is inclined to think very carefully of where to put the next step. In this, walking man is constantly subjected to a learning curve, as for many things walking is also something one has to learn by doing.

Walking is a purely bodily sensation, rather than being just mobile, like travelling by car, a walking body is subjected to the myriad of sensations of the place. The body reacts to the surfaces the feet are touching, balances itself on unfamiliar terrain, and adjusts its breathing according to the physical exertion. Here, the body becomes fully embedded in the environment, there is no protecting cocoon. In this sense walking is also an agent in making place and its presence can be traced back in the landscapes and places it has left behind (Solnitt, 2001). It forms the basis of our existence, in a time when everybody was a nomad, places were smooth, less dense, fluid and only marked by the strokes and trails we left behind (Careri, 2002). Even through our evolution into a sedentary culture walking remained the primary mode of transport between our isolated enclosures.

Through much of our history moving faster than walking pace was only available to the upper layers in society by means of horsepower or wind power. The majority of the populous remained moving at a natural speed, keeping close to their home and work. Walking past the boundaries of home and venturing into the world was a territory occupied by vagabonds, pilgrims, explorers and the incidental philosopher.

However, the arrival of modern motorised transport opened up the boundaries, made people more mobile in their movement and moving became transport.

Movement along lines transformed intro transport across surfaces (Ingold, 2007).

The act of movement as such became disconnected from the environment, shielded in metal cocoon; man transcended the primal connection between movement as a way to engage with the surroundings. The body became a parcel package, moved and delivered by an external source. Walking resided to a sphere dominated by the act of leisure and the domain of the poor lower classes in the car-friendly suburbs (Solnit, 2001).

In the light of this thesis three aspects of walking are briefly discussed, namely walking as a meditative practice, an aesthetic practice and as a design method in landscape architecture.

Walking as a meditative practice In his last work, ‘Reveries of a solitary walker‘, Rousseau named his essays walks.

Even though the book had nothing to do with walking, each of these highly personal essays would resemble a sequence of thoughts that were susceptible to arise during walking (Solnit, 2001). Rousseau would consider the act of walking both as a simple approach to exercise and as a way to contemplate. It is here where he touches upon something that is generally conceived as meditative walking. The sequence of tensing the muscles, lifting up the foot, balancing forward and stepping down on the heel form the basics to the perpetual motion of walking. Letting the unconscious take over the mechanics of the motion the mind is free to let other thoughts roam around. In his study on pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela Slavin (2003: 9) describes the ritual as follows: “The first half hour of the morning is often painful as stiff joints, aggravated tendons and blisters all begin the day reluctantly, but, as muscles warm up, the pain decreases. This feels both physical and psychological, as the mind is often as reluctant as the body to arise from bed. Once beyond this initial period it is quite easy to walk for hours at a time with only brief rests. The walk becomes meditative as the body falls into a rhythm”.

It is the rhythm and cadence of the perpetual motion that delivers the freedom to meditate, to release the thinking aspect from the act of walking and to become reflexive. To move about at five kilometres an hour the body is subjected to wholly different experiences, here it is the recovery of the sensual experience that is sought after (Edensor, 2000). In contemporary times the meditative or contemplative experience cannot only be deduced from acquiring a certain rhythm, but also a change in rhythm. Walking, today, mostly compromises of the decoupling of the high-paced surroundings modern society throws at the individual. Here, walking, as Edensor (2000: 82) quotes: “reinterprets space and place”. To attain a different speed in moving around is also to attain a different speed in thinking. Many great writers and thinkers used the walk as a temporary escape from the bustling city (Edensor, 2000) or the cramped house (Solnitt, 2001) as way to acquire a different state of mind. In the philosophy of Eastern spirituality walking is a vital part in reaching a meditative state of mind. In Buddhism walking is used as ritual to reach a deeper understanding with the natural environment and human spirit and to become aware of the place of the self within the world (Hahn, 1985). Walking is closely intertwined with religion and spirituality and seen as way to move beyond the common realm into the meditative state of the divine (Grapard, 1982).

Walking as an aesthetic practice Walking as an aesthetic practice emerged at the start of the twentieth century with the rise of the Dadaist movement and continued to be developed by the Lettrist/ Situationist International and the Landart movement. Walking as an aesthetic practice is seen as an autonomous form of art in which walking is the aesthetic instrument of knowledge and the basis for the physical transformation or intervention in the negotiated space (Careri, 2002). For Dadaists, which organised excursions to socalled ‘banal places‘ in the city, walking was a strictly aesthetic operation by which they would become aware of the city’s conscious. Here, interventions in space were restricted to putting a group of artists in the physical space followed up by its documentation in photos and articles. The artist presented his space in the actual physical space (Careri, 2002). The Situationist International added the idea of the dérive. Evolving from the 19th century concept of the flâneur, the dérive consists of an unplanned journey into a city or landscape in which the surroundings subconsciously

direct the traveller with the goal of encountering a completely new and authentic experience (Coverley, 2012). They saw to distinguish singular places with special qualities, pivotal points, and axes, boundaries and passages in the landscape fabric.

Here, according to Basset (2004: 402) an “emphasis was placed (...) on the `soft‘ mutable elements of urban scenes, such as the play of presence and absence, of light and sound, of rhythms of human activity in time and space, and the association of memories and places”. The Situationist legacy later evolved in the contemporary psychogeographic practice with its proponents Ballard and Sinclair. In Landart the aesthetic practice of walking was characterised by the symbolic transformation of the terrain through non-permanent interventions on the surface. Artists as Richard Long or Robert Smithson used their walks as the physical instrument to sculpt and draw the environment. “Here”, as Careri (2002: 150) “walking is not only an action, it is also a sign, a form that can be superimposed on existing forms, both in reality and on paper. Thus the world becomes an immense aesthetic territory, an enormous canvas on which to draw by walking”. The culmination of the place, journey, articles, photos, map, and writing, formed the complete representation of the work itself.

Walking as a design method In landscape architecture Vogt Landscchaftsarchitekten implements walking as an active analysis and design tool. Here, the walking done during the fieldtrips increases the designer’s sensitivity to the processes, structures, sceneries, atmospheres and narratives in the particular landscape (Foxley, 2010). Walks are carefully planned, assessed and discussed. During walks design decisions are confronted with reality. In translating walks to ideas and to design criteria, image series, sketches and physical models are used to represent the process. Image series are used to represent the walk as a linear movement by depicting the origin, destination, station, approach, encounter, sequence and rhythm of the walk. The construction of physical models stimulates to view the design from a walker’s perspective and to capture a glimpse of reality. The landscapes in which the field trips are located often do not have a physical connection to the actual site of design, instead they capture the underlying processes and impact on the existing cultural landscape. A design proposal for London’s Parliament Square reinterpreted the relationship between topography, landmarks and footpaths as experienced during walks in Somerset (Foxley, 2010).

Apart from Vogt, Schultz, from planning bureau Stein+Schultz devised walking as a method to discuss and design large-scale landscapes. During the walk the group, consisting of landscape architects, urban planners, and geographers, is subjected to three modes, namely: discovery, flow and reflection (Schultz, 2014) which alternate and interfere with each other. Although Schultz explains that the walkers should rely on their intuition, he devised a number of rules to practice walking as a design method. These rules encompass that the walk should be strenuous, flexible in direction, solitary but talkative, multisensory, and that the walker should find a suiting rhythm and take as little photos as possible (Schultz, 2014). In reflecting upon their walk participants are ought to compare their pre-walk sketches, writing and ideas with the images, questions and thoughts they drew up after the walk in order to come up design ideas that would represent the whole area.

Taking into account my experience and reflection on walking on the Camino de Santiago I neither treat walking as a solely aesthetic or meditative experience or design tool. I place the methods as parts within the greater confines of longdistance trekking that pilgrimage is, for it is an activity that greatly expands the mind on many surfaces.

SOURCES Bassett, K. (2004). Walking as an aesthetic practice and a critical tool: Some psychogeographic experiments. Journal of geography in higher education, 28(3), 397-410.

Careri, F. (2002). Walkscapes: el andar como prĂĄctica estĂŠtica= walking as an aesthetic practice. Editorial Gustavo Gili.

Coverley, M. (2012). Psychogeography. Oldcastle Books.

Edensor, T. (2000). Walking in the British countryside: reflexivity, embodied practices and ways to escape. Body & Society, 6(3-4), 81-106.

Foxley, A. (2010). Distance & engagement: walking, thinking and making landscape: Vogt Landscape Architects. Lars Muller Publishers.

Grapard, A. G. (1982). Flying mountains and walkers of emptiness: Toward a definition of sacred space in Japanese religions. History of Religions, 195-221. ISO 690 Hanh, T. N. (1985). Guide to Walking Meditation.

Available at: http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/ Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/From%20 A%20Guide%20to%20Walking%20Meditation/ From%20A%20Guide%20to%20Walking%20 Meditation.rtf.

Ingold, T. (2007). Lines: a brief history. Routledge.

Schultz, H. (2014). Designing large-scale landscapes through walking. Journal of Landscape Architecture.

Slavin, S. (2003). Walking as spiritual practice: the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Body & Society, 9(3), 1-18.

Solnit, R. (2001). Wanderlust: A history of walking.

Penguin.

APPENDIX 2 MY PERSONAL DIARY ON PILGRIMAGE (names are abbreviated to a capitalised single letter, added by a number)

01

Pamplona

I have never kept a diary, but there is a first time for everything. I guess it just comes down to experiencing the experiment. Today was a travel-day, in my case not necessarily a bad thing. I really like being on the move. When the landscape floated underneath me I could understand why man is so fascinated by flying. It is fast, elegant and breath-taking, and in any way much easier than walking. The two-and-ahalf hours I travelled today by airplane would have taken me three months to walk.

How come people still aspire to move so slowly through the landscape? Wasn’t the landscape always some sort of catalyst for thought or is this just a personal opinion, wandering around in my head? When I saw all the beautiful sights from the airplane window, as if the window is catalyst for my thoughts. I started to ponder. I thought about what I had done to myself, alone in Spain without any knowledge of the Spanish language. I wondered if I would experience the coming weeks as short or long.

Currently, I am amongst a massive group of Korean pilgrims in an old monastery that is converted to a hostel, operated by a non-English speaking host. Watching their luggage it seems that the Koreans have a support vehicle following them. I wonder if this is cheating or just plain comfortable. Tomorrow I will discover what it is like to carry around nine kilos on your back. Even though it might help to ease the lonely and lost feeling I had this afternoon I am not looking forward to walking in-between all the Koreans. Just now, when I walked through the streets of Pamplona to catch a bit of the Spanish street life pilgrims were easily spotted in their bright outdoor clothing. I wondered if people looked the same at me. Is this just the feeling of being somewhere foreign, like I had around the same time last year when I was studying in Germany? Maybe the Camino will bring me the structure I always long for in all the things that I do. If my physical and mental health allows me to this Camino is maybe going to be an eye-opener.

0

starting KM elevation

Example: + _

well-being 0

02

Puente la Reina

end KM

To my great joy my Korean neighbours already started getting ready at 5.30 in the morning. Wantonly I tried to sleep through all the noise. At 8.00 I too left the hostel.

My morning-walk started with a recurring pain in my left leg, I was worried that it would persist for the day. With the leg pain in the back of my mind it took some time until I was finally out of Pamplona. Even though Pamplona’s infrastructure was holding me back I felt that the city’s architecture tried to guide me out of the town. The walk out of the city was noisy and stayed like that until I reached the outskirts of the city somewhere near the suburban town of Cizur Menor. Like a clear border between the city and the landscape the picturesque image I had of pilgrimage began to unfold. The vast rolling fields scattered with some small bushes and lonely walkers lay at my feet. I realized that the landscape of the Camino is not only that of pilgrims but mostly that of farmers.

The first warmth of the sun hit my face. As I walked on the pain in my leg began to decline, only to be replaced by developing blisters on my left foot. The cadence of the unpaved path emptied my mind instead of filling it, I seemed that I was starting to think about nothing. The path became noticeably steeper. The higher the path got the more the fog began to deprive my view. With the rising path in front of me the only time I could enjoy a view was when I turned my back around. Just before the ascent of the pass ominous wind turbines on the hilltop ridge rose up from the fog. The famous sight from the Alto del Perdón was covered in clouds. On the top

of the pass I had a little chat with a local Spaniard who tried to earn a little money by selling food to pilgrims. The season was nearing its end and my news that a big group of Koreans were on the way was welcomed. I wondered how he managed to carry all his stuff up the steep and rocky path. The steepness and rockiness of the path made it feel like I was trekking in the Alps. My mind was occupied with trying not to fall on my way down the hill. I felt a pain developing in my calves; maybe I should have stopped in the previous village, which seemed to have enough services for the struggling pilgrim. In hindsight I started out a bit too bold, accompanied with a need to prove myself.

On the descent of Alto del Perdón thoughts about the purpose and meaningfulness about the whole operation engulfed my mind. Time will tell if meaningfulness will arrive gradually or suddenly, like a eureka-moment. Maybe there is just a critical point I have to pass some time on the way. As I descended I felt a bit lonely on the path. My lack of Spanish language skills and spontaneity were acting like real barriers. Besides the occasional ‘ola’ I did not feel like communicating with the increasing amount of pilgrims I came by. I promised to myself that the social part of the Camino was yet to come. During the final hour of the walk I was primarily focused on arriving. The sight of Puente la Reina motivated me to go on and bite the pain. The hostel was a bit dirty and just for the sake of hygiene I turned around the blankets of my bed. On the contrary to yesterday the group of pilgrims was more international. I joined a group of youths who were travelling together since St. Jean Pied-de-Port to get some groceries for dinner. It felt good to belong somewhere. As for my blisters I am curious about how the group dynamics will develop. Before sleeping I imagined I could fly over all the hilltops, like the flocks of birds accompanying me this afternoon. A wrong motivation?

0

24

In my guide the stage seemed easy, but I did not experience it as such. I left town quickly and within a short time I entered a quiet river-valley, surrounded by the silence of the early morning and the smell of curry. The hard rocky ascent next to the highway demanded a lot of energy and I made me feel uncomfortably warm and nauseous. My mood improved when I rearranged my backpack and took off my vest. This hard ascent made me realize that I was in dire need of a walkingstick. I saw a fine stick in the morning, but as it was standing next to the door it felt uncomfortable to take it with me. Next to the highway I noticed that these man-made piles of stone and wooden crosses I came across earlier were a recurring phenomenon on the Camino.

After I crossed the town of Mañeru I noticed a kilometre-sign, I could not believe I was going this slow. This unsettling combination of time and speed was not encouraging me, my watch felt like a torment. Spying figures on the hilltop across turned out to be just trees and the open fire next to the path reminded of home. The rough roads and the steep elevation were becoming physically and mentally tiring.

The blister on my left foot was getting really painful. Gradually the pain became a habit and it soon disappeared to the background of my mind. After crossing a Roman bridge I took a break, I felt good. My mood soon collapsed because of the uncomfortable warmth of my vest. Besides the heat, the nauseous feeling and my poor eating habits during the day were taking a toll on me. I did not eat enough but I also did not feel hungry. After the town of Lorca the nausea and homesickness

Estella

03

were reaching a boiling point, I needed to sit down. For the first time the landscape acted like a canvas for my thoughts, it was mind-blowing. The view radiated me with positive energy. With the support from family and friends in my mind I found the will to walk again. With my sights set on the next town I speeded onwards. During a short stop I filled up on some snacks and got advice from an American lady on the adjustment of my backpack, it turned out to be a big help. I found the right pace and powered on. By the end of the day my mood improved significantly.

The long stretch into Estella was covered in beautiful autumn colours. During this final stretch into Estella I walked together with some other pilgrims. It felt nice to know people on the way. It was nice to tag along with others, talking was not mandatory. I felt like I should stay close to them. I was possibly thinking too much of arriving in the same hostel as the others, even though they did not really seem to care much about this. Maybe I should adopt a similar approach. In the hostel a kind Spaniard gave me some advice on blisters. I punctured my blisters and rubbed them with Vaseline and sowed them shut. Having temporarily solved my blister issues I have yet to find a solution for my muscle pain, even at 21.00 it is still very much bothering me. It is probably a matter of getting accustomed to the rhythm of walking. I planned ahead for the coming day. I thought about dividing the next two days in a long day and a short day, but for now it will probably be a matter of listening to what my body has to tell me.

24

46

04

Los Arcos

The day started with the acquisition of a walking-stick. I took a left-over walkingstick from the hostel. I immediately made good use of it because the walk out of Estella covered some tough elevation. I hoped to fill my water bottle with some wine near the Irache monastery, but as many others before the tap gave me nothing other than water. After that I had to make a choice between two routes, one short and steep, the other long and rolling. After consulting two locals I chose the second route, as this was also the one which was in my guidebook. The uphill stretch was only short-lived and soon I had to make some emergency repairs to my blisters.

Luckily I was able to get some water from a French group to clean the wound. After the repairs I quickly found my pace again, not only because of my walking-stick but also because I took of my watch. It is wonderful to walk without knowing what time it is. Time seems to go by more naturally and more accustomed to your body. Take a rest when you need it, preferably in a town.

I walked together with E and S for some time. Even though the path was going uphill it felt easier than previous days, going downhill went even better. Light and mist light up the hills in front of me and almost seemed to be the end of the world. I felt like walking in Iceland, with its vast stretches of foggy nothingness.

I took a well-deserved and relaxing rest in the town of Villamayor de Monjardin together with the French group and E. After the town the landscape changed, the soil became redder and more filled with vineyards. The view ahead towards the seemingly endless fields kept my pace high. It almost looked like a prairie, hill after hill. There was nothing to see all around you. Just like the landscape my head seemed empty. I switched off my mind and walked on. It just felt like thoughts directly evaporated. I could not think about the same thing for a long time. The landscape seemed to be more of a stage for thoughts rather than a catalyst. In this, walking is the engine to this fleeting contemplation. This was the essence.

The tough pace seemed to be taking its toll on my feet, the closer I got to Los Arcos the more present it got. Is my maximum day distance twenty kilometres? It seems that I begin to enjoy the social part of the Camino. You can tag along with each other without having to talk much, the walking does the rest. Today I mainly walked together with E because we were dealing with the same physical issues. It felt good to wait on each other to find a hostel in the faded town of Los Arcos and going out to eat something with the French group. Time goes very slowly. It is only seven in the evening but is feels like ten. I am curious how my feet are going to endure. By now I successfully conducted a second repair operation on my blisters.

46

68

The day started in a hurry. The hostel did not possess enough bathrooms to accommodate all the Koreans and the other pilgrims. I quickly ate my yoghurt to be able to leave together with the French group and E. My tempo was slower than previous days. I was worrying about the increasing pain in my tendon. The road was long and the weather was foggy, there was nothing to see all around. The drizzling rain made looking forward hard. A quiet procession of pilgrims walked through the lovely tranquil Spanish fields, nothing more, and nothing less. The walking went well and I could keep a steady pace. Seven kilometres of nothingness on the automatic pilot. Only after taking a rest in the town of Sansol I discovered the drizzle had made me incredibly wet. After Sansol the landscape around me became very picturesque and I started wondering if there was actually anything wrong with the Camino as it is now. In summer it may be a lot busier, but now it felt perfect.

Going up and down through the vineyards I noticed that pilgrims had an urge to write all kinds of messages on stones, even the ancient stone shelters scattered along the road. These seemingly ancient structures made me realize how much history is embedded in this route. The landscape around it seems to change constantly but the route itself seemed unchanged. I noticed how simple the route was. Besides the entire infrastructure concerning the hostels the only necessary thing seems to be some posts and painted arrows. Only on rare occasions, like steep ascents, the path was cautiously changed to pavement. The thought about how I should shape the focus of my thesis consumed me during the second part of the day. It feels like I am doing everything random. I feel I need some structure. The landscape empties my mind instead of filling it; my thoughts are shallow and less contemplative, maybe even superficial. You live the Camino day by day. Maybe Rudi can give some advice next week in how to deal with this issue. The road into Viana was messy, but the Netherlands seemed close by after seeing some advertisements for Amstel and Philips. In Viana I said goodbye to the French group and E. Everybody has their own plans and rhythm, which is how the Camino works. I did not think that I could make it without taking any rests between Sansol and Viana, the kilometres simply flew by. In close company with J, S2 and the Israeli group I had the best meal until now. In the evening we marvelled over the amazing view over Logro単o. Everybody went quiet, the darkness is amazing.

68

87

Viana 05

06

Logroño

Today was only a short stage, more or less eleven kilometres. After leaving the uncomfortably warm hostel I joined up with J and S3. The day started off with a search for a coffee bar in light drizzling weather. J and S3 took it slow, luckily, because in their normal tempo I was not able to follow them. Soon the fortress of Viana lay in our backs. As the walk progressed I started to realize that the pain should not miss any part of my feet as stepping with my right foot became increasingly more painful. During this short stage we passed into the autonomous community of La Rioja through extensive vineyards, looking down on the city from the plateau.

On our way we passed along many improvised campsites which, in their grassy and rocky messiness, made me think of ancient hunter-gatherer campsites. The vineyards did not last for long as we passed into the outskirts of Logroño.

The road into Logroño was rolling and easy on the feet, it felt like they really tried to improve the Camino, in doing this forgetting that man was actually the ultimate all-terrain vehicle. The oversized road was clearly designed with busier times in mind and felt a bit overdone to me. It was fascinating to see that people took every opportunity to write more-or-less inspiring texts on nearly everything, from bridges to markers and overpasses to tunnels. I noticed that the mental landscape does not only contains the meditative aspect of walking with all its shallow thoughts, but also being and walking together with other pilgrims. Being alone together and forming a group on that basis. This has a substantial influence on my experience.

Being completely alone would result into a totally different image. We followed the oversized road into the messy entrance of the city, littered with shabby houses with unkempt gardens and big dogs.

In Logroño my ankle suddenly started to hurt, but after an hours rest the pain gradually lessened. I joined J and S3 to buy some new shoes. I doubted if I should buy a new pair too. In the end I decided that it was too early to dump my trusty shoes. Logroño is fairly large city, and being November first (All Saints Day) many shops were closed, but the streets were bustling with people. According to the Codex Calixtinus the region is famous for its wine and food, something we absolutely did not miss on this day. Together with J and S3 we enjoyed the many culinary treats the city had to offer. When talking with J about the position of religion in our countries later that evening the only sensible thing he could say was that it resulted in some nice architecture. I blame myself for not asking him about the motives for his Camino. Would it be just for the challenge or is there more behind it? The hostel of today must have been one of the most beautiful, in architectural sense, until now.

We suspected that our Spanish fellow guests were not pilgrims, as they were talking very loud deep into the night.

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98

07

Nájera

The start-up was easier than expected and after the slow morning I started the depressing walk out of Logroño with S3. J was already gone by the time we left.

Southbound the municipality seemed to continue their policy of wide paths. Besides the two of us, many residents of Logroño were using the path, either for running, cycling or walking. I dreamt I had a bicycle; kilometres would disappear in no-time.

We crossed a large recreational area and saw that even pilgrims were not too shy to take shortcuts. As in Puente la Reina pilgrims seem to have a fascination for fixing wooden crosses on highway-fences. While talking with S3 about motorbikes and bullfighting I noticed that talking while walking speeds up time and focuses the view

ahead, forgetting the developing pain in my knee. When walking in a continuous motion the perception of landscape felt as a box around you and the path. As the conversation continued nearing Navarette S3 and I concluded that seeing the goal ahead motivates you to go on. As we left the main road the sudden rainfall made me put on my rain gear for the first time. In Navarette I noticed that the church had the same architectural style I already saw a few times on my way. The lady of the local bakery was kind enough to let us pilgrims stay in her shop for a little longer. Without stopping I managed to walk thirteen kilometres, I feel I made good progress until now.

Leaving Navarette not only the two of us, but also many hunters were holding up in the vineyards. A few shots ended the tranquillity and probably the life of some birds. The tranquillity did not disappear as the path continued next to a highway.

The so-called ‘route of art’ into Ventosa did not contain any artworks. Maybe I did not notice because I was feeling very miserable and had an annoying pain in my back. Even though the pause in Ventosa felt welcome I still felt too sick to finish the croissant in the busy village cafe. It was still eleven kilometres until Nájera, but I had the feeling I wanted to make it until there. Leaving Ventosa it started to rain again and decided to take out my full rain gear. After some fiddling around with my raingear I felt comfortable in my polyester suit-of-armour. I got the same sensation as when sitting on the attic at home, hearing the rain hit the roof tiles above my head. Safely sheltered in my own little tent childlike instincts arose, stepping in the red mud, following other people’s footsteps and drawing figures in puddles with my walking stick. It all felt really good. Maybe it was the dose of caffeine in my pills that did the work. Ok, I was feeling a little bit rough and sick, but to say that I took these pills as a stimulant is too farfetched, I am not Lance Armstrong. Maybe it was a combination of both. As the rain stopped the sunlight and the clouds opened up over the hills and a powerful, almost primitive, feeling rushed through me. Beautiful sights from the vineyards onto a play of clouds and mist lay in the distance, like a king overlooking his land, amazing! I got the feeling that I was doing something very special. Feeling hungry I decided to take rest next to the road.

Heading to Nájera I came across a beautiful pilgrim shelter, decorated with a sign about the tale of Roland and Ferragut. The knight’s story made me fantasize about past times. The entrance to Nájera could not live up to the standard of the past kilometres; it felt messy, poor and unpleasant. The town gave me the impression of faded glory. I lost S3 out of sight a long time ago. Also after showering the gang of S2, S3 and J were gone. I felt a bit uncomfortable, did they not think about me? To my joy I ran into them after a short walk through town. I hope that this day was an overture to more. Being the longest stage in hours and kilometres I did not thought I would sustain this stage in a way like this. That is an encouraging feeling!

98

130

Everybody started getting up very early today. I stayed in my bed until the bustle was over. Outside I met up with J, S2 and S3 and started off walking together.

A strange reddish sunlight shone through the streets, it was very beautiful. After some fiddling around with my bottle I lost sight of the others. While climbing the hill behind Nájera I walked into the fog. The whole morning was dominated by a thick unsettling fog. It was like walking into a long cramped tunnel, with my only guidance being some annoying kilometre-markers next to the path. I was very

Santo Domingo de la Calzada

08

inwardly focused and feeling homesick, I did not really feel like talking to anybody.

To my joy nobody was around until a Korean lady started talking to me about Jesus.

Out of the fog a small town popped up, which felt like going back into time forty years. On the contrary to yesterday I took advantage of the local bar and filled up with breakfast. It was nice to meet up with the rest of the people again. On the way a nasty pain had developed in my ankle.

Leaving the town the fog continued. My mood improved when the sun finally pierced through the thick fog, only the view, a highway, could be better. I had to slow down my tempo as the pain in my ankle worsened. I did not want this to become a walk of agony, but it was starting to look like one. Walking along the curved road through the rolling hills I could only think about the next hostel. Resting on some bales of straw next to path brought some relief. I was pleased to see that people asked what was going on with my foot. The Korean lady of this morning even gave me some helpful cream for my ankle. I was only focused on sustaining the pain. I put on my earphones to provide some distraction. The music in my ears improved my mood and I powered on through a horrible deserted housing estate. I joined up with S3 to have a small lunch in a sleepy village cafe. The last five kilometres turned into a real torment. Pain in left ankle and foot sole made walking hard and painfully slow. A few Korean ladies tried to talk with me; I had to laugh at their attempts. It comforted me for a while, although it was mainly because I could stand still. Despite the breath-taking views the path did not seem to end, hill after hill the town kept in sight like a fata morgana. I was yearning for a bed. Santo Domingo de la Calzada’s miserable entrance did not bring much relief. I did not want to talk with anybody until I reached my destination, the hostel.

Arriving at the hostel I could finally give my feet some well-deserved rest, it was mayor relief. On my way going down I met up with the others. S3 saw the condition of my feet and offered me some bandages and cream to take of the blisters. I was happy with the attention I got, but I was also worried because my right foot did not look good at all. S3 advised me that if this condition continued I should pay a visit to a doctor. A call with my father later made me decide to go to the doctor.

Walking seemed to be ruled out for tomorrow. S2 helped me asking for a doctor at the reception of the hostel and offered to go with me to provide some translation.

Luckily there was a 24-hour emergency post in town. The doctor concluded that there was nothing to worry about, but with a big bandage on my foot he advised not to walk for at least five days. That diagnose hit hard, but also calmed me down, in the end worries are the worst to have. The Camino goes on day by day and this is just part of the deal. I am happy that I did not walk on further. The attention I got from others made me feel calm. I am curious how the next five days are going to be like, Burgos seems to be a nice city.

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09

Burgos

It seemed that every morning people were getting up earlier, at six in the morning the first people woke up after a night filled with snoring. I found it tough not to be able to go out walking with the rest. I felt like a bit of an outsider. Moreover, I have no idea about how should be spending my time now. It is not easy to fill up six hours of walking. I spent the early morning sitting in a bar until after an hour the sound of the TV became unbearable. I went to the tourist-office to ask about the bus schedules and afterwards spent some time walking through Santo Domingo de

la Calzada. I came across an old German pilgrim who had some serious problem with his debit card. Pilgrims help each other and decided to give the old man some money, he certainly did not look like a bum. I trust people too well to leave people hanging like that. If you treat people well they will do the same for you.

I decided to catch the bus to nearby Tosantos to meet up with J, S2 and S3. Tosantos was not much of a town, it was cold and I got the feeling everybody was looking at me from their windows. The Camino is like a highway with its own infrastructure and culture, you are on the road or not. I waited for the others, but after an hour I decided to take the bus to Burgos. I found it hard to see the landscape go by so fast.

The landscape goes by like a film tape and did not dare to make any pictures, it was too beautiful. I should have walked there, but the window of the bus was holding me back. Taking the bus almost felt almost too comfortable, time wise walking seemed totally irrelevant and outdated. I felt like a cheater when I saw S3 walking next to road. Earlier than my intended schedule I arrived in Burgos, but it was for my own good. An advantage was that I did not have to walk through the messy suburbs I passed by with the bus.

Arriving in Burgos I felt a bit lost, like I did on my first day in Pamplona. I had no idea how I should spend four days here. The hostel was cold and a bit too new for my taste. To my amazement I met some people with whom I walked the first few days. They seemed to be walking in such a fast pace I would have never been able to follow them. I talked with S about what was more important; trying to stay with the group or having physical problems. He seemed a bit indifferent about it. Everybody I talked with seemed to be a bit distant, although after forty kilometres of walking this was an understandable mood. There was a nice Irish lady who barely knew me, but advised me to take a big off-day tomorrow. Tomorrow everybody is leaving again, except me. On the Camino you should not cling on to people too much because everybody is walking in another tempo and soon they would be leaving too.

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Because I did not had to go anywhere getting up was much more relaxed. It was very cold outside, very un-Spanish. Opposite to the hostel I had breakfast with some acquaintances on the terrace of a bar. I joined them to see some of the sights of the city. I thought it was strange that I had to pay for entering the cathedral. I thought all religious buildings were free to visit. Nevertheless the cathedral was a beautiful example of gothic architecture. The Catholic Church sure knew how to impress the common folk. I wondered if the church was doing the same with the Camino now, as people’s spirituality has changed. Or could this still be something for future purposes, the Camino as one large ‘ars natura’? It was nice to have some company in the morning. After saying goodbye I did some groceries and drank some tea in some hipster bar. I am glad I had the chance to buy a nice book while I was there; it is one less thing I have to worry about for the coming weeks.

Back in the hostel I changed the bandage and did my laundry. I recapped on my well-being for the past days by filling in a so-called well-being graph I decided to make for the duration of my Camino. As long as I do not have a real focus I just collect as much as possible. This will be my strategy. The lack of internet is starting to get a bit cumbersome because I would really like to have a talk with Rudi. The freedom Rudi and the Camino are giving me turns out to be a real test. What result

Burgos

10

is this fieldwork going to yield for me? Will there be something useful to analysis? Is it too easy to say to go home when I feel I collected enough data as I do not know when I reach that point? Will all the data be useful and is it possible to make a design on this? In any case I am still waiting for my Camino-moment and thesis-moment.

The only things I wonder now are what I am going to do tomorrow and what the results of the Champions League matches of today were.

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Burgos

The second full day in Burgos started very relaxed. After a short visit to the cathedral to have some silence and marvel at the architecture I made a short tour through the city centre. Earlier than expected I was able to go into my new hostel, which happened to be very comfortable. With its Wi-Fi connection I finally had an internet connection again. It was nice to get some updates from everybody and it felt good that people were thinking about me. After some fiddling around with the connection I was finally able to have a decent meeting with Rudi. I got somewhat approval for my plans and he gave me some suggestions. Again I am struggling with all the freedom I am getting, I wonder how this will turn out. I spent the afternoon talking with a Dutch girl, called C, after she overheard my meeting with Rudi. I could derive that she had a big interest in new-age thought. The longer the conversation continued the more I could see through the fog of new-age vagueness. The conversation held some interesting results. We talked about a landscape-therapist in Tenerife, the church abusing the sins of the common folk, so-called ley-lines, and the question how historical the Camino really still is. Her perception of the landscape was mostly based on green nature. Mountains and plains were too boring for her. In any cases the weather played a big part in her mental experience of the day. C studied pedagogy and gave me some tips on how to frame my loose research approach. She proposed to follow a group of pilgrims and interviewing them about their experiences of the landscape during different phases of the Camino. The idea is appealing, but I wonder if I am assertive and open enough for this kind of approach. I will think about it and try to come up with some questions. In the end it is man for which I am designing and then you have to mix your own experience with those of others. Only then it is also useful for people outside my profession.

It was nice to talk Dutch again for some time. Although I could not always follow the conversation with C it was a very fruitful undertaking. I hope this talk will have some aftereffect for the duration of the Camino, although the initiative has to come from myself instead of others.

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Because I fell asleep yesterday I was not able to complete this diary entry. To stay for three days in one place was enough for me, I had to get out. Despite the doctor’s advice I just went out walking. It felt good, the pace was low and I enjoyed the fresh morning sunshine in Burgos. I enjoyed a beautiful interplay between the sunshine and the autumn colours in a wonderful park on the banks of the river. I took Rudi’s

advice about making small sketches on the places where I rested. I think that will work out fine even though it means I will probably need a bigger sketchbook if I keep on drawing like this. I walked very careful because I did not want to put too much pressure on the wound. It felt great to not be in a hurry or having to keep up with others. Burgos and its environment had a confusing effect on me as it was not clear where the city actually ended. A nice campus area continued into a sleepy suburb in between some half open landscape. The sky was clear and the air smelt of leaves. To stop and find a hostel in Villavilla after only six kilometres felt a bit odd, so I continued.

RabĂŠ de las Calzadas

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Hornillos del Camino

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After seemingly endless twisting and turning around all kinds of roadwork I finally found the landscape I was looking for. The weather and water made a great combination. The weather was excellent for walking and felt so good that I decided to walk on to the next village. I pushed on to the dusty roadside town of Tradajos, to which the old German pilgrim from Santo Domingo de la Calzada referred me to. After a lunch in a shabby looking cafe with many unpleasant looking guests I decided to leave the town. The unpleasant feeling kept following me for the next two kilometres, I felt sad and insecure. Cars were racing past me seemingly on purpose.

The next village seemed to be much more appealing, even though it still looked deserted. To my joy there were more people staying hostel. I got a room for myself, while the six Germans were divided over the other three rooms. It was really good for my mood to finally see some other people. The landlady made a nice dinner for us, even though I was not that hungry. In the evening we all gazed at a beautifully lit moon. Today I also changed my bandage again. I am curious when the wound is finally healed. The progress is slow, but I would like to keep on going. Tomorrow I will do a short stretch to Hornillos del Camino because hostels and villages are thinly spread in this area. The albergue-application on my phone does not always tell the truth by the way. The internet I hoped to find in this hostel was not available.

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I slept very comfortably in my private room. The Germans already left before I stepped into the countryside. The real countryside starts here, long vast views into nothingness estranges the Dutchman in me. I can only recall seeing these kind of desolate landscapes in the U.S.A. or Scandinavia. The tranquil sounds of a farm waking up filled the scene. The moon still shone brightly in between the power lines, like two kinds of energies touching each other. The plain simplicity of the views ahead was a powerful sight. My maps did not really help since the road in front of me was long and straight on, hill past hill. I stopped near pilgrim shelter. While sitting in the sun I admired the texts on its walls and listened to the rustling of leaves and distant church bells.

It is interesting to see how long it takes before anything really gets any closer to you.

Descending from the plateau I could see the village of Hornillos del Camino. Only one cyclist and walker passed me during my walk on the grey stony path. After eight kilometres my day was finished. I stopped in Hornillos del Camino, a town which I unfortunately greatly overestimated. Later on I heard only sixty people were living here, although there seem to be enough houses to accommodate the double of that. It was bitter cold, windy and the streets were empty. Everything, including my hostel, was closed. Because it only opened after twelve I had to come up with a way

to spend two hours in this town. I started worrying about the amount of money and food I still had left, I did not had much of both. After being admitted to the hostel the hospitalero told me that the next bank would be twenty kilometres away, although my guidebook told me something different. I have no food an no money, so tomorrow will be a test of my luck. With its fireplace downstairs the hostel made a cosy impression. I finally had the time to make a plan for the coming weeks, finish up on some diary entries and read in my books. I hope I can bring some structure in my work and head for the remainder of my undertaking.

At a certain moment I started to get a bit bored, the language barrier was not really helping in communicating with the other guests. I started to feel a bit moody, stuck in a place without money and food. To my joy a group of youths arrived which I knew by face from earlier days. This really helped me out, my mood changed. Eating microwaved food in front of the fireplace and making jokes with two Spaniards made the day end well. I got the good spirit again, let’s see if I still got it tomorrow morning.

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14

Castrojeriz

Finally I was able to walk a full stage again. After a very slow beginning I left of together with my new acquaintances. The crisp air and the tranquillity made my thoughts wander of over the barren fields. The landscape I crossed through was dominated by emptiness and monoliths. Stately heaps of stone in any shape somehow attract my attention. They radiate some kind of primordial aura. The path was full of sticky mud until Hontanas; a village beautifully situated at the edge of the valley. A surprisingly beautiful view on the seemingly ancient town opened up only moments before you entered.

The way this country deals with its heritage and vernacular landscape is very interesting and very different from what I know. Things are just left to crumble until they topple over or are repaired. The crumbled walls on the way out of Hontanas made strong impression in the otherwise empty landscape. I got a sublime sense of history. I got the same sensation when I passed under the arches of a once great monastery, walking in the footsteps of millions of pilgrims. When I talked with people about my project I received a lot of sympathy and enthusiasm. R noticed that he is not really conscious about what is happening in the landscape around him, simply because it was all beautiful in his eyes. He was used to a totally different perception of landscape in his home country. Sometimes it is really hard to isolate and catch the influence the landscape has on my experience. Like landscape the human brain consists of uncountable layers, each with a different depth and meaning. Could there be an analogy between these two things? Is there a connection between these two slippery concepts? It was nice to walk among people who had the pace same as you.

With our sights set on the striking ruins of the old castle of Castrojeriz we paced onwards in a final sprint. The view narrowed down to the road. The entrance to the town was well thought of and the pavement glided you comfortably into town.

The way towns use the Camino to their advantage varies greatly. It mainly comes down to the way they manage the entrance of the Camino to the town. There seems to exist some kind of overarching organisation which manages all the signs, but otherwise it is any town for itself. Walking in a group today made it easier to make

contact with others. Talking while on the way helps you getting some momentum again, physically and mentally. Moreover, you could choose to walk alone or walk together with the rest. There was no pressure and the change was welcome. I noticed that, while talking, my thoughts were not focused at all, except on the person I was talking to. I had trouble focusing on my personal moments and making notes. Only when I walked alone I noticed that the cadence of the movement and the ground in front of me took over my focus. It had a very calming effect on me. Tomorrow I have scheduled my first task. My battery has to be full and my mind empty.

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Through the cold fog I walked out of the village into the quiet countryside. The sharp smelling smoke of the early wood fires seamlessly joined the thick fog. Thoughts about the humbleness of walking in relation to the scale of the surrounding landscape dominated my mind. It almost seems like you get more respect for what you see on the way because, in contrast to travelling by car or by plane, not encased in steel shell. The only thing that was encasing me was the fog, like a floating room around you it shapes your perception to a something mysteriously surprising level.

Even the most ordinary things like ridge in distant field become interesting when the veil of fog unveils it. While ascending the mist slows down time as views narrow.

The never-ending winding road up the hill did not seem to hold many rewards until I reached the top. I was rewarded for my climb in the form of a small obelisk and stone shelter. The climb has not been for nothing, it kept my motivation and energy level high.

The long winding roads felt like a highway. Stopping was not an option and my thoughts were as closed as the landscape around me. When the weather cleared up I could think more clearly, despite the ever straight path in front of me. I began picturing my arrival in Santiago de Compostela. I crossed an ancient bridge onto a road that was littered with advertisements. In the quiet cafeteria I ate a lovely tortilla and worried about my camera not having enough memory. Despite the confusing signification I managed to enter the countryside again. My legs felt good.

The cadence of my shoes and stick hitting the soil brought me in some kind of trance. You seem to perceive things that are not there. I took for instance a while until I saw some birds after minutes of unbroken whistling. Do your senses become strengthened or weakened? I switched on the automatic pilot and walked on while solar rays peeked through the deck of clouds. I did not feel the need to stop. The solitary walking of today made me able to do my tasks properly. The many pictures do not seem to hold any connection but I am sure they will arise when I have second look tonight. The Camino as analogy with the highway, both with its own services and infrastructure?

The path next to the canal into Fr贸mista was a personal favourite of today. For five kilometres it almost seemed like I was walking in the flat Dutch polders. The water was even higher than the land! Together with the earth tones the autumn leaves produces a magnificent colour palette. To me autumn creates the most beautiful colours, while spring and summer always seem to be a bit over the top for me. Autumn strikes the balance between the cool, grey earth tones and the bright colours of the leaves, like bright lights in a Christmas tree. The crisp air keeps you alert and observant. Even the fauna of the region sometimes shows her face to me in the form of birds or a small weasel. While I started to feel my legs I checked my

Fr贸mista

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phone to see which hostels were open in the sleepy, old industrial town of Frómista.

The Camino does not have to do much to provoke a romantic travellers feeling on me. In some cases the Spanish landscape seems to be so beautifully deteriorating that I wonder if I could provoke a similar feeling in the Netherlands.

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16

Carrión de los Condes

From the cold hostel I stepped into the early morning rain. The church of Frómista looked lost in the space of the square. After a short conversation with some Germans I met in two days ago the rain got less and I finally started walking out of Frómista. A highway served as the border between the town and the countryside.

In the light of a beautiful sunset I stepped onto the boggy path next to the road.

Today the task concerning the signage was scheduled. I was annoyed by the fact that the amount of signs made pilgrims look like they were a helpless flock of sheep that had to be guided after every hundred meters. I presumed pilgrimage was always more a matter of wayfaring.

The signs and the straight road ahead proved to be a deadly combination for my concentration but seemed to have a positive effect on my walking pace. Everybody wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible. The roaring cars could only promote speed to me. This quest for speed looks to me as the complete opposite of what pilgrimage is about. There was not a moment I felt the need to stop or to make notes and drawings, they would have to wait until the hostel. One could say that today’s stage was a bridging stage. A quick stop in a village to have a snack temporarily freed me from the wind that was pounding the left side of my face. This landscape seemed ideal to think if it was not for the task I was momentarily stuck with. I was happy that I could talk with R on the final stretch of todays walked. It certainly helped to make time go by faster. A subject like the differences between our two countries was discussed, as was the way the experience of being on the Camino was shaped. For R the weather conditions seem to have a big influence as even the slightest ray of sunlight could provide just that extra piece of motivation at the top of the hill. Being on a pilgrimage is scheduling day by day, and at the end of each day there should be a little reward. The Meseta offered us beautiful vast sights.

The regularity and cadence of our walk was interrupted by a moment of awe and reflection, a moment where you look back and just remain quiet along this ribbon of asphalt. For a moment my focus lay not on the straight track in front but on the view on the side. More than anywhere else the cloudy sky was a mayor influence in my experience of the day. As they glided over the rolling hills the threatening clouds almost seemed worthy of the Dutch Masters. Temporarily the spotlight moved from the ribbon of asphalt to the magnificent surrounding landscape. Our final destination Carrión de los Condes almost looked like a beacon, lit up by the sunlight.

It was nice to meet up with the whole crew again in the evening. Good company is indispensable on the Camino, maybe more than landscape around you. Is the Camino able to take place anywhere? Is it the power of the walking motion or the Spanish landscape? Is this a thing that can be designed? The task of today proved to be very annoying as there was an overload to be photographed on the otherwise dull road. It was hard to concentrate because I only had my eye set on the final destination of today; the straight line was dominating my view. In the end my task proved to be very entertaining to watch for my fellow pilgrims.

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Leaving the hostel late the road westwards awaited us. Sounds of working people Terradillos de los filled the inner courtyard of the hostel and the sun was trying to break through templarios the thick deck of clouds. Today the Camino would go across the Via Aquitana, an old Roman road. The Roman road seemed something to look forward to if it was not for the terribly dull approach to the roman road. My thoughts seemed to bounce back between my head and the road surface in a recurring fashion. It took a while until I got over it, the road was long and straight. While on the roman road I discovered that the essence of the road was not the road itself but space and sky around you. It was rewarding to sometimes watch through the screen of trees at the interplay of the sun and the clouds. I have not enjoyed walking this much since the stage between LogroĂąo and NĂĄjera. I felt it took a while before I got going. I could not arrive in the damned village at the end of the Roman road.

I believe I had a moment I really got a high of the landscape, it felt like I was gliding over landscape beneath me. The combination of the pushing and pulling wind did not only made the experience mentally interesting but also physically challenging.

I had to disagree on L’s comment that the wind was keeping him away from concentrating. My mood and pace went up and down like a rollercoaster but once I found the right setting I was unstoppable. The seemingly endless road pushed in a trance. The emptiness around offered me such a calming atmosphere in contrast to the tiring task of yesterday. It was nice to walk alone together, you could tag along or fall back, and overtake whenever you felt like it, people would be waiting at the end anyhow. Despite the amazing experience I longed for civilisation. Dutch skies are beautiful but Spanish skies can be accounted to the same category. The rolling hills and the bright sunlight completed the picture. I took some ibuprofen to counter the pain in my heel, but I am sure it was not of any influence in my experience. For the first time I started to make quick sketches of the images in my mind. I feel like they better convey the personal experience, while the flat plans I was drawing earlier were more objective and physical.

After a lunch break in Calzadilla de la Cueza the group left off together. It felt like everybody needed somebody to talk to after the long silent morning. In spite of the group walking together I managed to sneak out and find a moment to myself.

I deviated just a little bit, but I was rewarded with the most beautiful sight I had seen until now. The wind around me, the stinging grass and the colours in front of me. It was simply awe inspiring. In the shabby town of Ledigos we had to leave C2 behind in an equally shabby hostel because he was simply too sick to continue.

In these Camino groups people come and go. Getting too attached to one another is not always worthwhile. With the last wind whizzing through my hair the road to Terradillos de los Templarios opened up a final view upon the beautiful sunlit landscape of today.

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18

Sahagún

It was surprising to see how a town suddenly loses half its population. Pilgrims poured out of the cosy warm hostel into the rainy countryside. The Camino winded itself through the same rolling hills as yesterday, only the weather conditions were different. If you leave out the fiddling around with the rain cover I actually enjoy the cosy feeling the rain gives me. The group stayed together as if everybody was tied to a string. In silence we walked through the rain, focused only on ourselves, our lifeworld not extending beyond the edge of our rain cap, peering in to the distance ahead, the backpack in front or the stones beneath. The wind blew through my hair and my heel pain boiled back to the surface. The Camino passed through some villages that seem to be forgotten by time. The underground houses which were scattered around the edge of the village seemed almost Hobbit-like. It was strange not to have a task scheduled today and I felt that I was moving slower than normal.

I struck me how poor it looked and I was trying to imagine how people were able to live in any comfort here. While pausing I contemplated that having a roof above your head is sometimes everything you seem to need.

The pilgrim contemplates about the simple things he does not have, I almost felt jealous of the people who lived in these barren places. Only later, when I saw a homeless person outside the supermarket in Sahagún I realized that he, not I, was maybe the real wayfaring pilgrim. It made me incredibly sad. This image of the wayfaring medieval pilgrim has long been lost in the increasing commercialisation of the Camino. The almost primeval, medieval style of pilgrimage, like the soon-tobe French priest, who was only carrying the grace of god and living on kindness for seven months, has become something very rare. At the moment I only need a grace for my heel, which had become really painful today.

The entrance to Sahagún, the halfway point of the Camino Francés, looked poor and unimpressive and I was doubting if should end the day here. In the end my main choice for staying in Sahagún was to stay together with the others. Later I realized that this was the necessary stop my heel needed. After reading back an email from S2, who had to stop her Camino because of problems on her meniscus I realised that I should not be too proud of myself and push my body over the limit.

Without this thought I would have felt guilty to stop after only thirteen kilometres.

I feel it is the best choice to make now. Although I realised that there should not be more of these kinds of ‘slow’ days because I want to arrive in Santiago before SaintNicholas-day. That is the only restriction I have put on myself.

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19

Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

To my joy today’s stage would be as short as yesterday, my heel was in dire need of getting some necessary rest. The alternative Camino we had in mind would continue on an old Roman road. As explained in L’s Brierley guidebook this meant deviating from the Camino signs which would lead you along a busy main road. The Brierley guide is a very helpful sometimes as it offers a lot of extra information and alternative routes. Totally different from my Michelin guidebook which excels in its abstraction and simplicity. On leaving Sahagún we came across a bridge that had a prominent role in Martin Sheen’s film ‘The Way‘. L seemed to look after me so I would not lose track of the rest. Before we were able to cross onto the Roman road the alternative Camino wound itself across a highway and some strange neighbourhoods, some of which reminded me of Belgium.

Crossing onto the alternative route meant stepping back into time. The wide unpaved path of the roman road led us through forests, meadows and rolling fields. The massive clouds formed a ridge around the landscape that made me feel insignificant. Eight kilometres of landscapes of nothingness with only the cadence of your shoes stepping into the coarse soil as a companion. The meadows that lay head looked like savannah and I was curious about what secrets the forest would hold. It felt like a reward when I came across an old abandoned house in the middle of the forest, it was a sign of civilisation. The accompanying abandoned swimming pool made the scene look very surreal. This alternative road of today and tomorrow possessed only few places to stop, so it was either stopping after thirteen kilometres or after thirty kilometres. The latter one seemed to be a bit far-fetched so it was decided to stop at thirteen kilometres. The town lay in the middle of nowhere and on first sight did not seem to provide many services or things to do. The stony streets were deserted. The town was notably better kept than any other similar sized town I came across on the Camino. Soon it revealed to be a very welcome town which invited us pilgrims with a rural hospitality.

The hostel, a so-called hospital, turned out to be one of the most pleasant stays until now. The experienced hospitalero, with already many Camino’s behind her, entertained us with her stories. Her hospitality and character really made our stay worthwhile. Her most special story was about the worn-out stairs in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Those stairs were the physical embodiment of the faith of millions of pilgrims, a community connected by the road and the stones. According to her, autumn was the most beautiful season, where the Meseta would enchant solitary walkers like her with beautiful colours and smells. Her struggle to keep the hostel open in spite of the resistance from private hostels and the increasing commerciality of the Camino FrancÊs makes her a dying breed. It is a pity, because these are the people and places that make the Camino as it is. Her quest is to shelter worn-out pilgrims in a warm and cosy place after a day’s walking and contemplating the Spanish landscape. I feel I get pulled into some kind of historic-romantic mood, writing and sitting in front of the crackling fire. For me it is not necessary to go back to a sort of medieval atmospheres to get a grasp of the feeling of being a pilgrim.

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They only thing that counted today was the rain and the wind. The morning start seemed to hold many promises. No matter what the weather conditions were, this stretch of the Roman road would be a tough challenge, physical and mental. It would take eighteen kilometres to reach the next town, in between there would be nothing. A distance of eighteen kilometres without any services was maybe common in Roman times, but in the densely built Europe of the 21st century it looked like an oddity to me. Using any other means of transport eighteen kilometres would be easy but in walking pace it is a wholly different story. It seems that I am getting so used to the fact that I have to walk to get somewhere I can hardly imagine doing it differently.

As said, the rain and wind were the main actors in the play of today. The whole stage was open to play, with the pilgrim as decor piece. The open stage was literally open; there was not a single tree to be found in this empty landscape. The occasional bushes or shrubs on the left side of the path would temporarily relieve the pilgrim from the howling wind and sharp rain. Solitary walking in these conditions strengthens

Reliegos

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the mind. It was far from fun and there were times I wanted to just scream my frustration away. It makes you realize that you can take this kind of test and pass, that you are able to persist the challenges that lie ahead. I did not really take in much of the landscape today, except for the things that happened in between my eyes and the edge of my rain cap. Winding down into what was a small river valley the rain almost seemed to stop, a moment of joy rushed through. Shortly after I saw a carefully fenced off original part of the Roman road lay next to our path, never to be walked on again. Apart from these two cases, I do not think I really missed anything, even if the weather were better.

Together with S5 I decided to stay in Reliegos. I am amazed that these kinds of towns are still able to exist, as many houses and streets seem permanently deserted.

The only people living here seem to be farmers and old people. The wide desolate streets and shabby houses give me the impression of an urban dystopia. In the hostel talked with Japanese guy who was walking from Paris to Finisterre, and a Finnish guy who was walking from Lourdes to Santiago to Fátima. I started to think about my own undertaking and how everybody’s Camino should be unique.

Kilometres should not be the sole aspect of a worthwhile experience. I still have to get used to this view. It will probably develop kilometre by kilometre. Everybody walks their own way.

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21

Léon

It was a long time ago since I started this early. After all the slow starts the last few days it felt good to rise early again. The crisp, sometimes biting, cold kept me awake, even without coffee. The long straight road out of Reliegos offered me a stunning view on the peaks of the Montes de León. A mythical feeling overwhelmed me when the sunlight lit up the white peaks in a pinkish purple colour. It distracted me from the fact that I still had to catch with the guys and had to ask if it was possible to stay in the apartment they rented in León. In Mansilla de las Mulas I bought breakfast and ate it while walking.

The unpleasantly loud and straight road after Mansilla de las Mulas gave me a permanent view on the people in front, but I did not seem to get any closer to them. Out of the whole landscape the only interesting seemed to be the path I was walking on. The messy landscape made my mind messy. I crossed a newly built bridge for pilgrims. I took three towns until I was able to Join R and S5. Walking this whole stretch without stopping was starting to wear me down. The bustle around me and the high pace made it to be a real challenge. Walking into a big city never proved to be pleasant. The walk into León was dominated by shabby suburbs and commercial areas populated by seemingly dreary and bleak looking people. I felt very uncomfortable and I felt I needed to escape to somewhere I had space to breathe. I knew the final reward of today, the historic city centre of León, was just a matter of time. Rewards were rare on this stage. After every hill closing in to the city I expected to get a magnificent view over León, I was disappointed many times. I said goodbye to the Meseta, a last view of the empty land and its endless skies. I had a final moment of calmness before I dove in to the bustling heart of the city. The endless noise of the highway in the background was always within hearing range and city noises began to fill the space.

After the long trek I was happy to stop for a while at the edge of the city to join L

and C2 at what had to be the most unappealing place to have pause. A wee inspiring route into the city followed. L and C2 rented an apartment that could only hold four people. I was the last one joining the group so I opted for the municipal hostel.

Luckily I was not alone, as S4 would stay another night before taking the bus to Astorga. I do not know if I am able to take the bus again. I feel a sense of duty towards my project and I would not accept this freedom. I guess that for some it easier to overcome. By surprise I discovered that I did the wrong task today, instead of materialisation I did signage. So I have to puzzle a bit to reschedule the tasks.

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I had decided to enjoy León for one more day as this was the last big city before Santiago de Compostela. After being kicked out of the hostel I decided to wander through the city. The square in front of the hostel has to be one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. In the yellowish light of the morning the beautiful, but unpractical combination of round rocks and grass almost looked park-like. The desolate streets of an awaking city are a joy to watch. Sitting in front of the cathedral I had the chance to update my notes of drawings of yesterday while early pigeons and sparrows flew around me. Municipal cleaning crews and schoolchildren dominated the early street image. I wanted to give my body some rest and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Léon

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Hospital de Órbigo

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In the early afternoon I joined R, L and C2 to explore the city and pay a visit to the post office. There I mailed a book home as an early Saint-Nicholas gift to my sister.

The lost weight of the book was soon to be adjusted for as I bought a new one just moments later. Keeping close to the Spanish tradition of the siesta we stayed inside the apartment in the late afternoon watching Spanish films. It is fascinating to see how it is possible to understand a Spanish spoken film without knowing the language. Nearing dinnertime R began worry about his place to sleep as we yesterday decided that we would switch places today even though I did not had much trust in this actually happening. Being the person I am, I offered R his place in the apartment. I felt a bit left out, although the rest did not seem to really care about it. R was happy again and offered to buy me tonight’s drinks in return. At the end of the night I felt at peace with the whole situation. I enjoyed myself and felt accepted in the group. The temporary goodbye gave good hope to meet the guys again this Camino.

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Today I set the provisional record for my Camino by walking 32 kilometres. My legs were on fire and my mind was on full efficiency. I had every reason to walk this far.

Léon is a terrible city to get out. Seeing all the people pouring into the city I felt I was the only one trying to leave. Near Virgin del Camino I thought I was out of the city because I felt I and the Camino needed some space to breath. I already ditched the task of today because it felt useless doing it the way I intended. The city stuck to me like a thick layer of glue. The endless area of poor looking neighbourhoods,

endless looking streets and bleak commercial zones made me hope that the grass was greener on the other side. I imagined being in Iain Sinclair-like urban dystopia.

A lady shouting ‘buen camino’ at me cheered me up for a moment. A complete lack of good taste, respect for the environment and maintenance, combined with a desolate and absent street life instilled me with a sense of desperation. I wondered how it could have come this far, apparently half-heartedly city councils and dubious estate developers rule here. In between ruins of only twenty years old the next generation of crappy buildings awaited the same fate. Are we, according to Jared Diamond, the first generation to live among its own ruins?

The Camino could not do much about it; it has been here for centuries. The span of the protected UNESCO zones around the path is very limited and in many cases I wondered if it is still worth to guide a UNESCO protected route through areas like these. As I said earlier the landscape of the Camino is a working landscape, so industrial areas also belong to this landscape. In hindsight I should have chosen the alternative route through the country, because in the end the amount of kilometres happened to be the same. In a mental way the route I took today was very fruitful.

I did not need to concentrate on the landscape around me, I could close myself off from the noise of the cars easier than expected. It was like walking with a space helmet on. The cadence of the walking and the straight path ahead made it possible to deal with, and finish off some personal and academic thoughts that were lingering in my head. The landscape made me want to get out of here as fast possible. I picked up a stone for the Cruz de Ferro. A stone that would later on free me from all my worries. Although a worrying person like me will always find something to worry about, but I keep up my hopes. It seemed that all the towns I came across were in fierce competition about who was the most unattractive, they all looked the same.

As I walked through the carless backstreets of a town an old Spanish man peering out of the window moved me in a way I cannot describe. The decision to do eight more kilometres did not have the same effect as the first twenty-four kilometres.

Although the path was perfect the drive I had before was not there anymore. The fuel for further contemplation was gone. Superficial thoughts filled my head and I started to get annoyed by the crazy driving on the road next to me. Thirty kilometres proved to be my maximum daily limit. A nice Frenchman on a bike invited me to visit eco-friendly hostel, but I was not in the mood for vegetarian food. Hospital de Ă“rbigo turned out to be a pleasant, medieval town. The hostel I ended up seemed a bit primitive at first and I wanted to leave, but the joyful group of pilgrims made me decide to stay. I ate a delightful meal made by a real Italian chef surrounded by the sound of Spanish and Italian chatting.

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Astorga

The day started in a drizzle and the muscle pain from the yesterday was still there. I had the idea that this was going to be an off-day. The foggy landscape did not offer me any joy. The path suddenly got very bumpy with big rocks stuck in the wet mud, which would last for kilometres. I could do nothing more than stoically walking on, twisting and turning through dreary villages. The foggy rain persisted and made me very wet. I was not very fit today and my thoughts were messy. A day like yesterday had put a heavy toll on me. As the muscle pain persisted I knew that two days of thirty kilometres in a row were not going to happen on this Camino. From the fog

a scary looking silhouette appeared. I approached carefully until I discovered that it was an improvised statue. After I rested on the nearby bench and investigated the ingenuity of the statue my mood improved a bit.

I continued walking in the drizzly rain. The bumpy road made my lower legs very tired. My thoughts were as foggy as the weather, there was almost zero visibility.

C3 became a real saviour for me today when she invited me to have a coffee in the roadside shack of pilgrim-friend D. In any other case I would have passed places like this; my spontaneity has its limits. In the shack the atmosphere was cosy and primitive and the hospitality and wisdom of D was remarkable. His living condition, six kilometres from Astorga, reminded me of the movie ‘Into the wild’. I do not know if I would be able to live in a primitive way like this, far away from technology, comfort and people. He told that you should trust the Camino in giving you what you needed; carrying a lot of baggage is just a sign of uncertainty. I discovered during this Camino that I tolerate this more ‘adventurous’ way of life up to a certain point. I like to be close to comfort and people, although I do not necessarily always feel the need to socialize with them. Being alone, surrounded by others is something that fits me better. Having social contacts from time to time is ok, but during this Camino it is also nice to alone sometimes, in the comfort of hot showers and Wi-Fi .

My mood improved drastically after the visit to D. It was just the mental and physical motivation I needed to go on. The bumpy path soon ended, and the muscle pain went away. Walking in company for the last few kilometres made my superficial thoughts of the first part go away. Talking with C3 about primitive living made walking easier and more comfortable. I was excited to reach Astorga. In San Justo de la Vega we passed a pilgrim’s statue that had a remarkable resemblance to Indiana Jones. Traversing the messy entrance into Astorga we passed a lovely stream in between shabby houses and railroads. The long afternoon in Astorga offered me the opportunity to finally book my flight back home, although it was not without a challenge. I also managed to catch up on my diary-writing. I am wondering if I can sleep through the incredibly loud snoring.

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The 400 kilometre milestone is broken. With the first twenty kilometres climbing almost 300 meters, and going up an equal altitude in the last five kilometres, today was a descent climbing stage. While walking today I imagined how the end of my journey would look like. The last days seem to go by faster than I thought. I can even walk a bit further than the stage in my guidebook. I try to smooth out the alternation between long and short stages. With the tough stages that lay ahead I tried to spread my energy.

Leaving Astorga I passed along some Gaudi architecture, I am somehow never impressed by his work. I got out of the town more quickly than I thought. With a high bridge separating the city and the countryside the path continued straight on. The path was good and while I was surrounded by the smells of pine and spruce my thoughts bounced back and forth. A man tries to promote his bae to me, I decline his offer, although I do take a rest in his village. Leaving the town a rumbling noise fills the landscape. The steadily ascending road was not always as exciting, but as I climbed the landscape became rougher and wilder, while the road

Foncebadón

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got worse. In some cases it even reminded me of Belgium. Fog began to roll in and forest grew thicker. I passed along an eerie fence full of wooden crosses, the surroundings looked grim. The typical town of Rabanal del Camino seems to be completely dependent on pilgrims. Closing in on the final destination of today this feeling of alpine trekking overtook me, the fog, wet environment, rough path high pace made it look al so similar. The world became smaller as I walked into the fog, the view decreased. For a moment I imagined being my old sports teacher from high school, powering up the mountain. I could not believe my pace; I believe I was up at Foncebadón in less than an hour. It would probably have taken longer if it was not for Slovenian guy I joined up with after Rabanal del Camino. We talked about what defines the real pilgrim experience, the influence of the pope on the prices of the hostels, stories about travelling, and corruption in Slovenian business.

Foncebadón was covered in fog and looked primitive, pavement in the only street was lacking. I saw a Bavarian flag nailed to a house. I did not see many pilgrims on the road as I was one of the last people to leave the hostel. I can only presume that most of them left the climb up to Foncebadón for tomorrow. Except for my increasing transpiration I was unaware of the high pace. My pace was good anyway today. Walking alone in my own is going very well, I walk many kilometres and I feel good walking on. Walking in a group is nice, but I notice that I try to mirror myself too much too much in the others. With everybody seemingly tied together on a string, with their sights set in the distance makes me a more nervous walker. Making sure that you arrived in the same hostel as the others moves to the background and the only speed gauge you have is yourself. Maybe it also had to do with the way I ate today. Yesterday I ate crappy and walked crappy, while today I ate regular and walked regular. M&M’s proved to be the ultimate food for walking. An observation I made the towns of today was that every town takes a different initiative on how to use the Camino. Most of them do not use the route while others try to make the passing through their village as nice as possible. The hostel of today is warm but empty. Finally I am back on schedule with my tasks and writing. I started in a new notebook. I felt I was making good progress. A hot meal is waiting for me in this lonely village. I hope it is going to be a nice day tomorrow as I deserve a nice view after today’s foggy approach. I already packed my stone.

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Ponferrada

The end of another nice day. After a protein rich dinner yesterday I was fully pumped to go. Without doing anything I was rewarded after only a few hundred metres. The residing fog over Foncebadón and the rising view proved to be a magical combination. It looked like the end of the world and I could only look back on my way up. I was looking forward to Cruz de Ferro, one of the big monuments along the Camino. The American saying ‘never meet your heroes’ was very applicable on the experience that followed. The cross was there, but also a road, parking lot and picnic place. The Cruz de Ferro left me with more questions than I had before. I had fulfilled the ritual, I laid down my stone, but I had felt nothing. Maybe a thing as huge as all a person’s worries could not be compressed into a single stone. You need a whole landscape to let the human spirit breathe out. In one way or another some sort of sensory abundance overwhelmed me.

As in a serene silence the clouds descended over the distant mountain ridges I could not keep my thoughts within my skull, for the first time I truly thought about

nothing. The path dove into the forest. The town of Manjarin did not seem to be more than a few ruined houses. I wanted to go by the loudly talking Portuguese woman, but the path was too narrow. With the sun on my back the path continuous to wind itself in and out of strong smelling pine forests. Occasionally I am greeted by a few stray cows. I had to be careful with my knees and heels while descending into the village of El Acebo de San Miguel down a steep path with many loose rocks.

The landscape got more open and spacious. After the first stop my feet could get a bit of rest on the smooth asphalt that guided me out of town. Once off the main road the path descended steeply into a narrow and rocky gulley. Smelly lavender seemed to sprawling everywhere while the rippling of the water guided me down.

The tough and slippery rocks made the descent a real challenge. Amidst the play of colours of the increasingly woody descent I came across one today’s treasures.

Cruz de Ferro was not near as mythical as the set of mighty oaks I came across just outside Riego de Ambrós. The colours, smells and feels were more intense than at Cruz de Ferro. Never the landscape looked as serene as there, as if the space was reserved for mythical meetings for knights, watching their land and its pilgrims. The solitary oaks stand as fiery beacons on the hills. Here the landscape truly felt like a church, no human hand would be able to create a scene like this, there was even a smell of incense. I wondered if incense is made of plants.

The playful way in which I descended down the mountain surprised me, even though I am already starting to notice the effects this mountain goat-like behaviour has on my knees. I heard birds rustling in the roadside bushes. The smooth, but less beautiful road into Molineseca comforted my physique. I decided to make optimal use of the excellent weather today by continuing to Ponferrada, In the end the only result that this decision yielded was that I do not have cross eight kilometres of creepy houses and shabby estates tomorrow. It did not really matter for the landscape, it would have been a miracle if it was able to top the first twenty kilometres of today. As with many city entrances this one too was not really worth it. In a fast pace I walked through a dull environment of closed shutters and fastdriving cars. The roadside walk ended on a big parking lot, which to my surprise was also the location of my hostel.

Walking is going excellent the last few days. I also enjoy the time I do not spend walking. One thing that I have to get out of my system are the ridiculous Spanish dinner times. I walked all over town but you do not seem to get in anywhere before 19.30, so a microwaved paella had to suffice today. I am curious how my legs are going to hold the coming days. I topped the roof of the Camino today. I hope to find some rest in the flat stages that will follow. I noticed that I tend to walk on further if I do not have to wait for other people as it is not always comfortable to spend a whole afternoon in a hostel. Although I only walk further when I feel good.

I seem to be very fast if I compare myself to others, a thing that I should not do too often. Loose rocks are nice when they fit the landscape, but tomorrow I look forward to the most flat and smooth asphalt.

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Like the Tour de France the Camino too has some stages that serve to connect others. The only difference is that the cyclists can take bus, train or airplane on these particular stages, while the pilgrim only has his only legs to power him forward. All the jumping and sprinting of yesterday put a toll on my legs. Going up and down

27

Villafranca del bierzo

the stairs became a slightly painful experience. I seem to get used to getting out of big cities. At least the Camino twists and turns itself along the somewhat nicer places of the city fringes. A string of small villages, smelling of wood fires, guided me through the countryside, which I begin to enjoy more and more. The foggy narrow road imposed some sort of cosy feeling on me. My shoulders started to hurt a bit. Luckily the most parts of this stage were flat or slightly rolling. I had decided to push today’s task to tomorrow, as I did not feel like photographing yellow arrows the whole day.

As the vineyards reminded me of La Rioja I noticed that if the landscape is not interesting enough I tend completely close myself off from the outside world. I kept digging up things from the past and grinded my thoughts on them until I was back at the start again. Even though that the results of real grinding should be different this is not the case with my mental grinding happening inside my brain.

Some thoughts just do not seem to be able to leave my mind for months or even years. Next to sleeping, walking is one of the primary moments to engage with these thoughts. The tough rocky path made my walking slow and cautious. I need to close some of these thoughts and I feel this is only possible by being open to the people that play a role in these thoughts. To keep a diary like this is already a big step forward for me. To write something down frees up some thoughts, but I still feel that I am hiding or holding things back. To learn how to write a diary is a matter of time. The next step is maybe to be open in person to people in writing or talking. Although I still prefer the first at the moment, that is already big step forward. This probably something for after the Camino. A fresh start and a new approach to openness.

Back to reality. Looking back I see where I was yesterday; up in the hills. The destination of today seemed to be further away than I thought; it certainly was not the eight kilometres that was mentioned on the signs. With a surplus of yellow arrows the Camino wanted to send me on a longer and more beautiful route, but I trusted the validity of my guidebook and took the faster route alongside the provincial road.

I could not wait to arrive at Villafranca del Bierzo, a view that was worthwhile to see again. My knees were longing for some flat surfaces. To make matters worse it started to drizzle just outside Villafranca del Bierzo, this proved to be precursor for what was to come tomorrow. I wandered around town to find a hostel but in the end I climbed back up the hill to the first hostel in town. In the somewhat primitive but cosy hostel with a German speaking landlady I met P again. I enjoyed talking with her and we later went out on our flip-flops to find some chestnuts to roast on the fireplace, lovely! The landlady prepared a nice dinner. I hope that the coming two days will be a bit more easefully. In the light of the condition of my legs I do not see a practical use in knitting those two days together in a stage of 28 kilometres and an altitude change of a thousand metres. The Camino goes by day by day; Santiago is less than 200 kilometres away.

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Like yesterday this stage felt like a connecting stage. Squeezed in between the highway on the right and the river on the left I could make a good pace. The weather prediction was luckily only partly correct. By the time I left most of the rain was gone and in the comfort of my raincoat I did not bother too much about it. Leaving Villafranca del Bierzo I looked back upon the town, nestled at the edge of the valley.

There seems to be a game played between me, cars and water. The sound of the cars and water are always within range. I felt sheltered in between the mountains.

With the sound of cowbells I stopped in Trabadelo, where big stacks of planks were piled along the road. I did not feel like stopping at one of the shabby and badly located rest areas just before the town. Water smudged the lens of my camera.

After the stop the landscape continued in a similar fashion. The game continued in a grey and brown landscape. From every village I could see smoke rising up. While passing under the highway bridge of Vega de Valcarce I was greeted by big barking dogs. The rain stopped and cool air flowed in. I can only hope that the weather gods are merciful tomorrow as I will climb to O Cebreiro. I am a bit wary that it will go along the same scenario as Cruz de Ferro. Tomorrow, after an altitude change of 600 metres, I will come back to that. Maybe it is possible to get a little further out of Castilla y Léon; the region that has been my home for 300 kilometres. The whole day I was looking forward to calling home, updating my family about the progress.

It would be nice to finally talk some Dutch again after spending my time in between English and incomprehensible Spanish. People speak Spanish no matter if you understand or not. Although ‘si’ and ‘gracias’ gets you a long way.

I just wanted to recap on a conversation I had yesterday with P and a girl from Slovakia. It was a nice conversation, but at a certain point I began to feel annoyed by the seemingly hedonistic approach see aspires in her plan for travelling all over the world. Plans that were still a secret to her unknowing for her (multiple) parents. It almost seems that children of divorced parents feel a need to prove themselves and unhinge themselves from the family. Is in the nature of the animal? I am lucky that I do not know that kind of situation. Both of them did not feel the need to directly go to university after graduating. I was annoyed by the fact that the seemed to laugh problems away. I kept quiet about it, but I felt I should have said something about it, or would I then have sounded too civilized? Of course, traveling is good, seeing the world is fine, but a net of knowledge to catch when you are done is always good.

Speaking about studying. I am curious about how all the accumulated data on this Camino will reveal itself to me. I question myself sometimes how this is going to influence my research and design. I sometimes doubt if it is even useful what I am doing here. In a personal sense this undertaking is certainly useful, but in the case of my research everything is still misty. They would have never have approved of me going here if my research was rubbish. This doubting, as always, is to blame on me, as the eternal doubter. I hope that Niek knows to manage a meeting with the professor In Santiago. I am yearning to see some real design interventions and plans along the route. Only the last few days I began noticing how fast everything has been going. 170 kilometres to Santiago is still a big distance, by foot, by bicycle and car. You grow into the Camino experience. Twenty kilometres in one morning, I never knew I would ever be able to state that.

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Today the last big climb of the Camino was scheduled. As the morning began I realized that this would be a short day as I planned to only walk until O Cebreiro.

The early sunlight was amazing in the rising fog. The weather forecast for today, which only predicted rain, could not be more wrong. The quiet paved road passed through several awakening towns which seemed to have no eye for me. The rippling water, at the side of my or deep down in the valley, would accompany me to the top.

Vega de Valcarce

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29

Padornelo

Each town greeted me with the sound of cowbells and the smell of wood fire. The highway bridges in the distant valleys looked like modern cathedrals. With the sun on my back I wondered if these towns actually had more than ten residents.

At the start of the climb I was welcomed with a nasty smell. The ascent had a long preamble, and once the climbing began it hit me like a brick. I started to sweat heavily as I slithered on the wet leaves, mud and rocks. I do not really know what went on in my mind then, but I know that the physical challenge was my primary point of attention. The sound of cows, dogs and workmen guided me to the promised town ahead. After La Faba the path became smoother. As I turned my head around I gazed upon the clouds descending from the colourful hills. Closer to Laguna the path became very muddy and steep; I felt this was the hardest part of today. The path up to O Cebreiro felt like an encore to the previous part. In a steady pace I passed through the Galician border. In the typical town of O Cebreiro I saw many tourists, but only few real pilgrims. Each town on the way up came as a relief.

With the sun warming your back and climbing a ten percent incline it was nice to sit down for a while and fill up on some necessary sugars. In the end the ascent was not as tough as I originally expected. In this Camino it is about the rewards you receive as a pilgrim. If you do the Camino on a non-religious motivation the landscape, next to the comradery with fellow pilgrims, must be one of the primary motivations to walk on and explore the landscape beyond the horizon. Although it depends fully on the fact that you can actually see the horizon.

The second part of the day was completely covered in thick fog. Earlier I wrote that the fog gave me a comforting feeling, but today it felt more frightening. Close to O Cebreiro the fog provided a fairy-tale-like atmosphere to the forest I passed through.

For a moment I stood still in a breath-taking silence. But once the path descended out of the forest I felt lost. The Camino winded itself through quiet, grey villages with many chickens and loud guard dogs. My mood was badly affected. With a sight that only reached up to 25 meters it was always a surprise what awaited around the next corner. The final few kilometres through this grey and wet environment felt longer than expected. I questioned myself how people could live in these damp shacks, in between the mud, smell, and cows. The hostel seemed to belong to the same category, covered in fog and guarded by a big dog. The next hostel was twelve kilometres away. With the pain in my knee walking on was no option. In the end the cosy warmth inside made the hostel somewhat appealing.

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Triacastela

A short day lay ahead as I decided to wait in Triacastela for some the guys I left in LĂŠon, who were only a few hours behind. After a foggy start I found the right pace.

Sounds of animals echo from the valley to the left. The view seemed to open up as the fog became less thick. In the first of the many damp, smelly villages an old lady offered me some pancakes, which I kindly declined. The fog thickened as I descended down the hill. I had spent almost the whole morning walk formulating a telephone call I should make with the Spanish professor Niek suggested me. In the end a babbling Spanish computer voice on the other side the line made me decide that the telephone number was temporary out of order. I was too hesitant to try again. As I know myself I am bad at calling people I do not know I dropped out too soon. Instead I wrote a nice text message, but it did not gave me a good feeling.

At the moment it felt good, I had postponed the problem, but I should try to make

another call tomorrow. Calling seems the leave a better impression than texting. I hope that in the short term, thus tomorrow, everything will turn out right.

In the meantime the path had become stonier. Cowbells and barking were heard in the distance. Every village I passed through seemed to be closed and misleading signage almost sent me in the wrong direction. The landscape of today was the same as yesterday. The only noticeable difference in between the smelly, grey villages was the amount of cows I passed. Many times during me descent my path was blocked by a herd of cows, guarded by a man on a motorcycle. After Passantes the path turned muddy and the air got filled with an acid, manure-like smell. Next to the whole telephoning issue I was also thinking about how I made sure I would meet the guys in Triacastela. The hollow roads into Triacastela reminded me of SouthLimburg. A large, old oak tree guarded the entrance of the town The guys seemed to be further behind me than I thought so I decided to trade my waiting spot on a nearby wall in for a seat at a cafeteria. After some time R came into sight, with L and C2 in his wake. It pleased me that they would stay in Triacastela today. Next to this good news, they would follow the same schedule as me up to Santiago. It would be nice if we share that moment of arrival, especially because the last days went by so quickly.

I think that walking is addictive, as the kilometres go by the backpack becomes lighter and lighter. I wonder what effect this might have when I leave this Camino world. Would walking still give me the same enjoyable feeling, or is the phenomenon of pilgrimage the main instigator? Will the virus of walking prevail? Maybe it is good to keep on walking more regularly, more as a means than a purpose. Walking as the centrepiece of my thesis, to which I can add everything. The linearity and cadence of walking as the guiding principal in my thesis. I think spirituality is more present in the meditative effect of walking than the landscape itself. The landscape is more a decor for this meditative effect, like a monastery is for monks the landscape is for pilgrims. At the moment it is not fully clear to me yet. Later I maybe look at this like nonsense, or it will enlighten me in dark times. Time will tell; I have a whole holiday to take everything in. I heard that the Camino will keep following you, as a mental walk through your head as a clarifying and revelatory element.

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The last week walking on my own had been good, the kilometres melted away beneath my feet. I was glad to join up with the guys and I think they felt the same too. Taking the advice of a German-speaking Spaniard we took the mountainous path to Sarria. The villages dotted in the hilly landscape looked like every village I had come by before; chickens, manure and bright autumn colours. The groupdistraction is welcome and it is sometimes nice to discuss things that are otherwise too deep or distant to talk about with people at home. I talked with L about European politics and the right of self-determination. It somehow resembles the same ease I experienced during my first weeks in Germany last year. On the other hand, the distraction of walking in a group can also be cumbersome sometimes. The talking in the background is not good for my concentration. If there are people talking close by I feel should either join the conversation or keep myself to overhearing their talking. Trying to ignore the conversation is hard for me. Walking in a group was also disastrous for my focus on the environment; it feels like you are being pushed into some kind of peer-pressure. Suddenly every panoramic view becomes

Sarria

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interesting as the whole group stops to gaze. There is nothing for me to do but to join and gaze at it with my own eyes. Should I be taking leadership in this gazing, in the end I am the landscape architect? Maybe the perception of landscape is less forced through the eyes of a layman, or in this case the pilgrim. Do I, the landscape architect, get the full picture of the Camino? Do I miss things because I am too busy being a researching landscape architect?

Maybe a second Camino is necessary? To go on a Camino with no plan, purpose or tasks, to have a completely free mind. Will the experience be different and will there be things I would skip out on? I already exactly know who should join me on that journey. Nevertheless the views felt rewarding after the warm climb. Who would have thought I would be walking around without a vest at the end of November?

Through the hollow roads I descended down to Sarria, the stone walls surrounding the fields looked Celtic. In between these fantasy-like landscapes I slipped on some wet rocks. With its rolling fields, old forests and hollow roads the landscape almost looked like home. The only difference was that the hills were a lot steeper. A moment of recognition and remembrance overwhelmed me; I had to stand still for a while.

Whilst crossing the villages on way to Sarria the simplicity of the farmer’s life invoked my respect. I increased my pace into Sarria. The smell of pine trees next to the busy road calmed me down. Through a messy entrance, full of construction activity, I arrived at my destination; the town were half of the pilgrims start their journey. We came from afar and expectations were high, it would be the last big town in these five days left to Santiago. After a quick tour along all the closed hostels we crawled back to the first open hostel in town. Not that it was a bad choice; you were able to eat until you got sick. I wondered how Sarria would look like in summer. A social load dropped off my shoulders as I received the message that an appointment with the Spanish professor would be waiting for me Santiago de Compostela.

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PortomarĂ­n

For my American friends it was Thanksgiving day today, although it did not mean that they could take a day off. From the hilltop road leading out of Sarria I enjoyed a foggy view over the city. Further along the same road I was delayed by wandering off to a small outdoor market. A train thundered through the otherwise silent valley.

As the sun broke through after leaving the forest I decided to put my sunglasses on for the first time in weeks. The sunglasses have an interesting side-effect in the way the make all lines seem more clear. I could not keep straight as my view was constantly pulled towards the amazing panorama to my side. The landscape started to become friendlier, the smell of manure and rotting leaves filled the air. Sometimes the path changed to sand, which made me put away my walking stick. A bad decision as I quickly developed a nasty pain in my shoulders. Crossing through numerous nameless villages I experienced that Galicia is sometimes indistinguishable from South-Limburg. Replace the slate with marl and the mountains with hills, and the picture is complete.

Getting ever closer to the hundred-kilometre mark I enjoyed myself with the waterplay next to the path. The playful manner in which I used the water to break the routine had a fascinating effect on me. The water element, with its fresh smell, trickling sounds and shoe-wetting, forms a perfect addition to the walking experience. Like we discussed at the kitchen table the Camino is like chain of small rewards, prizes

you pick up along the route, material and immaterial. The sun breaking through the clouds after a long foggy climb sometimes makes the whole preceding exercise worthwhile. After a quick stop I continued my way through this land of stone and weather. Old stones, moss-cladded fences and wet meadows littered the landscape.

The stones walls that guided the Camino today made me feel protected. The wind rushed through the trees and my hair. Flocks of chicken greeted me in almost every village. I finally found out that the strange cabins near every house are used to store food. As the kilometre-markers flew by I came across some voluntary food stalls, ought to help the pilgrim on his way. The Camino has a visible infrastructure (like food stalls) and invisible infrastructure (the (pilgrim) community); both cannot exist without each other. I think that is why not every walking route can be a Camino, certain parts are lacking. Even though a coffin with an old apostle is hard to recreate there are enough symbols at hand which have a timeless meaning to people. You do not have to dig around a lot for that. The mass culture is there, so are the paths and the everlasting landscape. It is a formula, but not a logical one, there seems to be missing a sprinkle of Camino spirit. My quest to design to design a new pilgrimage already seems impossible to accomplish.

Descending into PortomarĂ­n the incline of the hill and the high walking pace made my thighs feel painful. Once down the hill a mighty view unfolded. In a spectrum of fresh colours a large concrete bridge dominated the ruins of a former village below. A winding and confusing route led me to my hostel. In my quest for a design I maybe should focus more on points instead of lines because lines seem tough to define, slippery and never ending. Points are like knots in a thread, complicated at first, but once untwined easy to change and grasp and better suitable for design. The hostel is a point where all different lines come together, where different cultures meet and everybody speaks the different. The amazing effect of language as a binding and splitting element. The energy that people leave behind on the roads is also part of the Camino, like a cake with a million layers.

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After a rainy start the Camino headed uphill into a forest. The wet leaves leave a nice smell and intensified the rain. The landscape is a mix of open spaces and densely forest areas. The dense pine forests are ugly to walk through, but leave a nice and fresh smell. Although the landscape reminded me of the Ardennes and made me think about returning home, I simply could not get it together to look around.

Ignoring one sense empowers another. If you are not moving around, rain seems to be provoke thinking, but if you are on the move everything except rain looks worthwhile. Rain brings my head down, my focus down to the ground, like a mirror to my conscious. The rain filters the sound like a sieve into the barely audible noise of falling droplets. If you stand still for a moment you suddenly hear how quiet rain can be, and how nice it is to thrash your feet onto the wet asphalt afterwards. I threw a rock through the window of an abandoned factory and joined R in a conversation about my research and future.

When going uphill the path changed from rocky to muddy and I had to jump over the many puddles. Just before my first stop the sun breaks through the clouds, but does not manage to keep out the rain. These last few days I started to feel an ever increasing urge to walk on, Santiago de Compostela starts to work like a magnet on me. The walking routine makes you conscious of time and distance, but nearing

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Santiago de Compostela time and distance seem to getting less and less important.

Empty, but friendly looking villages are traversed in an increasing pace. Sometimes the pine forests open up to provide a nice view down the valley. In a silent moment I wondered about what species these strange trees were. Although my legs are starting to hurt more and more I feel I am getting stronger mentally. For a moment I joined an old Irish man, walking at a high pace. After leaving the Irishman the weather improved. Windy roads take me on a quest to find some water, which I was dearly lacking. Without finding water I stopped. The way into Palas del Rei led me through an indifferent looking roadside landscape.

The fact that once I reach Santiago de Compostela my experience will be complete is a thought I have been cherishing the whole journey. Some people take on the Camino like they are managing a company or working within academic confines, with a tight planning, quick pace and only eye for success. Sometimes I feel that I should put aside my normal working habits, to live by what day provides me, like I do on the Camino. How would I endure this routine? Will I be the same person as now? Is there really a pilgrim personality? Maybe, if I read this nonsense back in a few weeks I will realise if I really changed. I can make no prediction. I live in this moment and I do not look further than the day I will be flying back to the Netherlands. This thought absorbs me like a sponge that never dries out, carefully massaging me brain with these recurring thoughts. Every time I need some mental stability I think about this. Crossing into the outskirts of Palas del Rei I notice a great deal of unused infrastructure for pilgrims. As I enter Palas del Rei the sun, after struggling the whole day, manages to finally burst through. The thing that bothered me afterwards was the fact that I spent an hour walking around town looking for familiar faces to find that one hostel that is open.

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ArzĂşa

Today was the last long stage of the Camino. Today Santiago de Compostela would literally be within walking distance. In some way or another today’s 30 kilometres did not feel like 30 kilometres. It took almost seven hours before I arrived, but I felt much shorter. Time and distance seem to get vaguer the more your body and mind get used to the rhythm of walking. Leaving Palas del Rei the Camino dove into the deciduous forests. The path winds itself through quiet villages with loud dogs and chickens, hollow roads cross the fresh smelling forests. I leave trace of pistachio nuts on the small wooded lanes in between the patches of forests. I noticed that even in the least interesting landscapes, aesthetically speaking, my brain is able to produce deep impulses. It is like your brain has more space left to think instead of focussing on what happens around you.

The entrance to Melide seemed old and authentic at first but soon changed into dreary suburban blocks. In the middle of the street crowds and exhaust fumes I tried to look for the others in a pulperia. Unsuccessful in my search I continued walking until I found a quieter spot to take a rest. I walked alone most of the day, although I did meet a lot of pilgrims on my way. Did I really walk this fast? There is a fine balance between speed and the perception of landscape. One part of me wants to walk fast to arrive in time at the destination, but I also do not want to walk too fast. I do not know if there exists such a big difference in the perception of landscape between walking and driving. I am unsure if a difference in speed of just a few kilometres makes such a big difference on the scale of a whole landscape. I

was probably too busy with arriving at ArzĂşa. The second part of the day posed similar landscapes as this morning. A market stall with voluntary donation blocked my path on my way out of Melide. During the climbing, descending, twisting and turning, deciduous forests changed into strong smelling eucalyptus forests. As a real Dutchman I started playing with the water next to path. My knees started to hurt while descending and I nearly got run over by a group of bicyclists. I was confused, but motivated by all the distance markers, who all seem to show a different distance.

I made a call with R because I wanted to avoid the scenario of the past two days at all cost. It involved me wandering around town for two hours before the others arrived. I was probably thinking too much about what other people were doing instead of thinking about what I want to do myself.

My map did not seem to be correct as I approached ArzĂşa; whose entrance was dominated my newly constructed building blocks. In this group I am, as in many cases, not a leader but a follower, a follower that wants to do the right thing and streamlines his thoughts to fit the group. Normally I am always a bit of an outsider when comes to being in a group, but now, on this Camino, I feel that being in some kind of group is very important to be able to be among people. It is hard to think about seeing nobody to which you can relate to like L experienced on the Camino Primitivo. Maybe the social aspect of the Camino is more important for young people than older people, who tend to seek a more solitary undertaking. At least that it what an old, somewhat crazy, Irish man told me yesterday.

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603

I could not take my mind away from the fact that tomorrow would be my final day of walking on the Camino. This realisation struck me as I was writing. This whole undertaking, the rhythm, the routine, tomorrow everything will be for the last time. I took a while before I really discovered this. The incredibly late start meant a relaxing day lay ahead. No stress, no rush, just letting it happen as it comes. It was to be a rehearsal for tomorrow. The landscape was similar to yesterday, friendly and accessible. The highway seemed further away than I thought and the road was much more rolling than I had imagined. I crossed over a highway construction site. On this stage there were not many places to stop and take rest; pilgrim related advertisements dominated the roadside. I thought about my share of the Camino, the project and my personal gains of this experience. Talking about it with others certainly helps. The subject switched from unconscious discoveries to actual revelations.

The fact that I should take a more natural and biological approach to my working rhythm instead of forcing myself to work for a certain amount of hours. Satisfaction about your own results should not be judged quantitatively but should be based on personal, qualitative standards. To respect and being aware of natural rhythms and speeds. I do not know if this will be something that I am going to apply after my Camino, but I will keep it in my unconscious. The project desires a certain structure, but I feel this Camino is giving me a certain kind of freedom to deviate. Everything is far from clear and in some way I am at peace with that thought. A thought that would have kept me awake a month ago, but now calmly puts me to sleep. A little bit of a crowd of pilgrims was created when we joined another group; this is what the Camino would be like in summer. For a long time I talked with R about home, purpose, Dutch dikes and Canadian geography. Nearing O Pedrouzo the Camino

O Pedrouzo

35

winded itself through nice smelling eucalyptus forests. The kilometre-markers are a constant reminder that Santiago is getting closer and closer, almost close to being tangible. My legs began to struggle.

The road into O Pedrouzo was ugly and dangerous. In my head I am imagining how my arrival in Santiago de Compostela will look like. The landscape of today was not very interesting, but it managed to instil some fruitful thoughts in my mind. There is a part of my head that seeks for a prediction of this experience, while the other part tries to keep clear of that thought. It should be a day like any other, except for the fact that it not a random destination; it was the final destination. I do not have any expectations, I know how everything looks there and that there is scaffolding all over the cathedral, but I try blocking everything else. There is a small fear for disappointment in this train of thoughts and I try to avoid a scenario like Cruz de Ferro. I know this will be a tough challenge. Although the season is on my side, there will be no massive march of pilgrims on my way to Santiago de Compostela. That will certainly contribute to the experience.

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Santiago de Compostela

Finally I have reached the final destination of my journey. I write this three days after I arrived in Santiago de Compostela because I felt the whole experience needed to sink in for a moment. The experience was too fresh and I had trouble taking everything in. Anyway, let’s starts with the beginning of the day. To watch the sunrise at Monte de Gozo we had to get up in the early darkness. I had let myself go along with the group; it seemed like an interesting experience to walk in the dark.

Even before the birds started whistling and the first people were leaving for work our group left in silence. The silence was almost tangible and it felt like I could walk everywhere I wanted. The darkness strengthened the group feeling, the lack of light made everybody more dependent on each other. It was nice to walk in the darkness as a blind pilgrim, although I had to put on my headlamp when the forest grew a bit too dark. Taking away the visual component makes you able to focus on many other things around you. Maybe I had an ever richer and more fulfilling experience of the landscape without the visual component. The environment was filled with the sounds of an awakening world and the stepping of feet. Slowly the world started to lighten up and contours became visible. Lights became brighter and sounds became louder as we approached the city uphill.

The hills behind Monte de Gozo (the fact that a sunset over Santiago de Compostela was impossible was already soon confirmed by R) were the scene for a fiery sunset. The play of colours that unfolded was beautiful, but the sight on Santiago de Compostela was somewhat disappointing. Messy planting and a strange looking holiday park atmosphere obscured the romantic image I had of pilgrims bursting into tears at seeing the spires of the cathedral. The whole area seemed a bit rundown. A bit further the view was better. It was a sign of relief; a collective feeling arose in the group. I felt that today’s experience was more of a group experience rather than an individual one. There was not much talking, but there was an invisible tension that tied us all together. Realizing that Santiago de Compostela was still an hour away we went on a search to get some breakfast. A decent American breakfast followed. In comparison to other approaches to big cities the road into Santiago de Compostela seemed more exploratory. The suburbs looked shabby and all the Camino monuments were aged. The traffic lights hindered our progress. In between

the buildings and narrow streets I lost the cathedral out of sight.

Once I arrived at the cathedral everything happened really fast, too fast, too much in a hurry. Almost immediately tourists wanted to take a picture with real pilgrims. Did I degrade to a mere tourist attraction, as an example for a centuries old tradition? I felt a bit uncomfortable. I had the same feeling when performing all the traditional actions a pilgrim should do. It all felt a bit unreal, tourist-like. Maybe my mind was still programmed to walk and moving around, and maybe the transition to a stationary setting was too abrupt. It felt strange. Moreover, I had trouble accepting those who also participated in all the pilgrim actions in the cathedral without even walking a metre on the Camino. The real world and the world of the Camino touched in the cathedral. Recognition for the pilgrim’s performance was everywhere, but I could not shake the chocking touristic atmosphere of the place. Pilgrimage distilled into a nice city-trip to Santiago de Compostela. My experience was far from that, this was not my world. I collected the necessary documents from the Pilgrims Office, where to my surprise I was helped by a Dutch lady. The pilgrims are easily spotted in the streets of Santiago de Compostela. The heavy shoes and decent outdoor clothing was the opposite of the fashionable citizens of Santiago de Compostela.

Other pilgrims were soon found and congratulations and hugs were exchanged.

This community of pilgrims took over every place they went. A cheerful group of singing, somewhat (sleep) drunk pilgrims filled that space of a small cafe in the centre of Santiago de Compostela.

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The second day in Santiago de Compostela started with a headache, not only me, but also the guys spent a good night out in the city centre. Their walk to Finisterre had been postponed to the afternoon and was later set to the next day. They would travel by bus to Finisterre. It was nice to spend another day in Santiago de Compostela with the group. The free afternoon gave me the opportunity to explore the city while the others re-gained some lost sleeping time. While I was on the look for some interesting places and souvenirs I noticed how commercial the Camino has become. The city of Santiago de Compostela likes to make use of her image as a city of pilgrimage to attract non-pilgrims. Shop-owners take full advantage to sell their goods to pilgrims as well as non-pilgrims. I always find it hard to find good souvenirs as I dislike the commercial character of all the items. They all look the same, and in my sight do not seem to hold any special value to me. Not thinking about this I managed to find some small and handy commemorations to my Camino for my family. For them it would probably have a greater value.

The two pilgrim’s museums offered me a lot of information I already knew.

Nevertheless, models and maps always seem to attract me, including a special copy made by a Japanese artist, which I, according to Niek, should take a look at when I had the opportunity. It was certainly an interesting source of information.

A remarkable piece was a computer game in which you walk through medieval Santiago de Compostela as if you were a pilgrim. Pilgrimage moves to the digital realm, although I would prefer having sore feet over RSI. In the meantime I managed to set a time for the meeting with Manuel tomorrow; it would take place in a nearby bar. This short day ended with American burgers and an American movie. I was a good experience as all the Spanish of the last weeks did became a bit overwhelming to me; in volume and incomprehensibility. While I was out in the

Santiago de Compostela

37

city I made use of the services of the so-called Pilgrim House, an institution that provides, for a small fee, some primary services to pilgrims. Although the shell did not provide godly protection anymore it was good to see that a full book of stamps and a good mood could open many doors. Having the pilgrim status was nice and luckily I could enjoy it for one more day.

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Santiago de Compostela

Today I said a final goodbye to the guys. At breakfast we realized that we were never going to see each other again. Saying goodbye to people you had come to know so well was something nobody had been thinking about. The goodbye was short but good, real guys do not cry. Before my meeting with Manuel I decided to pay a visit to the site of the so-called ‘Ciudad de Cultura’, design that was mentioned in a course I did last year. I still do not know if I like it or not. The use of materials was beautiful when I saw the detailing and the textures. However the unfinished state of the whole site made me sad. Would this be another project with great promises that would go down in the books as a failure, an eternal construction site? Its whole appearance made me think about Italian fascist architecture. It felt chilly, confronting and failed.

The lack of trees only strengthened this feeling. I left the site with mixed feelings.

The meeting of today went well. Manuel and his colleague were very nice guys.

The main goal in their strategic plans researched how far influence of the Camino reached into the landscape. These broadly set up plans could be a value source of information for my thesis. Another interesting research discussed the ‘child gaze’ of the landscape. The un-depraved view of a child resulted in beautiful visual images that only a child could make. A thing I noticed during the conversation, and what was also said by Niek, that ,compared to the Netherlands, they still had a long way to go in Spain. Nevertheless I saw his passion and love for the landscape, and his dream about walking the Camino. The three of us exchanged our experiences, on academic and personal levels. Manuel even proposed to me to drive me all the way to Finisterre that same night. I kindly declined his offer. Even if it is still uncertain if I am going to use their information and maps I feel that it was a good thing to do. Shaking somebody’s hand conveys more than ten emails. While taking a final evening stroll through the city there was a moment that got me the accomplishing feeling I missed in the hectic arrival. A final view upon the mighty facade of the cathedral in the damp dusk made everything fall into place. The feeling that it was over. This goal and process of reaching Santiago de Compostela made me feel melancholic, it almost made me cry. I knew that this special time would end soon, but I left the square with a proud and an accomplished feeling.

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Margraten

This is the final diary entry of this Camino. Who had thought that, almost a 100 pages of written text and almost the same amount in scribbly notes. A rich source of information, but is it also useful for my thesis? It still has to sink in. I do not know

if I am able to keep writing a diary in the future. If so then I would opt for smaller size than here, maybe more in short quotes than big slabs of texts. Sometimes I had trouble to keep my diary up to date, and I did not always had the energy to write, but this diary will be vital for my thesis. It is a way to relive my Camino. Seen from this point of view this diary is maybe more comprehensive than the 2000 pictures I took. I did not dare to read everything back yet. I hope that this writing will enlighten me in dark moments and that it will help me in my process. In any case it will be beautiful personal memory to an unforgettable experience. Is there a future for a next Camino? I did not reach Finisterre, but that will be a goal for another time.

The distance I covered today bridges a walk of three months, a number that dazzles the mind and makes my feet feel painful. The 650 kilometres I walked can be done in six hours by car and train, and by airplane in less than an hour. Distance seems so out of context if you are used to move at walking speeds, like man has been doing for thousands of years. The pilgrim of today has all means of transport available to him for a smooth return, but the medieval pilgrim still had to face a perilous return.

These distances set you thinking. I do not know if I will be walking more in the nearby future, but what I do know is that the concept of walking has embedded itself more strongly in my mind-set. How will I be able to reset my mind to new speeds? In any case I am happy to see my family again and I hope they feel the same about seeing me again. As for me, it was an interesting time for them too. The start of my Camino, the jump into the unknown made me feel somewhat sad, but during the way the Camino community made my worries about going home disappear.

Suddenly I realized that it was not a bad thing to stay a bit longer in Spain. Probably I will relive my Camino many times, rewinding, fast forwarding and pausing. My feet did anything but pausing, my thanks are to them.

APPENDIX 3 IMAGE SOURCES (figures and images made by the author are not listed)

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20080409-091 Hospital da Condesa Iglesia de San Xoán [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11021151

p.5-6

Fig. 5.1 11

fig. 1.3

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fig. 5.1 12

Registro de la Oficina de Acogida de Peregrinos. (no date). Peregrinos en los ultimos anos [table].

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p.74-75

fig. 3.6

fig. 5.2 6

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fig. 5.1 1

fig. 6.1

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2

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fig. 5.1 3

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Julian romero Bueno (Photographer). (2008, July 28). monasterio de san juan de ortega. camino de Santiago [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/12603271

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fig. 5.1 5

4

José Carminatti (Photographer). (2013, May 26).

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JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Lorca-Villatuerta [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio. com/photo/108595152

fig. 5.1 9 P.Tiago (Photographer). (2008, May 15). Villafranca del Bierzo - Chiesa romanica di Santiago [digital image].

p.87-88 5 Google Streetview (photographer). (2009, Au-

gust). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.nl/maps/@42.6663729,1 . 9 6 0 9 7 9 8 , 3 a , 7 5 y, 1 5 0 . 7 2 h , 7 5 . 0 5 t / d a ta=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srkx2KVY0uYQ7FWEvj-NQ 3g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 p.91 fig. 6.3 Pilger.BerndHubert (Photographer). (2013, August 30). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http:// www.panoramio.com/photo/104928239?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com p.96 1 José Carminatti (Photographer). (2013, May 20).

JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Ventosa-Nájera - Elevado [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/93047172 2 José Carminatti (Photographer). (2014, May 1).

JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Ventosa-Nájera [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio. com/photo/108399475?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com 3 Google Streetview (photographer). (2009, August). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.nl/maps/@42.4114689,2 . 6 6 3 5 3 7 7 , 3 a , 7 5 y, 2 9 3 . 4 6 h , 8 3 . 4 t / d a ta=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqSH0_MxcfHSfmZ01qTudxw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

p.116 3 Pilger.BerndHubert (Photographer). (2013, October 9). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/106281721?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google. com 4 Pilger.BerndHubert (Photographer). (2013, October 9). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/106282571?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google. com p.117-118 5 Pilger.BerndHubert (Photographer). (2013, October 9). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/106281765?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google. com p.121 fig. 6.6 viajesarambol.com (Photographer) (No date). Construcción de tapial y adobe [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.viajesarambol.com/quienes-somos/receptivos-leon-y-palencia/p1010114/ fig. 6.7

p.97-98

Font Mezquita, F., & Hidalgo Chulio, P. (2009).

Arquitecturas de tapia. Ed. Collegi d’arquitectes de Catalunya

4

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1

p.101 fig. 6.4 twosmallpotatoes.com (Photographer). (2015, April 6). Travis, impervious to the cold, waits at the beginning of the loop trail around the castle. [digital image]. Retrieved from http://twosmallpotatoes.com/day-3castillo-de-monjardin-spain/ p.106 1 José Carminatti (Photographer). (2013, May 25).

JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Hontanas-Castrojeriz - Paisagem [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www. panoramio.com/photo/93884569?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com p.105-106 4 CRONOS S.C. (2014). Plan Especial de Protección del Conjunto Histórico del Camino de Santiago en Hontanas (Burgos). Retrieved from http://www.hontanas.es/ sites/www.hontanas.es/files/documentos/08catalogoarqueologicopepchhontanas.pdf

José Carminatti (Photographer). (2014, May 9).

JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Lédigos [digital image].

Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/ photo/108475570?source=wapi&referrer=kh. google.com 2 Pilger.BerndHubert (Photographer). (2013, October 9). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/106282571?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google. com p.127-128 4 Google Streetview (photographer). (2014, August). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.nl/maps/@42.3483016,4 . 8 6 0 5 3 0 7 , 3 a , 9 0 y, 1 3 6 . 8 2 h , 8 3 . 8 5 t / d a ta=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syU0vR3QAqKAFXcEubFmJxg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 p.131 fig. 6.8 jacinta lluch valeron (photographer). (2014, May 31). Soportales de la calle Corredera ...... Ampudia (Palencia) [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/70626035@

N00/14381197130

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fig. 6.9

1

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gusuguito.com (Photographer). (No date). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://gusuguito. com/camino-de-santiago-frances/etapa-30-arzua-o-pedrouzo/

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gusuguito.com (Photographer). (No date). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://gusuguito. com/camino-de-santiago-frances/etapa-30-arzua-o-pedrouzo/

1 Google Streetview (photographer). (2012, June). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.nl/maps/@42.5283674,5 . 7 5 1 2 6 8 4 , 3 a , 7 5 y, 2 2 3 . 6 7 h , 7 8 . 7 7 t / d a ta=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s6Ho9T5oGI_sK5U-iDQ6lig!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 p.139-140 3 Google Streetview (photographer). (2012, June). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.nl/maps/@42.5217774,5 . 7 6 0 6 8 7 2 , 3 a , 7 5 y, 2 3 0 . 6 4 h , 8 0 . 3 5 t / d a ta=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFBcEOatiE-082Fs9a6ogFw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 p.141 fig. 6.10 valladolidenbici.files.wordpress.com (Photographer). (2008, May). Piedras y palomares en la Tierra de Campos [digital image]. Retrieved from https:// valladolidenbici.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/ dscn2443.jpg fig. 6.11 CFIE de Palencia (2004). Introduccion a los palomares de Palencia. Campus Virtual – Junta de Castilla y Leon p.146 2 gusuguito.com (Photographer). (No date). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://gusuguito. com/camino-de-santiago-frances/etapa-22-foncebadon-ponferrada/ p.156 1 Ricardo Adame Trevijano (Photographer). (2006, July 9). Portomarín [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4614818 p.161 fig. 6.13 José Carminatti (Photographer). (2013, June 6).

JC® - Caminho de Santiago - Portomarin - Rio Miño [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/92681125?source=wapi&referrer=kh.google.com

3

4 David Peloquin (Photographer). (2013, July 21).

Plantations d‘eucalyptes le long de la Route de la Compostele [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.panoramio.com/photo/92072676 p.167-168 5 gusuguito.com (Photographer). (No date). No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http://gusuguito. com/camino-de-santiago-frances/etapa-30-arzua-o-pedrouzo/ p.171 fig. 6.14 Manuel (Photographer). (2012, April 12) No title [digital image]. Retrieved from http:// l a t o r t u g av i a j e r a . e s / w p - c o n t e n t / u p l o a ds/2012/04/2012-04-19+13.09.38.jpg

In a time where the European religious landscape is becoming ever more plural, pilgrimage is becoming an increasingly popular way to express religion and spirituality on an individual level. Through an immersive exploration of the Camino de Santiago this thesis proposes a set of landscape architectural designs that both facilitate 21st century‘s new plural spirituality and illustrates the pilgrim‘s progress through the experience- and landscape of pilgrimage.