Camino de Santiago
Sahagun {Sah-ha-goon} was our destination. Once again we were treated to some beautiful sunrises on our hike.
A few miles in, we started to see more of these Hobbit type houses/holes. They are actually Bodega’s, and mainly used for wine storage and aging, although some people live in them, or there is the occasional cafe located inside one.
About 3 miles out we stopped in San Nicholas del Camino, a town sporting one church and one cafe. The owner would carve up a fresh ham sandwich (called bocadillo’s) while you waited (and watched. The 4 of us then had a lengthy conversation about how you “cure” a meat… will have to google that further)
Sahagun is the halfway point! There’s a medieval bridge with a hermitage
just a few feet before these two statues on the trail signifying the halfway point between St jean Pied de Port in France (where we started on 9/12/24) and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. A pretty cool moment, and everyone stopped to get their picture taken.
Sahagun had many murals on the Camino as you approach the center of town.
Once we checked into our apartment, we had lunch and headed over to Iglesia Senora de Peregrina on the edge of town. A convent founded in the 1500’s, it fell out of use and only recently was refurbished . As you entered, the docent wrote out a “half way certificate” for you (3 Euros) which looks great. Terry said if I buy the mailing tube, he would carry it. Deal.
The church was cool,
but two items stood out to me:
When refurbishing the church in 2011 they found this mummy buried behind the altar! How cool is that? Further research determined it was a noble from the 1500’s!
The Mudejar (Moo-deh-yar) style of architecture found in the church. Recall, the Muslims (Moors) lived in Spain for about 800 years. As Spain gained control of the peninsula, many moors decided to stay, and were part of society… and treated fairly… mostly… for a time. Anyway, they kept their Arab style of architecture and craftsmanship, and were often asked to helped build and decorate churches. This Mudejar plasterwork was awesome, and made you yearn to see it in its prime covering the full wall.
We had our dinner outside
And on the way back we were treated to a great sunset!!
Drew tried helping Terry take a picture of the sunset, but this was the result:
