Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge) in Zamora, Spain
Ahhh! Zamora. Before I started on my pilgrimage and learned about the villages, towns, and cities that I may touch with my feet, I did not know much about Zamora. I probably overheard the name in passing or in a movie.
What is Zamora? It is another city that sounds like a comforting spot on which to land on my journey to Santiago. And I am well on my way. To date, I have walked almost 1,000 kilometers from Almeria in southern Spain first on camino Mozárabe, now on the Silver Route or camino Via de la Plata.
The Castle and Cathedral
The town of Zamora in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon has an extremely well-preserved old quarter with an important Romanesque styling in its city walls, palaces, and churches.
It stands on the banks of the Duero river and in the heart of camino Via de la Plata.
I crossed over the Duero River on the Puente de Piedra (Stone Bridge) into the old medieval city. It was known as a well fortified city because it had three defensive rings or walls and three gates. Only one ring survives.
The fortress Castle and the Cathedral (built 1174) stand above the city.
The tower and the Byzantine-style cantilevered dome of the Cathedral of Zamora are its most distinctive features.
This then, was my introduction to Zamora as I walked over the bridge and climbed up the maze of streets to find the Plaza Mayor or square.
I am no superwoman
Walking the camino trail has been hard on me, but I feel happy and hopeful. I have experienced many things. One is the pain of my slowly recovering blistered feet. Ministering to them takes a lot of my psychic energy. I do not want my “sole” problem to take me off my pilgrimage and send me home. I don’t complain and I am not a superwoman. I am just grateful to walk in spite of the pain and the long daily distances.
My pilgrimage toward Santiago de Compostela has been a test of my strength as a woman and human being. Also, as I travel these roads, I am the only black woman in circumstances where I am relying on people to help me through the days and nights in a strange land. My albergue and hostel hosts and fellow pilgrims have been very welcoming. Some of them initiate conversations on all kinds of subjects as I mentioned in previous posts. I have not turned away from any conversation, however provocative.
I want to learn too… about what people have on their minds, what they have to say and how they have to say it. I am a student of the world as I like to say. My brain and my heart are full.
A walk so long
When things get rough for me on the trail I think about how I wanted to do the camino. I picked a very long one filled with a few logistic difficulties. I do not speak the language – Spanish – at all. Of course, I know a few words. The important ones are gracias (thank you), por favor (please), and wifi (Wi-Fi). I know a few more but I use these the most! I hope that I haven’t insulted any of my fellow pilgrims or others on the trail with my meager language skills.
I went against conventional wisdom that admonished that I should not make this pilgrimage route, camino Mozarabe, my first one. Well, I am doing only this one camino so I thought I would do the longest one and never long for another. Already, most everyone I meet tell me that I will miss the camino and long to return.
The terrain might be a little tough for someone my age. As an older peregrina, I was admonished that the terrain may be hard on my body and feet. My feet are taking a licking, but I am still kicking every morning. I take responsibility for the things, good or bad, that happened to me… so far.
It was my choice to make this pilgrimage to Santiago and endure the pain, the feelings of discomfort, deprivation, disappointment, feelings of loneliness and rejection. I want and accept the sweetness and bitterness of my experience here on the trail. That is what I came for – to grow my ability to survive the injuries to my soul and turn the experience into the healing that I need.
Tastes sweet but it stings
A sting from a bee causes pain. I try to avoid them. In my life, I have been stung by bees, wasps, a tick, and more mosquitos than I care to count. There is nowhere to run on the trail. Add to my poor feet, the pain from past and recent emotional stings intensify when the going gets tough. On a sharp rock bed, a mountainous incline, pouring rain or hot sun, I keep going because I must.
Silently, I cry… sometimes for my mother. That’s my heart leading me there but she is no longer here for me to call. I soothe my mind by reminding myself that I am fulfilling one more deferred dream. I comfort and assure myself that what I am doing today confirms my dignity.
And I taste the sweetness of life as it stings me.
A new friend reappears
The sweetness and the sting
After I made my way over the bridge toward my small hostel in the old quarter, I heard someone calling my name. No one knows me here, so I put it out of my mind. I continued looking for the hostel. Again, my name was called. This time I looked around the square and recognized my pilgrim friend from Finland. She was the lone peregrina I met and talked with in Merida.
She had a big smile on her face as did I. We hugged and greeted each other and she introduced me to her companion, a camino pilgrim from France. I hugged him, too. We all need that on the camino. They were looking for a cafe or restaurant to have dinner. I still had to find my hostel, register, put down my backpack and stick. Then I too, could find something to eat.
My friends and I parted vowing to catch up before we left the city or on the camino trail. It felt good seeing them. That is the flow of the camino that I like and sometimes don’t.
Since it was late, I went to a market up the hill from the hostel. I bought a few things to make dinner in my room. Too soon, it was time for sleep…
… and wake up.
It is morning again and I am back on the camino getting closer to Santiago de Compostela.
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Baadaye and Buen Camino
Shirley J ❤️
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This and several posts this summer will chronicle my pilgrimage in Spain where I am walking the 1400 kilometer-long camino Mozárabe, now on the Via de la Plata, northward to Santiago de Compostela. Read my announcement here.
My YouTube channel – Noire Pilgrim By Shirley J – features mini videos, snippets, and shorts from my pilgrimage on the camino.
