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Camino Portugués de La Costa

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Camino Portugués de La Costa -- Variante Espiritual Overview Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela Our Destination A UNESCO World-Heritage Site, click here for a brief history. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/347 Map of our Route We have chosen to follow the Spiritual Variant of the Costal Route, which includes a boat ride up the Arousa estuary and Ulla river, recreating the route along which Catholic tradition holds the remains of Saint James were taken following his martyrdom in Judea in the year 44 A.D.. Rediscovered early in the 9th century, a chapel was constructed over the remains, which was transformed over the centuries into the cathedral pictured above, center of the pilgrimage site of Santiago De Compostela. The Camino Portugués de la Costa begins in Porto, Portugal running nearly straight northward, along the Atlantic Coast and crossing the Spanish border at Caminha. Now into Spain, it continues along the coast through A Guarda to Baiona, where it turns to the northeast, paralle
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June 10-11 — Preparation for the Camino

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The group arrived in Galicia on June 10, allowing us two days to prepare for our first day on the Camino Portugués de la Costa on June 12.  Coincidentally, that is precisely the same date on which we began our journey on the Camino Sanabres in 2015. We enjoyed the stunning scenery and grand service at the Hotel Talaso Atlántico in Oia. The crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean were something to behold. On June 11, we moved on to the Parador de Baiona, our starting point, and the site of some historical interest, as well as being afforded spectacular views of the Ria de Vigo (Vigo Estuary) as it empties into the Atlantic. The history of the fort on which the Parador is sited dates back to the 11th century, but Baiona’s greatest fame comes from its being the location where Christopher Columbus’s ship, Pinta, made landfall on its return from his first voyage to the Americas. A replica of the Pinta is currently undergoing repairs, but we were fortunate enough to witness it performing a sea
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June 12 — Day 1 on the Camino (From Virgins to Vehicles)

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  Leaving our luxurious accommodations at the Parador de Baiona, we descended into the narrow streets of the town, making a slight detour to view a site of religiohistorical interest. The Capilla de Santa Liberata marked a somber start to our Camino experience. Legend has it that the wife of Lucio Catelo (Lucius Catellus,) prefect of Roman Galicia, bore 9 female offspring in a single birth. Concerned that such an extraordinary number might suggest that he was not the sole father, Catelo ordered their deaths. The midwife was to carry out their murders, but her conscience would not allow her to do so and, instead, parceled them out to various Christian families in the area, who raised them to adulthood. Their existence was made known during the extreme persecution of Christians by Roman officials in the 2nd Century, at which time, their physical similarity to each other and to their mother left Catelo with no doubt as to their true identity, and promptly ordered them beheaded, along with
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