Camino Day 3: Tui to Redondela

First day in SPAIN!

Stats: Tui to Rendondela (29 K, 18 miles)

Start: Tui

Destination: Rendondela

Description: From the cathedral of Tui the camino descends to the valley of the River Louro which is followed to Porrino (a small industrial town that is famous for its pink granite); sometimes in damp stretches and eventually for 7k alongside a vast industrial estate and the outskirts of Porrino. For 3k the route follows the N550, a major express way, and then, at Mos, takes minor roads and a few tracks through well wooded countryside until the descent into Redondela by the Ria De Vigo.

Simple Question: "When you are walking around, how do you find your way?" A very practical country, Spain is a very large country, and even large since I do not speak Spanish! The answer is also very simple. Since pilgrims have been walking these routes for over a thousand years, they have passed on to us a system of "way-markers" so that those who come after them do not get lost. In the picture above we see two examples of these way-markers. The one in front is a modern way marker, with the distinctive yellow shell, and the one further back in a very old medieval example.

This simple response can actually be an analogy for Tradition. Again, the Second Vatican Council taught that the whole Church is a pilgrim Church. We are all on the heavenly pilgrimage. It can be very easy to get lost on the way - so our ancestors in the faith have handed on "way-markers" which we call Tradition. This could be the handing on of the Holy Bible itself, the example of their lives, the Truth communicated during the liturgy, their theological reflection. These are the way-markers of the Christian life that lead us toward heaven.

Saint James de Compostela...

...Pray for us!