[Gocamino] [saintjames] Wow.. i'm so happy

[Blaroli@aol.com]

Hi Nirvana,
I was thoroughly fascinated by the Via de la Plata.  While it is true that 
the distances between villages is longer,  it is also true that it is nowhere 
nearly as commercialized  and ritualized as the Camino Frances.
There are wonders to behold in the Via de la Plata which must be the best 
kept secrets anywhere.  The city of Merida merits (honoring its name, since it 
was built by Augustus Caesar for his meritorious retired soldiers)  a whole trip 
to Europe by itself, and the Camino related churches and monasteries take 
one's breath away, as though the magnificent Roman Theater and circus, and the 
Moorish citadel were not enough!
The city of Zamora, which consists mostly of a pedestrian street, about one 
mile long, contains within itself 14  (fourteen) medieval churches built in the 
eleventh and twelfth centuries.  Furthermore, all the churches are opened all 
day to visitors  and they are attended by a caretaker-guide employed by the 
city so that the churches may be opened.  Ine if the oldest, and most memorable 
is the chucrch dedicated to Santiago, right on  the main street. It has a 
particularly warm place in my heart because on one side of ther altar there is a 
mosaic, five or six hundred years old, that depicts Mary as a baby being 
bathed by her aunts while her mother  looks on from her confinement bed.  Whille 
the Cathedral and castle are imposing, all the medieval churches are small and 
mostly Romanic.
Then there is Salamanca; I've become convinced that one shouldn't die without 
having been in Salamanca at least once.  (I've just returned from Vienna, and 
feel pretty much the same about such incredible, i nteresting and beautiful  
city).  For a Santiago pilgrim Salamanca is a treasure trove.
And on, and on, and on.
Towards the end of the Via de la Plata one can go through Astorga and join 
the Camino Frances therefrom. The alternate route, while a few kilometers 
longer, is much, much more beautiful and captivating. The last stage from lovely  
Ourense to Santiago is stunning.

Regards,
Rosina