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<P>"It has been mentioned that the walking staff is an essential component. Is it ceremonial and emblematic or, in fact, useful? I have done a fair amount of walking in my day, and never seemed to need a staff"<BR><BR>From my perspective, a staff is all of the above. A staff is certainly useful. When carrying a heavy pack, it is good for balance, it makes a walk easier on the knees and back when ascending or especially descending steep slopes, and it is a good thing to point and shake in a warning to dogs nipping at your heels. It is, of course, also emblematic of the pilgrimage, though few pilgrims today also carry the gourd hanging from the staff.</P>
<P>As for types, there is a bewildering variety available. For North Americans, a collapsable staff that can be fitted into checked luggage is probably the best, perhaps the only, alternative to bring from home in this day of hyper-"security" at airports. REI, Mountain Equipment and similar outdoor stores have lots of choices available. Good, sturdy basic wooden sticks and also nicely carved ones are readily available along the Camino, but they might be difficult to transport home. In the old days one could carry them on planes as cabin baggage, but what with plastic silverware with airline meals, I doubt it would be allowed now.</P>
<P>If I can find a way to get it home, the next time I have a walking trip in Europe, I want to get a bourdon from: </P>
<P class=MsoPlainText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt"><A href="http://www.nautile.net/bourdon/">Le bourdon du pelerin</A></SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is a wonderful set of pages by the artisan Charles-Henri Ravanne about the history and manufacture of walking sticks and their relationship to the pilgrimage. Mr. Ravanne manufactures walking sticks from fine woods and will deliver on order from his shop in </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><st1:City><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">Bellocq</SPAN></st1:City><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE:!
12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">, </SPAN><st1:country-region><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">France</SPAN></st1:country-region></st1:place><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">. North American pilgrims be advised, however, that the bourdon might be considered a weapon if one tried to carry it on an airplane! (</SPAN><st1:date Month="1" Day="29" Year="2003"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">29-1-03</SPAN></st1:date><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Mincho'; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">)<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>!
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<P>Even if you do not intend to buy the staff, the web pages at that site are amusing, informative and worth looking at.<BR><BR></P></DIV>
<DIV>E. O. Pederson</DIV>
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<DIV>Seattle, WA</DIV>
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