Camino de Santiago Links May 2007

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This video was made by a fellow pilgrim, sharfrantan, whom we never met, but who did a wonderful job capturing the feeling of the Camino.

Links to History and Description of the Camino de Santiago

Wikipedia This is a good overall webpage on the history of the Camino. This site also has further links. Routes We took the traditional route, "The French Way" (Camino Francés), but there are others. We met pilgrims who walked even further, and joined up with the Camino. In particular, we met two German men in their late 60s who had walked 1500 miles from Augsburg, Germany! Codex Calixtinus This Wikipedia site describes the 12th century illuminated manuscript formerly attributed to Pope Callixtus II. The codex is alternatively known as the Liber Sancti Jacobi, or the Book of Saint James. The collection includes sermons, reports of miracles and liturgical texts associated with Saint James. In it are also found descriptions of the route, works of art to be seen along the way, and the customs of the local people. Translated Codex Calixtinus, Book 5 This Amazon website lists a history book I purchased and read before going on the Camino. It is the first English translation of Book 5 of the Codex. The introduction and translation are excellent; a great read! Don't even think about carrying this tome with you - too heavy; make notes instead.

Links to Online Guides, Camino Weather, Maps

American Pilgrims on the Camino This is a great website and organization for American Pilgrims. Each country has their own organization. Doug and I obtained our Pilgrim Credential Booklets from them before leaving for Spain. They also have many useful links. We both joined the organization for $40/yr, but you can get the Credential for free. Request a Pilgrim Credential Be sure to get a Credential before leaving on the Camino. You get stamps (sp. sellos) from the albergues you stay in as well as churches, bar/cafes and restaurants along the way. When you get to the Pilgrim Office in Santiago, you show them your Credential to prove how far you walked/bicycled to obtain your Compostela certificate (pay an extra 1€ there and get a shipping tube for the Compostela). The Credential became more important than my passport to me! The colorful and creative sellos make the Credential a major souvenir of the Camino. Put the Credential in a plastic bag for protection from rain, and carry it in a handy place in your backpack or on your person. Camino MSN Group This is a great site for current and historical weather on the Camino. It also has an excellent selection of maps including elevation profiles. Confraternity of St. James This is the definitive English language website on the Camino. The Confraternity is an educational charity in Britain. Statistics on number of pilgrims by year Links at this site also show pilgrim stats by age, country, month, profession, starting point and mode (walking, bicycling)! Links to other Pilgrim Associations This page lists other countries Pilgrim Associations, similar to American Pilgrims on the Camino. Beate Steger DVD Beate Steger has produced this excellent, professional DVD based on her own pilgrimage, walking 900 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago and Finisterre. She has documented the Camino Francés with pictures, film, music and original sound recordings as well as six alternative routes to Santiago that avoid the main stream of pilgrims. This DVD is the English version, other languages are also available. Hillwalk Tours Hillwalk tours arranges walking tours throughout the UK and Ireland as well as various routes on the Camino de Santiago. A good resource for planning self- guided walking tours. YouTube YouTube is a website for sharing videos. Clicking on this link will bring up some of the many videos made of the Camino, sorted by most recent, some good, some not so good. Dave's Camino Videos Doug's Camino Videos

Botafumeiro - Santiago de Compostela video as zipped file


Links to Weather in general

Meteorology and Weather: A Guide for Students This is an excellent website for students to learn the basics of weather. Many thanks to Logan S. for finding this website All the best on earning your Weather merit badge Logan! Become A Storm Spotter From Home This is a excellent site for spotting storms and severe weather. There are many choices for links pointing to all things related to storms. Thanks to Liam and Heather Wells for this website. A Guide to Weather Vanes This is a good site on all things related to weather vanes. Thanks to Lake Jennings BSA Troop 325 and Nick Hayes for this website. Preparedness for Tornadoes This site provides information on how to prepare for tornados. Thanks to Kelsey and Tracy Edward for this website. The Ultimate Weather Resource This is another excellent website for weather, forecasts, storm prediction. Thanks to Sara! Staying Safe Outdoors in Severe Weather This is an excellent website for staying safe in severe weather. Thanks to Megan!

Links to Webcams and GoogleEarth

Webcam: Santiago Cathedral, exterior, as seen from Prazo Obradoiro square Doug and I used this webcam to wave hello to the folks back in the USA while we we were in Santiago. We prearranged a time by email and they saw us! We appeared very small, but did a lot of frantic waving! The camera is mounted on building across the Prazo Obradoiro square from the Santiago Cathedral, facing the Cathedral. Watch for lots of pilgrims before and after the daily noon mass. Webcam: Inside the Cathedral, central nave Webcam: Inside the Cathedral, lateral nave Good views from inside. Watch noon Mass; Santiago is six hours earlier than New York. Google Earth Home Page This is a great application that comes free from Google. If you don't have it yet, download it free from the link on this page. If you want to see our route on the Camino in Google Earth, download our saved file Doug_and_Dave_Camino_Route.kmz After saving this compressed file, open the folder you saved it in, it will show up as "Doug_and_Dave_Camino_Route.zip". Click on this file, and it will unzip to "kml.doc". Click on "kml.doc", and if you have Google Earth installed, it will open the Google Earth application with our route in a temporary folder.

Links to Books

A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago Amazon site. After looking through several guide books to carry on the Camino, I settled on this one. It was a good choice. It lists the albergues, water sources and highlights along the Camino Francés. Descriptions were very good. Its narrow width allowed me to put this book in an exterior pocket of my backpack for quick reference, and it stood up to much abuse. I highly recommend it. This was the only book I needed, and weighed in at 12 ounces. Europe was formed on the road to Santiago — Goethe

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