Sarah Blogg – Road Out Of Time
“I wept because I was re-experiencing the enthusiasm of my childhood; I was once again a child, and nothing in the world could cause me harm”.
The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho.
Sarah Blogg is a Camino scholar and pilgrim of life, who is drawn to share her research into and insights about the enigmatical pilgrim path across Spain.
While for many pilgrims The Camino is The Way of St James, for Sarah the ancient road is The Way of the Goddess.
At Walk & Write we are delighted Sarah has agreed to write our Road Out Of Time blog, dedicated to El Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
Says Sarah:
“I have walked various pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela and Finesterre four times now. I am sure there will be more, as the call to walk these ancient pathways smoulders in my bones. Each time I visit the lands of Old Europe, the knowledge that such trails belong to the Goddess, grows stronger.
“She is the lost and unspoken part of me and, I realize, this world. She is the sovereign Queen that rules with compassionate wisdom; rising from the earth and falling from the stars. She carries the great life cycles of Birth, Death and Regeneration. She lives in all that exists, and exists in all that lives
“She waits in all our hearts: male, female and the gender-ambiguous, to be heard, reclaimed and remembered.”
Sarah’s Camino CV, in a nutshell:
Camino Frances, Chemin du Puy en Velay (twice), Chemin du Vezelay
Lourdes to Leon
Camino Primitivo (from Oviedo)
Santiago de Compostela to Finesterre-Muxia and back (many times!)
Two-time volunteer at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago de Compostela
Hospitalera at Guacelmo Refugio, Rabanal del Camino (Camino Frances).
I am walking El Camino Primitivo, which passes through the craggy hilled region of Asturias. This Camino is less known, with fewer pilgrims and long stretches in between villages. It is Spring and the landscape is alive with wild flowers and cool leafy groves of beech, birch and oak.
Today I step across the border into the misty green region of Galicia. The border consists of a rickety makeshift sign lying next to a pile of rocks. This simple creation, coupled with knowing I had made it this far from the watery city of Lourdes, caused me to pause and take a deep breath. I didn’t realize I was crying until salty wet trickled to my mouth. In a crazy flash, I was overcome with unbridled joy. With my pack strapped to my back, I scuttled along the path towards the closest tree. I wrapped my arms around a mighty trunk and swear that I was hugged back. The dark earth scent and cool soft moss, calmed my beating heart. I am not sure how long I stood, pressed against this gracious and sentient Oak. After some time, I was vaguely aware of a few pilgrims who walked by. I think they even stopped to take a photo.
