Sinners & Saints

Our correspondent this morning is Erica Steinel:

We woke up at 7:15 am so that we had an hour and a half to pack, get ready, and eat breakfast. The breakfast at this hotel in San Sebastián is by far the best! After we were all ready and packed, we made our way downstairs and loaded the bus. We ended up departing from San Sebastián at 8:57, and Susana explained the day a little bit. On the bus people slept, talked, listened to music, wrote in their journals and slept. (Today is history of Spain day.) About a half of an hour before we arrived in Burgos, Susana gave us some background information on Burgos and told us a few stories. Here is my attempt to summarize what I learned about Burgos and Spanish history:

Burgos mean castle on a hill and was built as fortress and a castle to protect against the Arabs invaders in the 9th century. It was a very important medieval settlement, and it separated Arab kingdoms from the Christian ones.   Today Burgos is an important stop on the Way of St. James or the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella (St. John in the field of stars).  The pilgrimage route traces itself back to Saint James of Zebedee who was an apostle of Jesus who brought the gospel Spain. After a successful missing in Spain he returned to Jerusalem and was beheaded by King Herrod.  His headless body was brought back to Spain because he fell in love with the country. But, knowledge of where he is buried is lost for over 700 years.

By the 800s Arabs from North Africa had made a strong foothold in Spain.   Southern Spain became a major center of Islam in this period; it was second only in importance to Arabia in the Muslim world.  An important relic of the Prophet Muhammad was moved to Spain to show its importance.

During this time of religious war, a Christian king in the northwest of Spain had a dream the night before an important battle with the Muslim forces that were coming up from the south. In this dream, a man on a white horse and says he has come to fight against the Arabs and defend Christianity. The man says his name is Saint James, and the next day he showed up on the battlefield.   Shortly after this apparition, a shepherd was tending sheep in his fields at night and saw a shooting star. The shooting star landed in the field.  He found the place and  began to dig, taking this event as a sign.  He finds 3 bodies – including 1 body without a head. The body without a head is none other than St. James!  From that point onward Christians make pilgrimage to see the final resting place of St James: El Camino de Santiago is born.   Arabs get wind of this and they aren't happy. They send Muslim soldiers up to the pilgrimage site to destroy it.   The level the shrine, but when they go to destroy the grave of St James a monk throws himself on the tomb of St. James.  The Muslim forces are so touched by his devotion they do not disturb the tomb of St. James.  After this event, a new shrine is built and it becomes one of the most important sites of Christian pilgrimage. 

In the Middle Ages there were three major pilgrimage routes: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostella.   Today the ancient pilgrimage is growing in popularity once again and Burgos is on the route of St. James. It is on “The Way,” and many of the pilgrims to come and pray at.  The Way is a 600 mile walk for pilgrims, which used to be used as penance, but now people do it for many different reasons. Burgos is a very important stop on the route.

The Cathedral at Burgos is newer and a little larger than Norte Dame. On top of the cathedral, between the two towers, is a Latin inscription that says, "You are most beautiful.” This inscription is for the cathedral and for Mary. Burgos has 20 chapels all together, and lots of black walnut wood has been used in the cathedral, along with stone. The life of Christ is depicted towards the back of the cathedral carved out in black walnut. The city of Burgos has over 1,000 churches and 50 monasteries.  Ms. Frasier read a book about The Way of James and told us to be careful in Burgos. It warns about pickpockets who prey on pilgrims in this part of town.

We arrived in Burgos at about 11:45 and began to see many pilgrims on El Camino de Santiago.   Burgos Cathedral is very large and beautiful. Bells were ringing  out from the cathedral when we got off the bus, which is the most gothic looking cathedral in all of Spain, and the third largest.

At noon we met Luis, who told us a few facts about the cathedral at Burgos. He is very short and has a thick accent. He then lead us into a side entrance of the cathedral, where we prayed for a moment in a small room, and got a little glimpse at the beauty of the cathedral. He tells us that 3 years ago it rained so hard that part of the cathedral was under water. He then led us to the main entrance of the cathedral. Once inside, the cathedral is stunning. The ceilings are so high up, and the stained glass windows are magnificent. The altar is beautiful as well. It is massive and covered in gold. There are many statues that depict Jesus, the saints, and Mary.

Luis tells us more about the cathedral and the symbol of El Camino de Santiago. The symbol is a shell, which used to be used by the pilgrims for eating, drinking, and begging. Now, it is just the symbol of the pilgrim. He shows us a few more parts of the cathedral, and has great enthusiasm when explaining it. We then visited the chapel of Santa Ana, the chapel of prayer, the chapel of Ferdinand and Isabel, the sacristy, and an art exhibit. We exited the cathedral at about 1:05, and we walked down a few of the streets. We ended up in a large beautiful square, which Luis explained to us was the main square. As we walk around, I notice the town is so beautiful. The streets are lined with beautiful trees, stone walk ways, and perfectly trimmed hedges.

After we found a meeting spot, we received free time to eat and shop for about an hour and a half. The group I was with went to a little cafe and we all got pasta! It was pretty good, but the service was very slow. The service is different here in Spain; no one ever seems in a hurry. After we finished eating, we still had time to get some frozen yogurt, which was also fantastic! We were back at the meeting place right on time, 3:50 pm. When everyone was at the meeting place, we boarded the bus and set off for Toledo at about 4:00 pm. Susana said it was to be about a 3 or 4 hour drive more.  

Our correspondent this evening is Meghan Thorne:

After we stopped off at Burgos to visit the Cathedral and the other memorial parts of the city we got back on the bus and headed to Toledo. Since the second half of the bus ride was about 4 hours in total Suzanna explained by historically and geographically  Spain is so different than France. Spain is seen as the gateway to Europe; a blend of Arab and European culture.  Suzanna taught us about how in 711 AD the Arabs came to Spain. The main reason why they came over was well, because they could.  At the nearest point between Spain and Africa there is only 8 miles and the other side is visible. They saw the land on the other side so essentially nothing was in their way to stop them.  The spread of Islam was also a factor; it has rapidly spread after the death of Muhammad. The Arabs saw Spain as the "Gardens of Paradise" because of the abundance of water.  Muslims need to wash for their daily prayers and in some desert area of North Africa needed to use sand do to a lack of water. The Arabs remained a presence in Spain for about 800 years.  After Suzanna told us the story we had about a three hour bus ride until our rest stop.  The three hours on the bus really let us have time to reflect on the journey so far and some time to catch up on our sleep.  We only stopped once to use the aseos (bathrooms). 


On the bus, Suzanna then told us a legend from Toledo that explained by the Arabs came. At this time the land of Toledo was ruled by the Visagothic kings.   They were Christian, but Arian Christians not orthodox believers.   The story begins with a king and secret.  There was a secret that was guarded by the kings of Toledo is the tallest tower of the castle.  The door was secured and no kings ever entered the tower and knowledge of what secret was guarded was lost.  The last king, Rodrego,  let his curiosity get the best of him and he had his guards break the locks on the door to the tower.  At the top of the tower was a room was a single table and on top of that single table was a single open book.   When he approached the book the open page showed a scene of a parched land with crows taking everything off the land; it came of life when he looked at it. This king had no idea what it meant.

There was a count from North Africa that sent his daughter to visit Toledo and trusted that the king would make sure she was kept from harm.  The king always had a thing for the daughter of the count which he would secretly watch as she bathed in the lake.  Again, the king's curiously got the best of him and he violated the count's daughter and swore her to secrecy that she couldn't tell anyone that he touched her.  Of course the daughter did not listen so she immediately told her father,  the count, when he came to collect her. The count then pretended like he had no idea and asked the king if he wanted him to bring anything back for him from Africa. The king asks the count for black African crows; not realizing the prophecy was about him. The king soon found out that the daughter told her father and knew it would only be a short amount of time before count would return to conquer  the land and kill the king. When the counts forces were close, the king fled.  Feeling  guilty about his actions he confessed them to a hermit to get repentance before he died. After hearing the king's sins the hermit offered to build him and coffin and told the king for his penance he must be buried alive with a live serpent. The serpent killed him and he paid for his sins.   This was a legend why the Arabs came.

After a long ride filled with history and legends, we finally arrived in Toledo.  We were staying in the heart of the ancient walled city.  The entire city itself has been declared a UN World heritage site.  It is amazing to see and is like stepping back in time.  After arrival, we had about an hour to get ready for dinner.  We then had a short walk to dinner where we enjoyed a delicious meal.  After dinner, we made our way singing through the streets back to our hotel.  The day had ended and we all returned to our rooms for a much needed sleep.