Barrenness Rewarded—Day 15

When Barrenness Greets You

Little did I know what the day would bring.

A barren landscape was my companion on this day. Barrenness it seemed was the name of the Way today.

There weren’t many people on the Way—I passed a few and a few passed me. The fields were plowed— there were not much on them except for one field with forgotten sunflowers.

All these were signs of barrenness.

What is left of the San Félix de Oca Monastery

The Ruins of a Monastery

Just before Villafranca de Montes de Oca I passed by the 9th Century Ruins of Monasterio de San Félix de Oca. This used to be a Mozárabic monastery. All that remains today is this tiny structure long forgotten. Unfortunately, some pilgrims use this refuge to relieve themselves. Imagine how important this monastery was in the past for pilgrims, today it nothing more than … Barrenness comes in many forms.

The Resting Place

The road from Villafranca Montes de Oca to San Juan de Ortega is just over 11 km with no town, village, or hamlet in sight. At least there were plenty of trees as the barren fields disappeared for awhile.

And then I reach San Juan de Ortega, a big place with a population of no less than 20! The theme of barrenness continued. At least I would get a good night's rest.

I walked to Bar Marcela where I would also pick up my key for the room and I would enjoy dinner here not too long from now—a dinner which included blood sausage (not something I can eat) and red wine. During dinner I  had a nice chat with a couple from the States. The man was born in Puerto Rico and this was his second time walking the Camino.

Baldaquino Gótico de Iglesia de San Juan de Ortega

Barrenness Rewarded

I also went to the pilgrim’s mass, which was at 6 that evening.

Barrenness was rewarded.

The priest, a fairly elderly gentleman, greeted each person. “Where are you from?” he asked. He even invited pilgrims to help with the liturgy—we heard three languages that evening: Spanish, English, and French. The Scripture reading was from Luke, the Walk to Emmaus. His message was inspiring, that is the few words I caught here and there. He encouraged us to ask questions about life and to think about our spiritual journey, our journey with God.

After the service I was sitting outside by the church and he came over to me (I mentioned to him earlier that I was a minister from Canada). He asked me, “How is the journey going?” I replied, “My feet hurt a lot.” He smiled and said, “That is part of journey … it is worth it.”

It is worth it

He was right of course. The Journey was worth it. The journey of life we are on right now is also worth it … sore feet and empty fields and barren landscapes … it is worth it. Isn’t it funny, the very place my barrenness was rewarded was in the House of God.

My journey on the Camino de Santiago started in September 2017. At the time I wrote blogged entries with pictures whenever I could. Now, three years later, it is time to revisit the journey; I am re-posting the entries with a few updates. Enjoy.