My Journey to Santiago de Compostela Part XX
Compared to the two previous days, today was a piece of cake. It was a chilly morning (12 degrees C) with blue skies. The hostal served no breakfast so I left around 8:15 am, hoping to quickly find a cafeteria open for coffee. At around 10:15, I could see Leon in the distance and reached the welcome kiosk in the city at 10:45 am. I then sat for a beer and snacks to wait for Nadine, Cynthia and Antje whom I had left behind in Puente Villarente.
Upon arrival, I went to a tattoo parlor and for the first time in my life, got myself three tattoos on my forearms: one with the symbol of St Jacques with the word in latin “Ultreia” which means “going further” or “keep going” which was the expression told by pilgrims in the middle ages. This was replaced by “Buen Camino” which is used nowadays.
On the other forearm, I had the Milcham (Phoenix Bird) painted and underneath the word “kintsukuroi” tattooed in Japanese 金 継 ぎ. The Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi is a 15th century Japanese technique for repairing ceramic objects (although also wooden ones) joining the broken parts with golden lacquer (sometimes silver or platinum). In this way, the resulting piece not only does not hide his wounds, but also turns them into his most beautiful aspect. The Kintsukuroi has become a trend thanks to Tomás Navarro, who with the book Kintsukuroi, The art of healing emotional wounds (Ed. Planeta) has applied this principle to psychology, to convince us that our difficulties and problems are not a sign of weakness On the contrary, they indicate strength and the ability to overcome.
After having the tattoos, I met with Nadine, Antje and Cynthia for dinner and drinks. That is when we made a pledge for the four of us to continue on to Fisterra after reaching Santiago de Compostela, adding about 100 kilometers to our adventure to top 900.
King Ordoño II, who had occupied the throne of Leon in 916, defeated the Arabs in the Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz in 917. As a sign of gratitude to God for victory, he gave up his palace to build the first cathedral. Under the episcopate of Fruminio II, the building was transformed into a sacred place.
