Chariots, Crusaders, and Baby Jesus Playing Cards – Camino Day 30 (Cacabelos)
Before the invention of ATM’s, trekking the long isolated Camino with everything you needed to survive was a dangerous game, and the Knights Templar were created to provide protection. At sunrise we’ve reached Ponferrada, home to the Game-of-Thrones-worthy Castle of the Knights Templar - a church-created army designed in 1119 to safeguard pilgrims to Jerusalem as well as Santiago. Eventually, of course, they became an unregulated force much more dangerous to pilgrims than the original thieves, and were disbanded in 1312. Their emblem is the powerful blood-red cross on white shield so strongly associated with the Crusades - we just started seeing them regularly in this region.
The coffee shop across from the castle is the best we’ve seen on the camino - pancakes, chocolate, muffins - but I’m still too sick to handle anything except a solid, reassuring “tortilla” (egg-potato pie). We trod on out of Ponferrada - which is officially the starting town of a shorter 200km route to Santiago. The rest of the morning is mostly a tired, urban hike of endurance, relieved by sun and forest and vineyards for the last 3 km.
The Roman Bridge into Cacabelos has 6 stone arches, long enough to cross the river and a grassy “beach”, then provide a viewing platform for the Roman gladiator chariot “games.” After a blessed nap I’m back to my usual town exploration exploits, starting with a tree-sized wine press. Then Oh My Anguish! The Church of the Lady of the Fifth Anguish is closed (permanently) so I can’t see the carved relief of…
Baby Jesus playing cards with St Anthony of Padua! The museum shows me photos of it, so I know it’s real and really sad I’ll really never see it. I console myself by wandering through the museum’s displays of knights and large yet quaint Roman dioramas. I always think of Romans as cruel conquistadores, but in this town at least they are celebrated.
I’ve had discordant visions of Jesus playing cards since my big brother made me listen to a “Jesus Was Just A Guy” skit on his Nestor Pistor 8-track. Today I failed in that quest, but getting through a 23 km day on a bad stomach while getting to see the Knights Templar castle, a giant 18th century wine press and Roman reenactments will just have to suffice.
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