Page 52 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2023

PILGRIMAGE FEATURE
52 DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2023
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a rocky coastline. Despite several rebuilds including a fateful fire that occurred in 2013 on Christmas Day, the popular gravity- defying church miraculously stands against the constantly tumbling ocean surf.
Deeply rooted in Christian legends, the sanctuary is named for a stone boat with special powers that carried the Virgin Mary here to encourage Saint James’s evangelical mission. There’s a peculiar nine-metre delicately balanced boulder that doubles as a religious totem for many pilgrims. When I stand atop this boulder there’s a grinding noise that devotees believe is a sign that one is free from sin. Another boulder, in the eyes of pilgrims, is said to be the remnants of the boat and has miraculous powers that can cure ailments for anyone who crawls underneath.
I imagine Bryson Guptill leaving his pilgrimage around Cape Finisterre, ready for his next challenge and inspired to create a similar experience on his beloved PEI.
For me, experiencing these walks first-hand exceeds anything that can be said in words. I have, however, discovered that long walks in the natural world connect us to the environment and to that inner dialogue we all share, making our lives like a story that has a beginning and an end.
Once you’ve reached the end of the Earth and faced a sea that reminds you of your own mortality, you know it’s time to return home. DS
TRAVEL PLANNER
For travel details to Galicia and its Camino de Santiago routes see turismo.gal and caminodesantiago.gal
For more information about the walk around the Costa da Morte, visit turismo.gal/que-visitar/xeodestinos/costa-da-morte Spain’s official tourism site spain.info/en
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK/RUI VALE SOUSA | SHUTTERSTOCK/MAXMAXIMOVPHOTOGRAPHY | DARCY RHYNO