Pilgrim Who Calls You

Pilgrim Who Calls You?







Pilgrim Who calls you?
What unseenforce brings you?
Neither the field of stars,
Or the grand cathedrals.

It's not the magnificent Navarre,
Nor the wine of La Rioja
Or the seafood of Gallegos
Or the fields of Castellanos.

Pilgrim, who calls you?
What unknown force brings you?
Neither is it the people of the Camino,
Nor the customs of the farmers.

It's not the history or the culture,
Not the Rooster of Calzada,
Nor the Palace of Gaudí,
Or the Castle of Ponferrada.

I see it all as I pass by,
and it is a joy to see.
But the voice that calls me
I feel much more deeply still.

The force that pushes me,
The force that brings me,
I can not explain it or myself.
I only know that I must arrive!





The spray painted poem appears near the Castilloan town of Nájera,
and is a solid part of the Caminero's journey.


The only above stated reference that may need explaining is referred to, as corse as it may sound, as The Miracle of the Cock! It is essentially a fairy tale, and it goes something like this...

In the 14th century a fourteen year old German boy named Hugonnel goes on the pilgrimage with his parents. When they pass through a small town, the teenaged daughter of a local man who owns the hostel in which they stay makes sexual advances towards him, but he rebuffs her. Out of anger, the girl hides a silver chalice in his bag, then informs the local constabulary that he has taken it. The cup is, of corse, discovered, and the boy is taken into custody, and then, under the laws of the King of Castille, Alphonso X. Heartbroken, grieving, Hugonnel's parents seek solace in seeing their boy's body one last time. The boy, apparently still alive, tells them that St. Dominic has saved his life. The parents rush to the local magistrate, explaining this new twist. The magistrate responds that 'the boy is as alive as this chicken,' pointing to the cooked bird on the platter in front of him, which suddenly pops up, runs from the room,' thus saving the boy's life.

Even today, as we walk the Camino, the church in Santo Domingo de La Calzadas keeps a live cockerel in a small room in the church as a testament to the miracle of the, and here I just can't help but change the translation to, Rooster! Sorry, if you were looking for something not kid friendly!




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Location:Calle de Ochabro,Agés,Spain