Day 27 May 28 Saturday Ponferrada

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Day 27 May 28 Saturday

We are on our second of two rest days on this 39 day Camino

We are at Ponferrada which is mainly known for the Knights Templer 

We had a long day yesterday in high heat so we left the site- seeing to today 

Rested well - met for the Templer Castle tour for 10am - which took 2 hrs

There has been a tremendous amount of work done to make the tour safe with walkways / guard rails and such. Beautifully done in natural wood

The Knights Templer were active in the 12th and 13th centuries with the mandate to provide and protect the pilgrims as they journeyed on to Santiago

When one considered the most important shrines to visit they were 1) Santiago de Compostela, 2) Rome and 3) Jerusalem

Travel was often dangerous - however it was a spiritual investment to visit the relics of a saint

It was quoted “To have an impregnable castle in the Middle Ages was equivalent to the dissuasion of a modern day nuclear weapon”

The Knights Templer came around 1178 taking over this castle and adding to it. They were disbanded or dissolved or destroyed by the church for the churches fear of their increasing power and influence in 1312

The castle laid idle then occupied and cycled in and out of owners till it was sold to the Catholic monarchy in the beginning of the 16th Century

In 1924 it was registered as historic with a plan to manage same 

With the invention of gunpowder in the 16th century the castle’s military value became obsolete 

The castle has a tremendous library of very early books / scripture/ art / nature and maps

Examples of a small catapult and a small canon were on display as well as period Knight clothing 

Back in the Middle Ages 15 years of age was the age of maturity

Beautiful day here in Ponferrada as we rest up for the last 215 kms of our Camino

34 deg again today - blue skies - lots of our pilgrim friend either here or arriving in this town this afternoon - siesta time now - drinks at 7 - church at the Basilica at 8 - dinner at a cafe following 

27 for 27 no rain - keep up with the prayers 

On the road for 8am Sunday - 25 kms to walk

Till then

Buen Camino

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