El Camino de Santiago -- The Pilgrims’ Route to Santiago is not a single route but rather a combination of possible itineraries featuring many points of departure – the pilgrims’ own dwellings for example – with a common destination, namely the Apostle Saint James’ sepulcher in Santiago. Those who journey along the Route with the intention of reaching Santiago can be called spiritual travelers, or even sacred wayfarers. El Camino de Santiago Primitivo (Primitive or Original Way) was the first pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela (Holy Place). This route was originally taken by King Alfonso II the Chaste in the 9th century to visit the tomb of James the Apostle when it was first discovered in 814 AD by the hermit Pelayo. At that time, nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula was under the Caliphs’ rule, except for a tiny Christian kingdom remained unconquered because it was protected by the mountains of Asturias. Peregrinos started the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela following the hardest but most protective way crossing the heart of the mountains range. After reaching Santiago, many pilgrims go on to Finisterre (the old "edge of the earth"), to perform the purification ritual, consisting of burning their clothing and bathing in the sea. So begins “life’s renewal.”

Time to Pamplona San Fermin and Running With the Bulls 2015

Sketches of San Fermin Fiesta 2011-- Pamplona, Spain

Hiking over the Pyrenees on El Camino de Santiago from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Roncesvalles and Burguete (Also click on the "Pilgrim Shell" to the right to view the trek on Google Earth)

Running With the Bulls 2011-- I ran in the first encierro (Peñajara) 2011 on Saint Fermin’s Day, July 7th. Other than a few quick shots, it was impossible to take pictures as you will see. Local runners also sneer at “tourists” with cameras and the police often eject them from the course before the run. But during the second encierro (Ganaderia Cedada Gago) the next day, I shot this amazing video from the safety of a balcony on the corner of Calle de La Estafeta called “dead man’s corner.” From this unique, up-close vantage point, one can almost sense the building excitement and necessary bravado of the runners just before the first rocket is shot skyward precisely at eight o’clock announcing that the gates of the overnight corral on Calle de Santo Domingo are open, followed moments later by a second rocket signaling that the bulls are now loose on the streets. Panic and fear then sets in with a crush of tangled and fallen runners, which is the real danger, and it’s over in seconds as the six, half-ton fighting bulls and eight herding bullocks skid and speedily run by the cowering runners bunched at the opposite corner. Incredibly, only a few runners suffered minor injuries at this deadly corner. For a professional video of the first encierro from start to finish, click on my 1st Encierro San Fermin 2011 page in the top right corner.

Sketches of Bastille Day 2011 fireworks celebration and Jardin du Luxembourg, le Panthéon, and La Closerie des Lilas when the sunlight is rich and mellow; all Hemingway favorites.

Sketches of Istanbul-- “Passing the entrance to the Egyptian (Spice) bazaar, [I] hesitated—then plunged in. The rich aromas of cinnamon and cloves, of cumin, coriander, and pounded ginger made [my] head whirl. Mountains of vividly colored powder rose on every stall, pungent spices gathered from all across the world, from the coasts of India and mountains of China, from Persia and Arabia and the Islands of the South Seas, brought here to this great entrepôt of the world’s trade by dhow, by carrack, by camel train and mule train, over deserts, through wild seas, crossing the passes of legendary mountain ranges, bartered and bought, fought for and pilfered, growing ever more valuable and rare until, at last, they reached this market on the edge of Europe, and vanished into a soup, or a dish of rice.” Yashim efendi, eunuch (like Jake in the Sun Also Rises) and Sultan’s lala (1834)