Santiago de Compostela

SantiagoSantiago de Compostela is not a shoe producing town. It is the resting place of Spain’s patron saint – Santiago, or St. James the Greater. As early as the 10th century, pilgrims from all corners of Europe were embarking on a faith journey to Compostela to ask the powerful saint to intercede on their behalf.

Today pilgrims still walk the Camino de Santiago or the St.James’ Way. In summer 2013 I decided to join them and walked a small portion of the way from Bamberg, Germany, wearing my “Pamplona” espadrilles from La Rioja, which I got from the Montreal-based espadrillestore.com (now Diego’s Authentic Espadrilles).

Here are my shoes, still looking good after a 10 km walk through fields and forest:PamplonaEspadrilles

Even if they looked bad, it still wouldn’t matter.

In the words of a famous Quebec poet and songwriter, the late Félix Leclerc:

“Paradise, my friends,

seems not for polished shoes a place.

Hurry to get your shoes dirty, my friend,

if you want to be forgiven in the end.”

 

 Featured image courtesy of euroadventures.net

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About Me

Ann Mailsi is a writer and social media buff based in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Her interests include fashion, technology, and nature adventures.

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