Coming together

Well things are coming together.  I found a nice biker's shirt at Marshalls that is lightweight, vented in the back, and reflects light at night.  And Sierra Trading Post has proved to be a treasure chest, where I found a pair of ultra lightweight pants that zip-off to become shorts. 

 

 Like I mentioned earlier, the climate is supposed to be a humid oceanic one, similar to the coasts of Oregon and Washington State, with an average high in October of 65 degrees F,  a low of 50 F, and frequent light showers.  My featherweight  waterproof parka should come in handy.  I have also decided to discard a small plastic drinking container for a collapsible one because of space considerations.

  
Weight and volume have become very important if I am to keep my daypack to 14-15 lbs.  (I've added a pound to my original 14 because I will be taking my tablet, which already weighs 14 oz.) 



I have made good headway into Mullins's The Pilgrimage to Santiago.  His descriptions of churches and statuary are so good that I find myself looking up photos in Google Images to confirm them for myself. 

 For his trip Mullins took along the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century guidebook and Richard Ford's 1845 English work, A Handbook for Travellers in Spain, to compare them to his 20th century experience.  Ford, who traveled extensively in Spain during the 19th century, was known primarily for this two-volume work. The former title, the Codex Calixtinus, or Liber Sancti Jacobi, a five-volume work, was published in the form of an illuminated manuscript, once attributed to Pope Callixtus II, but is now believed to have been arranged by the French scholar Aymeric Picaud. According to Wikipedia, the work was intended as a sourcebook of information for pilgrims following the Way of St. James, and is quite a compendium, including sermons, reports of miracles, liturgical texts associated with St. James, and a set of polyphonic musical pieces, in addition to descriptions of the route, works of art to be seen along the way, and local customs. 
 

Detail from the Codex Calixtinus showing St. James the Great

I have more modest plans and will be taking photocopied pages from two recommended guidebooks along with the Kindle version for android of Denis Houde's Camino Frances - 1 week, Sarria to Compostela Section (Camino de Santiago Guidebooks).  Hope I can get the latter to work because it still seems rather buggy to me even though I have re-installed the software and reloaded it several times...

Out of curiousity, I have also just downloaded the Kindle version of William Melczer's 1993 title, The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela, an English translation of book 5 of the Codex Calixtinus, in which the author also discusses the work in great depth. Melczer was a professor of Medieval & Renaissance Studies at Syracuse University until his death in 1995, and apparently lead many travel seminars along the Camino.  I should have time to finish it before my trek there.

Click on the link below for more on the Codex Calixtinus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70YDpSo2MRI&list=PLBCD853A40150E02D