Carrion de los Condes

5/29/19

As we walked out early this morning, we first came to an old shipping canal, canal de Castillo, built in the late 18th century, but now used only for irrigation purposes.

The canal once stretched 207 km and was used for shipping corn with horse drawn barges
This was a welcome change as we followed it all the way into Fromista, a town I stayed in last time through.

We are starting to see more and more of the Templar influence now

The French knights Hugo de Payens and Godfrey de Saint Omer had founded the religious and military order after the first crusades in 1119 for the protection of Christian pilgrims in Palestine.

The official name was the “ order of the poor knights of Christ”

Equipped with papal proof of identity and privelages such as exemptionof taxes and tolls, the order rose to become the most important order of knights in the Middle Ages for a long time.together with the Spanish order, the Templar’s looked after the safety of the pilgrims along the way of St James, this Camino.

There name was changed shortly after they were formed to “Order of the Knights Templar”

And it is believed they removed and hid the riches that were under the “ dome of the Rock” in ancient Jerusalem during the siege of the city, the gold including the Holy Grail and Arc of the Covenant.

All along this way, are Templar hospitals and fortresses, and in this area are the best preserved.

The cathedral in a Fromista was time for a break and loosen the boots.

Cathedral entrance

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Virgin Blanca

Coming into the town of Carrión de las Condes was a relief, and once showered, we went to the pilgrim mass to hear the famous singing nuns here, it really was a moving experience. The priest welcomed each pilgrim by reciting every country in the world I think, I don’t know any he missed anyway.