Ávila

October 26, 2023

This morning we went to the visitors center in Ávila and picked up our credentials for the pilgrimage of Ruta Teresiana de la Cuna al Sepulcro - the Path of St Teresa - From the Cradle to the Grave, and we were given the map of the route.

We also spent some time emailing the council offices of three villages along the way asking for accommodation in their albergues. We'll stay in private accommodation in Alba de Tormes as there's no albergue there. 

Hopefully we're all set for accommodation but tomorrow we have to shop for supplies to take with us for, as far we can see, there are no shops or supermarkets. Some villages will have bars where we hope to be able to get meals if we're there when they're open. Opening days/hours of country villages in Spain remain a mystery to us even after having walked the Baztan and Invierno caminos. 

Tomorrow we also plan to visit sites that have special significance to St Teresa. This will be the real start of our new pilgrimage. 

We went for a quick walk tonight to see the city at night.

I made two separate posts before this; one of the cathedral and another of the city wall.

One of our Teresiana credentials with it's first stamp. 

The map of the Teresiana pilgrimage - Ávila to Alba de Tormes. We will walk the southern route - the Camino Sur section shown in this map.

Some photos taken tonight:

The Convent of St Teresa 

A bronze statue of St Teresa

St John of the Cross 

Ávila

October 26, 2023

We visited the 12th century Catedral de Ávila - the Catedral de Cristo Salvador. Unfortunately, it felt more like a museum than a church, although there was a lovely side chapel where Masses were said, only it was locked. 

The main altar.

A couple of photos of the cloisters: 

And photos taken in the cathedral:

Ávila

October 26, 2023

Exploring Ávila's city wall. The following information about the city walls was taken from Wikipedia:

The work was started in 1090 but most of the defensive wall appears to have been rebuilt in the 12th century. The enclosed area is an irregular rectangle of 31 hectares (77 acres) with a perimeter of some 2,516 meters (8,255 ft), including 88 semicircular towers. The walls have an average width of 3 meters (9.8 ft) and an average height of 12 meters (39 ft). The nine gates were completed over several different periods. The Puerta de San Vicente (Gate of St Vincent) and the Puerta del Alcazar (Gate of the Fortress) are flanked by twin towers, 20 meters (66 ft) high, linked by a semicircular arch. The apse of the cathedral also forms one of the towers.

The steps up to the top of the wall, and also up to its many towers, were very worn and uneven. 

The cathedral is built into and forms part of the city wall - as seen in the top right of this photo.

The cathedral.

The blocks of stone used in the cathedral section of the wall contain iron ore which accounts for the variegated coloring. 

And some views from the wall of the town of Ávila and the surrounding countryside: