Wheel of Wonder-----Celtic Echoes

This week and next I'll have the priveledge of hosting Celtic Echoes as well as Wheel of Wonder.  Celtic Echoes airs from 10am -12pm WEDNESDAYS on KAOS communtiy radio station.  This week, music wise, I mixed traditional and modern Celtic/Celt inspired music together, and even took a musical trip into the Hollow Hills with help from Spiral Dance, Alexander James Adams, and even Clannad.  Next week we'll travel the Road to Santiago, musicaly speaking.  The music will be French and Spanish Celtic music, not likely bringing anything from Ireland or Scotland at all.  The following information about the Raod to Santiago comes from a website out of Australia:
  The town of Snatiago in Spain is a world heritage site, and for centuries Pilgrims have been traveling there from  the Camino Francés (the French Way), often referred to as the Ruta de las Estrellas (the Way of the stars, or the Milky Way). This route starts in Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees, and travels westward for nearly eight hundred kilometres (following the yellow arrows and scallop shell markers) to the legendary city of Santiago de Compostela.

The Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) is a unique and endless mixture of discoveries. Mountains, dirt roads, cathedrals, local legends, bridges and monasteries are but a mere handful of the memorable treats on offer. However grand these things may be, the journey is infinitely more. It is a beautiful combination of external and internal discovery, and a rare chance in this modern world to radically change one's life. Over the centuries, the Camino has been imbued with the powerful goodwill of a billion pilgrim footsteps, making it the perfect catalyst for a life-changing experience. :

In every way imaginable, the road to Santiago soars high above any efforts of definition or explanation. Whether describing the intriguing history, a host of past legends, or the differing routes across the nations, the words, however fascinating, pale in comparison to the experience. Some things just need to be tasted. It is literally step by step that the greatest truths are to be found, and in doing so, the Camino roars to life. Having said that, its origin and history are quite enchanting, and are more than worthy of review.

The roots of both Santiago de Compostela and the pilgrimage itself reach all the way back to the early 9th century. At that time, a hermit by the name of Pelayo discovered the tomb of Saint James (one of the twelve disciples in the Bible). Legend has it that James was beheaded in Palestine, and two of his followers placed his body in a boat and set him out to sea. With no captain at the helm, the journey defied all odds with the ship finding its way to the Galician coastline and the Apostle's body eventually buried on Mount Padrón. Month by month, and year by year, all was eventually forgotten. Until the year 813!

True to Camino form, the discovery of the grave went hand in hand with the miraculous, the story providing the key ingredient to its illustrious name. Compostela (or campus stellae), is so named because the light of the stars guided Pelayo to the ancient burial site. The magnificent Santiago Cathedral now stands on the very same spot.

A good time for me, and I hope you too, on Celtic Echoes April 1, 2015!