This past summer I did about 250 miles of the Camino de Santiago, much/most of which followed the old Roman road. The plants that i knew and were present for a lot of it included poppies, yarrow, digitalis, assorted mints, thyme, chamomile--including the creeping variety, Roman Chamomile, scabiosa, and alfalfa, which I assume escaped from pasture fields before they got converted to mostly grain fields. These pretty much all have medicinal properties, which made me wonder, did the Romans seed their road with a medicine chest.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Sounds like a wonderful trip it is on my bucket list. In Britain we have a weed commonly called Ground Elder, Aegopodium podagraria, which is a widespread menace. It is not however a native, but is believed to have been brought here by the Romans as a medicinal plant, thought to cure gout especially. For which it gets its other common name of Bishop Weed.
Fernapple
Level 9
Nov 14, 2019
0
@DavidDuhon Yes I know books are heavy to carry, and smart phones have tiny images. The best thing that I have found is a tablet, which gives you the net and good images, and of course something to do in the room at night.
Often thought of doing that walk.
Did you stay in hostels? Was it busy/crowded? How about the weather/temperatures.
callmedubious
Level 8
Nov 13, 2019
1
I would be delighted if I could handle walking 100 miles. Somebody, if it's not done already, should write about a possible relationship between religion and drugs. It is accepted, I think, that shamanism was not just about perceiving the supernatural but entering that state to gain information and coming back when the job is done. Maybe, like a lot of Catholic sites, San Diego de Compostela has an earlier pagan past. Anyway, I would love to see the place and take in the vibe, and then travel the extra 87 kms to Finisterre in Portugal to try to capture that primitive sense of being at the edge of the world.
brentan
Level 8
Nov 13, 2019
1
But of course, as they would have been carrying their medicinals along with. Sounds like a fascinating journey, then and now.
tinkercreek
Level 8
Nov 13, 2019
0
What an interesting idea. It would make sense because the Romans were nothing if not practical.
Geoffrey51
Level 8
Nov 13, 2019
1
@DavidDuhon Haha not if we employed the application of Pax Romana! Bring back decimation I say!
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