El Camino Santiago
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An introduction to the Camino Santiago for those who are seeing the term for the first time:
Santiago de Compostela, in northern Spain, is believed to be one of the world's holy places. In the cathedral in the center of town is a silver casket said to contain the remains of the Apostle Saint James. It is to this cathedral that the many camino walkers journey over 500 miles/800 kilometers, and try to live for a few weeks in a place and manner where the divide between God and humanity is narrower.
Galicia, the region where Santiago is found, is the northwest corner of Spain. There are places along the Camino where you might believe you were walking not only across space, but across time as well. Roman walls and medieval bridges still stand; old roads and churches remain in villages untouched by the centuries.
Here is the legend of "Santiago", Saint James: Saint James preached on the Iberian Peninsula in the years after Jesus’ death. He returned to Jerusalem where he was beheaded. Somehow, it is said, a boat with his remains landed in Spain, where the remains were retrieved from the boat and buried in Compostela. Centuries passed before the remains were miraculously rediscovered. Many now believe that the remains are not those of St. James at all. But the legend, and the camino, continue.
Walking a pilgrimage route is a very old endeavor. The pilgrimage to Santiago had started by the 9th century, and by the 13th century, an estimated half-million people walked to Santiago each year. Many famous persons made the pilgrimage: El Cid, Louis VII of France, St. Francis of Assisi, Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand, and in more modern times, Anthony Quinn and Shirley MacLaine. In 2006, over 100,000 pilgrims received the special Compostela certificate in Santiago.
Medieval towns were established and thrived on the pilgrims' progress, creating the hallmarks of the tourist industry that seem so commonplace today: hotels, hospitals, restaurants, souvenirs, and guidebooks.
Four main paths in France converge in Saint Jean Pied de Port ("St. John at the Foot of the Pass"), the point where roads from northern Europe once met to cross the Pyrenees. This is where I will start walking to Santiago. St. Jean Pied de Port is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Santiago de Compostela.
The route walked today – the Camino – has become as synonymous with the pilgrimage as the destination itself. The journey "is" the destination. The thin and winding strip of northern Spain holds as much promise on the road as the cathedral itself at its end.
From the little town of Saint Jean, the Camino crosses the Pyrenees and drops into the lush valleys of Navarra, the Basque country of Spain. It then heads west almost to the Atlantic. In between it passes through dozens of tiny villages, a few big cities, and many towns; across vineyards, wheat fields, and pastures; through forests and olive tree orchards, and over mountains.
Walking the Camino will give me a time to be apart from everyday life and society, and to be a part of the pilgrim life and society. They say camino pilgrims are different from other people, and pilgrimage sites different from other places. I hope to discover this for myself. I start walking the Camino on 31 May 2007, my symbolic scallop shell around my neck.
Some of the foregoing was taken from the Travel Blog of fellow pilgrim and RealTravel Blogger "Brother Steel" who admits using parts of it from someone else. We each contribute our own flavor to the lore of El Camino de Santiago.
Route taken and entries written by Fretless
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1
Ready, Set, Go!
The last few days before any trip can be hectic, but this trip is w-a-a-y-y-y different. In addition to figuring out what to "pack," I need to c... Continue reading »
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First Stop London
London! I would make London my first stop on any trip if I could. Whether you visit for a day, a month or a year, you can't get bored in L... Continue reading »
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St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France
After 2-hour flight from London Stansted, I arrived in Biarritz Airport, where I took a bus into Bayonne for my train to St. Jean Pied-de-Port (S... Continue reading »
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Day 1 The calm before the storm
Enroute to Roncesvalles from St. Jean, about 8 km outside St. Jean (but 600 meters higher!) is this delightful little oasis of an auberge, Auberge Ori... Continue reading »
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Day 2 Crossing the Pyrenees: Day of Mud and Moaning
Getting across the Pyrenees never looked easy, but the getting across was something else again!! The Auberge Orisson offered a quick breakfast, a... Continue reading »
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Day 3 Pamplona, No Bulls
After arriving in Roncesvalles muddy and exhausted, I "made a deal." (Do you ever make such deals? I think we all do.) Here was the deal:&... Continue reading »
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Day 4 Obanos
The road from Pamplona to Obanos goes over the famous Alto del Perdon, a "mountain" at 790 meters (Pamplona is at about 450 meters.) Along with a wind... Continue reading »
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Day 5 Lorca
Okay, there really are a lot of photos, but Spanish internet cafes don´t all have usb connections. (Although given my Pamplona experience, maybe... Continue reading »
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Day 6 Los Arcos
Los Arcos is still in Navarra, the Basque province that abuts the Pyrenees and France. On the banks of the Odron River, the town... Continue reading »
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Day 7 Logroño - Will I ever get there?
A thirty kilometer walk in the hot sun is not a trip to be undertaken lightly. For this tired Camino walker, it was one very long day.... Continue reading »
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Day 8 Logroño to Najera: Feet Fight Back!
After a night sleeping on gym mats, you´d think I´d have been anxious to get out of Logrono, but my feet were still dragging. We had close to 30... Continue reading »
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Day 9 Azofra: Great albergue!
Now this was a walk I could handle!! After leaving the foot clinic, I walked a leisurely 5k uphill to Azofra. At that rate, it would take 1... Continue reading »
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Day 10 Santo Domingo : Cistercians and coincidence
At 13 kilometers, it seemed like a short walk, and it should have been just that. But something made it long. Maybe it was the big hill up... Continue reading »
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Day 11 Belorado, and Bad News...
Coming onto Belorado, you will see the church right next to the main pilgrim albergue. The church steeple is home to quite a number of stork nes... Continue reading »
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Day 13 San Juan de Ortega - Life of a Pilgrim
What is it like, day to day, this pilgrim life? The days stay pretty much the same, but the people and places do change. Most of us go to bed early. E... Continue reading »
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Day 14 Villafria, just outside Burgos
At the end of a day of walking the first thing you want is a shower and some cool water running on your feet. A lot of pilgrims in San Juan de Or... Continue reading »
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Day 15 A Day in Burgos : Walking in the Rain
Maybe Henry Higgins was right. Maybe the rain is Spain does fall mainly on the plain. If so, then the wonderful old city of Burgos must li... Continue reading »
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Day 15 In Villafria, outside Burgos
I woke up in my hotel room today, thankful for the clean sheets and the hot bath I had last night, And I wondered why I had really stopped here.... Continue reading »
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Day 16 El Burgo Ranero - Leapfrog Ahead
Today was a non-walking travel day - bus and taxi. I had arranged, back when I thought I would walk 30 kilometers (18 miles) a day, to meet my... Continue reading »
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Day 17 Mansilla de las Mulas
Today I walked 20 kilometers to the town of Mansilla de Las Mulas, a little town of about 2,000 that has been a main pilgrim halt for a thousand years... Continue reading »
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Day 18 Leon, or Walking in the Rain
The walk from Mansilla de Las Mulas might have been pleasant without the pouring rain. I walked with rain dripping off my hat, and I thought I p... Continue reading »
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Day 19 Leon - Oh, Lord, stuck in old Leon again...
Before walking the camino, I did what most people do when they travel - packed my bags, caught a flight, and took off to someplace wonderful. We... Continue reading »
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Day 20 Astorga
Leaving Leon was easy --in the pouring rain we got a taxi to the bus station, and paid €3 each for a two-hour bus ride to Astorga. My friends Dia... Continue reading »
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Day 21 El Ganso and the Cowboy Bar
Today´s walk was generally flat, but it did go ever so surely uphill toward the end. Since it was Megan and Diane´s first day, we had decided to... Continue reading »
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Day 22 Cruz de Ferro
The highest point on the Camino is the crossing of Mount Irago, at 1505 meters (VBF, multiply by 3 1/4 to derive feet). There is a tradition amo... Continue reading »
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Day 24 Villafranca or Bust
Be careful what you wish for. We wanted no more rain for awhile. And so it was.At the albergue in Pontferrada, they said we had to be out... Continue reading »
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Day 25 Sarria, Welcome to Galicia
I may have mentioned our stay in a classy hotel, a Parador in Villafranca del Bierzo. Well, one thing you might get in a classy hotel is free br... Continue reading »
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Day 27 Hospital de Cruz, Galicia (a town not a hospital!)
Now I have found a government albergue with a good idea - a clothes dryer!! So what if it´s not free, it works, and the socks you wash do&n... Continue reading »
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Day 29 Melide
Greetings from Melide (may-lee´-day), Galicia. We left downtown Palas de Rei (where we had stayed in a small hotel) at around 9 this morning.&nbs... Continue reading »
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Day 30 Arzua, I can hardly believe it!
Today´s walk was a nice 17 kilometers to a town called Arzua. We passed along shady lanes and wooded paths, and we crossed many l... Continue reading »
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Day 31 Arca do Pino, Galicia (One Day to Santiago!)
I sat in the bar at the Hotel O Pino, in Arca do Pino, Galicia, Spain, and thought about the day´s journey. We had begun in Arzua, under cloudy s... Continue reading »
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Day 32 Santiago at last, and reunions
It rained all Saturday night. It was now Sunday morning, and we were snug in our beds at the Hotel O Pino. But we had to get up somet... Continue reading »
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