Camino de Santiago - A Bit of Background

Background

Earlier this fall (Sept. 21 to Oct. 29, 2013), I walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route from Saint. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. The route is 790 km in length and essentially goes across all of northern Spain except for about the 100 km between Santiago de Compostela and the coast near Finisterre.

What is the Camino?

(Note: most of this section was written before I started walking the Camino.)

One of the many long distance pilgrimage routes in Europe is The Way of St. James or, as it  commonly known, the Camino de Santiago or the Camino. It is also referred to as the Camino Frances.

About three years ago, a hollywood movie called "The Way" was released and gained a notable level of popularity while also significantly increasing interest in the Camino on the part of Canadians and Americans. Martin Sheen is the lead character in the movie and the movie is directed by his son Emilio Estevez. In brief, the movie is about Tom's (played by Sheen) pilgrimage on the Camino after learning that his son had died from an accident on the Camino. Estevez also is his son in the movie in the role of Daniel. He is not prominently featured in the movie except for a few timely and mystical appearances, but his death is the force behind Tom (Sheen) walking the Camino.

The movie has seemingly provided an impetus for many people to take this pilgrimage. However, interest in the Camino has been around for centuries and The Way of St. James was one of the most important Christian pilgrimage routes during medieval times. A generally accepted legend says that the remains of St. James were carried by boat from Jerusalem and buried on the site that is now Santiago de Compostela.

In the past 30-40 years or so, the Camino has attracted increasingly large numbers of modern-day pilgrims and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are several pilgrimage routes that conclude in Santiago de Compostela and some of these link to the Camino at different places in Spain. People who walk the way, typically referred to as pilgrims, travel for weeks and sometimes months before arriving in Santiago de Compostela. Most pilgrims stay at albergues (sometimes called refugios) available in many towns and cities on the Camino route. They provide dormitory style lodging with the number of beds varying from place to place. Staying at albergues generally costs between 7 and 10 € per night, but can be less. (More in a later post.)

A credential is required to stay in most albergues, especially those operated by a municipality, monastery or church. Privately operated albergues do not always require a credential. A credential is a document acquired from an accredited organization typically in one's home country, e.g. the Canadian Company of Pilgrims issues credentials to Canadians for a small fees. A credential usually is a small passport style booklet or folded brochure that has places for stamps from albergues, churches and restaurants/bars at places on the Camino. The credential and its stamps provide evidence in order to given a Compostela or certification of completion upon arrival in Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrim passport and stamps are checked to ensure that a person has walked at least 100 km or cycled at least 200 km. 

How did my Camino walk come about? 

I became aware of the Camino at least five years ago from an interview on CBC Radio and immediately was interested. About a year or so later, after having done a bit of research on what would be involved, I decided that I wanted to walk the Camino. The Way movie further stimulated my interest and about two years ago I started identifying specific details of what would be involved - distances, features of the route, lodging options, clothing and equipment requirements, etc. By early 2012, I had decided that I'd like to walk the Camino in fall 2013. By late winter/early spring of 2013, two friends decided to join me on the Camino.

The next steps were simply a matter of putting the details together - deciding on specific dates, booking flights and researching various aspects of what would be involved.