On Saturday we leave for the Camino de Santiago, starting in St Jean Pied de Port in France and ending up in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. There are different ways to Santiago, but this particular route is called the Camino Frances, for obvious reasons.
The Camino de Santiago translates into the Way of St James and has been a Christian pilgrimage for over 1000 years. Tradition has it that the remains of St James the Apostle are contained within the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela after being transported here from Jerusalem. Thousands of pilgrims both Christian and otherwise walk the Camino every year, and this year should include even higher numbers due to it being a holy year. This means that St James’s day falls on a Sunday.
It is also said that this route was used in pre-Christian times as a walk to death, as it’s only a few days walk past Santiago de Compostela that you hit the Atlantic Coast, and the end of the earth.
Everyone that starts the Camino is called a pilgrim and is issued with a Pilgrim’s Passport, allowing them to stay in the subsidised Pilgrims Hostels along the route. Most people will also wear a scallop shell on their backpacks, displaying their pilgrim status.
Nearly everyone that walks the Camino says that it was a life altering experience. We’ve met a few people that have walked it and all have said that it’s a time that you will never forget. We’ve been thinking for years about how we could find the time needed to complete the trek in one go and now we have it.
The first half of the trip, up to Burgos, we will be walking with our friend Nati who unfortunately has to return to London at that point, leaving us to complete the journey on our own.
The Camino Frances is about 769km and should take us between 25 and 32 days. We’ve got 35 days set aside, so weather and sore feet permitting, we should finish on time.
For a bit of background on the Camino, check here.
Detail on the Camino Frances HERE
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