1	Escape Finding meaning and tradition along Spain’s Camino de Santiago. read more...
2	Spice Cachaça: The spirit of Brazil. read more...
3	Salud The value of Hispanic blood donations. read more...
4	Driver’s Seat Tricked out trucks for today’s budgets. read more...
5	Style The season’s fashion forward approaches. read more...

BUENA VIDA

Escape

The camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is a modern miracle of faith, spirituality and solidarity that is drawing increasing numbers. What was once a trickle of individuals is now mighty river of people.

Photos and Story
By Juan Carlos Hernández

Men and women from across the planet are picking up and backpacking or biking the 500 miles from the Pyrénées to Santiago de Compostela in Northwest Spain, where the remains of St. James the Greater are said to rest. Twenty years ago, the people walking to Santiago numbered about 2,000 a year, a figure that has increased over time and has recently swelled. In 2007, more than 114,000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago, though many more probably hiked the Camino, as some choose to do it in segments over consecutive years. One thing is certain: Where before there were abandoned towns, forgotten legends, empty churches and desolate trails there is now a renaissance.
In part, they are drawn by the area’s historical significance. According to legend, St. James, also known as Santiago el Mayor, the patron saint of Spain, was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. He preached in the Iberian Peninsula, then returned to Judea, where Herod of Agrippa beheaded him in 44 C.E. His body miraculously returned to Iberia via the sea on a boat with no sails, no oars and surprisingly, no crew—except for two disciples. The vessel reached the Atlantic Coast of what is now Galicia. After a series of more miracles, Lupa, the queen of the region, granted permission for its burial. The body was entombed on a hilltop named Liberum Donum, the site of a pre-Roman necropolis and a Roman cemetery. Silence followed for nearly 800 years.
The discovery of the forgotten relics in the year 813 led to the construction of a church and more miracles. In the end, Santiago de Compostela became one of the three major pilgrimage destinations in Medieval Europe, the other two being Rome and Jerusalem.
Santiago de Compostela played an important role in the development of a European identity. The saint’s professed help of the Christian kings during the Reconquista or reconquest of Spain from the Moors was to inspire greater devotion, bigger contributions, the construction of the cathedral and more pilgrims from throughout the continent. Towns and cities sprouted up along the principal pathway, which is also called el Camino Francés. It is where most of the major routes from Europe funnel into southwestern France and empty into Spain.
It is this way that most choose to walk or bike today. The ancient trail is dotted with enchanting medieval towns, stunning cities. Placid wheat fields and grape vines and beguiling blood-red poppies color many hills.
Its history, tradition and the mystic air that envelops the path are just some of the elements that draw people now. It is unlike any other expedition on the planet: It tests the body. The 500-mile course takes 30 days or more and can be a trial for the soul. It calls people to make an inward journey. There are moments for solitude, sharing, reflection and communing with God, and nature.
In the past, pilgrims began when they left their homes and headed west toward the end of the earth, as they knew it. Modern romeros may start at any city or town along the trail.
Some begin in France, just east of the Spanish border at the foot of the Pyrénées in the town of St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, but many set off from Roncesvalles (called Orreaga in the Basque language) just across the mountains, choosing to bypass a 1,400-meter climb (4,593 feet) on their first day. The hamlet is the ideal place to start—the fountain where the spiritually thirsty gather to embark on their quest.
People break bread, drink wine and some share their stories. Others wander about in quiet contemplation or in fear of the travail before them. The few who started in France—or even further away—care for blisters, sore muscles and aching feet.
There is a bond between the travelers, one that will grow stronger on the trails, in the towns and the cities along the trail. All are linked by the beauty, the humanity and the spirituality that make the Camino de Santiago a journey that transforms lives and endures in the heart.

Juan Carlos Hernández is a writer and pilgrim based in Chicago who walked El Camino in 2006. He is currently completing a book based on his experience.

TrekTips

When To Go:
The peak pilgrimage time is summer. Many choose to do it in autumn or spring when there are fewer people, but just enough to find companions. Doing it in winter is difficult and dangerous.
What To Pack:
Pack light! Include a good, light backpack with two changes of clothes, a light jacket or sweatshirt, a rain poncho to fit over you and your backpack, a small flashlight, a guide, a journal and a pen, a point-and-shoot camera, a water bottle, soap for your clothes, body and hair, a small towel, sunblock, a small first-aid kit with needle and thread, sunglasses, a hat, hiking boots and sandals.
Where To Stay:
Refuges line the Camino. During the peak season, most fill up before 4 p.m. A good guide will give the distance between them and what they offer. Most are spartan.
Passport/Compostela:
To be allowed into the low-cost refuges, a pilgrim’s passport is required. They can be purchased for one or two euros at any of the refuges along the path. The stamped and dated passport serves as proof of your effort and makes you eligible for the Compostela, the Latin certificate of pilgrimage. To qualify for it, pilgrims must walk the last 100 km or bike the last 200 km, and must declare a spiritual or religious motivation. There is a certificate for those with a different motivation.
Web Resources:
In Spanish: www.mundicamino.com
In English: www.americanpilgrims.com/about/welcome.htm