The Way -
In May of 2011,myself and two other friends undertook to walk the Camino, also called St James Way or the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
The Way of St James has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times and it has existed for over 1000 years. The city of Santiago de Compostela is considered the burial site of the apostle James the Great. Legend states that St. James’ remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where they were buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. In the middle ages the route was highly travelled.
The most popular of the routes runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side. Before making its way through to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos and Leon. About 780km later, after traveling the breadth of Northern Spain you arrive at your destination of Santiago de Compostela. This is the route my friends and I took.
Many say they walk just because it is there, for others it’s an adventure holiday or walking holiday. Some start out with the thought that it is a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey, however given the way people bond after spending so much time together walking even those on holiday agree by the end that it is a very special journey.
By the time you complete this series you will have done 1% of the Camino. I would encourage you to walk this series to get a very small sense of what it was like. Buen Camino!
May 11th Wednesday - Belorado – Today we walked walked 24 kms . Our biggest complaint on the Way was that the stores and restaurants all close at 3:00 pm and re-open by 7:30pm. So they would just be closing by the time we made it to our hostel and we could not get anything tp eat until then. But we did manage to find places where we could indulge in Vino Tinto.
