by Geoffrey Skinner adapted from The Trail Companion, Oct./Nov.
1994
This month's hike can be reached via the San Francisco
International Airport. From SFO, take your choice of
carriers to Madrid, Paris or London, then travel to the
French-Spanish border town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Once in
St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port, travel over the Pyrenees and enter
Spain. Follow the yellow arrows which mark the Camino de
Santiago for approximately 500 miles. This route takes you
to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Travel
time may range from four to six weeks by foot or horse. If
you choose to bicycle, your time can be halved, even with
extensive sight-seeing. Most travelers will find El Camino
de Santiago much more rewarding than El Camino Real.
Following the Camino de
Santiago might be more accurately called a hike of a whole
month and is a much different hike than most which appear
in this column. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage route
(or rather a collection of routes) across northern Spain
leading to the third-most important site in medieval
Christendom (after Jerusalem and Rome), Santiago de
Compostela. According to legend, the bones of the Apostle
James the Greater rest in Santiago.The Church and the
rulers of medieval Spain encouraged people to travel to
Santiago for various religious, political, and commercial
reasons. Pilgrims came from all over Europe in hopes of
forgiveness and miracles. The greatest number of pilgrims
followed the Way of St. James during the Middle Ages.
Although their numbers dwindled after the Reformation in
the sixteenth century, the Way has never been forgotten.
The number of pilgrims and tourists has once again picked
up in recent years. Some of the increase may be due to
extensive efforts by the Spanish government to publicize
the route and encourage travelers. The European Community
has designated the Way as a Cultural Route of Europe since
it was the first major tourist route in Europe, a precursor
to modern efforts to unite Europe, in a way. Some of the
increase seems to be due to a swelling interest in
connecting to something ancient in a world of whirling
changes. In 1993, over 70,000 people traveled some portion
of the route!
The path itself ranges from
rough mountain trail to rural lane to heavily-traveled
highway. A fair portion of the route has been overtaken by
major high ways in the last 40 years and alternatives are
sometimes difficult to find, but the rest of Way makes up
for any highways. The traveler passes through wonderful
countryside, from the Pyrenees and foothills in Navarre, to
the starkly beautiful plains and plateaus of the northern
Meseta (tablelands) of León and Castile, and to the
green and nearly Ireland-like Galicia. Every city, town and
village has ancient churches, castles or bridges, many
connected with the pilgrimage and some are much older -
several stretches follow Roman roads! The Spanish
organization that supports the Camino, the Amigos del Camino de Santiago,
has marked the entire route with yellow arrows (all
pointing westward) and the governments of the five regions
through which it passes have placed markers at many points
along the Way. Several good guidebooks exist English and
inhabitants are almost always willing to point out the
route in case of confusion or getting lost.
