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| Page Views: 4,653 | Walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela by Intrepidduck - last update: Jun 15, 2008 |
Peregrinations: On the Road to Santiago | A trusty arrow points the Way to Santiago |
Rushing across the French countryside by rail, my heavy rucksack at my feet, a fluent English-speaking Frenchwoman asked me where I was heading. Proudly I told her that I would be going on the Camino de Santiago or Way of St James. “Oui, oui” she said, “But will you become a true pilgrim?” The train had just passed through the old monastic city of Moissac, which the associated route of the St Jacques pathway crossed. Out the train window could be seen some long-haul pilgrims, making their way to Santiago as we spoke.
With my worldly possessions on my back and with a modern telescopic hiking stock, I began what would be the 750Km journey on foot to the apostolic city of Santiago de Compostela. Starting from the French Pyrenees town of St Jean Pied de Port, a cobbled street with its many slumbering homes led me out of the city walls through the Port d’Espagne. From a high alcove gazes down an expressionistic St James, complete with hair shirt and brandishing a heavy walking stick. A true wild man. It gives one the strength to tough it out!
The ascent is abrupt and one has to tramp from an altitude of only 200 metres to a height of 1450m, where alpine meadows are crossed. The time of year was mid-November, and snow had fallen during the early hours of the morning. After an exhausting 23Km, the impressive XIIIth century Collegiate Church of Roncesvalles suddenly came into view. It was near here that Charlemagne’s Christian army was defeated by the Moors.
This would be my first taste of Spain, and I would also obtain my Credential: a beautifully presented pilgrim’s passport, to be stamped along the way. This document is essential for any one making the pilgrimage, as it allows access to the many municipal hostels, known locally as refugios or albergues.
Here on the evening of my first day, a Pilgrims’ Mass was given, complete with a swearing in of the new pilgrims. The priest in this Spanish service mentioned “uno peregrino Australis” - me. With the Credential in my pocket and fresh blisters on tired feet, I was a true pilgrim indeed.
It was around 900AD when pilgrims first started to make their way to Santiago from all corners of Europe. The alleged remains of the Apostle St James had already been discovered in remote Galicia. Santiago de Compostela (St James in the Field of Stars) is said to be the third holiest place in the world after Rome and Jerusalem.
Whether it was to get closer to God or do penance for some crime, the medieval pilgrim, young or old, rich or poor, joined the tens of thousands each year on the Camino (road) de Santiago. It was the role of the church to give protection and hospitality to the suffering pilgrim, making his or her life a little more bearable. Over the centuries, however, numbers started to dwindle and as the modern nation states of Europe came into being, the ancient roads became less tramped. Renewed interest and a vaster leisure-seeking public led to the rediscovery of the Way of St James by the modern traveller. |
| At St Jean Pied de Port St James show they Way! |
|  | The Way of St James In late 2004 I completed the so called French Road of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. This the old pilgrim's way which stretches for a distance of approximately 750KM in Spain's NW.
My trek, made towards the end of an extensive tour of Europe, took me a total of 35 walking days to complete. I started from the French border town of St Jean Pied de Port in mid November - treking through snow over the Pyrenees and into the Basque Country - before heading on to my final destination of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
During the course of my trek I made photographic and written documentation of the journey. There were a number of reasons why I committed my self towards walking "the Way". It had been a great dream of mine to realise, much like my Melbourne to Darwin Bicycling Trek. I'd also been greatly inspired by a number of fine writers who have undergone long distance walking journeys.
Recommended reading material for those who want to walk the Way is Jack Hitt's travellogue "Off the Road" which gives an account of his experiences wandering the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The contemporary classic The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho didn't do much for me, but for those who like a different spiritual leanning this is the book. Nonetheless for some Shirley McLaine will have you off the planet with her book written in the 1990s. My favorite travelogue was by Nicholas Crane "Clear Waters Rising". This writer encouraged me the most while he started his journey in the reverse and keep on going right through the backbone of Europe and ended at Istanbul, Turkey some 18 months later!Although set in Australia, ET Emmett's "Tasmania By Road and Track" has also given me inspiration towards the humble tramp.
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela is an ideal trek for any fit and motivated traveller - one in search of a great spiritual, personal and or cultural journey unhindered by the rigours of mass tourism. The camino has become very popular in recent years and therefore is getting busy during the summer months. Going off season guarentees less restrictions and a bed in the numerous pilgrims hostels along the Way.
I had recieved some level of in-kind sponsorship for my trek from Mountain Designs Pty Ltd., aswell as from Busan's Mountain Bank Hiking store. This walking trek of mine would not be possible without their kind assistance.
None the less making such a trek under one's own steam was certainly the only way to go! |
| Two pilgrims walking the Way of St James |
| | The Pilgrims' Way Pilgrimage is fast becomming a thing of the past - this is a shame as the world becomes more involved in virtual reality, wars and Ipods! To give up ones job or daily routine, and go off on a pilgrimage is good for the soul. It doesn't matter what religion you follow, if any. The most important thing is to get back to the human pace of things and walk, cycle or get an ass and do the Camino de Santiago de Compostela!
Frequently on my five weeks journeying I met other pilgrims who had walked great distances. Some had actually set out from their own front doors, from places like Zurich, Brussels and even as far afield as Trondheim in Norway. |
| | Church at Samos Samos is a monastic community with hundreds of years in its establishment. Nonetheless even in Spain with its Catholic tradition this monestery has lost significant numbers over recent decades. If I were a monk or a nun this would be a truely significant place to devote my life to. |
| Mistletoe in a wintery mantle |
| | Christmas on the Way One of my most enjoyable experiences of walking the Way - out of season, was to see snow. While snow is not as uncommon in my home of Australia as one would expect, to walk in the snow anywhere is an experience to remember. I had about 4 days of snow during my 5 weeks walking the camino. One day I walked 35Km and 20KM of it was through snow! I was fortunate to have a white Christmas while walking the Way. |
| | The cobbled Way Europe is full of treasures but costs and tourist development have made it expensive and overcrowded. Walking the camino brings one ever so closer to the details of European heritage. Every day many villages are passed through where one can get a glimpse of a world almost forgotten. |
| | Hazards on the Way While at times I might find dogs a bit of a pain in the ass, they are adorable and the dog knows fear more than man. I had no trouble at all while walking the camino when concerning dogs. At one point in a tiny village I encoutered a Tom cat who wanted to accompany me along the Way. After a little time I picked it up and placed it into a tree from where it couldn't follow, it cryed out for me, but I continued on my way. For days I had quilty thoughts of that poor cat left in the tree waiting for me to let it down. |
| The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela |
| | Sometings on the Way Infamous for its Running of the Bull Festival, Pamplona is the first city reached. It’s a hive of “northern” European sophistication. Once over the Romanesque bridge, the camino took us up the great ramparts of the city walls and through an impressive gateway, into the old town area of la Navarrería. One almighty snoring devil I had befriended, Angel, took me to the Café Iruna, a grand establishment located on the Plaza del Castillo. It was actually a haunt of Hemingway in 1926. After our beers, we both ordered a superb lunch. It consisted of warming lentil soup, and other wholesome walkers’ fare, which was finished off with a Navarra regional speciality called cuajada, which is a firm, non-sweet, yoghurt dessert.
The town of Puente la Reina is a junction of pilgrim routes. Its elegant Romanesque six span bridge is legendary, and perhaps the most graceful along the entire Way. Once a little chapel on the bridge’s parapet boasted an image of the Virgin of the Bird. The story goes that once in a while a little bird would appear to clean the face of the Virgin with waters from the Rio Arga.
The monastic complex of Santa Marίa la Real de Irache is famous for its public “wine fountain”! Wine is the traditional pilgrim fuel and a provider of energy and comfort. Out of charity, and quite extraordinary in this postmodern age, the Bodegas Winery provides, every day of the year, free wine to the passing pilgrim. This is simply dispensed from a tap in the wall by the wayside. The entire neighbouring region of Rioja is renowned for its red wines.
The monastery itself is believed to be one of the oldest religious communities along the Way of St James, dating back to Visigothic times. Stepping inside I was able to walk about the ground floor. On the walls were some most intriguing scrawls and tags from a time long past. A likely monk’s name, long deceased and scratched into the plasterwork; also depictions of the “fastest horse in town” and a portrait of a stranger we will never know. The only audience, a litter of three beautiful Siamese kittens, looked on from the inner courtyard.
The infamous section of the camino, that breaks or makes the true pilgrim is the stretch between the cities of Burgos and Leon. It is some 173Km, and one should be prepared for meditative walking. Each step is a thought. You can’t escape yourself! Some opt to take the bus, as in winter it’s a cold and windswept Hell, while in summer it’s closer to Dante’s Inferno. For me it was a pleasure, as I was blessed with fine sunny weather on most days, and had been seasoned for the walk.
During the summer months it is generally hot and dry, a time when many people make the journey and don’t quite realise what they are letting themselves in for. July 25th is St James Day – midsummer! It is by far the most hectic, as it is the most spiritually significant of days to arrive in Santiago de Compostela. The hostels are often full to capacity, and some turn away tired walkers due to lack of space. To avoid crowds and extreme weather conditions, the months of April / May and October /November are more desirable.
One hundred kilometres short of Santiago de Compostela, the numbers swell particularly on weekends, since by achieving this distance one is eligible to obtain the compostella. This is the official certified document given to all pilgrims who have completed at least the final 100Km of the camino. Your pilgrim’s passport with its accumulated stamps given each day will be proof enough of your pilgrimage.
At a river just before Santiago the pilgrims used to disrobe and together wash away the accumulated dirt of the journey. In part they were preparing for their goal – the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Its late Baroque main façade is imposing enough, and standing before it on the Plaza do Obradoiro gives one a feeling of awe. Once inside, pilgrims used to complete their journey by hugging the Statue of St James. You can do so too. The Saint himself is interred in the crypt below. |
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wise23girl Wed Sep 23, 2009 08:17 UTC
I love the duck! Marg | craic Tue Sep 15, 2009 01:00 UTC
nice to see you online - we are living in melbers now | kenHuocj Sat Jul 4, 2009 08:50 UTC
Camino Frances is my choice for a sept 10th departure from SJPP. MAy tips and referrals shall be appreciated ;-))) | Mikebond Sat Jan 10, 2009 16:57 UTC
Happy birthday Sean! Greetings from Italy, Michele |
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