First off, the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St James, is no one thing. It is rather a collection of pilgrimage routes beginning at various places in Europe which all eventually come together at Santiago de Compestela, a city of roughly 100,000 inhabitants located in Galicia, a province in far northwestern Spain. Santiago is traditionally known as the burial place of the apostle James, one of the twelve original followers of Jesus. Beginning sometime prior to the twelfth century and perhaps as early as the ninth century, pilgrims came from across Europe to visit the site. It was, and remains to be, one of the three major pilgrimage sites in the Christian world, the others being Rome and Jerusalem. Rather than going into detail about the history of the Camino de Santiago, I suggest going to the following website for more information:
http://americanpilgrims.com/camino/history.html . There are, of course, a myriad of other websites which discuss the history of the Camino, as it’s popularly known, and a Google search will reveal a lifetime of reading for those who are curious.
As noted above, there are a number of identifiable routes which collectively make up the Camino de Santiago; 23 of these can be seen on the following map:
(Map courtesy of the American Pilgrims on the Camino)
As you can see, the majority of these routes lie entirely within Spain, although some originate in Portugal, France, and beyond. Currently, the most popular routes are the Camino Francés, the Camino Inglés, the Camino del Norte, and the Camino Primativo (the routes numbered 1 through 4 on the map above). Of these, the Camino Francés is by far the most popular, and it is the route we will be taking. The Camino Portugués (route 12 on the map) is also a popular route, and many pilgrims add the Camino Finisterre (route 13), a short route that extends westward from Santiago to the coastal towns of Finisterre and Muxia, to their pilgrimage after completing their main walk from wherever to Santiago. Here's a better overall map of the Camino Francés:
(Map courtesy of the Camino de Santiago internet forum)
The route we will take, the Camino Francés, is the route featured in the movie, “The Way.” It starts in St Jean Pied de Port, a small village just inside France at the eastern foot of the Pyrenees mountains, and continues westward for approximately 800 kilometers, or 475 miles, through the Spanish cities of Pamplona, Lograno, Burgos, Leon, and Lugo to Santiago. The immediate challenge on Day 1 involves crossing the Pyrenees, a climb of 4100 feet over a distance of 13½ miles, then a descent of roughly 850 feet to the town of Roncesvalles, Spain in another two miles. It is not a beginning for the faint of heart, and we hope our training at 5500 to 9000 feet will give us an advantage that the vast majority of others coming from lower elevations do not enjoy. (In fact, while we will cross at least three mountain ranges on the way to Santiago, nowhere does the elevation exceed our elevation here at home, which is 5540 feet.) While most perigrinos, or pilgrims, do this first stage in one day, we concede our limitations and will do it in two days, spending the first night at an albergue (hostel) in Orisson, which is located approximately 7 miles west of and 1700 feet or so higher than St Jean Pied de Port. Most pilgrims spend 30 to 33 days on the Camino Francés; however, we anticipate a more leisurely pace and have allowed 40 days to reach Santiago. This will let us reduce the typical day’s walk to an average of 12½ miles, plus let us have three or four rest days along the way.
Next, I’ll discuss our planning for the Camino and our training as we prepare for this journey.
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