CAMINO de SANTIAGO (THE WAY OF ST JAMES) April 1- June 4, 2011
The first time I heard of this pilgrimage route was from an old friend, a member of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club, and one of the world’s greatest travellers, Renate Belczyk, who did it 2 decades ago. My interest was rekindled after talking to a New Zealand man who started walking in Le Puy, France and highly recommended this as the most beautiful part of the many options available. Known as the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the Chemin de St Jacques in France, this is the most popular walk globally, with at least 250,000 doing it every year. Its popularity is growing by leaps and bounds. By walking the last 100 km to Santiago to get your Compostela, one can bypass purgatory entirely in anniversary years, or get half-time off in other years.
St James, one of the apostles of Christ, proselytized in Spain for a few years after the crucifixion. With only seven conversions, he returned to the holy land in 44 AD and was promptly beheaded by Herod. Mysteriously, his body was placed on a stone boat without oars, sails, or crew, crossed the Mediterranean, came ashore on the north-west coast of Spain and was buried 20 km inland. It was rediscovered in 813, and the king adopted St James as the patron saint of Spain. During the Reconquista, the 700-year war against the Muslims, Santiago appeared in spirit form before many battles and became Santiago Matamoros, the Moor Slayer.
After the bishop of Le Puy made the first pilgrimage from Le Puy to Santiago in 961, and with the other two great pilgrimage sites, Jerusalem and Rome, which were inaccessible, Santiago became the most important pilgrimage site for people from all over Europe. Between 1000 and 1200, about 500,000 people walked to Santiago and then walked home again. As a brilliant piece of medieval marketing, it was, and still is, an essential part of the economy of northern Spain. The pope declared Santiago de Compostela a holy city in 1189. The trip declined in popularity until the 1970s; since then, its popularity has increased yearly. Everybody on a pilgrimage seems to write a book about their life-changing experience. Shirley McLean was one of the first. A movie, “The Way,” recently attracted many people’s attention. When St James’ birthday, July 25, falls on a Sunday, it becomes an anniversary year, and most churches hold special festivities. 2010 was an anniversary year, but not as busy as 2011. It appeared that people avoided 2010 as it was predicted to be too crowded. Spring and fall are the most popular seasons to escape the heat in northern Spain over the summer.
The Camino starts all over Europe – Italy, Hungary, Krakow, Gdansk, Poland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. These routes converge four ways through France, 3 of which join north of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, before crossing the Pyrenees into Spain. From here runs the Camino Frances, one of the five main routes leading to Santiago from various parts of Spain and Portugal. It was the favourite route in ancient times and the way most pilgrims travel today. Could you consider doing other routes to miss the masses? Some liked the Camino Norte, which follows the north coast of Spain, or the way from Porto, Portugal. Occasionally, we met people going the other direction.
The Camino is travelled in every possible way. Some spend only a week finishing over several seasons, while a few walk or cycle from as far away as Wales, Holland, Germany and Switzerland. Some have done it multiple times, and some spend a whole lifetime doing all the routes. Most have backpacks, but there are a few carts and donkeys. Most walked, but there were many more bicycles in Spain. The most common nationalities are Spaniards (over half), Italians, French, Germans, and Canadians (most from Quebec).
Everyone has their motivation for walking the Camino. Few seemed to be doing it for religious reasons. Most were aging baby boomers who liked walking, wanted to experience France and Spain up close, and travel in a safe environment. The program for the day is set, and one feels the need to walk every day. Meeting new people from all over the world is a major attraction. One of my goals was to lose weight and get in the best shape I have been in many years, and retired with nothing better to do, what better way can there be to spend 2 months?
I started in Le Puy en Velay, France, the original pilgrim route and the most popular route through France. Le Puy is easily reached by train from Paris via Lyon and St Etienne. With cobbled streets, a medieval church, a giant Virgin and baby Jesus statue perched on volcanic cones, and a historical cathedral, it is a great place to spend at least one day. After mass and a blessing of pilgrims in the cathedral, I started the 740 km walk across SW France to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. This part of the way in France is called the Via Podensis and is very hilly, crossing many river valleys. I averaged 24 km daily and walked that distance between April 1st and the 30th. We had spectacular weather with many days up to 30 degrees, and virtually no rain at a time that is usually quite wet. It is a walk through the lovely, hilly French countryside – fields, valleys, pastures, vineyards, forest, small farms and villages built entirely of stone. The Aubrac, a treeless high plateau strewn with rock walls and pastures, is one of the highlights. Brimming with history, the hamlets have old churches, towers and tons of history. There were many castles, medieval walled towns, and villages like Conques with spectacular cathedrals and church museums.
The route in France follows the long-range hiking trail, the GR65, on a combination of pavement (mostly), gravel roads and paths. It is a healthy way marked with a white over red bar, but beware that all the other long-range trails, which are occasionally crossed, have the same way marking. We took a wrong turn, didn’t realize it until we walked all day, and eventually took 4 days to return to the original Camino. But we took a much prettier alternate following the River Cele. This route also took us by Peche Merle, a spectacular cave with prehistoric cave paintings.
The entire tenor of the trip changed at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the beginning of the Camino Frances. The town was packed with pilgrims, accommodation had to be booked a week ahead, and hundreds registered daily to get their credentials and stamp them. I was up early to begin the big climb over the Pyrenees into Spain and the major pilgrim town of Roncevalles. Taxis zoomed by carrying people to the top of the pass, but most walked. In great shape and 25 pounds lighter, I passed over a hundred people in the gorgeous 6-hour walk. Instead of the 30 or so other pilgrims we were used to in France, there were now hundreds. To get the limited nonreservable dorm beds available in most towns, many start walking by 6 AM, and some aubergues (called in Spain) would have as many as 150 packs lined up outside waiting for the early afternoon opening. Various other accommodations are available, including reservable dorm beds and double and triple rooms at all price ranges. Staying in dorms is part of the experience. After dealing with snorers all night, the rustling starts at 5:30, and the place is empty at 7. A dorm bed’s 5-7 euro price tag makes it an affordable holiday for just about anyone.
The Camino in Spain is much more developed and walker-friendly. It is also much easier due to the generally flat terrain. It is hard to get lost – follow the yellow arrows or scallop shells at every turn. Some of the highlights are Pamplona (running the bulls – I took my only rest days here), the church in Los Arcos, walking the flat meseta between Burgos and Astorga, the Burgos and Leon cathedrals, the mountains of Galicia, and finally arriving at Santiago. Storks are on every chimney and bell tower. As Spain’s world leader in wind energy, wind farms line every ridge. On one windy day in 2009, over 50% of the country’s power was wind-generated.
Leon Arishenkoff and Mark Hatlen, friends from Castlegar, joined me in Saghun with 378 km left to walk. If one has time at the end, a worthwhile extension is to rent a car and see as much of Spain as possible. Mark and I rented the smallest economy car for 277 euros for 21 days and drove 6300 km, seeing all the highlights of Spain, southern Portugal, and Andorra.
A credential was purchased at the Le Puy cathedral and was large enough to record my entire trip – you get it stamped each night at your accommodation. The only crucial guidebook for the journey is the French Miam Miam Dodo. There are two books – one for the Le Puy to St-Jean portion and the second for the St-Jean to Finisterre part. They are published yearly, so they are accurate. Along with a schematic map, they provide all the accommodation, services, and eating options on the entire route, making reservations easy. A helpful addition would be a book that lists all the relevant history you are walking through. I liked the 2 volume “The Way of St James” by Wilfrid Alexandre for France and “Walking the Camino de Santiago from Pili Pala Press for Spain. Maps are not necessary. Avoid books (like the two from Cicero Press) that give specific route instructions, as these are unnecessary with all the good waymarks. It was necessary to book accommodation every night; thus, a phone and good language skills are required. I walked with a small group the entire way in France, but booking may not have been necessary if I had been walking alone. Unlike Spain, all accommodation can be reserved, leaving it difficult for pilgrims, especially over Easter and some weekends, when the French would come from all over the country for a few days of walking.
Carrying the minimum weight is essential—only a few younger people camp. In France, dorm beds are available in gites, which are the cheapest accommodation. In Spain, pilgrim accommodations are in aubergues. Ideally, you should have about 8-9 kgs in a 40-50 litre backpack. A light sleeping bag is a necessity. One only needs walking clothes, and by washing every night (which many pilgrims do), one can get by with a minimum of everything. I mailed home extra clothes (including my rain jacket, opting for an umbrella, and a very light windbreaker). The loss of 2 kgs was very appreciated. One option available everywhere was bag transfers to your next accommodation. Several tour companies even provide guided walks (this seems like a very non-authentic way to do it).
Food can be interesting, especially in Spain, because of the time spent eating. Purchased breakfast is white bread, butter, jam and coffee +/- juice. Food was hard to find in Spain before 10, so this meal is best dealt with alone. Lunch usually consisted of bread, meat, tomato, and cheese bought daily. Dinner was most often the menu of the day – a first course of salad, soup, vegetable or pasta, second course of pork, chicken or fish, usually with French fries, dessert, wine and bread, generally for 9-11 euros, a good value. Many cooks make most of their meals, often sharing with other pilgrims.
Foot and ankle problems are common. Walking so many kilometres daily carrying a weight is an excellent recipe for blisters. I escaped virtually unscathed by wearing light, well broken-in low hikers with a large toe box, double socks, prophylactic duct tape, and good feet. I did almost no training, and it took 10 days before the walking came easily.
Most people feel the Camino is a life-altering experience. The idea of walking almost 1600 km seemed daunting at first, but the miles went by surprisingly fast. This experience should appeal to many ACC members and will become the trip of a lifetime.
Only where you have walked have you been.
