A programme of self-discovery or just a long and painful walk across the French and Spanish countryside.
That was a note scribbled down just before I set off to hike the Camino in late March 2012.
My starting point was Bordeaux, France. The finish line was the city of Santiago De Compostela in the far northern corner of Spain. The route was along the famous Camino De Santiago (in English: ‘the Way of St James’). All told the hike was roughly 1,150 kilometres.
The Camino is the most famous pilgrimage route in Europe (if not the world). It’s also one of only two long distance trails which are recognised as world heritage sites. The other is the ancient Kumano Kodo trail in Japan.
There are hundreds of long distance treks across Europe but the Camino is unique for its spiritual and historical significance. Legend has it that St James was buried in Galicia. After a monk found his body a Cathedral was built on the site and this was the origin of the city of Santiago. Since then Christian pilgrims have been traipsing across Europe for well over a millennium to pay homage to the remains of St James.
In days gone by (that is to say, before cheap flights) most pilgrims would start the Camino at their front door. These days most people start walking from St Jean Pied Du Port in the foothills of the Pyrenes mountains. The route passes through the well-known cities of Pamplona, Burgos, and Leon, as well as numerous smaller towns and villages. When I arrived in the town of Estrella there was a lively festival taking place which, at first glance, seemed a like Ku Klux Klan reunion; with a few hundred Klan members marching the around the town. It turns out this was a local Easter festival and what looked like Klan regalia was actually traditional Christian costume which gets dusted-off once a year for the Easter procession.
The most difficult part of the hike is probably the climb over the Pyrenes mountains. Most people tackle this on day one although by the time I reached the Pyrenes i’d been hiking (mostly hobbling) for 12 days. After foolishly starting out with a pack which weighed close to 18 kg, by day four I was in agony. Most of the Camino runs on or alongside tarmac roads which is tough on the joints. By the time I reached St Jean Pied Du Port on day 12, I’d discarded all utensils, spare batteries, and the extra tins of tuna I had in my pack just to get my pack weight down to 8kg. At that point, the damage was I was already done. As I’d predicted before starting out, the Camino was quite literally a long and painful walk across Spain. But, it was worth it and I’d do it again; although next time with a much lighter pack.
Santiago De Compostela, Spain.
5 May 2012
