What is The Camino de Santiago and How Long Have Peopled Walked it?
The Camino de Santiago is the route taken by pilgrims from around the world to reach the city of Santiago de Compostela. An ancient legend states that the remains of St. James were carried by boat from Jerusalem to Northern Spain where he was buried on what is now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The earliest visits to the Shrine of Saint James dates back to the early 9th century.
The name of Compostela comes from the Latin Campus stellae which means field of stars and at the same time has a link to the other name of the Camino de Santiago which is the Milky Way. The reason for this is because when walking El Camino de Santiago at night you can see our galaxy the Milky Way directly over you. In other words, you are walking from East to West in the same direction as the Milky Way. Again, while walking in the daylight, the pilgrims also follow another star, the Sun, as it crosses from east to west. It is therefore difficult to say whether El Camino took its name from the galaxy or vice versa.
As the symbol of the Camino de Santiago, the shell is seen very frequently along the trails. The shell is seen on posts and signs along the Camino in order to guide pilgrims along the way.
The shell is even more commonly seen on the pilgrims themselves. Wearing a shell denotes that one is a traveler on the Camino de Santiago.
Most pilgrims receive a shell at the beginning of their journey and either attach it to them by sewing it onto their clothes or wearing it around their neck or by simply keeping it in their backpack.
Is “The Camino” Strictly a Religious Pilgrimage?
The Camino route is taken not only because of religious reasons; many of the pilgrims and travelers undertake it to live a spiritual experience, adventure of meeting new people, visiting beautiful places, be close to the nature, practice sport etc.
The facilities along the most popular route, El Camino Frances, are very good. You will find one or more pilgrims’ hostels or, in Spanish, albergues in nearly every village you walk through. In many of the albergues, you can get your “Pilgrims credential” or “Credential del Peregrino”.
Finisterre
In this place pilgrims perform series of “rites of purification”:
– Bathing on the beach Langosteira, symbolizes the purification of the body,
– Burning clothes, with the fire tries to burn all the things you want to undo,
– Watch the sunset, symbolizes death (the sun at sea) and resurrection (the next day).
A dear friend of mine sent me this message the other day.
It has been said ” that your Camino begins where you live – that you are called to ‘The Way’” and if call of the Camino is very strong and, if you’re meant to go, it’s your way. You can do it..”
- All Camino de Santiago maps are downloaded from santiagoways .com
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Some historical information comes from Wikipedia.com
KEEP WALKING!
