The pilgrims' way in north-west Spain follows centuries of tradition. The story goes that the disciple of Jesus, James, went to Spain, but after a dream went back to Jerusalem where he was killed.
His body, or part of it was brought back. According to one legend, the body was lost at sea and later recovered covered in shells.
The place where he was laid to rest was called Santiago (Spanish for St James) di (of) Compostela (field of stars).
The pilgrimage route follows a marked path. Along the way are inexpensive hostels for religious pilgrims.
My friend who is Spanish did the walk. She told me and a room full of people about it at a Toastmaster International Club meeting in London, where she now lives. If you complete the walk, as she did, you can receive a small certificate in Spanish. If you are doing it as part of a religious and spiritual event, the Church will give you a grander certificate. But you need to have registered with the religious authorities at the start, in which case you are given a book which you can get stamped at every section along the way.
The symbol of the whole story is the shell. You can buy or be given a shell. In the middle ages, it served the practical purpose of being a scoop for drinking fresh water and also a plate.
The stops along the way are inexpensive hostels, which allocated firstly to registered pilgrims. The final stop is at a grand five star Parador by the cathedral.
If you want to know more about it, you can see details and photos in Wikipedia. If you can get a stay or a meal here, do so. I love the paradors. They are all converted historic buildings, after rescued fom ruins and restored, featuring local architecture, objects, and history plaques, and featuring regional food, designed to make tourists want to go around Spain spreading the tourism to benefit everybody.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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