Journey Inwards on the Field of Stars
I plan to walk the El Camino de Santiago in September and October 2011. The El Camino – also known as the Way of St James, Jakobsweg and many other names follow different routes. I am planning to walk the El Camino Frances, which starts in France in the small town of St Jean Pied de Port and to go all the way to Finisterre in Spain. Finisterre was thought to be the end of the world in medieval times. My total journey from St Jean Pied de Port to Finisterre amounts to about 879km’s. I am planning to walk this over a six week period keeping in mind an El Camino saying that goes something like “The best pace is your pace”.
Why am I doing this you might ask? As many pilgrims that have gone before me and also many that will go after me the reasons are many and varied. The main reason is a very personal one that I will not be sharing on this blog. Other than that, I hope to be able to see life differently and to come back a changed person. I am expecting miracles on my walk. As you journey with me, you will learn a lot about me, the things that makes me happy, the things that make me sad etc.
Walking the El Camino will be challenging for a couple of reasons, the biggest being the fact that I broke my leg very badly in 2009 and I have some concerns about this. The other challenge for me is on a very selfish level and that is the fact that I do not share bedrooms or bathrooms very well. . . :-). On the Camino, accommodation is in aubergues – similar to backpacker hostels and sharing is at the order of the day.
This blog will be updated weekly until I start walking at the beginning of September 2011. I am hoping to be able to post daily once I start walking. I would appreciate your support via sms, posting on the blog, mailing me, keeping me in your prayers and your hearts etc.
I am still looking for some sponsors and if you feel moved in any way to contribute towards my expenses you will find my bank details at the end of this post.
A bit more about the El Camino de Santiago – (source – Wikipedia)
The route to Santiago de Compostela was a Roman trade route, nicknamed the Milky Way by travellers, as it followed the Milky Way to the Atlantic Ocean. The popular Spanish name for the astronomical Milky Way is El Camino de Santiago. According to a common medieval legend, the Milky Way was formed from the dust raised by travelling pilgrims. Compostela itself means "field of stars". To this day, many pilgrims continue from Santiago de Compostela to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, to finish their journeys at Spain's westernmost point, Cape Finisterre. Although Cape Finisterre is not the westernmost point of mainland Europe (Cabo da Roca in Portugal is further west), the fact that the Romans called it Finisterrae (literally the end of the world or Land's End in Latin) indicates that they viewed it as such.
The scallop shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings, even if its relevance may actually derive from the desire of pilgrims to take home a souvenir. The scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in Santiago de Compostela. The shell is also a metaphor for the pilgrim. As the waves of the ocean wash scallop shells up on the shores of Galicia, God's hand also guided the pilgrims to Santiago. The scallop shell also served practical purposes for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. The shell was the right size for gathering water to drink or for eating out of as a makeshift bowl.
The daily needs of pilgrims on their way to and from Compostela were met by a series of hospitals and hospices.
The Modern-day Pilgrimage
Today tens of thousands of pilgrims set out each year from their front doorstep, or popular starting points across Europe, to make their way to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, some by bicycle, and a few travel as some of their medieval counterparts did, on horseback or by donkey. In addition to people undertaking a religious pilgrimage, the majority are travellers and hikers who walk the route for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign land. Also, many consider the experience a spiritual adventure to remove themselves from the bustle of modern life. It acts as a retreat for many modern "pilgrims".
Accommodation
In Spain and France, pilgrim's hostels with beds in dormitories dot the common routes, providing overnight accommodation for pilgrims who hold a credencial. In Spain this type of accommodation is called a refugio or albergue, both of which are similar to youth hostels or hostelries in the French system of gîtes d'étape. Staying at hostels usually cost between five and nine euros per night per bed in a dormitory, although a few hostels known as donativos operate on voluntary donations. Pilgrims are usually limited to one night's accommodation and are expected to leave by eight in the morning to continue their pilgrimage. Hostels may be run by the local parish, the local council, private owners, or pilgrims' associations. Occasionally these refugios are located in monasteries, such as the one run by monks in Samos, Spain and the one in Santiago de Compostela.
Note : I have heard that aubergues are more expensive as more and more people start treating this as a cheap holiday or not give donations at all at the "donativos" auberges. I will report back on this as I do my daily posts.
Credencial or Pilgrim's Passport
Most pilgrims carry a document called the credencial, purchased for a few euros from a Spanish tourist agency, a church on the route or from their church back home. The credencial is a pass which gives access to inexpensive, sometimes free, overnight accommodation in refugios along the trail. Also known as the "pilgrim's passport", the credencial is stamped with the official St. James stamp of each town or refugio at which the pilgrim has stayed. It provides walking pilgrims with a record of where they ate or slept, but also serves as proof to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago that the journey is accomplished according to an official route. The stamped credencial is necessary if the pilgrim wants to obtain a compostela - a certificate of accomplishment given to pilgrims on completing the Way. To earn the compostela one needs to walk a minimum of 100 km or cycle at least 200 km. In practice, for walkers, that means starting in the small city of Sarria, for it has good transportation connections via bus and rail to other places in Spain. Pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela who have walked at least the last 100 km, or cycled 200 km to get there (as indicated on their credencial), are eligible for the compostela from the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago.
A Spanish phrase that you will read many times here on my blog is Buen Camino! Basically it means good luck and happy travelling or safe journey but on the Camino it is more an acknowledgement of a fellow peregrino – a person walking the way searching for answers, a person on a soul journey (which we all are), a fellow traveller on the journey of life.
So I wish you Buen Camino!
Banking Details:
W J J Theron
Standard Bank, Current Account
Branch Code - 051001
Account Number : 270786457
