Like any other long-distance walk, there’s a physical and mental commitment to the task, a simple rhythm of daily needs to meet. For me, a month-long hike sounded like an amazing challenge but an achievable one, too.īeing away from friends and family, work commitments, and an Internet connection gave me the time I needed to decompress and follow my thoughts to wherever they wanted to go there’s a kind of spirituality in that, too. The vast majority of pilgrims are on their own recreational or spiritual quests. Today, believers make up a small proportion of people walking the Camino de Santiago. But this was the real-life ending to my trip down the Camino de Santiago, a Catholic pilgrimage that was Medieval Europe’s answer to the Appalachian Trail. The hundred-year-old ritual taking place before me and the month-long walk I had taken to get there seemed like something out of a George R.R. I shuddered to think what might happen if the cord snapped, spilling 175 pounds of heated metal and 90 pounds of coal onto the crowd below Eight priests in heavy robes acted as the counterweight, controlling a rope as thick as my forearm. And never went by.A smoking silver thurible swooped through the gothic arches overhead, richly scented incense pouring from its sides. For the great friendship and for the opportunity to grow. I can not say how grateful I am to have met Isi. After four months of planing I started my journey. I knew I have to do that and started reading all about it I could find. She just finished it a few months ago and when she was talking about it I was excited, immediately. I heard for the first time about the Camino de Santiago when I met my friend Isi. To get the Compostela you need to walk 100 km or cycle 250 km at least. Today it’s more a nice souvenir, but in former times criminals were sent to Santiago de Compostela to think about iniquities and to grow a better person. The compostela served as proof that they were actually there. With this certificate all your sins are forgiven. In the end you have to show your Credencial at the pilgrim’s office in Santiago de Compostela to get your Compostela, a certificate issued by the Catholic Church. Every pilgrim carries a credencial, the pilgrim’s passport, it allows you to enter the official pilgrim’s accomodation ( Alberques), which are very simple and cheap. It’s also a symbol for freedom, cause its common to complete the last 90 km to the Atlantic coast to Finisterra – the world’s end – and collect a scallop at the beach. The scallop is the symbol of Saint James and wearing it on the backpack or neck will identify you as a pilgrim. Pilgrims usually hike on foot, but it’s also common to cycle, with a backpack on their shoulders. During Middle Ages it was a Christian road, today you will find any Nationality and every kind of persuasion on the way. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth. James’s remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain, where he was buried in what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. The Camino the Santiago also known as the Way of Saint Jaimes is an ancient pilgrimage network leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain.
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