Camino de Santiago

According to legend, the bones of Jacob (Saint James the Great), one of Christ’s apostles, arrived in northern Spain on a scallop shell and his burial place was revealed to a local bishop by the stars and there the church was established. Since the tenth century, pilgrims have come to the church to receive indulgence for sins (by the way, this is also for sins that the person will commit in the future – so this is a worthwhile deal).

There are a number of routes that all end in Santiago de Compostela, the longest and most traveled is from France for over 1000 km that crosses the Pyrenees. Other routes start in Spain and cross it, but we chose the “Portuguese” route that starts from Lisbon and goes directly north to Santiago. We started the route in the middle of it in the city of Porto (the source of port wine) and from there we walked about 250 km to Santiago (12 days).

“Each walks his own Camino”, there are those who do the journey for spiritual reasons and others for adventurous reasons, but everyone experiences the route in a different way. Unlike the Israel Trail, here there is a road inn every few kilometers where you can drink wine, eat or sleep. You can find everything – from free accommodation (at fire stations), through hostels (5 euros per night), to luxury hotels. You can walk alone or in organized groups with a guide, you can carry the whole house on your back or have your luggage transferred to the next station. The road is marked with a yellow arrow that is difficult to miss and if you deviate from the path there will always be a local person to direct you back to it.

A strange way to spend your vacation, and in any case, tens of thousands of people from all over the world choose to spend their vacation walking for hundreds of kilometers (in a busy year, about a quarter of a million people make a pilgrimage to Santiago).

What was interesting for us on the way was not the scenery, which is mostly very beautiful (passed through sleepy towns from the Middle Ages, along peacefully flowing streams, lots of water), nor the challenge of walking, which is somewhat challenging (about 20 km every day, when on the peak day we walked 35 km), not even the adventurousness of the way (mostly flat but with challenging climbs at times), nor even the spirituality of the way (in any case, we are Jewish and usually pray in other establishment). The most interesting thing for us was the people we met, a diverse mosaic of people from around the world that you meet time and time again along the journey (all moving in the same direction and at almost the same pace). So who did we meet:

B and M, from the USA – we met them for the first time in a restaurant, where M proposed to B in front of the diners (all pilgrims). We have seen it in movies so many times, but it was the first time we saw it in real life. M is a graphic artist who specializes in graffiti in Hebrew (learned Hebrew alphabet for that purpose), B is a counselor at an international school in Germany and they hope to be reunited soon. They both walk with M’s 89-year-old father, a tough guy who refuses to stop even for coffee breaks.

H – an American of Mexican origin (40 years in the USA), a mechanical engineer who took early retirement and has been walking different parts of the journey for 40 days. He chews garlic as a matter of routine (against a sore throat) and adds hot pepper to every meal. An engineer but constantly quoting philosophers like Foucault etc. We didn’t understand most of the quotes (even though his English is excellent) but we understood that he is a bit eccentric and really happy in his life.

S and M from Brisbane, Australia. He works in an insurance company and she is a nurse in a hospital, an elderly couple without children. We met them for the first time on the third day on the tough uphill road (wondering if the route would continue to deteriorate) and since then consistently almost every day throughout the trip. We walked together and talked about everything. They come to Europe every year for a trip of about a month and a half. Unlike us, spoiled brats who sleep in hotels, they insisted on sleeping in albergues (pilgrim hostels).

C – a Japanese from Brazil who walks between 30 and 40 km a day and doesn’t have time to stop and talk – “I have to continue” he said after 3 minutes, even though it’s raining outside and the bus stop where we parked is the only shelter in the visible range.

A from Russia to whom it is the fifth Camino. She has already marched the French way in every possible direction and is now testing the Portuguese route.

D – a Canadian who lives in the UK and now lives in Santiago (married to Spanish lady). A Camino guide who leads a group of Canadians aged 75 and over and was really looking for people to talk to along the way so they wouldn’t ask him “how many more kilometers to the nearest cafe”. He knows the Camino in all its shades and was really interested in Bibi.

A couple from Japan – he is tall and a little lame, she is short and walks slowly. We passed them at least five times and did not hear them exchange a word (including not responding to the traditional ‘Buen Camino’ greeting)

The Norwegian S and his Danish wife (from the Faroe Islands – according to her the most beautiful islands in the world), who do not have any common language even though the languages are similar and they understand each other, they mix Norwegian Danish and Faroese. S takes care of youth at a boarding school for youth in need, and K is a social worker who testifies that even in Scandinavia caregivers are at the bottom of the wage scale. They were in Israel, volunteering in a kibbutz. Complying with the Scandinavians stereotype, it took several meetings to turn them from frozen to nice people who even smile sometimes.

We forgot his Irish name – pensioner who travels alone, his wife prefers a cruise on a liner and doesn’t join him on trips, loves Santiago and has been there several times already. For the first time he did the whole thousand km from France to Santiago in 38 days (hurrying all the way), since he has learned that you can do smaller sections with rests on the way. He is ready to share his philosophy of life (adventure, adventure, adventure all the time) if you only invite him for a glass of beer.

D from New York who works for half a year as a tourist guide in Las Vegas and for half a year travels the world together with his wife (whom we have not met because she is always either in front or behind). Made us think if there is another way to live, other than half a year – half a year.

Still we didn’t talk about the couple of Hungarians who lost their phone, the couple of Dutch women who changed clothes on the route as if there was no one there, the Germans who walk in groups, the cyclists who announce their arrival from afar, and the dozens of Spanish speakers who not only don’t speak English but also didn’t make an effort to communicate with us weirdos who speak a strange language.

Who didn’t we meet?… Israelis. During the whole trip we did not meet even one Israeli. Although the way is identified with Christianity, most of the people we met testified that they do not do it for religious reasons. We think it’s a wonderful route, suitable for every age and every budget.

Next year the Primitivo route (from the center of Spain to Santiago) which they claim is the most beautiful of all.