Planning a Pilgrimage

Cathedral de Santiago

In mid to late August I completed a journey I have been wanting to make for many years now. I walked the Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a distance of roughly 190 miles. What an amazing feat this was for me to accomplish and one I will never forget. 

I cannot recall when I first heard about walking the Camino but it instantly intrigued me. I frequently write about my love of history and the history of the Camino is fascinating. 

St. James (Sant Iago in Spanish) was one of the original 12 apostles of Christ. He was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Evangelist. He was reported to have assisted in spreading Christianity throughout the Iberian peninsula. Tradition states that after his death his body was placed on a boat. His followers, guided by angels, transported him to the western coast of Spain and then was found centuries later by a local farmer. 

In the 9th century King Alfonso II heard that the remains of St. James had been found and undertook the first pilgrimage from Oviedo to the burial site. He there commissioned a chapel to house the remains which would later be built into the Cathedral de Santiago. From that first pilgrimage many others followed and additional routes developed. Thousands of pilgrims have made the journey since that time every year for religious or other purposes. 

After the 14th century the popularity of the Camino began to decline but was rejuvenated in the 1980s by Father Elías Valiña Sampedro who undertook the task of marking the way with yellow arrows to help pilgrims navigate. Since that time the Camino has exploded with interest with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims making the journey each year. 

I had not expected I would be able to complete my journey this year because of all the travel restrictions that have been in place the last year but I watched faithfully waiting for the opportunity. I was hoping this year would find me walking as a pilgrim because 2021 is a Jacobean Year or Ano Xacobea. This occurs whenever the feast of St. James, July 25, falls on a Sunday. During a Jacobean Year the Holy Door or Porta Santo is opened for pilgrims to walk through and a full plenary indulgence forgiving all sins is granted. 

In July I learned that travel restrictions had lessened to the point that I felt I could safely travel and so I began making arrangements. I had only a limited time period that would allow me to go and complete the walk and this was one of the deciding factors on picking which route to take. I decided to walk the Primitivo or Original way beginning in Oviedo. This pilgrimage is just over 300 km across the mountainous regions in northern Spain. I planned to walk it in 13 days with a few days either side of the pilgrimage to acclimate after travel and do some sightseeing. 

I had just over 3 weeks to prepare for this tremendous undertaking but having geared up for backpacking I had most of the equipment needed already and I had been walking 2-3 miles per day most days already. I ramped up my walking to 4-5 miles per day and eventually added my full backpack to my daily walks. I'm sure I had some neighbors guessing what I was up to now! I'd read that others just go and their walking is their training but I wanted to be a little more prepared than that. I planned on walking 12-18 miles per day once I started and would carry my backpack with me as I walked. There are options to have your bag transported to your daily destination and I didn't rule this out if necessary. 

My pack contained the bare essentials. I would be carrying only a change of clothes, hat, lightweight rain jacket, minimal toiletries, water and snacks, small sleeping bag and a few small electronics like my cell phone and head light. I would (usually) hand wash my walking clothes each night after arriving at my lodging. I also had some pages torn from a guide book and a notebook listing all the persons I planned on praying for on my journey. It weighed less than 14 pounds fully loaded and still I looked for ways to reduce how much to carry. Just before leaving I unloaded my pack and began removing yet more things that I considered unnecessary. I never regretted removing those items as I planned to carry my full pack daily to my destination and I found there were some items I never needed. I also decided to take a second small carry-on bag with me for the shoulder days. I had learned I could mail this to my final destination just before I started walking in Oviedo. This would allow me a few extra clothing items and wouldn't have to wash my walking clothes every night once I reached the end. 

New walking shoes were a big question. Recommendations included getting a larger size to accommodate for swollen feet and prevention of blisters. So I searched to find the best shoes only to find that nationwide shortages were a problem with shoes also. I ended up ordering shoes just like I had been walking in only half size larger and once received I began breaking them in. I have a problem with plantar fasciitis and was concerned about this but my feet were feeling some better before the trip. I purchased insoles and hoped for the best. I read up on blister prevention and blister care and all the other various foot problems that can occur hoping that I would be able to manage whatever developed. Foot problems did develop as I walked but I managed as best I could and still have some problems yet to resolve but overall it was not enough to impede my journey

I also followed some online forums for information and tips. There I learned that lodging options were limited to 50% due to Covid and there had been problems with pilgrims finding a place to stay. Booking lodging was recommended and since I didn't want to sleep in the open I began making those arrangements too. Typically a pilgrim walks and seeks shelter when they become tired or reaches a desirable destination. A well developed system has evolved over the centuries with small towns in close proximity so usually there is lodging every few miles along the way. I had only to plan how far to walk each day and there were recommendations to follow in the guidebooks I had purchased and online. 

Albergues are the typical lodging for pilgrims. These offer dormitory style housing for pilgrims. Meals may be provided also if the location is more remote. Other options include hostels, pensións, and hotels. The cost of albergues is minimal compared to what I was used to paying for a night's lodging for a vacation ranging from 5 to 16 euros. Some were based solely on donations. Other options which provided more privacy were higher but still reasonable. I wanted to stay as close to the typical pilgrimage as possible so I made most of my reservations in albergues with a few pensións along the way where an albergue was not available. I was happy I did this as there were fellow pilgrims that did not who had some problems finding lodging last minute and had to walk additional mileage. I did regret the loss of spontaneity and trust in the Camino to provide (a popular Camino motto) but as a solo female traveler safety considerations were important. 

typical albergue

I have had many people question if I felt safe making this journey alone. I don't consider myself an overly brave person but I have to say that I never felt in any danger and I'm not one to worry. I had, of course, done my usual extensive reading on so many aspects of the trip and safety was a topic I checked on. While there were a very limited number of reports that would cause some to be concerned I considered how many thousands of people were making this journey as solo female travelers and realized how slim the chances were. I was more concerned that I would be worrying my family at home and for those reasons I made reservations and during my walk I tried to be alert for anything or anyone that might have posed a threat. 

Travel requirements included a Covid vaccine to enter Spain and a negative Covid test within 3 days of returning to the US. Phone apps allowed me to enter the information needed and schedule covid testing to make the travel requirements easy to manage. I purchased trip insurance with health protection that included the cost of quarantining just in case. Fortunately this was never needed. 

Now that I have returned from this awesome adventure I am happier than I ever expected to have completed this. I had suffered loss just prior to my trip and my whole focus had changed drastically. I questioned cancelling but most advised me not to and fortunately I didn't. For me to have some time to pray and reflect on my situation was what I needed. My daily routine of waking, tying my shoes, packing my bag and heading out the door to walk was a comfort for my grieving soul. I had time alone to cry and found a community of people for companionship for other times to break the loneliness I felt. It was always going to be a spiritual journey for me and as such it surpassed all my expectations. The emotions that I experienced after completing this were indescribable and like most people that take this journey I hope to do it again. 

My next post will detail with pictures my journey from Oviedo to Santiago hopefully giving my readers something to look forward to. 

the Camino provides ... friendship