Antomuchacho
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Planning on startting first time at e d of april start of may
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There are in France : gîtes-pélerins and in Italy: ostellos. Not seen any in Germany but I may have missed them.Are there alberques in holland, germany italy etc?
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I think that you mean the welcome certificate instead of the Compestela. The distance certificate is an optional purchase of 3€.Some people do it purely for sport reasons, and they are supposed to get the distance certificate instead of the Compostela.
Actually, there were many places of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. Einsiedeln in Switzerland, Conques in France, Cologne in Germany, Canterbury in England are but a few, and of course Rome. there was some competition among the cities for the "best" holy relics, even to the point of some "midnight requisitions" going on. Santiago became popular when Jerusalem fell, and so it became the longest-distance destination.Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
There are many saints, perhaps you just mean the apostles? There are numerous reasons why James and Compostela became so popular both in the past and again in the last few decades but overall Rome was and is the number one Christian pilgrimage destination. Rome has the largest collection of (real or presumed) burial places of apostles (see below). Apostles were the saints with the closest connection to Jesus and were considered as powerful intercessors.Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
Thats very informative of yous all thank you!
Just wondering why st james got so much reverance above others!!
Did anyone actually hold st james in high regard before they embarked on his/hers journey or did they just see it as an opportunity to get away socially and also have a spiritual goal!? I.e st james is not one of the many saints us catholics would follow on a well known basis !?
Why so much more popular? Only in recent times has it become more popular. People state many reasons for the steadily increasing popularity of the Camino. My personal opinion and belief is that Pope John Paul II put the Camino de Santiago back into people's consciousness during the Fourth World Youth Day in 1989. But that's just my Catholicism showing. According to official statistics only about 40% of the pilgrims walking the Camino today claim that they are motivated primarily by religious reasons. The popularity of the Camino really took off in 1993 when the Routes of Camino de Compostella was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The rise in popularity is quite a phenomenon.
I think this shows very nicely how the interpretation of the Santiago pilgrimage has changed. Earlier pilgrims did say that they were going to pay a visit to "the Sir James in Galicia" and the idea of one single way (or four ways) to Santiago did not exit. In fact, I've read a number of reports of medieval and later pilgrims and got quite frustrated that they either did not mention in much detail how they got to Santiago or their journey there and back didn't match the Camino Frances (or Norte etc) at all. The miracle powers of Saint James who could raise people from the dead, even after his own death, unlike Saint Martin and other saints for example who could do this only while they were alive was a very impressive feat for earlier pilgrims. The miracle of the chickens was globally known. This has all but faded today.The first two were 'to' Jerusalem and 'to' Rome - ie, these were about 'the destination', and didn't involve focus on how you got there. The third was 'The Way of St James' (El Camino de Santiago) She noted that the name of this third pilgrimage places the focus on the journey itself, ie, the pilgrims' manner of travelling, of being on the path and with others' as they go toward the end of the route.
Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
...one of the two big lessons of 'The Way' would in theory be to care for fellow-pilgrims as much or more than for myself.
For years and years, I've visited the cathedrals of Canterbury and Cologne, both as a visitor and to attend a service, without being really aware that they were once important pilgrimage sites that attracted pilgrims from near and far who came on foot (or horseback) to venerate Thomas Becket in Canterbury and the Three Kings in Cologne. I'm sure the pilgrimage aspect was in the guidebooks but it was a minor footnote for me before I developed an interest thanks to the revival of the pilgrimage to Santiago.Actually, there were many places of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. Einsiedeln in Switzerland, Conques in France, Cologne in Germany, Canterbury in England are but a few, and of course Rome.
And are most people doing the camino because of st james remains and reverance within christianity?
I do not know about most people. I know that I had an opportunity to try out walking from Roncesvalles to Santiago with a very good friend, as a once off experience. i knew that it was a pilgrimage, and I was a bit sceptical about the origins of the story of St James... but I parked that and said: as a pilgrimage, in the ‘true’ Christian sense, let me try! So off we went from Roncesvalles. One step at a time, one day at a time. First three days were gentle, with lifts to and from starting points. After that, on our own. Although, not quite, we were already walking along with a loose group of folks who generally stayed in same albergues. And so, each day brought its challenges and its blessings. And it was an offering, in honesty, of the aches and pains of the physical effort, simply as an experience of doing something voluntarily that I had never done before, and of its essence, have never done again. Even if I do the French Camino again, that first time was unique. I chose to let that be something truly special. Each day was basically offered up in my heart for different people - not that they would ever know. It was a way of expressing my deep gratitude for being alive, for all of my life and everyone who had been in it up till then. It was a joy at times, and a hardship at other times. But hey! Here I am, 12 years older, and still half thinking of repeating the whole thing...
Thats amazing, never knew so many were in the Vatican. Always thought that the location of the remains of Thomas was unknown and possibly somewhere in Asia. You learn something new everyday so thanks for this bit of informationThere are many saints, perhaps you just mean the apostles? There are numerous reasons why James and Compostela became so popular both in the past and again in the last few decades but overall Rome was and is the number one Christian pilgrimage destination. Rome has the largest collection of (real or presumed) burial places of apostles (see below). Apostles were the saints with the closest connection to Jesus and were considered as powerful intercessors.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, Marian veneration and pilgrimage sites dedicated to the Virgin Mary gained in popularity and that's the case today, too. Long distance pilgrimage on foot isn't such a big thing in the religious world of today, although it may appear so to us here on the forum. They travel long-distance by bus or go on short pilgrimages on foot (1 day to several days), certainly in Spain, Italy and Germany, also in France and in numerous other countries.
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There are 14 apostles in this overview but Judas Iscariot got excluded for obvious reasons and was replaced by Matthias, and Paul was not among the initial 12 named in the Bible.
I tried to keep the message short. The story of medieval/earlier relics is complicated and fascinating. There are many other places that lay claim to important relics of these saints, for example for Saint Andrew it is also Patras in Greece and Edinburgh in Scotland. For Saint James it's Santiago and Jerusalem.Thats amazing, never knew so many were in the Vatican. Always thought that the location of the remains of Thomas was unknown and possibly somewhere in Asia.
Wouldn't that fit the description of "by the 1960s and 1970s pilgrimage on foot to Santiago had all but died out"?I walked through villages where I was told that I was the first pilgrim they'd seen in 40 years.
Yes, the president of Xunta Manuel Fraga was who took the initiative.Wouldn't that fit the description of "by the 1960s and 1970s pilgrimage on foot to Santiago had all but died out"?
Anyway, I think the question is why the pilgrimage to Santiago was revived/recreated/started to blossom again and why did this not happen with other once important long-distance pilgrimages on foot, to Rome, to Wilsnack (who has ever heard of it - we know that Margery Kempe went there), to Cologne, to Tours .... Some of these places are trying to follow Compostela's example now, with varying degrees of success.
I think one thing that hasn't been mentioned are the efforts that Galicia in particular invested in promoting the Camino de Santiago from about the Jacobean Holy Year 1993 onwards, both nationally in Spain and internationally abroad. And their investments into the infrastructure. This is perhaps one of the most decisive factors when one tries to explain the current large numbers of people walking to Santiago in some kind of pilgrimage spirit or the other instead of walking on foot to some other historical pilgrimage destination. How come that it became a mass phenomenon again?
I believe that I understand what you mean by this. But even so... How do you reconcile this assertion with the phenomenon of the vast increase of traffic on Santiago de Compostella "Holy Years?" If Saint James is no longer the focus as you suggest, then it wouldn't make any difference if July 25 was on a Sunday or not. Clearly, those years when Saint James Feast Day lands on a Sunday seem to be very important to a lot of people. Maybe this phenomenon is not completely due to Saint James, but there seems to be something "Saint James-ish" going on during these years, don't you think?Saint James is no longer the focus of the pilgrimage.
You raise an interesting point and I've been thinking about this. But I need to do something else than type long posts right now. So I just hope that no religious or historically motivated skirmish will break out in the meantime that will lead to the closure of the thread ...How do you reconcile this assertion with the phenomenon of the vast increase of traffic on Santiago de Compostella "Holy Years?" [...] Maybe this phenomenon is not completely due to Saint James, but there seems to be something "Saint James-ish" going on during these years, don't you think?
Oh yes... these discussions are more suited to sitting around the table with coffee than they are quickly typing in a few comments when I really ought to be busy doing something else..You raise an interesting point and I've been thinking about this. But I need to do something else than type long posts right now.
Wouldn't that fit the description of "by the 1960s and 1970s pilgrimage on foot to Santiago had all but died out"?
Anyway, I think the question is why the pilgrimage to Santiago was revived/recreated/started to blossom again and why did this not happen with other once important long-distance pilgrimages on foot, to Rome
How come that it became a mass phenomenon again?
His name is familiar to me, mainly through this forum, but I had to look up details: President of the regional government of Galicia 1990-2005 and Spanish Minister for Information and Tourism 1962-1969, among other functions. Xacobeo 92 campaign!Yes, the president of Xunta Manuel Fraga was who took the initiative.
You raise a good point, sir! All experience is indelibly integrated in us. Hearing about realities is interesting or attractive or fascinating or... but experiencing them is literally life changing, and none more so than the imprinting within us of the fact of walking consciously as a pilgrim. I am not referring in this little thought above to people who have no pilgrim dimension in their caminos. I have no quibble at all with walking for other reasons. You say “We knew about Lourdes...” walking on pilgrimage changes information into knowledge...Were many people here actually raised with the awareness of what a 'pilgrimage' was? Or that things like the Camino de Santiago existed?
I was raised Catholic in a small northern US town, and I don't recall learning anything about modern-day pilgrimages for any saints. We knew about Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe - but these were all Marian apparitions, not tombs or relics. I remember lots of bake sales for groups raising funds for a "pilgrimage to Rome" or a "pilgrimage to the Holy Land" - but mostly these seemed to me to be standard tours, just with more praying involved.
Guaranteed, though, we had never heard of Santiago de Compostela, or of any of the Caminos that led there.
Were many people here actually raised with the awareness of what a 'pilgrimage' was? Or that things like the Camino de Santiago existed?
As a kid, I occasionally heard adult family members and friends mention local or regional pilgrimages and I have one clear memory from childhood: visiting a tiny chapel not far away from home where I saw ex-votos for the first time, in the form of tiny body parts like arms and legs made from clay or wax and other items that pilgrims had brought to the chapel. I don't remember to whom the chapel is dedicated.Were many people here actually raised with the awareness of what a 'pilgrimage' was? Or that things like the Camino de Santiago existed?
I remember lots of bake sales for groups raising funds for a "pilgrimage to Rome" or a "pilgrimage to the Holy Land" - but mostly these seemed to me to be standard tours, just with more praying involved.
...The "100km rule" for receiving a Compostela is a very recent innovation linked to the 1993 Holy Year and I think it has distorted our understanding of what the essence of pilgrimage is. Far more people visit the Cathedral and the shrine of the Apostle annually using transport than arrive on foot having walked 100km or more. Is pilgrimage defined by the method of travel or by the object of devotion? Walking pilgrimages are only one part of the whole far wider picture.
I think a large part depends on who we are, or what our backgrounds are. For the farmers I grew up with, their trip to Italy with a Church group might have been the only overseas trip they took in their lives. For them, I think it really was a 'pilgrimage.'By the very nature of this group we tend to be fixated on the idea of pilgrimage and walking/cycling as being inextricably linked. But the reality is that for most of the world's major pilgrim destinations pilgrims arrive by train, bus or airplane... Is pilgrimage defined by the method of travel or by the object of devotion? Walking pilgrimages are only one part of the whole far wider picture.
I didn't think of this before, but I think the Via Francigena di San Francisco is slowly growing in popularity - it attempts to trace the routes that St. Francis of Assisi walked in Italy. I think the "why" for this one is fairly straightforward: it's in beautiful country (Tuscany and Umbria), and St. Francis feels far more well known and relevant in the modern world than some of the other more esoteric saints.Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them? A lot of questions but just wondering!!
Then why is the pilgrimage too rome etc nowhere near on the same scale as santiago and st james?
Yea but thats sort of what i mean!! Theyre not doing a 5 week journey on foot!! I know its complicated ☺ st james musta had some reverance for a reason! Or else there would be a similair camino throughout the centuries leading too rome!? And wede alll be doing that one instead
Yes, you can start anywhere you wish in Europe, as the original Pilgrims did when they stepped out of their front doors. There are of course established routes. I met a woman who walked from her home in Koln, Germany! There are various degrees of infrastructure (Albergues) so you might want to go with some of the more established routes. If you begin in Le Puy, France there are tons of Gites (Albergues) at reasonable distances all the way to St. Jean Pied de Port where the Camino Frances officially begins. This would give you a nice long walk of about 950 miles! For lodging in France pick up the "miam miam do do" book to see maps, prices, gites, etc. Plan to book demi pension (half board) so that you are assured of breakfast and dinner as there are many places with no restaurants or grocery stores available. The food is fantastic! You need to phone ahead just 1 day for a reservation so they know how many to expect for dinner, and the number of beds in each Gite is usually much smaller than in Spain. Most people I have met are not doing the Camino for religious reasons, but I will say that your heart changes as you go. It is a very individual journey that is at the same time shared with amazing people from around the world! How is that for a miracle? And the answer to why St. James: He went to Spain to spread Christianity just after the Crucifixion. When he returned to the Holy Land King Herod beheaded / Martyred him. His followers took his body back to northern Spain and entombed him at the site of what is now Santiago de Compostella. Happy Pilgrimage!As someone who done the camino frances too see new places and enjoy the experience of people just walking travelling together as one etc i am aware of course of the religious importance of the pilgramage and st james remains!!
Strictly speaking , you can then start youre journey from wherever you want in mainland europe??
Are there alberques in holland, germany italy etc?
And are most people doing the camino because of st james remains and reverance within christianity?
Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
A lot of questions but just wondering!!
Why do you think the camino was revived and upheld over others?
His name is familiar to me, mainly through this forum, but I had to look up details: President of the regional government of Galicia 1990-2005 and Spanish Minister for Information and Tourism 1962-1969, among other functions. Xacobeo 92 campaign!
Two tiny snippets of information concerning the promotion of the Camino de Santiago that I had not suspected:
I guess that's the secret of good promotion: to address not only the target groups directly but also through multiplicators.
- In 1992, American journalists (and probably from other countries) were invited officially by Spanish Tourism to travel along the Camino de Santiago, with expenses paid, so that they would write articles about it.
- Xacobeo 2010 subsidised the making of Sheen's movie "The Way" with 262 500 €.
I've read about the efforts of the early Friends of the Camino associations in France and Spain, of Don Elías Valiña and the yellow arrows of course, but very little actually about national and regional government efforts. Without the latter, I wonder whether the foot pilgrimage to Santiago as we know it today would have materialised and grown to such a large scale or whether it would have remained a "niche" activity?The modern Camino revival was not accidental - it was planned very deliberately and gained support from the Church, local fraternities and local government at different levels along the way. It was the first long-distance pilgrimage to be actively revived and its success and high-profile has been an inspiration and a model for the creation or recovery of pilgrim routes elsewhere.
Its keeping the failing economy going
I'm not an economist but I think that's too easy as an explanation. I'm thinking for example of Alpine villages that were very poor compared to other regions until they were able to attract visitors. Their asset is the natural beauty of the landscape and the options for outdoor activities. Border regions, however one defines them, are often less prosperous in comparison to other regions. If I'm not mistaken, Santiago also prospers as a university town - a quality that attracts more than just students. But I don't really know much about all this.Its keeping the failing economy going
That's not true. Pilgrims sometimes like to think they're saving Spain by just showing up, but the Spanish economy is MUCH bigger than one pilgrim tourism sector, the Gallego likewise.
It would be nonsense to suggest that pilgrims to Santiago are propping up the whole Spanish economy. But the huge growth in numbers seems to have had an astonishing effect for the villages and small towns directly along the Camino Frances. When I first passed through Foncebadon there was only one occupied building with a single resident. The Gronze website now lists 6 albergues or hostals in the place. A similar story in other places which were near dead and largely abandoned in 1990. Of course it is difficult to say how much other factors have contributed to such regeneration over the years but it is stunningly visible.
As I said, you learn something new everyday so thanks for your original postI tried to keep the message short. The story of medieval/earlier relics is complicated and fascinating. There are many other places that lay claim to important relics of these saints, for example for Saint Andrew it is also Patras in Greece and Edinburgh in Scotland. For Saint James it's Santiago and Jerusalem.
And let's stick to the places of special veneration of apostles that have endured until today and let's not enumerate all those that claimed to have their relics and played an important role for the pilgrims of the Middle Ages but lost this role eventually. Messages about these places have already been posted on the forum.
Before I got interested in this thread, I had barely been aware of the apostle Matthias and didn't know that his remains are said to be interred in an abbey - a Romanesque basilica - in the German town of Trier. I read up on it a bit. The pilgrimage dates back to the 12th century (at the same time the Codex Calixtinus was written). There are a number of so-called Saint Matthias brotherhoods in various parishes who still organise pilgrimages, typically a group of a few dozen pilgrims who walk for example over a distance of 150 km or over a long holiday weekend, so two days for going there and 2 days for returning. I think this is still quite typical: you walk to the pilgrimage site and you walk back.As I said, you learn something new every day
@Bradypus, if it's not too indiscrete, I'd be curious to know how you got to learn about the Camino de Santiago as you appear to be one of the very few active posters who walked before the monumental Holy Year 1993 and the years immediately preceding it. I can't help remembering that you mentioned a family member. So how did that family member learn about it.
I think one feature that distinguishes the Camino Frances from all other routes is the fact that so much of its historical cultural heritage, dating back to the Romanesque period in particular but also the Gothic period, is preserved in such excellent form. Is it comparable in this respect to the via Francigena on the Italian side?
Until I walked the Camino, I knew little and cared less about what happened to the apostles and where their remains were. After I got home, I wondered why and how James got to Spain so started to study it and found the whole subject completely fascinating so every little bit of extra information is gratefully devoured. I even found myself watching programs about their lives on History channel. Suddenly regretted not paying more attention in my schooldays to the book on the history of the early church. Cathedral of Trier has now been added to my bucket listBefore I got interested in this thread, I had barely been aware of the apostle Matthias and didn't know that his remains are said to be interred in an abbey - a Romanesque basilica - in the German town of Trier. I read up on it a bit. The pilgrimage dates back to the 12th century (at the same time the Codex Calixtinus was written). There are a number of so-called Saint Matthias brotherhoods in various parishes who still organise pilgrimages, typically a group of a few dozen pilgrims who walk for example over a distance of 150 km or over a long holiday weekend, so two days for going there and 2 days for returning. I think this is still quite typical: you walk to the pilgrimage site and you walk back.
And the Cathedral of Trier keeps a Holy Robe or Seamless Robe of Jesus relic. Same story, same timeframe: the pilgrimage dates back to at least 1196. The relic is shown at irregular intervals, the last exhibition of the relic was in 2012. About 550.000 pilgrims and visitors came, many on foot. It's not certain when the relic is shown again, perhaps in 2033 (ie two thousand years after Crucification and Resurrection).
So the pilgrimage to Santiago is certainly not the only one that survived for a good one thousand years.
And St James’ Church in Dingle, Co Kerry was the start point by sea to Ferrol or Coruña, the start of Camino InglesNot a very informative fact but being irish i also just remembered that our national drink , guinness ( or certainly my national drink ☺) is brewed at st james gate dublin !!
And after a quick search i discovered it was named this due too that part of the south quays of dublin being the traditional starting point for the santiago de compostela in the middle ages!!
Ile drink too that
...
And are most people doing the camino because of st james remains and reverance within christianity?
Why did other saints not have the same pilgrimage legacy befall upon them?
A lot of questions but just wondering!!
i respectfully disagree with you. Last year 43% cited religious reasons for their pilgrimage. I think that means they were motivated by St. James whether they were Catholic or not. With 44% of the pilgrims coming from Spain, I am betting on a Catholic motivation. Italy, Portugal, France, Ireland, and Brazil contributed another 36%, and I am betting they, too, were Catholic. That add up to 80% of the pilgrims, and many of the others may have been motivated by St. James. Only 9% of the pilgrims listed athletic or other secular reasons for their undertaking. A bit larger than the religious group, the "religious and spiritual" group was 47% of the pilgrims.most people do not do the camino because of St James remains, nor to do with christianity.
The question still remains to why did these albergues etc.. pop up for Saint James and not for the other saints.
Fascinating, thank you. I'll certainly try to visit when I'm in the area.St. Leonhard's church with scallop shells behind it and there is a St. Jakob's portal and a Jerusalem portal, all dating from about 1219. Pilgrim statues in front of the church indicate its' importance on the route through Germany.
... Regardless, I think St. James has a lot to do with the motivation of pilgrims.
....I am not aware of other saints as an end point for a pilgrimage. I think they get their adoration by religious folks with cars. Without backpacking pilgrims, there would be no need for albergues!!
How do I love this? I cannot count the 'likes.' [Apologies to EBB for plagiarism, it just came out...]The tradition of donativo is a bizarre notion to Capitalists, but this "something for nothing" ideal is a living example of Grace, the linchpin of Christian belief. People who give their time and labor to help other pilgrims make the trip are what makes the albergue system work, and makes the Camino unique. Sacrifice, selflessness, even suffering are all considered quaint or somehow neurotic among "up to date" hikers, but after a period of contemplating, you will see how they´re part and parcel to the pilgrimage experience -- and the Christian ethos that built these pathways.
Volunteer hospitaleros are the beating heart of the Camino de Santiago. Without them, it´s just another pretty hike.
and most don't even seem to know what he has done so it's difficult to imagine that they have come from so far and are walking for weeks just in worship for him
And I would like to add, this forum as well.People who give their time and labor to help other pilgrims make the trip are what makes the albergue system work, and makes the Camino unique.
IMHO it´s not the albergues that make the Camino so popular. It´s the people who run them, especially the non-profit, low-cost albergues staffed by volunteers.
The tradition of donativo is a bizarre notion to Capitalists, but this "something for nothing" ideal is a living example of Grace, the linchpin of Christian belief. People who give their time and labor to help other pilgrims make the trip are what makes the albergue system work, and makes the Camino unique. Sacrifice, selflessness, even suffering are all considered quaint or somehow neurotic among "up to date" hikers, but after a period of contemplating, you will see how they´re part and parcel to the pilgrimage experience -- and the Christian ethos that built these pathways.
Volunteer hospitaleros are the beating heart of the Camino de Santiago. Without them, it´s just another pretty hike.
No one knows what he has done! Anecdotes abound, but the evidence that he even traveled to Spain is sketchy. Beyond being decapitated by Herod, almost everything is speculation. Almost no one still argues that the bones in the Cathedral crypt are those of St. James.most don't even seem to know what he has done
Do you have evidence that the freeloaders are capitalists? While it is possible that the owners and operators of the commercial albergues could be described as capitalists, to do so you would have to describe all non-government businesses as capitalist, even farmers and clergy. That seems to be a rather large group to disparage by using the loaded term "Capitalist." So so if you want, but you may not get a lot of support. After all, many of these hospitaleros are homeowners operating the albergue in unused portions of a home that may have been in the family for generations.Unfortunatly many (capitalists ?) with this confusion have used these albergues for free
..... Do you have evidence that the freeloaders are capitalists? While it is possible that the owners and operators of the commercial albergues could be described as capitalists, to do so you would have to describe all non-government businesses as capitalist, even farmers and clergy. That seems to be a rather large group to disparage by using the loaded term "Capitalist." So so if you want, but you may not get a lot of support. After all, many of these hospitaleros are homeowners operating the albergue in unused portions of a home that may have been in the family for generations.
I loved the sisters at Zabaldika! And I got the same history lesson there, most likely from the same sister ( but in Sept of 2015 ) ...and she made me sing How Great Thou Art during their evening payer service in the loft...it wasn't pretty, I can't sing...lolOn the question about what distinguishes the Camino among pilgrim routes -
I heard an explanation from a nun early on the Frances, in the albergue at Zabalika. She referred to three great pilgrimages in the early Christian tradition. The first two were 'to' Jerusalem and 'to' Rome - ie, these were about 'the destination', and didn't involve focus on how you got there.
The third was 'The Way of St James' (El Camino de Santiago) She noted that the name of this third pilgrimage places the focus on the journey itself, ie, the pilgrims' manner of travelling, of being on the path and with others' as they go toward the end of the route.
She wasn't talking about using ancient-style sandals or sleeping on straw. It was a reference to the spiritual lessons of the gospel which directed the 'way' (ie, how) St James & the other apostles were to 'walk-the-talk' - living very simply, focusing on unselfish love, service & outreach to strangers, spreading Good News of forgiveness, trusting that (despite hardship) their needs though not necessarily their wants, would be filled by a loving God as they travelled in this 'path'.
For me her perspective revealed why it is true that the harder 'pilgrimage' begins after arrival in Santiago, ie, when taking this Way of life back home and trying to keep 'walking the path'.
It is counter-culture (and often trampled in the 'bed race' ) but one of the two big lessons of 'The Way' would in theory be to care for fellow-pilgrims as much or more than for myself.
IMHO it's easier to climb O'Cebriero backwards (or to get a camel through the eye of a needle, as the gospel says) than to give up our western secular norm of 'looking out for number one'! So going 'to' Rome or any pilgrimage destination anywhere, regardless of road or weather conditions, would seem less challenging than really achieving 'the Way of St James'.
The perspective of the nun at Zabaldika gave meaning to the small choices I faced every hour on my Camino. She never expected perfection but she honoured our effort to see that the journey is what matters.
'
Are there alberques in holland, germany italy etc?
Albergues on the Camino grew out of the Youth Hostel movement in Germany in early 1900.
Spain is a special case where the hostels have become closely related to the Camino./
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