What is your ‘grail’ camino and why?

[jungleboy]

What is the camino you most want to do? I tend to choose caminos to walk based on season and available time, which means not always choosing the one I most want to do.

If I had to name just one, it might be the Camino Mozárabe.

Andalucía is one of my favourite places in the world but I have only seen it through its major tourist cities (Seville, Granada, Córdoba), and I would love to spend more time there and explore it through landscapes and villages.

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

 

[Marc S.]

For me there is only one answer: walk from home (Amsterdam). Which will happen, at some point.
Why ? I hope to answer that after I have walked it.

But there is nothing wrong with the Mozarabe of course

 

[trecile]

For me there is only one answer: walk from home (Amsterdam). Which will happen, at some point.
Why ? I hope to answer that after I have walked it.

That would be amazing. I envy those of you who can start from your front door.

 

[roving_rufus]

To do Mozarabe or Lana in one swoop rather my current pattern of a week or two or the luxury of three, and then having to come back to do another section.
Though I am walking from home in Ireland in sections but at that rate it will be years to reach SdeC.

 

[Introibo]

Camino Frances from SJPdP.... aged 90

 

[natefaith]

Great question!

Mine would be the Ruta del Padre Sarmiento which takes you around part of the coast of Galicia (including O Grove and the Isla de Arousa) before heading inland to Santiago.

https://galiwonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Ruta-Padre-Sarmiento-e1576692661811.png

 

[lt56ny]

The one I haven't done yet.

 

[C clearly]

Hmmm. I will be picky. Something about this question bothers me. Wikipedia says "By analogy, any elusive object or goal of great significance may be perceived as a holy grail by those seeking it."

The elusive goal sounds to me like expectations that are not likely to be met.

That's not how I approach my Caminos. Yes, I pick a route and dates and circumstances that seem interesting and good for me, but I don't idealize it much.

 

[SabsP]

Like @Marc S. : starting from home in Belgium. Then in France on the Camino Turonensis and then on to Santiago de Compostela.

 

[Curly Cath]

I think mine is that I would love to walk or cycle in the Holy Lands, Palestine and Israel

 

[FourSeasons]

The Jerusalem Way starting in Finisterre to Jerusalem about 7,500 k's, 19 countries. Because I Love Jesus.

Well, I guess I better start walking.
Truly, if I was independently weathly I would definitely go for it.

Jerusalem Way / Jerusalem Way: Walking to Jerusalem - Jerusalem Pilgrims - Pilgrims Way: Route

The Jerusalem Way is the world's longest pilgrimage and international peace and cultural route! The route leads from the end of Europe in Finisterre to the beginning in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Way brings different religions, nations and cultures together in an extraordinary peace project and...

www.jerusalemway.org

 

[Tincatinker]

Cadiz to Santiago following the Spring

 

[Leemac40]

The Jerusalem Way starting in Finisterre to Jerusalem about 7,500 k's, 19 countries. Because I Love Jesus.

Well, I guess I better start walking.
Truly, if I was independently weathly I would definitely go for it.

Jerusalem Way / Jerusalem Way: Walking to Jerusalem - Jerusalem Pilgrims - Pilgrims Way: Route

The Jerusalem Way is the world's longest pilgrimage and international peace and cultural route! The route leads from the end of Europe in Finisterre to the beginning in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Way brings different religions, nations and cultures together in an extraordinary peace project and...

www.jerusalemway.org

This sounds amazing what an experience this would be, need to start saving for my retirement!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The Jerusalem Way starting in Finisterre to Jerusalem about 7,500 k's, 19 countries. Because I Love Jesus.

This sounds amazing what an experience this would be, need to start saving for my retirement!

@Bradypus just posted a few links to articles about this.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/finisterre-to-jerusalem-via-rome.75213/

 

[dbier]

Wow...my desired Camino....and here I've only walked 114km to date...
If I survive the Primitivo next year, God willing, my husband is up for a joint Celtic/Ingles in 25. After that? I need to retire, but maybe the LePuy/Frances? Or before retirement, the Salvador...

 

[Rita Flower]

For me there is only one answer: walk from home (Amsterdam). Which will happen, at some point.
Why ? I hope to answer that after I have walked it.

But there is nothing wrong with the Mozarabe of course

In 2007 I met a 65 year old woman on Camino Frances who walked from Amsterdam -alone. I thought it was the most incredible thing I had ever heard. She was amazing. Now I am a nearly 71 year old woman walking from Seville (in Sept). Who would have imagined?

 

[Artchi]

Mine would be the via podiensis (Le Puy Route) to Santiago.

Via Podiensis (Le Puy Route)

The via Podiensis, Le Puy route or Chemin du Puy-en-Velay, now also known as the GR®65, is one of the four major French tributaries of the Camino Frances and c

pilgrimagepublications.com

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

What is your grail camino

Oh, I never have an answer for questions like this (favorite book, movie, color, etc.) But while the thread title has grail in quotation marks, meaning a symbolic grail, Nick omitted them from the ending question of the original post. That allows me a grail and me post.

Our plan for 2015 following our Camino Francés was to do some hiking in the Pyrenees. That didn't happen because we took twice as long to walk the CF than we figured on. That meant I didn't visit the old monastery of San Juan de la Peña that I wanted to see. The monks are reputed to have been the caretakers of the Holy Grail for centuries.

In 2019 I had a second chance to visit San Juan. I walked there from Barcelona, 17 days on the Camino Catalan. Their grail had been given up; it now resides in the cathedral in Valencia. There is a reproduction there though. So that was my grail camino.

Walkers along the Camino Aragonese can take the Camino Catalan as a side trip to visit San Juan de la Peña [photos]. It is a 10 km walk to it from Santa Cilia on the Aragonese.

My pictures:



I saw this BBC video recently about the grail in Valencia which prompted me to post here. It doesn't mention San Juan by name but does say that the grail was kept near Huesca. Clicking the arrow will play an embedded video but since the video is in Spanish click on the title instead; that will allow you to play with controls like casting, close captions and translation subtitles.

 

[Richard of York]

Is the Holy Grail the next one or the unachievable one? Unachievable is to walk from home as it requires a boat. The next one I want to do is achievable and then is replaced by the next next one, so there is always a next one. For me Portuguese from Lisbon.

 

[lovingkindness]

For years I have dallied with the idea of starting in Kyiv, perhaps following in the footsteps of Winter Pilgrim as far as the Crimea, then somehow including Moldovia, Romania, Bulgaria and Thessoloniki before either

a) heading down to Jeruselem;
b) making my way somehow through Albania and along the Adriatic Coast to the St James church in Medjugore;
C) hitching a sail arround the Mediteranien to Tunisia, Morroco, Portugal or Spain and somehow Finland; or
d) something else.

Perhaps i could create a resource with all the now-out-of- date information collected and leave it on a dusty shelf...

Ps... and, of course, the journey would include el Camino Mozarabe...perfectly timed (with the aid of serendipity and Espirito Sancto) to coincide with @jungleboy and any others who appear.

 

[Former member 99290]

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

A very thought provoking question @jungleboy. Thank you

Firstly, having walked the Mozarabe (from Granada to Merida), I like your choice very much. There was something wonderful and magical about this Camino for us. We saw very few pilgrims - and I mean a handful - yet it had a wonderful Camino spirit. We loved the terrain and the small towns - even getting lost in the olive groves. The local people were so welcoming - enthusiastic, even excited to see us. And Granada, Cordoba, Merida - it doesn't get much better than that in one relatively short walk. I'd happily walk the same path again.

As others have commented, I'm not usually one to 'pick a favourite' anything - but of course I do have some favourites - it's a long list. At present, I'm looking forward to walking the Invierno, the Baztan and the VdelP - all of which have been in our plans but not yet realised, for one reason or another - e.g. season, available time - as you mentioned.

But the 'long walk' that 'pulls at my heartstrings' is to walk Le Puy to Finisterre (and Muxia). I loved the Le Puy Way and I loved the Frances which I've walked in its entirety twice, but the last time was way back in 2013. I would like to return to the Frances but the ever increasing numbers and much of what I read on this forum have dissuaded me. My hope - which happily is shared by my husband who I love walking with - is that we will walk Le Puy again, starting mid September (year to be determined) which means a mid October start from SJPP. From what I have read, that would have us on the Frances at one of the least busy times of year, which would suit us well. We may even add Geneva to Le Puy at the beginning.

Just writing about it gives me a strong feeling of 'yearning' so I guess that's the one..

 

[Albertagirl]

For me this is an odd question. I feel called to camino, but the more that I feel called, the less it seems that I can claim anything about the camino as my idea, or ideal. And the grail was, in tradition, a title for the cup from which Jesus offered his blood to his disciples on the night before he died. This may be, for some, a high and holy goal. My caminos seem to come together through a great deal of planning, which is just as likely to fall apart or be unsuccessful from my perspective, as to lead to enlightenment. Maybe I can say that my next camino will be my next opportunity to walk full time with my Lord as best I can, wherever I end up, physically and spiritually. I hope that He knows what is going on, for I am pretty sure that I don't.

 

[Former member 99290]

@jungleboy I didn’t take your reference to ‘grail’ as a religious reference, but rather as referring to something that one is eager to pursue.

Time available certainly affects our choices for now - but when that is no longer a restriction, I know where I’ll be heading

 

[C clearly]

I didn’t take your reference to ‘grail’ as a religious reference, but rather as referring to something that one is eager to pursue.

The religious origin didn't bother me so much as the unattainability implication. Even if it wasn't deliberate, it raised some interesting points about how we approach our caminos.

 

[Former member 99290]

The religious origin didn't bother me so much as the unattainability implication. Even if it wasn't deliberate, it raised some interesting points about how we approach our caminos.

For sure, there are many different approaches and motivations. I didn’t pick up on the implication of it being unattainable - and hope that doesn’t turn out to be the case

 

[jungleboy]

@jungleboy I didn’t take your reference to ‘grail’ as a religious reference, but rather as referring to something that one is eager to pursue.

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I just thought it was a more interesting way of asking, ‘Which camino do you want to do the most?’

(In the board game collecting world, a ‘grail game’ is the game that someone most wants to add to their collection but has been unable to so far, typically because it’s out of print and hard to find. That’s where I got the expression from.)

 

[jungleboy]

Some great answers so far! I must admit that I limited my scope to ‘standard’ routes but my little Mozárabe pales in comparison to some of the epic caminos proposed by others. Maybe I’ll tack on the VdlP to make mine seem a bit worthier of the others!

 

[Lea Page]

What is the camino you most want to do? I tend to choose caminos to walk based on season and available time, which means not always choosing the one I most want to do.

If I had to name just one, it might be the Camino Mozárabe.

Andalucía is one of my favourite places in the world but I have only seen it through its major tourist cities (Seville, Granada, Córdoba), and I would love to spend more time there and explore it through landscapes and villages.

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

Mine is the Via Francigena-- partly because I "failed" at it a year ago-- the abrupt transition from lockdown was too much for me and I bailed after walking Calais-Arras. But I have my flight booked and arrive back in Arras mid-August, and then all the way to Rome! There are more that I imagine walking--but this one is the one right now.

 

[Monk Moses]

The Jerusalem Way starting in Finisterre to Jerusalem about 7,500 k's, 19 countries. Because I Love Jesus.

Well, I guess I better start walking.
Truly, if I was independently weathly I would definitely go for it.

Jerusalem Way / Jerusalem Way: Walking to Jerusalem - Jerusalem Pilgrims - Pilgrims Way: Route

The Jerusalem Way is the world's longest pilgrimage and international peace and cultural route! The route leads from the end of Europe in Finisterre to the beginning in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Way brings different religions, nations and cultures together in an extraordinary peace project and...

www.jerusalemway.org

I’m shooting for that route in 203; when I turn 70. God willing my plan is to hit Santiago and Rome along the way.

 

[Monk Moses]

I’m shooting for that route in 203; when I turn 70. God willing my plan is to hit Santiago and Rome along the way.

2034

 

[owms2323]

Mine would be the via podiensis (Le Puy Route) to Santiago.

Via Podiensis (Le Puy Route)

The via Podiensis, Le Puy route or Chemin du Puy-en-Velay, now also known as the GR®65, is one of the four major French tributaries of the Camino Frances and c

pilgrimagepublications.com

Me too

 

[jungleboy]

Mine is the Via Francigena-- partly because I "failed" at it a year ago-- the abrupt transition from lockdown was too much for me and I bailed after walking Calais-Arras. But I have my flight booked and arrive back in Arras mid-August, and then all the way to Rome! There are more that I imagine walking--but this one is the one right now.

Best of luck this time around! If you need any tips on Rome, let me know (I used to be a tour guide there).

 

[Rita Flower]

Some great answers so far! I must admit that I limited my scope to ‘standard’ routes but my little Mozárabe pales in comparison to some of the epic caminos proposed by others. Maybe I’ll tack on the VdlP to make mine seem a bit worthier of the others!

For me this is an odd question. I feel called to camino, but the more that I feel called, the less it seems that I can claim anything about the camino as my idea, or ideal. And the grail was, in tradition, a title for the cup from which Jesus offered his blood to his disciples on the night before he died. This may be, for some, a high and holy goal. My caminos seem to come together through a great deal of planning, which is just as likely to fall apart or be unsuccessful from my perspective, as to lead to enlightenment. Maybe I can say that my next camino will be my next opportunity to walk full time with my Lord as best I can, wherever I end up, physically and spiritually. I hope that He knows what is going on, for I am pretty sure that I don't.

My thoughts entirely @Albertagirl. My Caminos have all been more like a 'simple twist of fate'rather than something in which I have exercised great control or even desire. I walked my first - Camino Frances - because I heard of this 2 week long walk in the French countryside. It sounded lovely and it was quite a while before I realised I was actually a Pilgrim walking 900k to Santiago. This year the fates have me on my way to the VdlP in Sept and I even looked at starting from the coast somewhere. And now I have heard of Moźarabe. Mmmmm. That feels a bit 'grailish'. Thanks @jungleboy for the heads up as it were.

 

[David Tallan]

What is the camino you most want to do? I tend to choose caminos to walk based on season and available time, which means not always choosing the one I most want to do.

If I had to name just one, it might be the Camino Mozárabe.

Andalucía is one of my favourite places in the world but I have only seen it through its major tourist cities (Seville, Granada, Córdoba), and I would love to spend more time there and explore it through landscapes and villages.

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

Mozarabe is up there for me, but not quite at the top of the list. Starting from (or passing through) Sevilla is very nice, but I think passing through Granada and Cordoba is even nicer. I don't know enough about the villages/landscapes to compare the VDLP to the Mozarabe in that area.

Then again, there are a lot in that particular category.

I think the top one for me would be Camino Madrid/San Salvador/Primitivo, with a bit of Frances to connect the dots. More specifically, starting the Camino Madrid from Plaza Vicente de Paul, 2. While I'm currently living in Canada, that was where I was living in Spain, so it's the closest I can come to a "from your front door" Camino.

 

[David Tallan]

Oh, I never have an answer for questions like this (favorite book, movie, color, etc.) But while the thread title has grail in quotation marks, meaning a symbolic grail, Nick omitted them from the ending question of the original post. That allows me a grail and me post.

Our plan for 2015 following our Camino Francés was to do some hiking in the Pyrenees. That didn't happen because we took twice as long to walk the CF than we figured on. That meant I didn't visit the old monastery of San Juan de la Peña that I wanted to see. The monks are reputed to have been the caretakers of the Holy Grail for centuries.

In 2019 I had a second chance to visit San Juan. I walked there from Barcelona, 17 days on the Camino Catalan. Their grail had been given up; it now resides in the cathedral in Valencia. There is a reproduction there though. So that was my grail camino.

Walkers along the Camino Aragonese can take the Camino Catalan as a side trip to visit San Juan de la Peña [photos]. It is a 10 km walk to it from Santa Cilia on the Aragonese.

My pictures:

View attachment 126881 View attachment 126883View attachment 126882

I saw this BBC video recently about the grail in Valencia which prompted me to post here. It doesn't mention San Juan by name but does say that the grail was kept near Huesca. Clicking the arrow will play an embedded video but since the video is in Spanish click on the title instead; that will allow you to play with controls like casting, close captions and translation subtitles.

In a related story, after my 2016 Camino with my son we had a few weeks to visit different parts of Spain before our flight home. Last on the list was Valencia, so we could take part in the Tomatina festival/tomato fight just before our flight (my son was 16 at the time). In Valencia resides the reputed Holy Grail, as you note. Also, in Valencia were signs painted on the streets with shells and yellow arrows reminding us we were still on the Camino. So that's another Grail Camino.

 

[David Tallan]

Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I just thought it was a more interesting way of asking, ‘Which camino do you want to do the most?’

(In the board game collecting world, a ‘grail game’ is the game that someone most wants to add to their collection but has been unable to so far, typically because it’s out of print and hard to find. That’s where I got the expression from.)

And my grail game is a good board game based on the Camino. I've seen a couple. And I've seen a couple of others that give me ideas for mechanics that could be used (Tokkaido springs to mind). Board games with geographic themes seem to do pretty well. I'm just waiting for the perfect Camino game.

 

[Luis Do Rio]

The One for me is Canterbury to Rome, Rome to Assis then to Lourdes heading down the coast of Spain to the start of Via de la Plata towards Santiago, Santiago to Fátima on the Portuguese coastal route and then walk home to Fundao. I have a one year career break planned for a 2025 and I would love to do it all.

 

[K_Lynn]

What is the camino you most want to do? I tend to choose caminos to walk based on season and available time, which means not always choosing the one I most want to do.

If I had to name just one, it might be the Camino Mozárabe.

Andalucía is one of my favourite places in the world but I have only seen it through its major tourist cities (Seville, Granada, Córdoba), and I would love to spend more time there and explore it through landscapes and villages.

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

Mozarabe is definitely on my list, we shall see if it happens. I fell in love with Seville, Cordoba and Granada when I was there in '21. The architecture was stunning and I had wanted to visit Alhambra since I first heard about it when I was a teenager.

The Norte is the Camino I most want to do, but will be after Portugues and Ingles, as I want to walk it with my partner. We have an old dog and we will not send her to a kennel while we walk, so...we wait until we can walk together and enjoy the time we have left with our dog.

 

[K_Lynn]

And my grail game is a good board game based on the Camino. I've seen a couple. And I've seen a couple of others that give me ideas for mechanics that could be used (Tokkaido springs to mind). Board games with geographic themes seem to do pretty well. I'm just waiting for the perfect Camino game.

*Develop a blister. Miss a turn.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

What is the camino you most want to do? I tend to choose caminos to walk based on season and available time, which means not always choosing the one I most want to do.

If I had to name just one, it might be the Camino Mozárabe.

Andalucía is one of my favourite places in the world but I have only seen it through its major tourist cities (Seville, Granada, Córdoba), and I would love to spend more time there and explore it through landscapes and villages.

What is your grail camino and what do you think of my choice?

Ooooh! Excellent question.
No particular order, but....
Olvidado
Aragones
Catalan
Madrid

and outside the peninsula:

The Celtic
the Podiensis
the Francigena from St. Bernard's Pass

Coming back for why:

Each one offers up its own specific history of space/place… pragmatics determined by geography… culture determined by who collided where… Different foods, different approaches to the effort itself, less popular for people who aren’t really interested in pilgrimages per se…
To see different organizations of life… to see different religious representations of the same idea… To move from the Romanesque to the Baroque… to walk in those incredibly *square* Basque villages, and to see some of Switzerland en route to SPB… to walk where I have relied on the train in Italy and see it anew…
All of it.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

*Develop a blister. Miss a turn.

How about a card game that works similarly to Trivial Pursuit combined with an RPG? I have a hand-made game from Galicia called ULTREIA and it's good fun.

ULTREIA, El juego - Ultreia the game

Por fin te has lanzado a la aventura de peregrinar a Santiago de Compostela y caminas con un grupo de personas de todo el mundo, ¡sois el equipo...

www.ultreiaeljuego.com

...made by two women I think.

 

[Arctic_Alex]

This question gives me a hard time as I cannot decide! For me it would be either the Mozárabe and continuing past Sevilla along the VdlP all the way to Santiago … OR starting in Gibraltar to do the same. Tough choice! But as you see I can relate to your choice in a way.

 

[Levi]

Any....I'm happy

 

[JabbaPapa]

Not sure what grail Camino means, but from home in Paris to Santiago via SJPP and the Francès in 1994 ; from home at Monaco via Lourdes, SJPP and the Francès in 2005 ; and my current one from home to Lourdes via Perpignan, Logroño, Fátima, Santiago, SJPP, and still from Lourdes trying to make some sort of Camino home from there by hitch-hiking.

Though of the three, definitely the 1994

That one will always be my most meaningful Way of Saint James.