Photo of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela by Michael Krier (from www.csj.org.uk)
Tonight I leave for Spain, to meet up with two old friends, Kim and Molly, and walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The three of us met on another adventure twenty-five years ago, when we worked on a US government technology exhibit (Informatika USA), which travelled across the former Soviet Union over the course of a year.
The idea of a reunion arose when Molly, who is living in Spain, invited us to join her on this historic walk. Truth be told, I was not familiar with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, in English called The Way of St. James, but I quickly educated myself on the basics.
I learned that this network of pilgrimage routes throughout Europe, some of which originated as Roman roads, have been leading people to the alleged burial place of St. James, the apostle, for over 1,000 years. The height of the Camino was in the Middle Ages, when thousands arrived each day from all over Europe at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Some equate the city of Santiago with Rome and Jerusalem in terms of its religious importance.
Today, the Camino de Santiago is a popular walk (and bike ride) for people of all ages and interests – religious or not. I look forward to reacquainting with two old friends and experiencing a small piece of this historic walk in Galicia, Spain.