About the Pilrimage

The Camino Frances – The French Way:

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage to the ancient burial ground of the Apostle St James, found in northwest Spain.  In Medieval times hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came from all over Europe to walk to Santiago de Compostela. Many pilgrims start on the French side of the Pyrenees where some of France’s other Caminos met before continuing on, this is why it is called the Camino Frances. I'll follow the route to the west and I'll end up in the province of Galicia in the city of  Santiago de Compostela, the town where St James’ relics lie.

The pilgrimage routes started in France, Italy, Belgium, England and many more places in Europe. A numerous amount of these pilgrimages are still walked today by modern pilgrims but they are not as busy as they were in medieval times. The most common is the pilgrimage I am walking; the Camino Frances to de Santiago de Compostela. 

The Camino Frances goes for about 780km, passing through several different environments and terrains: mountains, plains, towns and cities.

The word ‘Camino’ means ‘way’ or ‘path’ and ‘Santiago’ translates from the Spanish word ‘Saint’ (Sant) ‘James’ (Iago).

Thoughts on the Camino de Santiago

I discovered this lovely video on youtube and I just found it interesting how amazing, words on a blank page can make you feel.

Santiago and the Scallop Shell

After the Christians in Jerusalem recovered Saint James' body they set it afloat in a ‘stone’ boat onto the Mediterranean Sea. There an Angel descended from heaven and guided it through the Pillars of Hercules (now called the strait of Gibraltar) and up the west coast of Spain to the region now known as Galicia.


As his remains came close to the Galician shore, mythology says that a gallant young man on horseback galloped into the sea and rescued Saint James’ remains. When all emerged from the water; the rider, his horse and Saint James’ remains were said to be covered completely in scallop shells. Still to this very day scallop shells are the symbol of Saint James the Pilgrim and of the Camino de Santiago.  In art Saint James the pilgrim is depicted with a scallop shell holding back the wide brim of his felt hat.

Introduction

I'm Ella, I am 14 years old and I am from Australia. In only 5 days I'm off to travel through Spain. I am walking the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostela with my mum. The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage to the relics of the apostle Saint James.

I'm excited to take seven weeks off school to get a break from the homework. Even though I am missing quite a lot of school, my teachers will be happy to know that I am going to write on my blog about lots of different educational things I find along the way.  I'll talk about the geography of where I'm going and the history. I will take in as much Spanish music as i can and try to pick up the language, which I am trying to learn. I am keeping a sketching diary for art and will also be visiting some of the most famous museums in the world; in France and Spain. I will of course be taking heaps of photos that I'll be able to post on as well. I am sure there will be many other educational things I will also pick up along the way and talk about them too.

There is one thing that I'm not looking forward to on my trip and that is the blisters on my feet but I've got good boots so I hoping for the best. I've been training and I've bought all my light weight gear; my boots, backpack, clothes and sleeping bag.

This is a map of where I'm walking in Northern Spain.