What Is . . . El Camino?
What is El Camino and why am I writing about it?
Well, it’s a walk. A really, really long walk through Spain, which I guess would mean it’s a hike. The literal English meaning of the Spanish word is “the way,” which refers to the way to Santiago de Compostela. People have been walking to Santiago de Compostela from all over Europe as a religious pilgrimage since the Middle Ages, but now people walk it for all sorts of reasons, and some of them just to want to walk.
There are actually several ways to Santiago de Compostela that have starting points in all different parts of Europe, but the most popular route is the Camino Frances. It starts in France and travels 500 miles across northern Spain.
I’m writing about El Camino because (if you don’t already know) I, too, will be walking a portion of the Camino Frances very soon. Don’t worry, I’m not doing all 500 miles, just the last 72 miles. And I’m not doing it for religious reasons, but I do have my reasons: My dad was from Spain, and I haven’t been there since he passed away. As someone who is a self-proclaimed ancestry nerd, I found out that my Spanish ancestors are from the northwestern part of Spain, right along the path I will be walking. And I’ll get to see my Spanish cousins again.
And then there’s the stone. I don’t know the history behind it, but people bring a stone from their home and bring it with them on the walk. The stone you bring is a symbol of whatever burdens you and the purpose is to leave the stone, and those burdens, behind. I have my stone picked out. It’s quite tiny but the heaviness it represents is, well, really, really heavy. I think my ancestors will take good care of it.
At the end of the day, for me, El Camino is a chance to be in a country I love with good friends and maybe get some healing in. And, of course, to walk.
So, go take a walk today (though maybe not quite so long) and . . .
Stay Curious.