A Hike through History … The Camino de Santiago

Starting January 1st, 2009, the Athletic Center will start a year long Cardiovascular Program “A Hike through History …The Camino de Santiago.” It is a 483 mile walk through the countryside and towns of France and Spain. Well…not exactly France and Spain. It’s a little closer to home. Actually a lot closer.

Rather that actually traveling to Europe participants will use the Treadmill, Rower, Stairmaster, Ellipticals, Bikes, or any and almost all other mode of cardiovascular exercise. If its cardio, and you can break a sweat, we’ll convert your workout into miles.

And yes, completing it will give you points towards the CCC Athletic Member-of-the-Year.

The miles you do will go towards your completion of the Camino de Santiago (The way of Saint James). If you’re not familiar with the Camino de Santiago it is one of the World’s most notable hikes. Actually a pilgrimage, the Camino is well over 1,000 year-old trek to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

This is a year long event even though many may be able to complete the Camino faster. We’ve given you a year because you have 483 miles to walk.

If you averaged 4 miles a workout, 3 days a week, it will take you 40 weeks. Or you could do 3 miles a workout, 4 days per week, etc. After completing the Camino you will receive a beautiful and highly coveted, original designed Camino de Santiago t-shirt.

We will have a progress chart posted on this Club’s web site. Each week participants will give the Athletic Center staff their weekly totals and we will post it on the site.

We will also have conversion charts on this web site where almost anything other than walking or running can be converted into walking miles. It gives everyone an accomplishable goal and the history of the Camino de Santiago is legendary.

To sign up simply see Lee or Jonathan. There is no cost for the program.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAMINO:

El Camino de Santiago, or in English “The Way of Saint James”, is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where legend has it that the remains of Jesus’ apostle, Saint James the Elder or the Greater, lie. The Camino has existed as a Christian pilgrimage route for well over 1,000 years and there is evidence that there was a pre-Christian route as well. Throughout the Medieval period it was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages undertaken. And, as Jerusalem was for much of the time after the 7th century under Muslim control, Jerusalem was generally not available as a destination.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, various of the apostles dispersed around the Mediterranean region to preach and James went to the Iberian Peninsula, modern-day Spain and Portugal. In the year 44, he returned to Judea and was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. The 12th-century Historia Compostellana relates the story that James’ body was claimed by his followers in Judea and that they carried his body by sea to Iberia, landing at Padrón, Galicia, from which point they carried the body inland for burial at modern day Santiago de Compostela.

And there the body lay, forgotten until the 9th century. Early in that century, Pelagius, a hermit living in that part of Galicia, had a vision that led him to what proved to be an ancient tomb containing three bodies. He immediately reported this to the local bishop, Theodomir, who declared the remains to be those of Santiago and two of his followers and who in turn reported the find to the King of Asturias, Alphonso II, who forthwith declared Santiago to be the patron saint of what would eventually be Spain. A small village named Campus de Ia Stella and a monastery were established on the site.
News of the discovery spread like wildfire and a trickle of pilgrims began to arrive. Miracles came to be attributed to the site, and the miracles encouraged pilgrimage and pilgrimage elicited more miracles.

WHY THE SCALLOP SHELL:
To repeat part of the story above, James’ body was transported by a ship to the province of Galicia. A wedding was taking place along the shore as James’ ship approached. The bridegroom was on horseback, and on seeing the ship approaching, the horse spooked, and horse and rider plunged into the sea. Through miraculous intervention, the horse then emerged from the waves with horse and rider both covered with cockleshells. To this day, the scallop shell, typically found on the shores in Galicia, remains the symbol of the Saint James and of the Camino .

THE MODERN CAMINO:
Some aspects of the modern Camino are fundamentally the same as they were for the medieval peregrineo (or pilgrims). While underway, the peregrino needs support for food, lodging and direction. An infrastructure of hospices arose in the Middle Ages and this infrastructure still exists – and in fact, it is growing rapidly. There are still a few peregrino facilities run by religious orders, but much more common today are refugios (refuges) and albergues.
These are essentially operated like and look like youth hostels typically with bunk beds in dormitories and communal shower and toilet facilities. Some provide breakfast and/or dinner, some have cooking facilities available while some do not, some have a set price while some are donation, some are operated by municipalities or associations while some are private businesses. Aside from the few refugios and albergues that provide meals, meals can be found basically in the same sort of places that a tourist would use – restaurants, bars and the like.

The medieval peregrino surely almost always was undertaking the arduous journey that was the Camino for serious religious reasons. The modern peregrinos’ reasons for walking surely span the range from the religious through spiritual to historical and cultural to sport. Where the medieval peregrino was seeking forgiveness for sins or for the Saint’s assistance in some matter, most modern peregrinos will, for whatever reason, be looking to earn the compostela or certificate of completion of the Camino from the cathedral in Santiago. To accomplish this the modern peregrino carries a pilgrim’s credential or passport which is stamped in the various cities and villages passed through. This record serves as proof that the route has indeed been walked or bicycled.

Probably the most obvious and serious difference between the medieval and the modern peregrino is that pilgrimage for the former began on his or her doorstep, wherever that might have been, and upon reaching Santiago, the pilgrimage was half over. Yes, today some few walk from home and some few walk in reverse, but this is unusual.

Far and away the best known and most traveled of the routes is the Camino Francés. Three of the main routes through France feed into the francés north of the Pyrenees and a number of the routes in Spain join the francés at various points along its length. 774 km (from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) or 749 km (from Roncesvalles) to Santiago de Compostela. Starting typically in either Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France or in Roncesvalles in Spain and traveling through Pamplona, Puente de la Reina, Logroño, Burgos, León, Astorga, Ponferrada and Sarria to Santiago.
The terrain is quite varied beginning with the ascent and/or the descent of the Pyrenees, then passing through the rich vineyards of La Rioja, the vast meseta (the high, flat, exposed tableland between Burgos and León), then into the Montes de León before crossing the high pass of O Cebreiro into the province of Galicia where many river valleys are crossed.

Among all the routes, the Camino francés has without question the most highly developed infrastructure with plentiful sleeping accommodations of all types—pilgrim refugios and albergues operated by associations and governmental units and as private businesses, hostales, small hotels and several high-end hotels in the Spanish government’s parador system. Food options are plentiful. Generally facilities are only rarely further apart than 10 km.
In the early days, the pilgrims used to wear similar clothes to all other travellers. Their clothing gradually took the form of a short overcoat that did not interfere with leg movements, a leather esclavina or pelerina (short cape) that gives protection against the cold and the rain, a round hat with a wide rim and a bordón (staff) above head height with an iron tip. A pumpkin that also serves as a water bottle hangs from the staff. On returning home, the pilgrims kept their clothes, hats and staffs as a pious souvenir and an example for their descendants, or they gave them to a church as a votive offering and sign of gratitude for having been able to return unharmed from the hazards of the journey.

Nowadays travellers have changed the bag for a backpack and the brown tones of the clothing for multi-coloured combinations of T-shirts and raincoats, comfortable shorts and sports shoes or mountain walking boots. They also like to carry, however, a pilgrim’s shell, either sown onto their belongings or hanging on a chain around the neck.

The esportilla and the bordón: these were the two characteristic attributes of the pilgrims, as were the pumpkin and the bag. The esportilla is a narrow bag of animal skin with the top always open and not tied with laces. Deer skin is the most valued material for making it. The bordón is a round pole or staff of variable length, usually ending in a knob and equipped with a sharp iron tip that was used in self-defence against wolves and dogs and also as support in tricky stretches of the route. The pumpkin was usually hung from the staff or from the traveller’s belt.

Care for the pilgrims
“The door is open to all, the sick and the healthy. To Catholics, pagans, Jews, heretics, idlers and the vain”. This is how 13th-century hospitality was expressed on a sign in Roncesvalles. Travellers could expect a bed and food for three days, just enough time to get one’s strength back after an exhausting journey. The hospice had different rooms for men and women and offered foot washing, haircuts and beard trimming, new shoes for those who needed them, and even a bath if requested. Roncesvalles was the paradigm for the best attention to travellers.
Monasteries were initially the main providers of hospitality, for example Leyre and Irache and Pamplona Cathedral. Other, more humble, hospitals were the Trinidad de Arre, the Church of the Crucifix in Puente la Reina and that of Larrasoaña. The food offered usually consisted of soup or broth, a piece of bread and wine plus a portion of vegetables, pulses, meat or fish. They also provided a good bed, a fire and spiritual care. The inns along the Way have inherited that spirit of hospitality and give shelter to pilgrims on their journey which, although less dangerous now, is still hard.

The end of the pilgrimage
The Pilgrim’s Way ends once the tomb of the Apostle St James (Santiago) is reached. It is located inside the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.