Along the routes to Santiago de Compostela people of all conditions have walked: honest pilgrims, convicts, minstrels, beggars, adventurers... If you go across the south-west of France and into northern Spain you will begin to see groups of walkers. Most are carrying backpacks and long sticks and somewhere they are wearing a scallop shell. All of them are headed to the same place. They are on a guided tour, but they are not ordinary tourists. They are pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago, the way of Saint James, to Santiago de Compostela, the route that millions of people have taken over hundreds of years. The pilgrimage to Santiago, where Saint James is believed to be buried, is extremely popular, especially among the French and other north Europeans.From the ninth century its fame spreads. Thus from the relative darkness of a local cult, the Jacobean pilgrimage, which took its place beside Jerusalem and Rome, developed. People travelled in groups because it was safer and also more enjoyable. Whether the pilgrim´s route lay by land or by sea there were many hazards to be faced, either from Nature or from their fellow men.
To prove they had done the pilgrimage, the rules were quiet strict. They had to follow a well-planned route and visit important places of culture. They had to travel by horse or on foot and they stayed in special hostels. For some, the pilgrimage was an important religious experience, but for many it was a chance to have a holiday and do some sightseeing. The asking of a favour or seeking a cure have always been motives for pilgrimage and many cures and miracles were attributed to the intervention of Saint James. Closely associated with the motive of petition was that of thanks-giving, and some of the offerings at the shrine were evidence of gratitude.
Today, the rules are less strict. You only have to travel 100 km on foot or horseback. You can go by bicycle as well, but you are not supposed to drive or hitchhike, so to prove you have resisted this temptation, you are obliged to obtain a special "passport" at several checkpoints along the way. To officially "do the camino", you need to cover at least 100 kilometres.
When you arrive in Santiago, you have to show your passport at the Pilgrim´s Office by the cathedral. A church official gives you a "compostela".
Finally, you are supposed to enter the magnificient cathedral, give a hug to the statue of Saint James and get a glimpse of the tiny silver coffin holding his bones. With this last gesture, you have become a part of the pilgrim tradition that has attracted believers and tourists for many hundreds of years.
Past days are long gone, but the pilgrimage itself has essentially stayed the same century after century because there is something very satisfying about walking a route people have walked for more than 1000 years.
In 1987 the Council of Europe named the French Way as First European Cultural Itinerary. In 1993, UNESCO highlighted the importance and significance of the Way of Saint James by declaring it part of Mankind´s Cultural Heritage.
