Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Camino de Santiago

Episode Date: November 2, 2020

The Camino de Santiago is one of the most significant and popular pilgrimage routes in the World. For over 1,000 years pilgrims have traveled to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Some do it for religious reasons and some just to have an adventure. Today, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims still make the journey every year. Learn more about the Camino de Santiago, aka Way of Saint James, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Communer de Santiago is one of the most significant and popular pilgrimage routes in the world. For over a thousand years, pilgrims have traveled to the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Campesella, Spain. Some do it for religious reasons, and some do it just to have an adventure. Today, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims still make the journey every year. Learn more about the Camino de Santiago, a.k.a. the Way of St. James, on this episode of everything everywhere daily. This episode is sponsored by the Tourist Office of Spain. I've personally been to Spain many times over the course of my travels, and I keep

coming back. While Spain is obviously one country, I've personally come to think of Spain as many different countries. That's because the various regions of Spain are so different and each has their own personality. From the volcanoes on the Canary Islands, to the beaches of Majorca, to the Piaea of Valencia and the architecture of Barcelona, to the incredible food in San Sebastian and the Celtic culture of the north and the museums of Madrid, Spain has something for

everyone. You can start researching your dream trip to Spain today by visiting spain. info, where you can get everything you need to know to plan your Spanish experience. To understand why the Camino de Santiago was so important, we have to start at the beginning, or in this case at the end, of the pilgrimage, that is, with the city of Santiago de Campesella. Santiago de Campesella is a city in the far northwest of Spain, and it's the capital of the region of Glaccia. The city has a moderate-sized population of just under 100,000 people. The reason why so many pilgrims journeyed to Santiago de Campesella is because of its cathedral, and the reason why the cathedral is so special is that it is believed to be the resting place

of St. James, one of Jesus' 12 apostles. It's one of only three cathedrals in the world that claim to be the resting place of one of the apostles. The other are St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Cathedral of St. Thomas in Chennai, India. St. James the Greater was the brother of the Apostle John. It's believed that after Jesus left the Apostles, James went to the Roman province of Hispania, which is today modern day Spain and Portugal. After preaching in Hispania, he returned to Jerusalem where tradition holds he was beheaded by the Judean king Herod Agrippa in the year 44. The spot in Jerusalem where James was supposedly executed is today the Armenian Cathedral of St. James. Supposedly, his head

still remains here. Afterward, James' followers took his body back to Hispania, the place where he preached, landed ashore at the town of Pardone, and took the body inland to Campa Stella for burial. The tomb was lost for several hundred years until it was supposedly discovered in the year 814 by a shepherd who saw a light in the sky. He then contacted the bishop who contacted the king, and they declared that this was the tomb of St. James. A church was built on the site by Alfonso II of Asturius, who legend holds was the very first

pilgrim. And this was the beginning of the tradition of pilgrims coming to the tomb of St. James. Much of the medieval interest in Santiago de Campesella was tied up with the struggle with the Islamic Moors in the Iberian Peninsula. Arab Moors had come over from North Africa and conquered most of the peninsula, but Santiago de Campesella was, for the most part, not under Moorish rule for most of the time. During the Middle Ages, the community of Santiago was the single largest movement of people in Europe. As most people may have never traveled more than 20 miles from their home, a journey to the northwest corner of Spain would have been a very big deal for almost anyone who made the journey, regardless where they started. One of the things which popularized the pilgrimage

in the Middle Ages was the Codex Calixtinus, which was a book attributed to Pope Callisdix II. It was a 12th century travel guide that gave pilgrims advice on the journey, what churches to visit along the way, and the history of St. James and the miracles attributed to him. Now, I should note here that the Community de Santiago doesn't have a single route. It isn't like the Appalachian Trail or other long-distance hikes. Pilgrims took different routes depending on where they lived. In theory, any route you take from where you live to Santiago de Campesella would still be on the Cominor de Santiago, and more on that in a moment.

As more people began making the pilgrimage, traditions and customs developed around the journey. The most significant tradition is that of the scallop shell. The scallop shell has become the symbol of the symbol of the the entire pilgrimage. You can see scallop symbols along many signs marking the route and outside many churches along the way. I've actually seen scallop shells on churches in northern France, which was nowhere near Spain. The scallop shell was believed to have originated because scallops are harvested in Galicia, and getting a scallop shell was a way for a pilgrim to prove that they had made the pilgrimage. Many pilgrims would have a scallop shell carved on their tombstones

to symbolize that they were a pilgrim. Eventually, as scallop shells became common enough that pilgrims got them at the beginning of their trip to signify that they were on the pilgrimage. The shells also had a practical purpose. They could be used as a cup for drinking water, and many churches along the way would provide a shell full of food for pilgrims. A modern tradition is the pilgrim's passport, or the credential. When you start the journey, you get a passport, and then you get stamps in towns along the way. There are places where you can stay along the popular routes called refugios, where you can stay in dormitories overnight, and your passport can get you access. Once you arrive in Santiago, you can visit the Pilgrim's office and show them your

passport. If you have walked the last 100 kilometers, you will get a certificate called a Campostela, which signifies having completed the pilgrimage. Everyone who completes the trek and gets their certificate will have their name and the starting point of their pilgrimage read out loud at a pilgrim's mass at the cathedral, which is held twice a day, at noon and 7 p.m. While there's no one route on the commuter to Santiago, there are some routes that are more popular than others. The most popular route is the Camino Francaise, or the French way, which is the route that approximately 55% of all pilgrims take. While there are routes that extend well into France, the most popular starting point is the

French town of Saint-Jean-Pé de Port in the Pyrenees, located close to the Spanish border. This route is about 800 kilometers or 500 miles long. The popularity of this route is due to tradition and the fact that there are more facilities for eating and sleeping along this route than any other. The second most popular route is the Camino Portuguese way, which starts at the Lisbon Cathedral. The Camino del Norte starts in San Sebastian near the French border and follows the coast. It's cooler in the summer, but has more hills and fewer accommodations. There's also the Camino Inglis, which is by far the shortest route.

This is where pilgrims from England and Ireland would get off the boat in Galicia to walk. Over time, the pilgrimage became less popular and fewer people were walking the route. By the 20th century, pilgrimages had almost ceased completely. In 1985, for example, there were fewer than 700 pilgrims. However, in the last several decades, there has been a massive resurgence in people walking the Camino, and it has reached levels which it hadn't since the Middle Ages. The numbers have been steadily increasing ever since with a high of 327,000 pilgrims in 2018. Most people who are hiking the Camino today are not necessarily doing it for religious reasons,

even if they are still called pilgrims. Holy years occur whenever the Feast of St. James lands on a Sunday. In those years, there are usually many more people who walk the Camino. 2021 will be a holy year, and it was expected that the number of pilgrims would be around 400,000 to 500,000, but the pandemic will probably decrease that number considerably. The next holy years after that will be in 2027 and 2032. The time it takes to hike the Camino is approximately 30 days if you take the popular French way. with some people taking a few more days and some people taking a few less.

Hiking the commino is something that's on my personal list of things to do. It's mostly a matter of finding 30 days to take the time to make the journey. If and when I make the trek, I'll be following in the footsteps, literally, of millions of people who came before me over the last 1,200 years. Executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is James Mackala. Please remember to support the show over at patreon.com, where you can get exclusive merchandise, and to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Leave a five-star review to have your review read online.