highway
01-10-2004, 12:37
I guess no discussion of long Trails can be complete without including what can arguably be considered the FIRST long trail; the one started back in Europe in the 9th century AD and continues on to this very day. At its inception it was probably quite similar to what an AT hike is like now, walking along a dirt and rocky footpath, carrying all your traveling possessions either on your back or in your arms and only occasionally passing through a town for re-supply or handouts. The traveling conditions and conveyances are different and more diverse today, but I suspect that, in numbers, there may still be as many traveling on those “trails” toward Santiago as we now have on the AT, which is still in its infancy, by comparison.
Anyway, this trail, the Pilgrimage to Santiago, began over a thousand years ago and slowly developed in many countries of Europe as a religious Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Church of St. James the Apostle, located in my wife’s province of Galicia in the NW corner of Spain. Remember that when this Pilgrimage was begun, Santiago de Compostela was the principal, if not only, repository for Christianity and served to keep the Faith alive during the depths of the Dark Ages. The people who traveled there did so as an affirmation of Faith. Some still do.
The tradition continues on today but is now done more “conveniently”. I would like to walk it one day, starting at the French Pyrenees and walking to Santiago, where, when one finally arrives, can have some of the best tasting and most diverse seafood in the world, caught from those cold waters to the north & west. The area is also famous for that, too :D
If you have an interest, here are a few sites describing it or you can Google "Camino de santiago" for hundreds more
http://www.gosantiago2004.com/santiago-pilgrimage-history.html
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/santiago/iagohome.html
Anyway, this trail, the Pilgrimage to Santiago, began over a thousand years ago and slowly developed in many countries of Europe as a religious Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Church of St. James the Apostle, located in my wife’s province of Galicia in the NW corner of Spain. Remember that when this Pilgrimage was begun, Santiago de Compostela was the principal, if not only, repository for Christianity and served to keep the Faith alive during the depths of the Dark Ages. The people who traveled there did so as an affirmation of Faith. Some still do.
The tradition continues on today but is now done more “conveniently”. I would like to walk it one day, starting at the French Pyrenees and walking to Santiago, where, when one finally arrives, can have some of the best tasting and most diverse seafood in the world, caught from those cold waters to the north & west. The area is also famous for that, too :D
If you have an interest, here are a few sites describing it or you can Google "Camino de santiago" for hundreds more
http://www.gosantiago2004.com/santiago-pilgrimage-history.html
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/santiago/iagohome.html