What's the Way or the Camino?
For over a thousand years, the Camino de Santiago has led the pilgrims to the shrine of an apostle of Christianity: Saint James the greater. His tomb, discovered a night of the 813 in the sacred mountain of Libredón, under a rain of stars, would be the foundation stone of a prodigious Cathedral and a city which, since then, would attract the traces of the walkers into a destination with the trace and the echo of all Europe.
Whenever a pilgrim is cast by the old continental routes of the Camino de Santiago, starts an old mechanism common to all Christendom search: the journey to salvation. And, with it, you start again is deeply human experience of own discovery. As well as the routes leading to Santiago are many, multiple routes to the more intimate discovery, that ensure experience all the pilgrims as they progress through the roads of fortuitous encounters or loneliness, voices and silence, shady landscape or the dry plain, in pursuit of a single goal also are: Santiago de Compostela.
The routes
There are different routes or roads to Compostela. The best known is the French way, which passes through the North of Spain, starting at the border Franco-Navarra, specifically in Roncesvalles, although there are those who venture to start in the French population Sant Jean Pied de Port on the other side of the Pyrenees, or in the Aragonese Pyrenees, specifically in Somport.
Besides the French way, there are others such as the following:
- The North Road, starts at Irun and runs along the North coast of Spain to the Asturian town of Villaviciosa where it forks into two variants:
- Road North along the coast, continuing glued to the sea.
-The primitive road, leading to the interior to pass by Oviedo. This is the most ancient way that is documented. It is a hard, high mountain road and very wild.
-The Vía de la Plata, is the route that runs through the Iberian peninsula from the South to Santiago de Compostela. Most common start place is Sevilla, although there are who dare to start from Cadiz. This trail is particularly beautiful and full of contrasts. In the Zamora village of Granja de Moreruela this road forks:
- Towards Astorga joins the French way.
-To Puebla de Sanabria will make the road Sanabres
- The Portuguese way, it is signposted from Lisbon and Oporto. This road is ideal for those who want to make a tour in biciclesta (about 1 week) and will be short for those wishing to long-distance routes.
- Other roads are not classics but they are taking notoriety. We can emphasize:
- the catalan road, linking Catalonia with the camino Francés at the height of Logroño
- camino de Madrid, carrying pilgrims from the capital to the French route in the town of León Sahagún
- road Southeast, ranging from Spanish to Galician levante
- the route of the wool, approaching Santiago pilgrims from the area of La Mancha.
- Mozárabe route, that was the road that roamed the ancient Christians from Granada.
-Winter Road, the Basque road of the interior, the route of el salvador, the English way, the extension to Finisterre and Muxia,... and so many other ways that can lead us to Santiago de Compostela.
SPIRITUALITY IN THE ROAD
No one is aware that the road has a deep spiritual charge and not by that means those who have flown to be confessed Christian and very religious. Each person can and must meet the challenge on his principles and ideals.
Many are those who like a simple challenge facing sports and many others as a simple tour. But one way or another they all end up recognizing that the way he has changed or has left them marked.
Perhaps the society in which we live and the maelstrom of everyday life does not leave much time to think of our stuff and the road is a unique opportunity for this.
As final advice: "Do not spend your down the road, let the road pass by you"
Good way!