Camino de Santiago de Compostela
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela known in English as the Way of St. James, is a medieval network of paths all culminating in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This ancient pilgrimage route has historic and religious roots that can be traced back to the 9th century. Santiago, translates in English to St. James. James, one of Christ’s inner-circle apostles, ventured out after Christ’s death to spread the ‘Word’ and preached the gospel in Spain. When he returned to Judea in 44AD, he was promptly beheaded in Jerusalem on the orders of King Herod Agrippa. Legends and myths abound about St. James, but tradition has it that his body was returned to Spain and his remains are buried on the site where the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela now stands. For centuries, pilgrims have walked to Santiago de Compostela to pay homage. Come walk with us!
So many paths, so little time! We plan to walk the Camino PORTUGUÉS from Porto to Santiago this time. Walk along with us. As you can see from the map to your right, even within Portugal, there are several routes one can follow. There’s so much to see, we may stray from the path on occasion to visit landmarks and places of interest along the way.
The best-laid plans of mice and men… Our plan to walk the Camino in 2020 was thwarted by the Covid Pandemic. We canceled our airline tickets and re-booked in 2021 only to learn that much of the infrastructure supporting the walk, like small hostels and restaurants, was still suffering from the effects of the pandemic. We canceled again. Since that time, we’ve upfitted two cargo vans into campers and have been traveling in North America. Will we walk the Camino? We hope so… just not sure when.
Fast forward to 2026! We’re six years older, probably not much wiser, and still keen to walk the Camino Portugués. Finally, the reservations are made, the plans are set, and we’re off in mid-April 2026.