Beautiful, Brilliant Robyn (This is how most people begin questions to me): What exactly is the Camino?
The Camino to Santiago de Compostela, or Le Chemin de Saint Jacques, or The Way of St. James, is a 1,000 year old medieval pilgrimage route across Spain to Compostela, the traditional burial place of St James brother of John (carried in a magical boat, light on a roman cemetery, very smart monk marketing...don't ask). There are a number of different routes, but Lauren and I will be taking the most popular, the Camino Francès, which begins at St. Jean Pied-de-Port in France, cross the Pyrenees Mountains into Northern Spain, and continues on to Compostela, situated near the coast, or as medieval pilgrim's believed, the "End of the World."
(Helpful map)
Huh. Okay... Well how long does it take?
Depending on your pace, the Camino Francès takes approximately five (5) weeks. Lauren and I specifically, will be gone from June 16th to August 4th, with an extra week built in for a potential trip to Barcelona, assuming we make it to Compostela on our projected arrival date, July 25th, the Saints' Day.
Who are you traveling with?
I'm traveling with my dearest friend, Lauren Hales, who was my roommate at Rhodes and one of my best friends! She is the absolute only person I would consider going with, (1) because we get along so well and (2) because she's the only one crazy enough to agree.
Is it... safe?
Yes. There is very little crime on the Camino, and thousands of pilgrims on the road all the time. It's easy to find traveling companions, and people along the route are always willing to help the pilgrims coming through. Occasionally, petty theft has been known to occur, especially in the larger cities. Like on any sort of trip, accidents happen and it's not advisable to walk by yourself. But Lauren and I will be together, and we're walking at the busiest, safest time of year.
How's your Spanish?
Nonexistent. I don't speak Spanish. Lauren, however, having spent time abroad in both Ecuador and Chile, is fluent. There are many international pilgrim's on the camino, as well as English-speakers. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to practice my French and German along the Way, and Lauren promised to teach me a little Spanish. Lord knows we'll have time!
So are you Catholic, then?
No. Neither Lauren nor I are Catholic, and visiting the Saint's bones is not the priority on the trip. We are both Christians and committed Jesus people, so it will be a spiritual journey, a time for reflection, and a time for prayer. However, the reasons for pilgrimage in the modern day are, just like in the medieval period, various.
Robyn, why the hell would you want to walk 500 miles??
If you don't inherently understand the appeal of spending five weeks out of doors in beautiful Northern Spain, drinking red wine, meeting people from all over the world, and enjoying a time of reflection between college and "What's next," then I don't think I can explain it to you.
Would you recommend any books about this?
The book that got me interested in pilgrimage was Conrad Rudolph's Pilgrimage to the End of the World. It is excellent and not too long if you care to pick it up.
What are you most excited about?
In no particular order: The Food, The Art, and The People. (Capitalization necessary)
There's gonna be art?
Yeah. A lot of it. Particularly Romanesque Pilgrimage art from the height of pilgrimage, the 10th and 11th centuries.
Why are you going on Pilgrimage?
My life has been going so desperately fast recently, I want to slow down. The Camino is a way to live life at a different pace: one foot at a time. I need some God time before I reenter the crazy world of Academia in the Fall. And, as Lauren and I go off towards very different--if equally uncertain--futures, the Camino offers us a chance to stop, look back, and look forward. It feels like the right way to end one part of my life and begin another. Will it be hard? yes. Will it be worth it? Definitely. Neither of us have ever done anything like this before, but we've done the research and the work. No one has ever done something like this before until they do it. We're young, we're multilingual, we're fit. This is our chance.
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