English Camino

[Robert Spenger]

Diane,

A medieval pilgrim might not have too difficult a walk from La CoruÒa, but the
sea voyage in those days was about as hazardous as a trip could get.

There is an artificiality about modern pilgrimages that has bothered me ever
since I first heard about the Santiago pilgrimage 5 years ago. Many, possibly
most, modern pilgrims get to their starting point by jet aircraft, trains, motor
vehicles, or some combination of these and then start walking. The starting
points themselves are rather arbitrary, especially for those of us that fly in
from the western hemisphere. In recent years, SJPP has been the most popular
starting point and that route has a certain historical aura to it at
Roncesvalles. But I get the impression that in medieval times, it was just one
of many and, of course, it was just a stop along the way for people walking from
their homes far to the north and northeast. And, of course, the Spanish
pilgrims, who are in the majority now and possibly even then, would not bother
to go that far out of their way. There was no reason then and there is on reason
now for a resident of Barcelona or Madrid  to go all the way to France to get to
Santiago.

Another thing is that most modern pilgrims do just a half of a pilgrimage. Very,
very few carry out the other half, i.e. walking back the way they came. We are
missing out on a major facet of the pilgrim experience that was probably just as
important as the journey to Santiago. I talked to only two people who were
returning, and both had a sort of joy about them that was in sharp contrast to
some of the messages I have read on the list. Many people seem to have gone
through a period of depression when they first finished their pilgrimages. It is
just a guess, but I would think that arriving home after a several hundred mile
walk would be an exhilarating experience, very different from the let down that
many feel after that quick flight back to routine.

regards,

Robert

Diane Grust wrote:

> I went to www.csj.org.uk to see about a guide for France from Le Puy (as I
> had previously walked the Camino Frances) and I noticed the "English" Camino
> guides which detail the route from either la coruna 75 km or Ferrol 110 km.
> Which means they hardly walked at all (sorry I know it is a bit judgmental).
> So that leaves me with the sea question -- does anyone know how long it would
> take to journey from Calais? Or wherever in England to Spain and were there
> any dangers associated with that voyage?  I have read numerous times about
> the dangers in Spain for walkers (bandits, bad water for the horses to
> drink...). But I have read no historical information on this.
>
> Diane