During the month of July, I will be walking the Camino Frances, part of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) pilgrimage route. The road ends in Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia (NW Spain) where the remains of James the Apostle are said to be buried. It has been one of the most popular Christian pilgrimage destinations for over a thousand years, behind only Rome and the Holy Land. The road begins... wherever you want it to! Authentically, one would start walking from home, but most pilgrims begin either within Spain or just beyond the French border.
Wednesday morning I leave from LAX for Madrid, from whence I'll make my way to St. Jean Pied de Port, France, just at the edge of the Pyranees. From there I'll be walking west, through villages and small towns as well as bigger cities like Leon and Burgos, following the trail. Although I'm going "alone," there will be hundreds of others along the same trail at the same time... based on last year's statistics, over ten thousand might be expected to arrive in Santiago during the month of August, though many will have started in other places.
