Virginia Voyages: Camino de Santiago, Spain

For more than a thousand years, Christian pilgrims have made the long walk or "Camino" to Santiago de Compostela, whose cathedral houses the tomb of St. James. The Camino was, and is, both a memorable pathway and a profound spiritual experience, a pilgrimage in every sense of the word.

We walked the highlights of the Ancient Way of St. James through medieval villages and quiet countryside, recording our journey by collecting a stamp, as every pilgrim does, from wayside inns, cathedrals, and churches. Because so many medieval pilgrims followed the Camino, Northwest Spain today reveals an amazing concentration of cathedrals, monasteries, shrines, and inns, all originally built to meet the needs of the traveling faithful.

Highlights of the trip included:

An overnight stay in the Hostal de San Marcos Parador Leon. A structure that once housed a monastery.
Travelers placed stones carried from home at the base of the Cruz de Hierro.
We purchased and wore scallop shells marked with the St. James cross to indicate that we were pilgrims.
Members of the group attended the pilgrim's service at the Santiago de Compostela.