Preface

Camino de Santiago

Camino de Santiago is probably the most famous Christian pilgrimage, whose rich tradition dates back to the Middle Ages. The Spanish word Camino basically stands for a path, road, or a journey. There are several different routes leading to Santiago de Compostela, the final destination of the Way of Saint James and the place where the apostle Saint James I buried. The most famous and frequent is the Camino Francais. It starts in a small French village in the Pyrenees, Saint-Jen-Pied-du-Port, continues through the Pyrenees to Spain and leads through major regional cities such as Pamplona, Burgos and Leon. On the way, a pilgrim might also admire picturesque nature, observe the local way of life by visiting small villages on the road, taste the Spanish culture and of course, meet many other pilgrims whose inner motivation for this ultimate journey may vary from person to person. One could rise a question what really motivates a pilgrim to walk 800 km in 30 days, and what gives him or her strength to withstand soaring heat, fatigue and often unrelenting pain after many a kilometer. I cannot provide a sufficient answer to this question; I can only speak for myself. In my case, I wanted to get my priorities right, change the air and taste another adventure. It is also true that on the pilgrimage, one has plenty of time for contemplation, meditation and introspection. I have also experienced this phenomenon and many things that have been worrying me are now crystal clear to me. Maybe through the physical exhaustion one can truly achieve the inner peace. My personal journey led through Eurovelo 6, the biggest cycle route from the Black Sea to the Atlantic, the Vélocéan and the Vélodyssée, cycle routes along the Western France, and finally, the Camino Francais. This arduous journey took me more than 40 days which is an equivalent to undertaking the Camino Francais on foot. In short, I can tell you that it was an enlightening experience and I am immensely happy that I undertook it. This blog is only a summary of my memories.

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