VAMOSchneiders!: Spring Break & Camino de Santiago

How did we spend Spring Break this year? We, along with three other friends, went walking. Yep, walking. 125 km to be exact. I realize some of you are already disappointed that you aren't going to be hearing crazy tequila shot, Ibiza clubbing, beach lounging, what happens on SB2K10 stays on SB2K10 type of stories. But I have to say that I wouldn't change a thing about how we spent the week!

The walk, called 'El Camino de Santiago' (or the Way of St. James), is a pilgrimage to the Cathedral in the town of Santiago de Compostela (in Northwestern Spain). People begin the walk from various points all across Europe, however the most traditional route begins in Southern France and is approximately 800km/500 miles!

The legend holds that St. James' remains were brought by boat from Jerusalem to Santiago de Compostela, but then due to many years of war his remains were lost... UNTIL... 800 years later a hermit saw lights in the sky that led him to the missing tomb. That's a fact, well about as factual as you get for a legend.

Jump forward to modern times and the pilgrimage to Santiago has become the third most traveled Christian pilgrimage in the world. It is estimated that almost 200,000 pilgrims will walk to Santiago this year. Now, that is a lot of pilgrims!

While we only did a fraction of the total walk, it was still a really interesting and at times intense experience. We walked between 20 and 25 kilometers a day while withstanding every kind of weather condition you can imagine (rain, sun, hot, cold, hail, snow, etc.). Some days were easier than others. Day 2 was particularly tough, at least for me... see evidence below.

The coolest part of the trip for me was that in between walking through beautiful forests and walkways, we walked through about 10 little Spanish farm villages a day. And by little, I mean towns with 10-20 families. Many of these villages were lacking modern day staples such as traffic lights, paved roads, restaurants, and (gasp) internet coverage. It was an awesome way to see that you really don't need many or most of the things that we have become so dependent on.

Joe, Ani, Diego and Aldo entering one of the villages.

It was also awesome to get to meet the people of Galicia along the way (with the exception of one crazy restaurant staff). Below is a picture of us eating lunch with a local Galician family. Before this picture we had been walking for miles in freezing cold pouring down rain. We also had not passed a restaurant in miles! As you can imagine we were all cold, tired, and feeling a bit discouraged. Then we finally entered a little village and saw a woman watching us from the window. She immediately ran out and offered to take us in and cook for us. It was my favorite meal of the trip!

She cooked for us over a wood-burning stove.

After five long days of walking we finally arrived in Santiago de Compostela! Once we arrived the weather took a turn for the worst, forcing us to make the last few kilometers in pouring rain. It was worth it though when we entered the plaza of the Cathedral and saw that we were among tens of thousands of other pilgrims who had just completed the trip.