What is the Camino de Santiago?
The Camino de Santiago is also known in English as "The Way" or "The Way of St. James". Hiking the Camino de Santiago began as a religious pilgrimage where the faithful would walk to Santiago de Compostela to atone for their sins and/or manifest their faith. The Camino actually takes several routes throughout Europe; many of which are several hundred miles long. I will be taking the most popular route (Camino de Frances) which is a little over 500 miles. It begins in the French town of St. Jean Pied de Port and travels over the Pyrenees mountains and across northern Spain. In recent years, many people from around the world and of many different faiths have hiked the many different routes to Santiago de Compostela. For me, the hike will be a bit of a warmup for what will be a much longer and very different hike of the Appalachian Trail next year. It will also give me a chance to work on my Spanish as I prepare to move to Mexico in a few months. But, for many