A friend of mine is walking to Santiago, the Galician shrine of St James in north west Spain. He\u2019s heading for Sahagun, which means he should be in Santiago in two or three weeks\u2019 time. That means his pilgrimage, along the so called French Way, from Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyranees, will take four or five weeks and he will, by the end, have covered more than 500 miles.<\/p>\n
The pace depends on his companions. He met them by chance when they invited him for a beer in one of the hostels along the Camino \u2013 drink and sociability is standard on the pilgrimage. He\u2019s a Catholic; his companions include a non-believer and Protestants. People fall in with other pilgrims along the way. Risky, obviously, but another friend of mine, a retired man from Cork, met up with a Finn on his route a couple of years ago, and they\u2019ve stayed friends and visited each others\u2019 families.<\/p>\n
What possesses people to go on this gruelling trek, which, while a good deal less dangerous than it was in the Middle Ages, is still tough going (one thing you learn, apparently, is the importance of looking after your feet)? My friend used to work for Transport for London; he\u2019s 47.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n The return of the pilgrimage: walking from Canterbury to Rome https:\/\/t.co\/SaQm4tASzm<\/a> #CaminodeSantiago<\/a> #ViaFrancigena<\/a> via @Spectator_LIFE<\/a><\/p>\n — Camino Tweets (@CaminoTweets) May 9, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n