Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James)
The Camino de Santiago is a network of pilgrim routes heading west across Spain ending at the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. The most popular route is the Camino Frances which starts in St. Jean-Pied-du-Port Spain (780km).
These pilgrim routes have been used for hundreds of years. In the 1200s while the Moors were invading Spain, they threatened the pilgrims, and made the passage difficult and dangerous. The pilgrims looked to the North, on the other side of a mountain range the Northern Route along the Northern Coast became the new route.
The Camino del Norte is one of the longer routes. It starts in Hendaye in France at the Spanish Border and is 840km. The scenery is stunning as you make this journey with the coastline to the North and the protective mountains 40 kms to the South. Each day you walk West. Up hill as leave a harbour town each morning and down hill when you arrive each night, long detours to find a bridge over the tributaries and rivers.
The weather on this route is highly variable, with many variations in temperature and conditions. You must be prepared for a lot of rain.
Camino is 'walk' in Spanish. This is a trip that is designed for me. I have always loved to walk, but walking 750km over mountains and along the plains didn't light a spark in me. But as soon as I saw the northern route I was sold! I love water and walking 840km along the Northern Spanish coast line was very appealing. So both my Caminos ware the Camino del Norte, or the Northern Route.