The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela,Spain

byJohn B. Wright

Photographs by the Author

“The best Thou givest, giving thisSufficient thing – to travel stillOver the plain, beyond the hill.Unhesitating through the shade,Amid the silence unafraid,Till, at some sudden turn one seesAgainst the black and muttering treesThine altar, wonderfully white,

Among the Forests of the Night.”The Song of the Pilgrims – Rupert Brooke,1907

I walked up Monte de Gozo in a steadyGalician rain hoping, like all who comehere, for a transcendent view of the Cathe-dral of Santiago de Compostela. This hill-

top named Mount Joy is where pilgrimson the Camino de Santiago (“St. JamesWay”) first set tearful eyes on their long-awaited goal; the supposed resting placeof the bones of the fourth apostle of Jesus.It has been this way since the Middle Ageswhen both the devout and derelict (seek-ing indulgences to shorten their stay in

Figure 1. Pilgrims statue on top of Monte de Gozo: spires of cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in the distance.

Spring 2014 Focus on Geography 25

purgatory) walked here from Paris, thePyrenees, Bilbao, Pamplona, Astorga, Sevilleor any of a thousand other starting points.The roads were many, but the goal wasone – to reach this remote locus sanctus –this holy place built of stone and mythicaspiration.

Unlike my previous visit, I crestedMount Joy alone and found the summitencased in winter fog. All I saw was astone monument built to honor Pope JohnPaul II, a grotesque refugio of barracks thatcould sleep 800, and statues of pilgrimswith walking sticks lifted in ecstasy asthey gazed at the cathedral spires in thedistance (Figure 1). I gazed at clouds. Janu-

ary is avoided by most pilgrims for a rea-son. Previously that morning I dutifullyprepared for this day’s walk by visitingLavacola, the last village before Santiago. Inthe past, pilgrims stopped here to clean upbefore reaching Monte de Gozo andcompleting their journey at the immensecathedral in town (Figure 2). The name ofthe place, lava (to wash), cola (scrotum), is afine reminder of the earthy joys of topono-my.

The rest of my walk back to Santiagowas a slog. I had already been to thecathedral several times and was stayingnear the Plaza Obradoiro in a small hotel.My pilgrimage in 2010 consisted of nine

day hikes over two weeks. I was a sadmember of the lowest caste on the Cami-no; a “tourist.” As I walked past newapartment buildings and dashed acrossbusy four-lane highways I felt none of theintense emotions I imagine actual peregri-nos (pilgrims) experience at the prospectof reaching their goal after months on thetrail. Santiago de Compostela began assacred ground and is now real estate. Onthis rain-soaked day at least, I wasn’tquesting for God; I was longing for dryclothes and a meal of pork chops andbeer at a family restaurant named CasaManolo.

Santiago de Compostela

The story of St. James in Spain is curi-ous and, to the non-believer, lavishly con-fabulated. The versions are diverse,changing with the times and human need.The basic tale is this: James the Elder, orthe Greater, (St. James) was a fishermanand the brother of the Apostle John backin those turbulent days in Palestine. Muchis known of John from his Gospel but thewords of James did not make the final cutof the Bible canon. Legend has it thatJames went to the Iberian Peninsula tospread the Word of God. He was not aspellbinding preacher. By the time Jamesreached Galicia (in northwest Spain) hehad attracted only seven disciples. Dis-couraged, James began the long journeyback to the Holy Land. In Zaragoza (thena Roman city named Caesar Augustus), hesaw an apparition of the Virgin Mary, heronly such appearance while still alive. Shetold him to erect a church on that spot andhanded him the pillar that Jesus waslashed to during his torture. An iterationof that church still exists: Basilica de Nues-tra Senora del Pilar.

St. James’ return to the Holy Land didnot go nearly as well. Herod Agrippabeheaded him in 44 AD as part of thatbrutal pogrom against followers of Jesus.The Biblical account is stunningly matterof fact about it. Acts 12:2 states that “Andhe killed James the brother of John with asword.” That’s it.

Following his death, supporters aresaid to have sneaked his corpse out ofJerusalem, placed it in a boat with nocrew, oars, or sails and shoved it seaward.Miraculously, the boat drifted across theMediterranean, through the Strait ofGibraltar, and, bucking the Portugal Cur-rent, landed on the west coast of Galicia.Hemingway’s Santiago, the Old Man, wasignored at his homecoming but St. James

Figure 2. Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela: Baroque, Romanesque, and divine architecturalstyles.

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was big news upon his deathly return toshore. His disciples found the boat,secreted his body away, and placed it on alarge rock that instantly morphed into acontainer for the decomposing holy relic.Lacking a suitable burial site, they con-sulted a local queen named Lupa. Manydetails emerge from here: a set of chal-lenges, yoking wild oxen on a mountain,the oxen being tamed by the presence ofSt. James’ body, and finally a decent burialon royal land. St. James then disappearsfrom history for 750 years except for thename of a then- small village – Santiagode Compostela – St. James of the StarryField.

The veneration of holy relics, such aspieces of the cross where Jesus was cruci-fied and the bones of saints, has a longspiritual and mercantile history. Ordinaryplaces are transformed into sacred desti-nations because of the alleged presence ofsacred objects. This in turn attracts pil-grims with money. While striving toexpand their business reach, the leadersof Venice claimed to have to bones of St.Mark. The pilgrims came and spent.Rome’s Cappucin Crypt added an incen-tive for pilgrims to journey to that ancientcity and spend freely to attain religiousbenefit. �Evora, Sicily has been a pilgrim-age site for centuries because of its dis-

play of the bones of thousands of monks.More recently, the Bulgarian OrthodoxChurch claimed to have pieces of the jawand arm bones of John the Baptist. It isperhaps no coincidence that these relicswere found in a tourist area on the BlackSea in need of promotion. Osteo-com-merce is by no means unique to Santiagode Compostela.

The Pilgrimage Begins

Spain is as much a crossroads as acore. Over the centuries the place has beenthe contested terrain of Celt-Iberians,Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians,Romans, Vikings, Vandals, Visigoths,Franks, Gypsies, Jews, and Moors – bothArab and Berber. The Moorish invasion ofIberia in 711 AD pushed into Francebefore losing traction and giving ground.The Reconquista (the Reconquest) began inSpain when small pockets of Christians inplaces like Galicia encountered the Moorsin myriad ways: fighting, evading, resist-ing, making peace, marrying, and trading.This dazzlingly complex process continueduntil 1568 when the last Moriscos (“LittleMoors – mistrusted Arab converts toCatholicism) were pushed out of the LasAlpujarras region of the Sierra Nevadanear Grenada.

The legend of St. James empoweredcenturies of war. Early on in the Recon-quista (813 AD), a Galician hermit namedPelayo supposedly heard lovely music andsaw a bright light coming up out of theground. He dug at the spot and unearthedseveral sets of human bones. The localBishop declared they were the remains ofSt. James and two of his disciples. Chris-tians realized that these bones could beused as powerful talismans to combat theMuslims who, it was rumored, carried rel-ics of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace BeUpon Him). Such a claim is suspect giventhat any image or likeness of the Prophetis not allowed within Islam. No matter.Christian forces now had a spiritualweapon of mass destruction; the magiste-rial power of the only apostle said to havebeen buried in Europe.

Stories spread of St. James appearingon a white horse, leading Christians tobloody victories against the Moors. Hewas no longer just the Apostle of Spain.He was Santiago Peregrino, the sacred wan-derer who attracted growing number ofpilgrims to Galicia. He also took on a moreaggressive incarnation - Santiago Matamo-ros – “St. James the Moor-Slayer”. Histomb attracted donations from Christian

Figure 3. Frequent maps help the pilgrim find their way.


kings, merchants, and peasants, convincedthat their offerings would insure protec-tion against the infidels. In the cathedral tothis day there is a statue of St. James atopa white horse, sword raised, slayingMoors. Flowers and greenery try to hidethe trampled, slashed, and beheadedbodies lying below him.

The pilgrimage to Santiago deCompostela peaked in the 11th and 12th

centuries. This was the zenith of the Medi-eval veneration of holy relics and of fight-ing between Christians and Moors, be theyCrusaders in Jerusalem and Aleppo orChristian warriors in the battlegroundsjust south of the Camino de Santiago. The

pilgrimage process was generally drivenby faith, fear, and land acquisition. But pil-grims walked for countless reasons: toseek God, find forgiveness, be made well,fulfill a promesa (promise to God), serveout a jail sentence, find adventure, make itrain, end a plague, or to escape a troubledlife. Guidebooks flourished and the num-ber of roads grew. The Spanish MilitaryOrder of Santiago was formed to fightMoors and protect pilgrims along theroad, much like the Knights Templar.

The Reformation weakened the flowof pilgrims to Santiago and the Enlighten-ment nearly ended it. But people kepttrickling in to pay homage to St. James.

The Spanish government, in its variousforms, kept paying annual ofrenda (tribute)to the cathedral. In years when Saint’s Day(July 25th) fell on a Sunday, officials, kings,and dictators would travel to Santiago anddeclare their voto de Santiago (a pledge tohonor and financially support the cathe-dral which safeguards the bony relics).Generalissimo Francisco Franco was raisedin Galicia and he took special care duringhis brutal regime (1939-1975) to maintaingood relations with the Catholic Church inthat region. To Franco, St. James was aSpanish Nationalist and for decades Span-ish school children were taught that divineprovidence had also sent Franco, like St.James, to rescue the country from inva-sion, poverty, and want. Coins werestamped with the image of the Generalis-simo and the words: “Francisco Franco,Leader of Spain, by the grace of God.”

Camino de Santiago

The “St. James Way” or simply “theWay” is a “reanimated” pilgrimage trackacross northern Spain (Frey, 1998). Begin-ning in the 1960s, the number of pilgrimsgrew. Today, an eclectic array of peoplewalk, pedal bicycles or ride horses alongthe various ways to Santiago (Figure 3). In1993, 100,000 pilgrims walked all 500 milesof the main route – the Camino Franc�es –and received their Compostela certificate, asimple diploma with their name written inLatin. This was a Compostellan Holy Year,when Saints Day (July 25th) fell of a Sun-day. No reliable figures exist on howmany people walk or visit the Caminothese days. But it has become so well-known that Martin Sheen starred in a 2012movie called “The Way.” This film gives asurprisingly tender portrayal of why somany people are drawn to redefine andexpand a Medieval religious rite.

The most travelled pilgrimage road –the Camino Franc�es – is an east-west routecovering 500 miles from St. Jean Pied-au-Port in France to Santiago (Figure 4). Ittraverses northern Spain through the Bas-que country and Pamplona, the arid mesetaregion, and the green Celtic hills of Galicia.This main camino is a geopolitical transectthrough the cultural landscapes of Bas-ques, Castilians (Spaniards), and Galicians.It is a unifying traverse linking Heavenand Earth, and perhaps, maintaining peacebetween separatist nations and the State.

But many sacred caminos exist, sev-eral originating in France. Inside Spain, theCamino del Norte is a coastal route cover-ing 500 miles that passes through Bilbao

Figure 4. Map. The Camino de Santiago has many routes in Spain, Portugal, and France.


Figure 5. A peregrina (pilgrim) at the end of her walk.


Figure 6. Obradoiro facade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.


Figure 7. Obradoiro main doors: millions have passed this way.


and Santander before joining the CaminoFranc�es. The Camino Ingl�es is a 200 milecut-off from the Atlantic coast to Santiago.The longest route in Spain is Via de la Pla-ta (the Silver Way) that covers 620 milesfrom Seville to the same holy destination.Portugal has a 250 mile way called, appro-priately, the Camino Portugu�es. There aremany roads but all lead to Santiago deCompostela.

My Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage may be a ritual as old ashuman existence. For some it is “anancient instinct – it reminds us of our

sacred purpose – to grow closer to God”(George, 2006: 15). Scripture gives refer-ence to it in Mark 6:31: “come with me byyourselves to a quiet place and get somerest.” But that is more about the destina-tion than the journey. In Hebrews 11:10the quest is for a city “whose architect andbuilder is God.” But pilgrimage long pre-dates Christianity. The Greek word for it isproskynesis which means “prostration orveneration.” In Latin it is peregrinatiowhich roots in per ager – “through thefields”. It seems to have emerged as a wayto revere God, land, life, and afterlife.

Pilgrimage is a kind of “sacred cho-reography” (Westwood, 2003) in search

of a place of exile or rescue or rebirth; itis a way to transform a far margin intoa sacred center. Pilgrimage is a passageand an arrival, a line and a node, vectorand raster. It warns us that we aregoing to die and reminds us of thesomatic joy of living. It teaches us thattime is short and eternity is timeless.Ultimately pilgrimage is about place, geo-graphicus sanctus, holy ground. Each pil-grim helps wear a trace of sharedreverence into the landscape. The routeemerges from the negotiation of sacred-ness which etches a line of demarcationin the dirt of the country or rests hiddenbeneath the pavement of town. In thisway, a remote trail becomes a primemeridian. The pilgrim learns the holytale and becomes part of it with eachfootfall. Faith begets faith. Pilgrimage isabout myth, not as something false, butas a process beyond proof. It is an unfal-sifiable kinetic act built of legend andbone, superstition and soil. Kris Kris-topherson might call pilgrimage “a walk-ing contradiction, partly truth and partlyfiction.”

I seem to be attracted to places likethis. Strange for someone with no particu-lar faith. I was baptized as a Christian inNew England but had no say in the matterand can best be called a “recovering Pil-grim.” Despite that, previously in thisjournal I have shared my pilgrimage expe-riences walking to the Santuario de Chi-mayo in New Mexico and climbing amountain called Sri Pada in Sri Lanka. Ihave visited countless pilgrimage sitesaround the world such as the River Jor-dan, Stonehenge, Rome, Hagia Sophia,Delphi, Yunnan summits, Bodnath stupa,and the Kingdom of Lo Manthang alongNepal’s Tibetan border. I have backpackeda thousand miles of the Appalachian Trail(“the AT”) and strolled with sadhus at Pa-shupatinath as bodies gently burned onthe ghats. Another songwriter, Bono,might conclude “but I still haven’t foundwhat I’m looking for.”

In the winter of 2010, I found myselfwalking the Camino de Santiago in therain alone. It was decidedly not the opti-mum season for this but it proved to be anexcellent way to experience the Camino’spleasures minus the crowds. But as Iwalked into Santiago de Compostela fromMonte de Gozo I felt like a cheater. I hadnot trekked hundreds of miles and suf-fered the discomforts or enjoyed the seren-dipity of a long trip with new friends. Onthe AT they call those kinds of joyous sur-prises, “trail magic.” So far I had only

Figure 8. St. James the Moor-slayer: plants cannot hide the corpses.


Figure 9. Silver urn containing the remains of St. James?


walked sections of the Camino near Le�onand Astorga, and the last few miles beforetown.

Standing in the Obradoiro Plaza Iwas awed by the main facade of thecathedral. My sense of cheating fell away.I travelled thousands of miles to get hereand that would suffice for now. A truepilgrim carrying a pack and holding herwalking stick stood staring at the specta-cle (Figure 5). She was crying. We didnot speak.

The Obradoiro facade is Baroquemonumentalism in its truest form (Fig-ure 6). This is architecture designed toinstill humility, reverence, and dread. Afacade is a bold face or a false frontdepending on your temperament. I foundthis one beautiful. The two immense Baro-que bell towers were built atop Roman-esque roots. The intricately carved stonehas weathered to gray and carries a patinaof orange and yellow lichens in shady

recesses. The iconography of the cathedralfacade is both exuberant and figurativewith a statue of St. James rising from thecenter spire holding a pilgrim’s staff.

Two 17th century stairways zig-zagup from the plaza to massive front doorscleaved by a massive cross (Figure 7).Inside the Portico de la Gloria (Glory Door-way) are statues of St. James and his twodisciples, Anastasius and Theodore. Thecolumn holding St. James has beentouched by so many pilgrims that a hand-sized impression has been worn into thestone. A Romanesque tympanum (Medie-val semi-circular decorative wall) has rep-resentations of the Church, Heaven, Hell,Limbo, the Apocalypse, the Final Judg-ment, and tableaus of ancient Christians.There is a stone column “tree” crownedwith a capstone showing the Holy Trinitywith a statue of St. James atop it. A corbelrises above him covered with carved illus-trations of the temptations of Jesus. The

iconography is dizzying in complexity.The central tympanum is presided over bya large statue of Jesus flanked by “the just”saints—Mathew, John, and Luke. Abovethem are images of twenty-four elders ofthe Apocalypse playing medieval musicalinstruments including a hurdy-gurdy.Some of the musicians do not seem con-cerned with the end of the Earth. There isrelaxed pleasure in their faces; perhapsrevealing the certainty of those believingin the Paradise to come.

For pilgrims the statue of St. James inthe main chapel marks the end of theirjourney (Figure 8). Tradition has it that pil-grims should embrace him from behind.Medieval practice called for placing yourhat atop the saint and swapping it, briefly,for his crown. I suspect this is no longerallowed. In the past the frenzy to reach thestatue created quite a scene. Jack Hittdescribes it: “For as many as five centuriesit would have been impossible to get near

Figure 10. Plaza de Plater�ıas: St. James sits atop Los Caballos fountain.


the Portico without a fight. And there usu-ally were. Hundreds of people camped outbeneath the statue of St. James. Womengave birth there. Pilgrims cooked meals insteaming vats. Fires blazed. Every nightwas an orgy of quarrels and fights.” (Hitt,2005: 237). On my visit a group of pilgrimsseemed so enraptured that I turned awayto avoid intruding. But soon I heard laugh-ter and saw the flash of digital cameras.

The air was filled with the piquantaroma of incense. The Cathedral of Santi-ago de Compostela is famous for its bota-fumeiro, the 140-pound incense ball that isswung dangerously back and forth abovepilgrims during Mass. This sacred act alsoserves as a powerful air freshener to maskthe funky aromas rising from the crowd.The crypt of St. James and his two disci-ples is located beneath the main altar. Theremains are held in a large silvery box; ametallic urn decorated with slender statues(Figure 9). A large star rises above the

box. All is overseen by a stone representa-tion of the scallop shell worn by pilgrimsto this tiny mausoleum. I stood alone forfive minutes reflecting on the millions whohave stood here over the centuries. JohnDonne wrote, in the Holy Sonnets, that“this is my play’s last scene, here heavensappoint, my pilgrimage’s last mile.”

But I had miles to go before I slept.The word compostella has another Latinmeaning – compostellum – “the well com-posed one”, or more accurately in this case,“the well decomposed one.” I felt reverencestanding at the crypt, not so much for thesupposed remains of the saint, but for thepain, strength, and frailty of those desper-ate and searching souls who have walkedhere for a thousand years. Life humbles usall. I had just turned 60 years old withmany more dreams left than years. Despitethat, or perhaps because of it, I felt little ofwhat the architecture and guidebooks saidI was supposed to feel. I stood at the end of

a spiritual interstate with long on-rampsleading from Paris, Seville, even Rome. Sofar, the camino experience for me wasmostly commercialized, commodified, andsanitized for our protection. I had spentenough time exploring the route to growtired of pilgrim’s log books, ego trips,sleeve patches, scallop shells, tacky souve-nirs, and the crude mercantile grasp of sec-ular and religious politicians.

This is nothing new. In 1884, PopeLeo XIII issued a Papal Bull declaring theremains of St. James to be authentic andofficially sacred. Today the Vatican ishedging its bet. They are not saying yes,they are not saying no. Pilgrimage is goodfor economic and ecumenical business. Ithought about Jim Parsons, my deceasedPh.D. advisor in Geography at UC-Berke-ley. He adored Spain for its cultural com-plexity and beauty, as do I. But Jim taughtme to look past monumental shrines to thevernacular landscapes around us. Only

Figure 11. The cathedral dominates all views.


then, can we sense the actual pulse of aplace and its true heart.

I left the cathedral and sat down inthe Plaza de Plater�ıas to collect mythoughts (Figure 10). St. James sat atop afountain made of horse’s heads. His walk-ing stick was ready beside him. It was anoffer I couldn’t refuse. I decided to keepwalking along the Camino de Finisterre –“the Road to the End of the Earth.” Itextends west from the concrete scallopshell in Plaza de Obradoiro to an isolatedrocky cape jutting into the Atlantic Ocean.While only 54 miles long, just ten percentof pilgrims walk this final leg. For most,the church is far enough (Figure 11). Ichoose to move past it.

The next day I gathered a day packwith water, a half-pound of jamon serrano,olives, bread, and three Snicker’s bars (Fig-ure 12). I hiked out of town early andfound myself alone passing throughpeaceful Spanish countryside. It was hilly,pastoral, and quiet; shaded by eucalyptus

Figure 12. Pilgrim’s shop: trinkets for the wanderer.

Figure 13. Rural Galicia along the Camino.


Figure 14. Cabo Finisterre: the Cape at the End of the Earth.


groves and pine plantations. This caminois agricultural terrain where you walk onnarrow lanes and trails, dodge tractors,and hear the gaita (bagpipes) or rock androll wafting on the breeze. In the past theCatholic Church discouraged pilgrimsfrom coming this way. They said this land-scape was a place of sun worshippers,secret Celtic rites, and pre-Christian temp-tations. That is no longer true and thosewalking to the sea now receive a Fisterra-nana; a certificate of completion by thelocal alcalde (mayor). The Galician Xunta(government) helps fund the operation ofthis Camino as part of a regional economicdevelopment scheme. All pilgrimage roadstend to end up as merchandise.

I kept my focus on the land, rarelychecking the concrete milestones. My hik-ing mantra is simple: “Slow is smooth andsmooth is fast.” I walked steadily for twodays past bare corn fields and horreos(raised stone granaries topped with

crosses), pazos (large Galician homes),modest stone dwellings, new apartmentbuildings, ancient fern gullies, and thewinter remains of yarrow, thistle, fox-glove, and daisies (Figure 13). This is aplace of green grass and thick furry horses.The walk sights blurred together but a fewstood out: arching Medieval stone bridges,gallery cemeteries with stacks of cryptsand bright plastic flowers, and the ruins ofcastros, fortified pre-Roman settlementsthat somehow reminded me of the kivasof Chaco Canyon. Each day I walked andeach night I was picked up by a cab driverfrom Santiago de Compostela at a pre-arranged spot. Once again, I was a cheater.Given the cold weather and rain, I felt noguilt.

The last day’s walk was the shortestby far, beginning at a coastal fishing villagenamed C�ee. The tide was out and the baywas a muddy mess with small doriesanchored in the shallows. I had covered 44

miles in the previous two days and felttired. Despite the gray day, the expansiveviews to the sea lifted my spirits. Fishingboats motored out to the deep Atlantic;radios carefully tuned for news of badweather and rumors of rogue waves. Icaught my first glimpse of Cabo Finisterre(“the Cape at the End of the Earth”) (Fig-ure 14). The route was now solely alongpaved roads. I passed through the villageof Finisterre without stopping. No trinketsneeded. The last steep climb up to thelighthouse brought only one surprise – iceplant – a mat-forming, succulent coastalspecies I had befriended in California.

The Faro de Finisterre (Lighthouse atthe End of the Earth) was the conclusionof my walk (Figure 15). Some pilgrims sol-dier on to other towns as further evidenceof their faith. The lighthouse was plainand its beacon was large and utilitarian. Inoticed a milestone with the now familiaryellow scallop shell on a blue background.

Figure 15. Faro de Finisterre: literal and spiritual lighthouse.


It read: “0.00 K.M.” (Figure 16). The lastmarker. Beyond lay only water. I felt anatural letdown and turned to see asquare white post with inscriptionspainted on all sides: Que a Paz Prevalenzana Terra – “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” Itseemed a true enough intention. One wor-thy of a walk of any length.

Back to Santiago

I returned to the city for a hearty mealand muchas ca~nas (many beers). Fellowtourists ate pasta and shared photos ontheir iPads. A few wore hiking boots.

None were actual pilgrims. I felt perfectlyat home.

I’ve come to envision the Camino deSantiago as a moving intentional commu-nity. For some it is a somber exercise offaith; for others a cultural backpack trip.But the Camino is so many things it defiestypology. Is walking it a spiritual vacationor a physical prayer, an escape or a home-coming, ecstasy or sweat? Essayist NancyFrey has wise words on the matter:

“Although the Santiago pilgrimagehas a religious foundation based on Catho-lic doctrine regarding sin, its remissionand salvation, in its contemporary permu-

tation these religious elements endure, butthey share the same stage with transcen-dent spirituality, tourism, physical adven-ture, nostalgia, a place to grieve, andesoteric initiation” (Frey, 1998: 4).

The meaning of pilgrimage to geogra-phers is equally complex. The productionand veneration of monumental sacredtrails and sites is a process of centralinterest to cultural geographers studyinghow internal values are expressed in thelandscape. This is by no means as simpleas the “sacred and profane” (Eliade 1987).Landscapes are not simply partitioned;sacredness or esteem is produced throughtime as a narrative is created and moreand more people accept it. In time, emo-tional claims of superiority gain domi-nance over facts and reason. This findsharsh expression in the generation of geo-political conflict. Yet, this tendency tovalue some places more than others alsohas profound conservation implications.The UNESCO World Heritage Sites listembraces an array of places based on his-toric, archeological, biological, geological,scenic, and religious meaning (whc.une-sco.org/en/list/). While teams of “aca-demic experts” generate this listing, thecultural valuation of places is negotiatedin a similar way to the creation of sacredsites. Therefore, understanding the mor-phology and meaning of cultural land-scapes (be it the trace of the Hajj or theCamino de Santiago – both are UNESCOsites) is a central concern of geographersseeking to understand the processes thattransform abstract spaces into contextuali-zed places. The study of pilgrimage hasintellectual merit beyond religion becauseit is a dramatic, widespread exampleof how ordinary people perceive, order,and engage with the geography aroundthem.

The Camino de Santiago evokes otherpilgrimage rituals but remains singular.Unlike Sri Pada there is no climb to a soli-tary height. Unlike Lourdes, there is noholy water, or holy dirt similar to the San-tuario de Chimayo in New Mexico. Thereis no Kaaba, no Western wall, no sacredriver, no tree sprouted from an ancientbanyan trunk, no circumambulation, nohandcart legends, no archetypal volcanoor plain of aspiration. For most, the culmi-nation of the walk is the statue and bonesof a saint who may or may not have evenvisited Spain. No one even agrees on thebeginning or end of the journey. Perhapsthat’s the point.

“Buen Camino” people say to you asyou walk. I carried no scallop shell and fell

Figure 16. The last scallop shell marker: the end of the Camino.


short of the required 100 kilometers ofwalking required to receive my Compostelacertificate. I did not go on from Finisterreto the town where you receive a Fisterra-nana. I was an official failure as a peregrino.No matter. I stood at end of the Earth andlistened to the begging of the sea. I felt anemptiness that opened into a fullness I hadnot expected. I turned homeward, sure thatin our perilously short time here each of uspilgrims must walk our own way with asmuch grace as we can summon.

No cathedral, even one as achinglybeautiful as Santiago’s, can teach us morethan that. No camino arrives in a morepromised land.

References

Brooke, Rupert. 1907. Poems of RupertBrooke. The Complete Press. London.

Eliade, Mircea. 1987. The Sacred and Pro-fane: The Nature of Religion. HarcourtBrace Jovanovich. New York City.

Frey, Nancy Louise. 1998. Pilgrim Stories:On and Off the Road to Santiago, JourneysAlong an Ancient Way in Modern Spain.University of California Press. Berkeley,California

George, Christian. 2006. Sacred Travels:Recovering the Ancient Practice ofPilgrimage. IVP Books. Downers Grove,Illinois.

Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay David-son. 2000. The Pilgrimage Road to Santi-ago: The Complete Cultural Handbook. St.Martin’s Griffin. New York City

Hitt, Jack. 2005. Off the Road: A Modern-DayWalk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain.Simon & Schuster. New York City

Rudolf, Conrad. 2004. Pilgrimage to the Endof the World: The Road to Santiago deCompostela. University of Chicago Press.Chicago.

Westwood, Jennifer. 2003. On Pilgrimage:Sacred Journeys Around the World. Hid-den Spring. Mahwah, New Jersey.

UNESCO World Heritage Center. WorldHeritage List. [whc.unesco.org/en/list/].


The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain

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