From Swampscott to Santiago de Compostela

Follow the Camino , the group that booked our rooms for us, also sent us a Camino Kit. It included our pilgram's passports or Credencial Del Peregrino, the Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino Portugues by John Brierley, a scallop shell for each of us to wear, luggage tags and scarves for our necks. Pam promptly tied her scallop shell to her backpack. That turned out to be not such a great idea. Unbeknownst to her, it fell off during a training walk. However, there will be lots of scallop shells available once we start our walk. And a shell bought along the Camino will feel more special than one sent by mail.

After looking at different Camino training plans we came up with our own. We are at Week 5 in the chart below and the walking is starting to get more intense. Yesterday we walked together for 2 ½  hours in nearby Lynn Woods Reservation . It was harder than we anticipated. Although we had done 2 hour walks in the previous weeks they had all been on sidewalks or hard packed surfaces. Lynn Woods has a lot of rocky trails. And the most recent snowfall was melting so they were muddy and water-logged in places. We had to watch carefully where we placed our feet as we scrambled over the rocks or dodged puddles. We were very glad for our heavy hiking boots! We both have different schedules and can't always do our training walks together. To help us stay on track we made a chart that shows each week with spots to mark what we did. That way we can see what we did together or separately. Week 1  Jan 15   Walk three days for between 45min and 60 min. We...

We will be setting off from Porto, Portugal, on Thursday, April 12, to begin our 150 mile walk to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. We've built in some rest days but otherwise will be walking between 6.5 to 19.5 miles each day. Traditionally pilgrims walk the Camino carrying their belongings on their back and stay in pilgrim hostels at the end of each day. These hostels are dormitory style accommodations and first come first serve. If the hostel is full you have to walk to the next one. We decided we wanted the assurance of a real bed each night. Our friends who previously walked the Camino Portugués used Follow the Camino , a Dublin based tour company. The company books your rooms and schleps your bags. Although we might be pampered pilgrims we decided this was the best option for us. Since Ian was born in Ireland, an Irish tour company seemed fitting so we decided to use them too. They were a great company to work with and we booked the following itinerary. D...

During the Middle Ages the tomb of the apostle Saint James was discovered in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Soon a network of pilgrimage routes sprang up to accommodate those travelling to it to pay homage. In Galician the Latin for St. James (Sanctus Iacobus) became Santiago. And the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) began. Later a cathedral was built to house the tomb in what became the city Santiago de Compostela. For over a thousand years pilgrims have made their way, mainly on foot, to the cathedral. Although pilgrimages never ceased, war and political upheavals drastically reduced the numbers of pilgrims. Then in 1987 the Camino became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and became popular once again. The traditional symbol of the Camino is a scallop shell which is common on the shoreline in Galicia. Pilgrims identify themselves by wearing a scallop shell and it is used to mark the route and guide pilgrims along the way.

Ever since we saw the movie " Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago " we thought we might like to try walking the Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James) ourselves. The idea of walking an ancient pilgrimage route was intriguing. Being outside and walking day after day seemed like a good way to get fit. And along the way we could enjoy lots of local cuisine and wine. But it turns out there many routes . How would we choose the one for us? Last year (Oct. 2016) while vacationing in Portugal we met some ladies who had walked the Camino Portugués route. We loved our time in Lisbon and wanted to explore Portugal more. Walking this Camino route seemed like the perfect option for us.