5 reasons you should walk the Camino de Santiago by Padraic Gilligan – When I saw “The Way”, Martin Sheen’s recent movie, directed by his son Emilio Estevez, I knew I wanted to walk at least part of the Camino de Santiago. For over 1000 years, pilgrims have walked “the way”, their destination or journey’s …
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Cycling the Camino is a beautiful alternative to walking. There are many advantages to cycling the Camino, including covering more ground in less time, and it’s easier if you bring children on the Camino. If you are thinking about Cycling the Camino de Santiago routes, we have prepared this helpful list answering some of your …
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3 Things to know about Ourense The beautiful city of Ourense is best known to Camino walkers as the starting point of the last 100km of the Via de la Plata Camino route to Santiago. Known as ‘Auria’ by the ancient Romans, Ourense is a wonderful place to begin your Camino de Santiago. In fact, …
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The Camino is full of interesting facts and phrases, and it’s always a delight to learn of another one. You might have heard or seen the word ‘Ultreia’ mentioned when researching, reading, or while walking the Camino de Santiago. The word “Ultreia” is derived from the Latin word “ultra,” which means “beyond” or “farther.” In …
Joe and Judi’s Camino Adventure Joe and Judi from California walked the Camino de Santiago with CaminoWays.com earlier this year. We share Joe and Judi’s Camino adventure as written by the couple on their Camino blog. If you bumped into Joe and Judi along the way, you might have noticed they wore very special t-shirts: …
Why the epic Camino trail across Spain is a route to true happiness You will have heard about life-changing journeys, but if I describe a 500-mile Camino trail to Santiago de Compostela, I suspect your reaction would be: turn the page. But please don’t! I’d reached a time when I needed to re-assess, to reflect …
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Halloween is right around the corner so it’s no surprise that we’re getting into the spooky spirit. Whether you’re a fan of ghosts and ghouls or just a little bit superstitious, you can add some ghostly fun to your walk with these 7 spooky Camino facts! As we know, the Camino de Santiago takes walkers …
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With Halloween just around the corner, we must remind you to beware of the Santa Compaña (‘Holy Company’) while on your travels along the Camino de Santiago in Galicia, especially at this time of the year. The Santa Compaña is a procession of dead souls feared by most Galicians. This very unique procession of restless …
Logroño & The Rioja Wine Harvest Festival The city of Logroño, the capital of La Rioja, celebrates its most famous export with the Fiesta de la Vendimia Riojana, the Rioja Wine Harvest Festival, in late September every year. Every September, Logroño honours Saint Matthew but also Bacchus and the region’s best-known produce – La Rioja …
Catherine’s Camino: St Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona Catherine’s Camino I’ll be honest. I didn’t know what to expect. I had seen photos and read books, but leaning on the wisdom of poet, Seamus Heaney who once said, “I’m a firm believer in learning by heart”, I settled with leaving the unknown, unknown. In …
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People of the Camino Earlier this year, I travelled the French Way with Jerry to collect footage for our series of Camino de Santiago videos. This is People of the Camino. Along the way, we met lovely pilgrims, always happy to share their stories with us. Watch our Pilgrims on the Camino video: We also …
The Confraternity of St. James [Podcast] The Confraternity of St. James, London is a non-profit organisation that has been helping pilgrims visit the Camino since 1983. Originally founded by six Camino enthusiasts, the confraternity currently has over 2000 members. The CSJ’s office and library close to Blackfriars bridge in London are open to the public …
‘Parador’ is the name given in Spain to luxury hotels managed by a state-run company and usually located in buildings of historical importance such as fortresses, monasteries and castles, but also new buildings set in nature reserves and areas of outstanding beauty. Paradores de Turismo de España, the public company managing these luxury hotels, was …
Caroline’s Camino: The beauty in every step Caroline from Caminoways.com walked the last 111km of the Camino Francés in a very rainy March this year. Despite this, she found beauty in every step. She tells us her heartwarming story of friendship, fatigue and a lot of wine! It is a truth universally acknowledged that if …
Via de la Plata Diary from Gus Travel along the Camino in this latest Camin Pilgrim Story. Follow along with Gus as he documents his journey in his Via de la Plata diary. Gus Wong from Canada is currently walking the Camino de Santiago, along the Via de la Plata, starting in the city of …
8 Top Tips for Walking the Camino Are you planning on walking the Camino de Santiago this year? At CaminoWays.com, the walking and cycling holiday specialists, we have put together their top Camino tips to make sure that your Camino adventure is an experience of a lifetime. Whether you’re unsure about what gear you will …
Codex Calixtinus The Codex Calixtinus is a 12th century illuminated manuscript formerly attributed to Pope Callixtus II, though now believed to have been arranged by the French scholar Aymeric Picaud. The principal author is actually given as ‘Scriptor I’.It was intended as an anthology of background detail and advice for pilgrims following the Way of …
What is the Finisterrana? Many of you will be familiar with the ‘Compostela’, the pilgrim certificate you can obtain from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago de Compostela if you have walked a minimum of 100kms of the Camino de Santiago to the city or cycled at least the last 200kms. But did you know that …
Interview With Camino Expert Johnnie Walker If you’ve walked the Camino a few times, you may have come across Johnnie Walker. The man is famous around the Camino for writing guidebooks and improving facilities for pilgrims. He is now involved with the Camino Chaplaincy, a special not for profit fund that is helping pilgrims and …
Where is the start of the Camino de Santiago? This is a general question we get here at CaminoWays.com. Many people talk about ‘el Camino‘, but there are many ways and many Caminos, all leading to one place: Santiago de Compostela and the tomb of Saint James in the city’s cathedral. The Camino de Santiago …