Just to recap the story of why Santiago de Compostela came to be. After Jesus´ death, one of his followers, James (not the Apostle, as I had previously mistakenly said), traveled to preach the Christian gospel in Spain. When he returned to Jerusalem some years later, he was beheaded by King Herod. Two of James´ followers brought his body back to Spain and sough to bury him here, and they did so in Santiago, which was not much of anything at the time. The tomb was more or less forgotten, and that was that. Fast forward NINE centuries, when some believer, following the voice of God and a star in the sky, arrived in Santiago to find the remains of James! Since then, thousands of pilgrims have traveled from all over the world, and especially all over Europe, to visit the cathedral in Santiago, as I did today.
There are so many interesting ways to look at this pilgrimmage. Historically, it has had a tremendous impact on the development of Spain, and even Europe. I have read in several places along the route that Goethe said that "Europe was formed on the pilgrimmage to Santiago", or something along those lines. I can see how pilgrims from different parts of the world who met en route would form bonds that would later help define what Europe would become. The traditional pilgrimmage starts near the French-Spanish border, but people come from much longer distances, although the average pilgrim is probably Spanish, French, or Italian.
Another angle on the pilgrimmage is that of the role of the Church. Santiago, as is evident from the incredible number of churches, seminaries, and other religious buildings in the city, obviously is a branch of the Catholic church in Spain. It´s the holiest of holy sites in the country, and keep in mind that at once Spain was the most powerful country in the world. The Church obviously has had a vested interest in maintaining this as an important site. I think in part to promote pilgrims, the Church started issuing a a "Compostella", a document granting its bearer grace. Wikipedia suggests it´s something of a get out of jail free card, or in this case, purgatory. It doesn´t get you totally off the hook, but it reduces your time in purgatory. And if you make the pilgrimmage on a year when July 25th (St James Day) falls on a Sunday, the Compostella is "worth" more. So there is actually a big benefit to believers to make the pilgrimmage.
To get the Compostella, you have to go to the Pilgrim´s Office in Santiago and provide proof that your trip was for purposes of faith, and that you either walked the las 100km or bicycled the last 200km. I biked 600km, but my trip was not faith-oriented. Based on what I saw at the Pilgrim´s Office, I think I would have filled out the "sport" and "tourism" circles. I would have been rejected in a heartbeat. But of course, pilgrim´s are not stupid, so they figured out exactly where the 100km spot is, and a city sprouted up there: Sarria. Sarria, an otherwise small town, as far as I can tell, has grown tremendously, especially its hospitality industry, because many pilgrims go there to start their trip. What that has meant to me is that last night and today I have been unable to find lodging in the municipal pilgrim refuges. Last night I paid €8 for a private refuge (which felt like staying at a sports club, except that everyone shares a big room with over 100 bunk beds), and today I paid €18 for a room in an apartment building. If according to the refuge manager in Sahagun I was not a "true" pilgrim, I wonder what he would have thought of the ones who start in Sarria, have their bags lugged in a taxi from town to town, and spend most of the walk on their cell phones.
Santiago, then, has just become a big tourist city. You are more likely to hear strangers talking in a language other than Spanish. There are haute-couture stores in the historic part of the city next to the century-old churches. There are tourist trap stores selling everything from "I walked the Camino de Santiago" t-shirts (in any language that you can think of), to soaps carved in the shape of holy seashells. Women in big heels are walking their children around the city, and they have to avoid walking on the pilgrims who, after walking hundreds of kilometers just lie down in the central plaza to take a nap in front of the cathedral. The first plaza I biked into in the city featured a street guitarist who I was immediately drawn to. He was playing "Girl from Ipanema". I knew exactly where I was.
I don´t mean to put down the pilgrimmage, because I think it´s a wonderful thing. However, I do think it´s a little sad that the destination of such a journey has become the kind of place it is. As the "true" pigrlim would probably tell you, though, the destination has little importance. It´s all about the journey, and that becomes blatantly evident in the interactions you have with people on the way. One of the nicest things that I have discovered is that while on Camino, I have been an ambassador for the many facets of who I am, just as other people are ambassadors for who they are. I am an ambassador for Colombia, for cycling, for US immigrants, and when it comes out in coversations, for Harvard graduates. I happily represent all those groups, and I am excited and pleased when I meet travelers from other places who inform me on what it is like to be from their countries, to have their passions. This kind of sharing is what makes the journey all it is.
For me, though, an important part of the trip has been traveling alone, which on El Camino is often the exception and not the rule. Yes, it´s tough at times, but I am learning every day about myself and about others. I am on my pace and my time, and I am learning that is the bliss of freedom, if at times it comes at the cost of a little loneliness. Tomorrow I leave el Camino and head for the coast, to loop back to Burgos along the Cantabrian Sea. I will now bike towards the sun in the morning for the next few weeks, but not before a day´s rest on Saturday.
Oh, and as mechanical addendum, I broke my first spoke on the rear. Boo! I think I need to shave a bit of weight off the bike, and do some work on the wheel when I return to Burgos.
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