On the Camino

The route to Finisterre is not, as far as the Cathedral is concerned, a Camino. It is an 89km walk from Santiago to the lighthouse at Finisterre (which means ‘End of the World’ and is so-named as it was believed to be such by the Romans). Finisterre lies on the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) and is where many pagans believed the sun died (as it slipped down into the Atlantic at the end of the day) and thus was where the Worlds of the living and the dead became closer. Image from http://www.adamwells.com/locations/camino-de-finisterre-spain/the-route/

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=happy+thinking+day+2016&client=tablet-unknown&prmd=insv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTjfqt54vLAhXJwj4KHV7aC-gQ_AUIBygB&biw=600&bih=1024#imgrc=Iu3XF1XO8CdREM%3A

The Camino Portgues runs from Lisbon to Santiago a distance of 620km although most pilgrims choose to start in Porto which is 230km from Santiago. The route runs close to the coast (indeed there is a possibility to walk along the coast for some of the route) and the route leads you through Barcelos (where there is another version of the Pilgrim and the Cockerel story), Tui and Padron (famous for its peppers and as the spot where the stone boat carrying Saint James was supposed to have landed). Historically this was the route used by Queen Isabel of Portugal when she made a Pilgrimage to Santaigo. Image from http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/  (a blog written by a couple who walked from Lisbon to Santiago)

This looks like an amazing documentary about not only the Camino but fantastic friends - check out the trailer https://m.youtube.com/results?q=I%20will%20push%20you%20trailer&sm=3 Image from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/472780029/ill-push-you-an-unlikely-journey-on-the-camino-de

The Via de La Plata (commonly translated as ‘Silver Way’ as the route was used by the Romans to carry the silver they mined although the word ‘plata’ may come from the Arabic al-balat which means cobbled paving showing that the road was built by the Romans) connects Seville to Astorga a distance of 1000km which takes about 7-8 weeks to walk passing through 4 regions and 7 provinces. Traditionally this route was taken by pilgrims from North Africa. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/is-via-de-la-plata-really-not-walkable-in-july/

 There are quite a few films where the hero/s take a journey by foot so below are a few with the distances travelled. Image from http://moviewatchersguide.com/2013/04/03/in-honer-of-national-walking-day/