For this year I decided to create a card and gift in one.
A blog about the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
Posts
I thought that it would be interesting to take pictures of all of my equipment for the Camino for you guys to see - I know that a lot of people make lists for others but not many show everyone what they take. Please remember I'm not a photographer! I have only ever walked in September and March-May, requirements at other times of the year will be different.
The cross of Saint James is a red cross that is the same shape as a sword with a Fleur de Lis on its hilt and its arms - these were said to represent the 'honour without stain' in reference to the morals of Saint James whilst the fact that it is based on a sword represents Saint James' Chivalry and that he was a matyr (as he was killed by a sword) and also, in a manner, to take the sword in Christ's name.
The website https://vivecamino.com/en/where-do-the-pilgrims-who-make-the-camino-de-santiago-come-from-no-382/ has listed the countries which 'send' the most Pilgrims on the Camino:
By the end of October this year 317,000 Compostelas had been given out to Pilgrims already exceeding the total for the year in 2017 of 301, 036. Pilgrim numbers have increased by about 45% over the past eight years leading to predictions that in the next Holy Year in 2021 (when Saint James' Day falls on a Sunday) there will be 500,000 Compostelas received. This growth can clearly be seen on the below graph taken from https://vivecamino.com/en/the-records-of-the-camino-de-santiago:-the-evolution-in-numbers-no-540/ and based upon the information from the Cathedral in Santiago.
For anyone thinking of setting off on the Camino anytime soon just a reminder that the Navarrese Govenmnet closes the Route Napoleon over the Pyrenees from November 1st - March 31st each year (and longer if need be). Roncenvalles in the snow The official notification for this (from last year) is below.
I've come across this information on the American Pilgrims on the Camino's website ( http://americanpilgrims.com/camino/route_descriptions/route_ingles.html ): 'In December 1779, the leaking ship carrying John Adams and his companions to Paris was forced to put in at Ferrol from where they eventually made their way by land. Adams wrote about the Camino in his journal and he remarked there that he "… always regretted that We could not find time to make a Pilgrimage to Saint Iago de Compostella ."' Image showing the route Adams and his group took across Spain - image taken from https://www.americanpilgrims.org/assets/documents/essays/john_adams_camino.pdf
According to the statistics collected by the Cathedral in Santiago ( http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrims-office/statistics/?anio=2015&mes =) in 2015 236, 716 (90.19%) of Pilgrims arrived on foot, 25, 346 (9.66%) went by bike, 326 (0.12%) by horse and 71 (0.03%) by wheelchair In 2014 the numbers were similarly spread: