I love Spain, I lived there for 7 years during the 1970’s. I arrived just after the death of Franco and saw the country change from a dictatorship to a democracy. And now I’m looking forward to returning to live there again.
And one of the things I would most like to do is walk the Camino de Santiago. There is just something deeply spiritual about walking and hiking; I’m not sure if it’s being so close to nature or just something about walking itself. And the route of Santiago offers even more. People have been walking that route for more than 1,000 years and all that history, the personal stories of all the pilgrims fill the route with a very special ambience. Everyone I know who has completed it, has had a remarkable experience.
The route takes you through the breathtaking scenery of Northern Spain. It has become increasingly popular as more and more people have discovered the magic. In 1985 2,491 pilgrims completed the Camino. In 1995 there was 19,821, then in 2005 there was 93,921! And these are just the official figures.
People come from all over the world, I met a retired couple from New Zealand when I was in the Alpujarra looking for a property (see I want to buy a place in Spain…) who had done the walk a couple of years earlier, it was the first walk they had ever done and they were completely hooked.
