Naive me

Another thing Rainer mentioned was that to get to Santiago De Compostela, you could choose either to walk this pilgrim route, otherwise known as the Camino, or you could simply take a train direct to the church. He knew about this from reading Tim Moore's book "Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago"

Since I had a week to spare between my graduation ceremony and flying home, I figured I could take the pilgrim route and be back in London in time to fly back to Singapore.

How wrong and naive could I be. The original route of the Camino snakes through the northern part of Spain into France. It is 800km long and takes pilgrims about 4 weeks to travel. The path itself sounds fantastic, across the pyrenees and through a vast number of spanish towns, each with its own history and culture. Some also containing relics of various saints.

I'm however constrained by time and so I'm doing the minimal 100km required to receive the Cathedral's certificate of completion, the Compostela.
At the start of the pilgrimage, each pilgrim will be given a passport which we will have stamped along the way as we pass through each town. On arrival at Santiago De Compostela, if the stamps show that you have either a minimum of 100km on foot or 200km on bicycle, you'll be entitled to receive the Compostela. There will also be other benefits attached to the Compostela such as cheap lodgings, discounted airfare out of Santiago and discounted meals.

Of course the C9L2 Storeman/Clerk/Personal Assistant in me does not have a single clue how gruelling or easy this 100km may be. My more able NS friends have told me that it takes about an hr to cover 4km and so judging by that estimation, I'll need about 25 hrs of walking, which split over a 4 day period would mean 6-7 hrs of walking each day. And to add, in the middle of a hot spanish summer.



But in all honesty, the 100km walk itself does not concern me. Rather, what worries me is what I'll be missing out on by not doing the original 800km. A town where red wine flows from a tap? Sounds amazing...

In Rome, the urban myth is that when you toss a coin into the Trevi fountain, you guarantee your return to the eternal city. On my last trip there, I chose not to toss a coin in. Simply because I know no matter what happens, I'll definitely be going back to Rome and I don't need an urban legend to guarantee it.

Likewise, despite having not even embarked on the trip, I know I'll be returning some day to do the 800km route. For now, I'll contend myself with the 100km hor'deurves.