Day One: Arrival in SarriaApril 28, 2024 — Clear
We are neither Christians nor keen hikers, so why walk the Camino?
How It Began
When we had the good fortune to receive Life’s Imprints, a treasured book of photographs by the renowned travel photographer Jiang Yi, he told us about Spain’s Camino de Santiago and the film The Way. He suggested that we walk its final hundred kilometres. From that moment on, the idea of walking the Camino stayed with us.
The Way
© InternetThe Way, released in 2010, is an American film based on a true story. Tom, a doctor with a comfortable, settled life, cannot understand his son’s desire to roam the world. When his son dies in an accident on the Camino, the grief-stricken Tom decides to carry his ashes and complete the pilgrimage in his place. Along the way, he meets pilgrims from very different backgrounds and undergoes a series of inward trials and transformations. The film offers profound reflections on the meaning of life, family, and friendship.
Origins
© Richard HuangAccording to legend, St James, one of Jesus’s disciples, was killed by King Herod while preaching. His remains were miraculously preserved, carried to Galicia in Spain, and buried in the city of Santiago de Compostela.
© Richard HuangIt is believed that, in the early ninth century, a hermit named Pelayo discovered the remains of St James. The discovery made Santiago the third great destination of Christian pilgrimage after Jerusalem and the Vatican, and pilgrims began arriving on foot from all over the world.
Routes
© InternetOver more than a thousand years, numerous pilgrimage routes took shape across Europe. Collectively known as the Way of St James, the best-known include:
- The Primitive Way (Camino Primitivo):One of the oldest pilgrimage routes, this is where the Camino began. Starting in Oviedo, it covers 300 kilometres and takes about fourteen days on foot. The going is difficult, crossing highlands and rugged mountain trails, and demands a good level of fitness and hiking ability.
- The Northern Way (Camino del Norte):Beginning in San Sebastián or Irún, this route follows Spain’s northern coast towards the southwest. It covers 900 kilometres and takes about thirty-eight days to walk. Passing through coastal landscapes and seaside towns, it offers magnificent views of the Atlantic and inviting beaches. The terrain is rugged, with many steep ascents and descents, making this a route of both beauty and challenge.
- The Portuguese Way (Camino Português):Beginning in Lisbon or Porto, Portugal, this 280-kilometre route takes about fourteen days to walk. It follows either the northern Portuguese coast or an inland path, with natural scenery, ocean views, and cultural heritage along the way. One of its distinguishing features is that it is relatively level and easy to walk.
- The French Way (Camino Francés):This is one of the best-known and most popular pilgrimage routes. It begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, and covers 800 kilometres, taking about thirty-three days on foot. Countless pilgrims have chosen this route over the centuries, making it the Camino’s most representative path. It is known for its long history, rich cultural heritage, magnificent landscapes, well-developed infrastructure, and opportunities for social and spiritual connection.
Other routes include the Silver Way, the Winter Way, the English Way, and the Wine Route, among many others.
© InternetWith limited time and little hiking experience, we decided to walk the final 116 kilometres of the French Way, beginning in Sarria. It is a very popular starting point. By tradition, pilgrims must walk at least one hundred kilometres to qualify for the official certificate, the Compostela, so setting out from Sarria ensures that the distance requirement is met. This well-established, if somewhat crowded, stretch is ideal for first-time Camino walkers.
Getting to Sarria
Many people fly first to Santiago, the final destination, and then take a two-hour bus ride back to the starting point in Sarria. Convenient as that is, travelling from the finish back to the beginning somehow felt wrong to us. We could not quite accept it. Instead, we flew to Madrid and took a three-and-a-half-hour high-speed train to Sarria. For the return journey, we would take the high-speed train from Santiago back to Madrid.
© Richard HuangBooking tickets on the official Renfe website, renfe.com, was straightforward enough. Trains generally appear in the system only a month or two ahead, so if you try too early, there will be nothing to book. You have to keep checking the website and buy as soon as the service appears. Some travellers online waited too long and found the trains sold out. If you cannot get a train ticket, there is always the bus or a taxi—there are more solutions than problems.
© Richard HuangThe train did not leave from Atocha, the largest station in central Madrid, but from Chamartín in the north of the city. We nearly got that wrong. Platform information appears only twenty minutes before departure, so patience is required. One traveller online, anxious when no platform was displayed, tried to ask a staff member for help. A language barrier sent them to the wrong platform, and they missed the train.
© Richard HuangThe journey to Sarria required a change of trains in Ourense, with fifteen minutes to make the connection. Because of railway construction, the second half of the journey had been replaced by a shuttle bus. The arrangements for the transfer were poor, and with the language barrier we could not work out which bus to board. For a moment, we felt completely lost. Fortunately, many other pilgrims were travelling the same way. Follow the crowd of backpackers, we reasoned, and you probably cannot go far wrong.
The bus wound through the Galician countryside. As our anxiety subsided, we settled back to enjoy the scenery outside. An hour and a half later, a little after seven in the evening, we finally reached Sarria, our starting point.
The Town of Sarria
© Richard HuangSarria is a small town in the province of Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Its history reaches back to Roman times, when it was an important military stronghold and trading centre known as “Salliatum.” As the Roman Empire declined, it gradually became part of the Visigothic Kingdom, before being conquered by the Islamic Empire in the eighth century.
© Richard HuangIn the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, defensive walls were built around Sarria. Some traces of them can still be seen today.
© Richard HuangThis statue of King Alfonso IX stands on the main street. It portrays the stubbornness and tragic character of the last independent king of León and Galicia. He is said to have made the pilgrimage in the early twelfth century, publicly demonstrating the Crown’s recognition and support of the Camino. Through decrees, privileges, and funding, he also promoted its construction and improvement, making the journey safer and more convenient for pilgrims.
© Richard HuangWe took a walk around Sarria. I had imagined that a town thronged with pilgrims would be bustling, but its streets were quieter and more run-down than expected. Perhaps that had something to do with pilgrims’ habit of turning in early and rising early—one of the ways travelling the Camino differs from other kinds of tourism. Many restaurants had already closed, so we found one that was still open and had a pilgrim’s meal.
After dinner, we still had two things to do before returning to our lodgings to rest and prepare for the next morning’s departure.
Credential and Shell
© Richard HuangThe first was to obtain a pilgrim’s credential. The credential is one of the Camino’s defining traditions. In earlier times, every pilgrim carried such a document, which allowed them to travel freely along the route without certain restrictions or obstacles. Some pilgrim hostels still admit only those carrying a credential. To receive the official Compostela, pilgrims must also present the stamps in their credential as proof of the time and distance travelled. At least two different stamps are required each day, and they can be collected at churches, hostels, restaurants, and other places along the way.
© Richard HuangWe had planned to collect our credentials from the Church of Santa Mariña, one of Sarria’s best-known churches, in the town centre. Built in the twelfth century, it is Gothic in style. Unfortunately, it was already late and the church had closed.
© Richard HuangWe went into a shop, but its pilgrim’s credentials had sold out. It still had pilgrim shells, however, at €2.50 each. The pilgrim’s shell, also known as the scallop shell of St James, is one of the Camino’s most important emblems.
© Richard HuangPilgrims usually attach one to their backpacks or wear it on their clothing. Its symbolism dates back to the Middle Ages. Legend holds that when the remains of St James were discovered, they were surrounded by shells. Pilgrims therefore adopted the shell as his emblem and as a sign of reverence and devotion to the Camino.
© Richard HuangScallop-shell waymarkers appear frequently along the Camino. Painted on signs, walls, roads, and trees, they help pilgrims find the route and point them onwards.
Still without a pilgrim’s credential and feeling rather disheartened, we decided to try a hostel. Fortunately, it had some left, at €2 each. While we were there, we collected our first stamp of the Camino.
Why We Began
According to travellers online, there was one more thing we needed besides the credential and the shell. It cost nothing, but we were certain to need it: an answer to the question, “Why are you walking the Camino?”
On the Camino, you meet thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. Three phrases are heard more than any others: “Buen Camino”—have a safe and happy journey; “Which country are you from?”; and “Why are you walking the Camino?”
© Richard Huang(This sunset was photographed in Sarria. It was the only one we saw on the entire journey; every day that followed brought wind and rain.)
A Taiwanese writer once described three stages in the physical, psychological, and spiritual life of his pilgrimage: a trial of the body, a trial of the mind, and a trial of the soul. So any answer to why we walk the Camino should probably be considered on those same three levels—the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual.
© Richard Huang(Our hotel on the first night was quite good—spacious and clean. Its only drawback was the wood-pellet stove. Whenever it automatically fed itself during the night, it made a great rushing noise. Perhaps it was jet lag, or perhaps I was simply too excited, but I could not sleep. I got up and used my phone to capture the trails left by the burning pellets, and for a while I could not stop shooting. The flames probably reflected my excitement at the time. After six days of walking, that restlessness had subsided considerably. It was a valuable discipline, and one of the things we had hoped to gain from the Camino.)
I could give many reasons for walking the Camino, such as wanting to test the limits of my physical endurance. But the deeper reason lay in the four years and more since the pandemic began. I had been working from home throughout, moving each day between the same three points—bedroom, study, kitchen—over and over again. Somewhere inside, I longed to break that cycle. By “break,” I do not mean merely changing my way of life, but changing my habits of mind. I often wondered: Could we see life and the world from another angle? Could we break free from the hold of the material world? What changes might come from escaping the trivia of daily life? What supernatural power has drawn hundreds of thousands of people each year, throughout a thousand years of history, to walk the same road? No other kind of travel or hiking could answer these questions. Only by setting foot on the Camino ourselves might we see something, understand something, and carry something away.
Reflections on the Day
Although we are neither Christians nor keen hikers, our purpose went beyond the physical: we were also searching for something psychological and spiritual. Hold fast to why you began, and you will see the journey through. Remembering that purpose enabled us to face the many uncertainties along the way, to understand the importance of choice and compromise, and to learn to let go—of unnecessary burdens, of a restless mind, and even of suffering. It was this sense of purpose that gave us the resolve to endure every difficulty on the wind- and rain-lashed road, and allowed us to return with something gained.