Pilgrimage to Santiago:
Chasing the Scallop Shell

During the Inquisition, 'deviants' from the Catholic faith were often punished by being forced to walk El Camino.

Today, while the Camino remains a Catholic pilgrimage, many people travel the road because of its pagan legends. A pilgrimage to Santiago is often a quest, sometimes a religious one, often spiritual, perhaps deeply personal.

Have you walked El Camino? If you have, we'd love to hear
about it!

Astorga, along El Camino
Photo: Jose Antonio Gil Martinez via Flickr

The trail's popularity has also been revived by two modern tales, The Camino by Shirley MacLaine and The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho. Both provide vivid descriptions of pilgrimage travel along this route and are extraordinary tales.

There are several routes for the pilgrimage to Santiago. The most common, from the French-Spanish border to the city of Santiago de Compostela, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not surprisingly, it's known as the Camino Francés, or French Way. It is nearly 800km long (500 miles) stretching across northern Spain. If you'd like to get a feel for the Camino first-hand, have a read of Solo to Santiago, my interview with Wilna Wilkinson, who walked the Camino on her own, in winter.

Packing for El Camino de Santiago is similar to packing for other hiking trips - only lighter. Remember, you'll be walking for hours each day, every day, and whatever you take will be on your back all that time. Unlike a traditional backpacking trip, where your backpack tends to sit against a hostel door, this one will sit against you!

Here's what I would take if I were going for a month in spring or summer - and this is far less than my usual travel packing list, which is more for long-term round-the-world backpacking trips:

• basic clothes: 2 pairs underwear, 2 bras, 2 tops (1 T-shirt, 1 lightweight blouse, 2 pairs of socks (no blister socks - basically two socks in one), 1 pair pants and 1 pair shorts, fleece for cool evenings)
• good hiking boots and a pair of sandals or flip-flops
• sleeping bag, silk sleeping sheet and quick-drying towel - and you might consider a foam pad - it'll come in handy if all the beds are taken
• rain poncho - and it will rain
• toothbrush and basic toiletries (I always carry baby shampoo - it also works as soap for you and your clothes)
• a very basic first aid kit - my first aid kit checklist may be a little too complete for this trip, but look through it to get ideas of what to take for yourself
• some 'must takes' include earplugs, sunscreen, a hat and mosquito repellent
• important papers and money - and please, carry these in a travel money belt or a leg or neck wallet!
• flashlight and Swiss Army knife or Leatherman multi-tool
• a book to read along the way
• your map
• cellphone-camera combo

Backpacking to Santiago
Photo: Jose Antonio Gil Martinez via Flickr

Most of those on a pilgrimage to Santiago stay in refuges or 'refugios' reserved for them. These are inexpensive, and first-come first-serve. No reservations, and don't try to ask someone to book a bunk-bed for you. Those who prefer something a bit more upmarket will find B &B and small hotels in most towns along the way.

On average, it takes about a month to walk it. Friends of mine who started in Geneva took two months. Others do it in bits - a week a year, for example. However long you have, will be long enough.

I haven't walked its entirety, but I do occasionally walk short stretches of it - the Geneva-based starting point runs right past my house in rural France and I enjoy following the European gold on blue scallop shell markers along the way.

Najera, along El Camino
Photo: Jose Antonio Gil Martinez
via Flickr

The best time to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago? Most pilgrims go in July and August - there's less rain then but it's more crowded. If I were walking it all the way I might start in May, when it's warm enough and more solitary.

Is it safe for women? As safe as safe can be. You'll sleep in dorms along the way, with dozens of people, and there are security patrols along the Camino. Many women travel El Camino solo. Just use your normal travel common sense.

One drawback used to be returning home from Santiago. Flights were expensive, and trains and buses complicated and uncomfortable. In these days of very cheap international flights, you can fly back from Santiago to London and other European capitals easily and at low cost.

Pilgrims can obtain a credencial from their church before they leave, a bit like a passport. Each time you spend the night in a refuge along the way, get your credencial stamped with a 'scallop shell'. If you walk the last 100km (or cycle the last 200km) you get a bonus - the 'Compostela', a special certificate. But you have to walk that entire final distance in a stretch - no cobbling it together like I do!

Scallop Shell
Photo: LindaH via Flickr

And why the scallop shell? There are a variety of answers. Most tend to agree the original scallop shell could be used both as a cup and a plate. The fact that it's found on the beaches near Santiago proved that a pilgrim returning home with a scallop had actually completed the journey.

If you need more information on the pilgrimage to Santiago, the Confraternity of St. James has plenty of it, as does backpack45.com.

Have you ever walked El Camino?

What was it like? Did it make a difference in your life? Did you meet interesting people? What were the highlights - and the lowlights? What would you recommend?

Please share your thoughts and impressions with us on any of these topics - or anything else related to El Camino. We'd love to hear from women who have walked part or all of this trail!

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...