Spain has a series of affluent and varied traditions that is very much a product of the long and quite convoluted history that as a country it has had to undergo.
It is obvious to see while you travel throughout Spain the influences and cultural traditions left by former invaders and conquerors such as the Moors and Romans.
As you would expect for a country where organized belief has played such an important part in its history, throughout Spain you will find lots of individual pilgrimage routes.
The way of St. James otherwise known as the Camino de Santiago is possibly the most famous of all of these routes. This first became a popular route for pilgrims in the ninth century when apparently the sepulchre of St James was discovered. As a result in the centuriess ensuing, pilgrims from around the world have flocked to this route to have the chance to walk along the route to pay tribute to the apostle St. James.
Interest in this particular route has been extremely popular over the years but also there have been times when it has not been so popular. During the 16th and 17th centuries interest in this remarkable route waned. Apparently was on the orders of one of the Popes of the day that prisoners serving time for petty misdemeanours could actually serve penance by taking part on a pilgrimage on the Way of St. James.
From a position of declining and waning interest in the way of St. James in the late 20th century quite a significant revival has occurred in interest for this pilgrimage route and part of the reason for this revival may well be attributable to the fact that UNESCO recognized Santiago de Compostela as a world traditions site and this has further added to the attraction of the way of St. James and Santiago as one of the world's largest pilgrimages.
Nowadays, Camino de Santiago the way of St. James is more than just a sacred pilgrimage route and has become a major visitor attraction whereby people merely pass along the route to appreciate the beauty and the remarkable traditions.
there are a number of starting off points for the Camino or Way of St. James, the most common of which are probably the English, the French or Spanish routes. Of these three the most frequented as far as pilgrims and travellers are concerned is probably the French and there are a number of routes which originate throughout France but all come to converge upon the town of Roncesvalles.
Nowadays unless you happen to be a completely devout, fervent and ardent pilgrim it is unlikely that you would travel the entire 760 common to route from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela. Those who do manage the entire route claim that the hardship and suffering that they go through stands him in good stead for being able to appreciate the whole experience once they get to Santiago.
To prevent pilgrims from getting lost along the way of St. James an informal system of ubiquitous yellow arrows has arisen where there are numerous markers at strategic points along the way to make sure those pilgrims and travellers don't get lost. It is said that these were by and large painted in the 1970'S by Father Elias Valdinha who as well as wanting to improve the way also wanted to avoid more confusion than was necessary and also to ensure that all pilgrims arrived at their destination in good order as well as humour!
A considerate man.
