Camino de Santiago means literally "The Way of St. James." St James was the brother of John who wrote the Book of John, John's three letters, and the Book of Revelation. Before he was martyred in early Christianity, he came to evangelize in the Galicia Region of Spain, then considered the end of the world. After he was martyred, his disciples came back and established a pilgrim route that has become famous for as the Catholics named the route as one of the top three holy places to visit along with the St Peter Basilica in the Vatican and the Holy Sepulcher Church in Jerusalem.
There are several routes for Camino de Santiago all to reach Santiago de Compostela in Galicia Spain. The most famous route is the French Route starting from the Basque Country in France. It would take approximately 40 days. The second popular route is Camino Portuguese which we decided to walk. This route starts from Lisbon and it was far too long for us and we planned to walk from Porto without stopping for 12 days.
Originally, the pilgrims carried their essential stuff in their backpacks. It was a training process of learning to live with minimal essentials. I had to continue traveling after the Camino and I needed to carry luggage for the subsequent travel. So we decided to use the luggage transfer service.
Also, the pilgrims stayed at places called albergues, lodging for the pilgrims. But, Jay Yoon and I both agreed to focus on completing the walk, rather than following the original pilgrimage practice. Thus, we arranged to stay at private lodgings.
The total distance to walk for the Camino Portugues starting from Mantoshinos was approximately 270 km or 170 miles. Over 12 days, the daily average of walking distance would be 22.5 km or 14 miles. The longest distance to walk for a day would be 31.8 km or almost 20 miles. Not easy at all. Also, the terrain could be challenging although this Portuguese Camino is known for its flat terrain in general.
We were not confident if we would be able to finish the entire route because I had several possibilities of pain that could occur. But I said "Now or Never!" So may God be with us! - Jeffrey
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