Sunrises to Santiago: Searching for Purpose on the Camino de Santiago

Sunrises to Santiago

SUNRISES TO SANTIAGO

SEARCHING
FOR PURPOSE ON THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

Gabriel
Schirm

Sunrises
to Santiago

Copyright
©
2015 by Gabriel Schirm.

All
rights reserved. Published in the United States by Paz Publishing
LLC, Denver. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
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Library
of Congress Control Number: 2015908124

eISBN
978-0-9861224-0-8

Printed
in the United States of America

For
Amy, my personal guru and best friend

Author’s
Note

To
write this book, I relied on a personal journal I kept while walking
the Camino de Santiago during the summer of 2014. To maintain
anonymity, I have changed the names of the characters in this book
with the exception of my wife, Amy, who completed this journey with
me. In addition to my memory and journal entries, I have included
researched facts when I felt they added to the depth and
understanding of the story.

Trail
Days and Distance

1
St. Jean Pied-de-Port – Roncesvalles 25 km/16 miles

2
Roncesvalles – Zuriain 32 km/20 miles

3
Zuriain – Zariquiegui 23 km/14 miles

4
Zariquiegui – Puente la Reina 13 km/8 miles

5
Puente la Reina – Estella 22 km/14 miles

6
Estella – Los Arcos 21 km/13 miles

7
Los Arcos – Logroño 29 km/18 miles

8
Logroño – Nájera 30 km/19 miles

9
Nájera – Grañon 28 km/18 miles

10
Grañon – Villafranca Montes de Oca 28 km/17 miles

11
Villafranca – Cardeñuela Riopica 24 km/15 miles

12
Cardeñuela Riopica – Burgos 14 km/9 miles

13
Burgos – Hontanas 32 km/20 miles

14
Hontanas – Boadilla del Camino 29 km/18 miles

15
Boadilla del Camino – Carrión de los Condes 27 km/16
miles

16
Carrión – Terradillos de Templarios 27 km/17 miles

17
Terradillos – Calzadilla de los Hermanillos 27 km/17
miles

18
Calzadilla de los Hermanillos – León 43 km/27 miles

19
León 0 km/0 miles

20
León – Villafranca del Bierzo 132 km/82 miles

21
Villafranca del Bierzo – Vega de Valcarce 19 km/12 miles

22
Vega de Valcarce – Hospital de la Condesa 17 km/11 miles

23
Hospital de la Condesa – A Balsa 19 km/12 miles

24
A Balsa – Barbadelo 20 km/12 miles

25
Barbadelo – Portomarín 18 km/11 miles

26
Portomarín – Portos 19 km/12 miles

27
Portos – Boente 26 km/16 miles

28
Boente – Salceda 20 km/12 miles

29
Salceda – Santiago de Compostela 28 km/17 miles

Can
you use adventure as a form of therapy? Can it be used as a reset
button for those who have lost their way? I certainly think so. For
me, travel is a way to make space in my life for the answers I seek.
Not an escape, but a journey to find personal Truth. Perhaps this is
why so many have chosen to walk the historic pilgrimage called the
Camino de Santiago in Spain. Since the Middle Ages, questions about
life have been asked here. The answers, I am certain, have been as
varied as the personalities and lives that have experienced this
deeply personal journey.

I
first learned of the Camino de Santiago while living in the south of
Spain with my wife. I am a lover of the great outdoors, and while
spending many a weekend with new Spanish friends enjoying
sendirismos,
or
hikes
,
I
heard about this incredible personal pilgrimage many of my new
friends had completed. Some multiple times. The stories of how this
journey changed their lives are what inspired me to start planning my
own Camino. They told me that I, too, should take on this historic
route that crosses their beautiful country. What started as a crazy
idea slowly turned into real curiosity, and I began to seek the
advice of my Andalucian friends. I would ask them questions like,
“Where
should I begin? Can I walk it with my wife? What do you bring? Where
do you sleep? Why did you walk? What is the Camino de Santiago,
anyway?”

The
history and lore of El Camino de Santiago is fascinating.
The
story starts with St. James, who was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus
and one of the first to be martyred.
¹
In
40 AD, St. James sailed to Galicia and began his ministry. He
preached in Finisterre, the end of the Earth, on the coast of
northwestern Spain. This village was sacred and an important location
for Druidic rituals. St. James had limited success converting the
local pagans to Christianity and returned to Jerusalem where Herod
subsequently had him beheaded. His disciples decided to bring his
body back to be buried in Finisterre.

Queen
Lupa, who was a powerful pagan monarch at that time, was not happy
with this plan. She wanted James
’s
body destroyed and the disciples killed. As the queen
’
s
soldiers closed in on the disciples, they were able to escape by
crossing the river Tambre just as the bridge collapsed behind them.
They escaped to Santiago, and that is the final resting place of the
remains of St. James. As time passed and generations took their turns
here on Earth, St. James was all but forgotten.

By
the Middle Ages, while the Roman Empire in Spain was losing power,
the Muslim community from Morocco started spreading Islam and gaining
power in Spain. Life under the Moors was good for a number of years,
and the rulers allowed people complete religious freedom. Christians
were allowed to openly practice their faith even under Islamic rule.

The
story of St. James only resurfaces again in the year 813 when a
bright star led a shepherd named Pelayo to a field near Santiago
where he discovered the hidden tomb of St. James. The modern day name
for the city was born, Santiago de Compostela.
Sant
Lago
meaning
Saint James
,
campos
meaning
field and
stella
meaning star.
Sant Lago de
Campos Stella
. It is important
to note that this is one of many historical theories.

The
local bishop jumped on Pelayo
’
s
discovery and declared it to be true. He conveniently used the story
of St. James in congruence with the
reconquista
of Spain for Christianity. In subsequent battles, the story goes that
the ghost of St. James would appear on the battlefields at just the
right moment to help the Christians de
feat
the Moors. St. James became known as the Moor-slayer or
Santiago
Matamoros
.
He was particularly good at slicing off sol
diers’
heads with his sword while riding atop a gallant white steed. Ironic
since he himself was behead
ed.
After all of those years in silence, he quickly became the patron
saint of Spain, a title that he still enjoys today.