The Road to Santiago de Compostela
Abstract
The first time I heard about the Camino de Santiago, I was in my Espana
Diversa class on foreign study in Madrid. My professor, Pilar, told us of her
experiences on the Road to Santiago, and it was from these stories that I first
became interested in the topic. Soon thereafter I read Iberia by James Michener,
whose vivid stories of northern Spain inspired me to travel to the region and
experience the road for myself. One year later I decided to return to Spain to
travel and experience the adventures of the pilgrimage. The history and culture of
Spain has always captivated me, and to be able to immerse myself in a ritual that
is so central to Spanish culture was a gratifying experience. In this essay I have
attempted to bring the pilgrimage to life by combining the history, culture,
architecture, and religious background of the pilgrimage, interviews with
pilgrims, together with my own anecdotes and experiences.