Pilgrims from all over the world come to cross Spain on foot since the Middle Ages. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where tradition says that the body and head of St. James was buried, has long been regarded as important as Rome and Jerusalem in terms of Christian religious significance, a site worthy to be a pilgrimage destination for over a thousand years. In addition to people undertaking a religious pilgrimage, there are many travellers and hikers who nowadays walk the route for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of weeks of walking in a foreign land. They can follow many routes but the most popular route is the French Way or Camino Francés. Historically, most of the pilgrims came from France, due to the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century illuminated manuscript intended as an anthology of background detail and advice for pilgrims following the Way.

These pictures are a graphic diary of my walking journeys through 2.500 kilometers, following the three main routes of this medieval footpath in Spain:

1-The French Way, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, the most popular route.

2-The Coastal Way, that goes by the coast of the northern Cantabrian sea.

3-The Silver Way, going up from southern Seville, in Andalusia.

2010 is Holy Compostellan Year (whenever July 25 falls on a Sunday), as it was 2004, when almost 200.000 pilgrims walked to the city of Santiago. Tweet