With the Camino de Santiago being rooted in Catholicism, one would most likely assume that the main reason for walking is religious or spiritual. After all, pilgrims walk hundreds of miles to arrive at the place where Saint James’ bones are supposedly residing in a silver coffin. When walking a pilgrimage in medieval times, you may have found many pilgrims walking to repent for their sins. But, also in medieval times displayed a large flux of reasons people would walk. Sometimes, those had no option. If a crime was committed, a viable sentence would be to send the guilty on a trek. This could be seen as a form of punishment, or a second chance to connect with God and right your wrongs. In contrast, one may have walked a Pilgrimage to escape from the plague, or conquer famine. A quote from Pilgrimage in Medieval Culture recites “Santiago de Compostela became above all a goal of the devout and the voluntarily and involuntarily penitent rather than a healing shrine.”
Today, pilgrims still walk for an amalgamation of motives, but these reasons have evolved. According to Caminoways.com, about 17% walk for exercise, 15% for adventure, 14% for reading of peace, solitude and relaxation, and 12% for social reasons. Religion is now the seventh most popular reason, with 9.6% in this category. Based on my experience on the Camino, these statistics make sense. A large majority of participants walk the Camino to stay young and fit. I met a 75 year old man who had walked routes to Santiago at least a dozen times, and he swears it keeps his body and mind in check. Because he feels so healthy walking so much, he also rewards himself with beer and cigarettes, only while on the Camino. I also met many people walking the Camino solely for adventure, and to figure out things about themselves that they had not yet unveiled. A quote I received from a US army veteran was “I needed a break from the United States.” I also asked a Polish veteran, who was in his 70’s,”why are you walking?” And he responded,”Why does a climber climb Mount Everest?” A 20 year old German-American I met said ” I walked the Camino to find answers… I didn’t find those answers, but I found the questions I wanted to ask.” Only one pilgrim crossed my path who was walking solely for religious reasons. She was Mormon, a college student, and walked with her two parents. She described to me that through being amidst nature, it brought her closer to God. When I decided to walk barefoot the last day into Santiago, I observed that most recognized me as part of this 9%; walking for God, or to repent which was the more common theme in medieval times.
The difference between then, and now is that pilgrims now seem like they are on equal plane. In the past, the reason for walking mattered, and some communities of people, like women were inhibited from experiencing pilgrimage. Although a hierarchy exists today based on miles walked, or if staying in hotels or albergues, it is far different from the hierarchy that existed in Medieval times that depended on class, and mainly your reason for walking.
Author showing feet after a penitent walk barefoot in to Santiago