The original Camino was a pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago.
The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, is a network of pathways across Spain and subsequently extended to other Caminos incorporating pilgrimages through Portugal and parts of France.
Traditionally the Camino begins from when a pilgrim leaves their doorstep and ends in Santiago de Compostela, where tradition has it that the first martyred apostle is buried. During the Middle Ages, it became an important pilgrimage for Christians to do at least once in their lives.
It is said that just on 800 years ago Saint Frances walked a Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He didn’t get lost along the way, and when you embark on your own Camino de Plett, neither will you.
Some interesting statistics on the Camino de Santiago which culminates in Santiago de Compostela:
Since the mid-1980s, the Camino has experienced a resurgence in popularity with pilgrims coming from all over the world.
In 2017, over 300,000 pilgrims made their way to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, but others elect to go by bicycle or on horseback.
In 2019 nearly 350 000 pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostela, and in spite of the pandemic, nearly 180 000 pilgrims arrived there in 2021. To put that in perspective, that is nearly 1000 pilgrims a day in 2019.
Religious motivation is still the leading reason of why people embark on this pilgrimage. In 2021, 45% of pilgrims walked the Camino for “religious and other” reasons, while 30% said they walked for purely religious reasons. 24% of the pilgrims do it for other reasons and have no specific religious reason for walking the Camino.
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! BUEN CAMINO !