A Traveler's Highway to Heaven

For a thousand years, the principal reason outsiders ventured into Northern Spain was to obtain the spiritual benefits of a sacred pilgrimage. They came from all corners of Christendom. Their destination was the sepulcher of an Apostle of Jesus, known in New Testament history as James the Greater. In Faith, they trod what they believed to be a sure route to Heaven, the Way of St. James. That was the promise of the pilgrimage. It remains so today for legions of hikers who walk that Way—the Way known as El Camino de Santiago."A Traveler’s Highway to Heaven" adds historical and cultural meat to the bones of the hiker’s happily convivial El Camino experience. Of even more import, the book enables that experience for the traveler who yearns to course El Camino de Santiago but—whether from age or infirmities, or perhaps with children in tow—is physically incapable of handling the rigors of walking the eight hundred kilometers of the Way. For others, it turns a touristy lark between the running of the bulls in Pamplona, and encountering St. James at Master Mateo’s Portico de la Gloria, into a sharing of the “after El Camino experience” that the hiker cum pilgrim generally claims all for himself. No matter all that, a traveler's visit to Northern Spain need be nothing more than a pleasant holiday spent browsing through this colorful, historic region, meeting the people and enjoying their mountainous countryside. The experience is especially attractive because it escapes the crowded paths most tourists follow. Hardly any tourists pass this way except to visit the few major cities. They congregate in Pamplona in July for the world famous fiesta and running of the bulls. In season, the tour buses trundle through Santiago and Burgos to visit their world renowned cathedrals and landmarks recalling the legendary escapades of Santiago Matamoros and El Cid. But such a visit, whether by a traveler or tourist, pleasing though it may be, misses one of the most remarkable experiences that one may enjoy in a lifetime of travel.