I know the Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage trail; why did
people start traveling it?
What made you decide to turn your Camino walk into a book?
What audience is the book aimed at?
How difficult was it to arrange your Camino walk?
How did you communicate with people at home while you were
hiking?
What was the most difficult part of the trip?
What did you most enjoy about the trip?
What was your favorite place that you visited?
Did you have reservations for lodging most of your nights?
How did your relationship with your husband (Ralph) fare with so
much time together?
What advice do you have for others considering such a trip?
How do people get a copy of your book?
How far did you walk each day?
How did the Camino trip affect your life?
Q.: How can I order the Pilgrim Guide that gives the
town-by-town listings of hostels and restaurants along the Camino de
Santiago?
A. It can be ordered from the Confraternity of Saint James based
in London, England. The Confraternity is a non-denominational
association of former and current pilgrims, and others interested in
the history and culture of Spain. They offer guidebooks to all of
the major routes in Europe to Santiago. At their website:
www.csj.org .
http://www.csj.org.uk/ , go to
their bookstore to order their detailed, annually updated, guides.
Q. What is the passport you mentioned?
A. The pilgrim passport, the credencial, is very important
to those wanting to stay in the refugio system along the Camino de
Santiago as well as those who want to go to the Pilgrim Office when
they arrive in Santiago de Compostela and receive their certificate
of completion.
Q. How do I obtain the pilgrim passport?
A. You can obtain it in advance by ordering it from the American
Friends on the Camino at
www.americanpilgrims.com . Or, you can wait until you arrive in
France or Spain and obtain it in LePuy (FR), St. Jean-Pied-de-Port
(FR), Roncesvalles (SP) or in several major cities along the route.
Q. What if I do not have the time or inclination to walk the
entire route?
A. The 500-miles of the Camino de Santiago goes through quite
varied landscapes, so it's very difficult to answer this question
without knowing more about your interests. If your primary interest
is to have a taste of the Camino AND to obtain the certificate of
completion, then you are only required to hike the last 100
kilometers (about 60 miles) of the route. Many people do just that:
they start in the town of Sarria (population 12, 000).
Q. I am nervous about going on such a journey on my own. Are
there tour groups I could join?
A. Of course whether you are going solo, with a partner, or with
an organized group, you will have a different experience. If your
nervousness is because you don't want to be on your own for several
weeks, I can assure you that you will most likely find it easy to
link up with others along the Camino if that's what you want to do.
If you want to join an organized group, you can go to Google and
find tons of information. Today we googled and came up with 6,000
"hits."
Please contact us at
backpack45 at yahoo dot com if you have any further questions.
Susan Alcorn, Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago ISBN
0-936034-03-3
