I recall first hearing of this pilgrimage from a piece in Tui Motu (an independent Roman Catholic magazine) by Peter Stuart (an Anglican priest) about 2001.
In 2010 I was travelling to England and France for two family weddings. I spent time with family on my day or arrival: Al and I did things such as spend the afternoon in a bar on the Embankment with strong Australia and New Zealand connections and watched the first NZ pool match for the Football World Cup.
And I had arranged the next day go to Belgium to visit the New Zealand WWI battlefields, in particular Mesen (Messines), Polygon Wood, s'Gravenstal (site of the NZ memorial in Belgium) and (of course) nearby Passendale. And a few days later visiting the NZ places in the Somme, in particular Le Quesnoy, the the last NZ battle on 4 November 1918.
A week later I flew to Vallodolid in north western Spain and, with a hire car, drove a 'd' shaped circuit to Salamanca, Avila (managed to convince the bar keeper to show the "other" pool match on TV - second NZ game), Segovia, Burgos and then Leon, Ponferrada, Sarria and Santiago. I usually slept in my hire car so as to be free to stop and start each day when I wanted.
Before leaving home I had done some research and knew if I started from Sarria I could get a certificate on satisfactory completion at Santiago. And I had some idea of what I needed to carry, and not to carry, on my back.
It was with some surprise on waking in Burgos several hundred kilometres west of the Cathedral, to see walkers with largish backpacks asking directions with hand gestures, being assured and continuing westward.
That was the last Saturday of June: I intended to stop for the night near Sarria and on to Santiago the next day. For the most part the main road avoids the towns and it wasn't until late that day, when I left the main road I encountered a straggle of pilgrims making their way, with the onset of rain, to a backpackers for the night.
On Sunday I drove off about sunrise: as I went through the smaller towns I encountered many pilgrims leaving their backpacker accommodation. I noted ages ranging from very young to quite old and my mind was made up to try my hand starting the next day.
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