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And who isn't impressed with the latest from adventurer Charlie Sither. He writes to us the following: Bon Camino: I'm still an avid hiker and backpacker. As an old shaggy dog I'm mostly in it for the solitude and love of nature. Last year a long-standing hiking buddy and I decided to try something different so we planned a trip to hike the Portuguese Camino de Santiago from Porto, P. to Santiago, S. This is one of dozen or so Caminos that terminate at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral where the relics of St. James are alleged to rest. Actually the site has been a spiritual mecca for ancient folks long before Christianity arrived on the scene. While I'm not a very religious or spiritual person I did find the trek very invigorating and mentally refreshing largely due to the wonderful folks we met along the way and beautiful rural and small town scenery. We selected this Camino because it is shorter and less well known - especially by Americans. The route made famous by the movie, The Way, is too heavily traveled for my tastes. The few folks we encountered were from all over Europe and a few from Japan and Korea. This area is considered the 'Ireland' of the Iberian Peninsula because the Galician Spaniards honor and keep alive their Celtic heritage including conspicuously posted symbols and even bagpipe music. The cool rainy weather even in June was also a reminder! Interestingly the route follows Via Romana XIX, an old Roman superhighway. Some sections and bridges are still in working order. I enjoyed it so much that I hope to find the time (two months- 620 miles) to hike the La Plata from Seville to Santiago. According to some Germans I met, it is the most beautiful and least traveled. Unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish but they do understand German much more than English. |
