Which Camino to choose?
Choosing your Camino de Santiago.
For comprehensive information about the Camino to Santiago and the different routes a good place to start is the Camino Forum in English. Here you will find the answer to almost all your questions about accomodation, when to walk, special difficulties, safety equipment and a host of experienced pilgrims who are willing to help you and understand your interests and concerns.
Mundicamino is a good place for easy access to the various routes in Spain. Many people considering the Camino for the first time are not aware that there is a large choice of Caminos which are all well signposted and have an infrastructure of accomodation for pilgrims. Also there are routes for all seasons.
The Eroski Camino site gives a great overview of the routes and up to date information and comments on the albergues (Hostels).
The Raft of Corks
This site, The Raft of Corks, has posts about a spiritual journey on these Caminos which began in 2010.
Just right now I am wondering about my Camino for 2016. I saw that there is a Camino in the Canaries, on Gran Canaria, and went there last week to find out a bit more about this path.
The Camino starts in the village of Galdar in the North of Gran Canaria and ends in Playa Inglés in the South
Galdar, where this 70km Camino begins, has a Parish Church dedicated to Santiago. When I looked at the mountains I feared that the route would be too difficult for me so I didn’t attempt it and instead mused about the caption beneath a statue of a local dignitary, obviously not short of either bread or pasta, quoting him as saying, “We will build this Church even if we have to beg for our food.”
Pre Liberation Theology. That red cross in the background is a Santiago Cross, the cross of the Knights Templar who protected pilgrims in the middle ages.
The church itself is a smaller version of the Cathedral of Santa Ana in Las Palmas and both look to me a bit like Socialist Realism on the outside. I didn’t find out anything about the origins of this Camino but I imagine that it begins in Chile or another of the former colonial lands in America.
The hefty Parish Church of Santiago in Galdar, Gran Canaria.
Still wondering about which Way to Santiago?
So am I. In the end I managed much more than I expected in Gran Canaria, climbing the final 800m up to Roque Nublo, one of its highest points without too much trouble. Gran Canaria is an excellent winter training spot to prepare for the Camino althogh it lacks an infrastructure of accomodation for hikers.