Saint Jacques de Compostelle

Hitchhiker, vagabond, drifter...pilgrim?  That's not a word you get to use every day.  In the very religious land that is France...psyche!  France although very catholic is not very religious anymore but do you remember the old French adage assume to never assume?  Every year pilgrims, not the buckle mayflower ones, make a trip to north western Spain.  The goal of the pilgrimage is the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela where supposedly lies the final resting place of St. James also known as James the son of Zebedee.  Spanish tradition goes that after preaching in Spain, James was subsequently beheaded in Jerusalem where apon his fellow disciples returned his body to Spain.  With the muslim moorish invasion of Spain the tomb of James was kept miraculously safe there apon beginning a pilgrimage to the very cathedral.  

Its one of the 3 major pilgrimages the other two being Rome and Jerusalem starting in the 10th century.  Along the marked pathway the pilgrims find boarding houses where they have their pilgrim passport stamped in order to validate their journey and receive inexpensive food and board.  In the past the pilgrimage was made as a form of penance or a ritual of punishment in order to atone for sins, if you finish the pilgrimage and get your 'compostela' or certificate known as an indulgence stating you will receive less time in punishment (hell) after having made your journey but only on holy years.  When out in the country in this area we often see pilgrims walking along the side of the road and there are many 'halte de pelerinage' (pilgrim way stations).  The symbols of the journey are a scallop shell worn usually on the backpack and a walking stick.  


  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago