THE CAMINO FRANCÉS: Where do I even start?
Thankfully, the literal version of that question is fairly easy to answer.
I started in France, in the small town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. It’s widely considered to be the traditional starting point of the Camino Francés. But, as is the case for many things, you quickly come to learn that there are as many Caminos as there are people…
The majority of people actually start their Camino in Sarria. Many start in Pamplona. Many walk segments instead of the whole thing, measuring their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in years, not days.
Wait.
The whole thing.
What does that even mean?
Quickly, you meet pilgrims who are already well on their way in Saint-Jean. Another traditional starting point is Le-Puys-en-Velay. Many start from home, a perk of living on the continent. My friend Melissa left her house on foot in Germany. My friend Tamás left his in Budapest.
Technically, I also started from home. Ish.
I started my Camino at Vancouver’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Every year, the Vancouver Canadian Company of Pilgrims organizes two preambles where, over a weekend, pilgrims walk from the cathedral downtown all the way to YVR airport, via the UBC campus. These 38 kilometres can be tallied to your final distance by the pilgrims’ office in Santiago as long as you bring the resulting Canadian Compostela and your stamped credenciale.
There’s no standard, no rules*, no normal.
Like your life, it’s your Camino and yours alone.
* Okay, technically, there are rules if you’re aiming to get a Compostela upon reaching Santiago. But even those aren’t set in stone — they were actually changed while I was walking this year!
MÉLANIE DAIGLE 