“Whenever I was asked: ‘Why did you go to Santiago?’, I had a hard time answering. How could I explain to those who had not done it that the way has the effect – if not the virtue – to make you forget all reasons that led you to become involved in it in the first place.”
Each year, tens of thousands of backpackers (Christian pilgrims and many others) set out from either their front doorstep or from popular starting points across Europe, to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, others ride a bicycle, and a few of them travel as did some of their medieval counterparts, on horseback or with a donkey.
In addition to those who undertake a religious pilgrimage, the majority are hikers who walk the way for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of spending weeks walking in a foreign land. Also, many consider the experience as a spiritual adventure, with a view to removing themselves from the bustle of modern life.
Jean-Christophe Rufin followed this “Northern Way” to Santiago de Compostela by foot, on over eight hundred kilometers. Much less crowded than the usual pilgrimage route, this one runs along the Basque and Cantabrian coasts in Spain and through the wild mountains of Asturias and Galicia.
Translated from the French by Malcolm Imrie and Martina Dervis
Each year, tens of thousands of backpackers (Christian pilgrims and many others) set out from either their front doorstep or from popular starting points across Europe, to Santiago de Compostela. Most travel by foot, others ride a bicycle, and a few of them travel as did some of their medieval counterparts, on horseback or with a donkey.
In addition to those who undertake a religious pilgrimage, the majority are hikers who walk the way for non-religious reasons: travel, sport, or simply the challenge of spending weeks walking in a foreign land. Also, many consider the experience as a spiritual adventure, with a view to removing themselves from the bustle of modern life.
Jean-Christophe Rufin followed this “Northern Way” to Santiago de Compostela by foot, on over eight hundred kilometers. Much less crowded than the usual pilgrimage route, this one runs along the Basque and Cantabrian coasts in Spain and through the wild mountains of Asturias and Galicia.
Translated from the French by Malcolm Imrie and Martina Dervis
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Reviews
This is an unmissable book . . . a lively story, full of clarity and amusing anecdotes
A real delight. Rufin is at his very best, blending together the things he saw, the people and anecdotes, juggling self-mockery and solemnity in equal measure
The Académie Française member has produced a fascinating account of his journey to Santiago de Compostela
Walking in Rufin's company is a joy. There is not a second of boredom to be had throughout these 900km and 270 pages, during which we witness his transformation from Académie member and ambassador to celestial tramp
Friendly and beguiling ... a masterstroke
A wonderful piece of writing, full of perception - of landscapes, people, self - about a journey based on solitude and physical endeavour into an interior world. There's a good dose of chatty demystification and anecdotes that make you laugh aloud. But Rufin can also write in fine lyrical mode, though he never goes on too long about anything