Travel Stories

The statue of Santiago Pelegrino in the Cathedral at Santiago.

Cycling the Camino de Santiago-History 

People have been making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela for nearly 1,200 years. Here’s why: St. The statue of Santiago Pelegrino in the Cathedral at Santiago.

James (Santiago, in Spanish)was sent by Jesus to Galicia to preach. He was largely unsuccessful, and returned to Jerusalem. Agrippa had him beheaded, and his followers placed his body in a boat, which eventually reached the Iberian peninsula. His body was re-discovered by a shepherd in the 9th century. (In one version of the story, his body was found at Compostela covered by scallop shells – hence the scallop shell that, today, is a symbol of both St. James and of the pilgrims en route to Santiago).

The Kindness of Strangers
By Colleen Friesen

The women are languid. The steaming marble baths are filled with the sweet scent of lilies and the amber glow of candles. I walk past the bathers, past the foggy glass walls, looking, hoping, for the next empty bath. Finally I am led to the last room. I slide back the heavy door and there is the tub. It is chipped, cracked and filled with rocks and sand.