As you travel around the country you see glimpses over past rich in the heritage of former conquerors be they the Moors, medieval Spaniards themselves or parts of the country that have Jewish and other international flavours.



As befits a country that historically has been profoundly religious there are numerous pilgrimage routes crossing the country and these are all wonderfully rich pieces of history that are well worth exploring.

If we take one of these pilgrimage routes, the Camino de Santiago, the way of St. James. This first became a popular route for pilgrims in the ninth century when apparently the sepulchre of St James was discovered and as a result in the century's ensuing, pilgrims from around the world have flocked to this route to have the chance to walk along the route to pay tribute to the apostle St. James.

As with most religious historic sites it hasn't always been so fantastically popular and during the 16th and 17th century's interest in this historic Route waned. It has been said that apparently in the past prisoners used to walk along the route as an attempt to try and do some penance in getting atonement for former misdemeanours.

Interest in this particular pilgrimage route was revised in the 20th century when UNESCO made Santiago de Compostela a world heritage site ? a site that now has since become the setting for one of the world's biggest pilgrimages.

Nowadays, Camino de Santiago, the way of St. James is more than just a religious pilgrimage route and has become a major tourist attraction whereby people merely pass along the route to appreciate the beauty and the historical heritage.

There are numerous starting off points for the way of St. James, the English route the French route and numerous Spanish routes. It has to be said that the most popular pilgrimage routes originate in France, leading from the north or France right down to Spain. All of the French routes come together and meet in the town of Roncesvalles in Navarre.

To be totally honest nowadays all but the most ardent and fervent pilgrims start out along the Way of St James from Roncesvalles and proceed along the 760 kilometre route to Santiago de Compostela. As they pass through historic towns and villages along the route such as Navarre, Burgos and Logrono, many pilgrims claim that having gone through this experience en route they feel suitably spiritually prepared for when they arrive at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

There are numerous markers long the way to help ensure that pilgrims do not deviate more than is necessary from the original route and the most common of these signs and markers are the ubiquitous yellow arrows that are found painted on trees and rocks along the way. It is said that these were by and large painted in the 1970'S by Father Elias Valdinha who as well as wanting to improve the way also wanted to avoid more confusion that was necessary and also to ensure that all pilgrims arrived at their destination in good order as well as humour!

A considerate man.