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From the Spain For Pleasure blog

While the Camino de Santiago has been a pilgrimage route for over a thousand years, its popularity seems to have surged in the 21st century. There are countless different reasons – which I outline here – why you might want to take on the challenge, from experiencing the lush greenery of Galicia’s mountainous hillsides to the rewards of self-exploration. Along the trails of those spiritual inner journeys are many fascinating myths that tie the history of the route together. Walking Under the Field of Stars Have you ever wondered where Santiago de Compostela got its name? Legend has it the word ‘Compostelo’ is an interpretation of the original Latin phrase ‘campus stellae’, which translates as ‘Field of Stars’. The myth of Santiago de Compostela recounts the story of St. James the Elder, who paved the path of the Camino, before returning to his native Jerusalem and meeting his death in 44AD with Herol Aggripa I ordering his beheading. Following the death of St. James, the myth describes how devout followers collected his remains and sent it toward Irivi Flavia, south of Santiago, on a boat guided by angels. The bones were all but forgotten until the 9th century, when the astronomer Pelagius observed ‘a […]