The Camino de Santiago - The Way of St. James - a cultural Pilgrimage

We start with a walking tour of Burgos, birthplace of El Cid and provincial capital of Castilla y Leon. On the main route of the Camino, this city is packed with Gothic and renaissance architecture and we will take time to see the impressive UNESCO listed gothic cathedral. This afternoon we head out into the countryside to explore Quintanilla de las Viñas. Here we discover the Hermitage of Santa Maria De Lara, a Visigoth chapel built in the 7^th century and one of the most important examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in Spain. Its carved stone friezes depict motifs from nature – vines, peacocks, the sun and moon. It was unknown to archaeologists until 1921 when its significance was brought to light by a local priest.

Hotel: Burgos

After checking out of our hotel this morning, we take a stroll along the Arlanzón river to the Cartuja de Miraflores. This monastery was built in 1401 and originally used a royal palace before being donated to the Carthusian Monks in 1442. The interior is extraordinary – wherever you turn there are fine carvings, paintings and numerous gold artefacts. Its centrepiece is the huge carved and gilded altar, the gold for the gilding said to have come in the first shipment from the Americas in the 15^th century. From here we travel across to León.

Hotel: Leon

This morning we visit La Olmeda, a late Roman villa which evolved from a fairly simple structure into its final spectacular form. It contains some magnificent mosaics which depict mythological and hunting scenes. This opulence demonstrates the wealth found in this part of Spain at the close of the empire but also the troubles – each corner of the villa is protected by a tower. After, we visit Sahagún which for centuries was an important refuge for pilgrims. Here we admire the Mudejar architecture – a fusion of Islamic and Gothic design – and see the Pilgrim’s Church.

Hotel: Leon

León is a corruption of the Latin legio and marks the fact that the town was once a major legionary base in Spain. We discover its Roman past still seen in the extensive city walls and visit the Romanesque basilica of San Isadora, resting place of many royal family members and located on the site of an ancient Roman temple. We visit the archaeological museum, housed in the Hostal de San Marcos, one of the old pilgrim hostels built along the Camino de Santiago in AD 1152 and finally, we discover the Gothic Cathedral, famous for its many medieval stained-glass windows about which Pope John Paul XXIII said “this building has more glass than stone, more light than glass and more faith than light”.

Hotel: Leon

Today we follow in the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims who made the same detour and we travel north to visit Oviedo. A local saying had it that “He who goes to Santiago and not to Salvador (the name of the Cathedral), visits his son but abandons the Lord”. On our way north we visit Santa Cristina de Lena Church, which lies in the foothills of the mountains that separate Oviedo from Leon. This pre-Romanesque church was built in the 9^th century and offers amazing views both inside and out. Arriving in Oviedo, we spend the afternoon visiting the aforementioned cathedral, the Camara Santa and the Sudarium before we return to León.

Hotel: Leon

We return to the Camino and visit Astorga, capital of the area known as the Maragateria – the land of the Maragatos, a distinct ethnic group of unknown origin. There has been much speculation ranging from theories that they are descendants of the berbers who came to Spain during the Moorish conquest to the view that they are the remnants of Phoenician settlers. Here we will go underground and explore the roman city, including the baths, sewers and a house. We will also visit the cathedral famous for its main chapel decorated by Italian Renaissance artist Gaspar Becerra. We continue to Ponferrada, a town given to the Knights Templar by King Ferdinand II in 1185 in order to protect the pilgrim route.

Hotel: Ponferrada

This morning we travel to Las Medulas, a vast Roman gold mine where an entire mountain was destroyed by the most ambitious hydro-engineering project in the ancient world. Pliny describes the process in detail in book 33 of his Natural History, given his posting to Astorga, this is likely to be an eye-witness account. Now a World Heritage Site, it covers a huge area and we can actually enter some of the man-made galleries through which water brought from six aqueducts had been diverted. Later we return to Ponferrada to visit the massive Templars castle constructed between 1218 and 1282.

Hotel: Ponferrada

Today we learn more of the region’s Celtic past. Making our way west, we visit the hamlet of O Cebreiro where the houses (pallozas) pre-date the roman era and the Celtic roots of these elliptical houses are clearly evident. The village itself is on a major crossroads and its 9^th Century church, Santa Maria La Real, is one of the oldest on the Camino. Afterwards, we travel to Lugo, where we visit the Santa Eulalia de Bóveda. This curious late Roman structure is still not properly understood. Sunk semi-underground, it has a small pool at its centre and its vault is covered with fresco work. It has no parallels and as such has generated many interpretations. Finally, we visit Castro Viladonga, a fortified settlement with a rampart and ditch protecting a central area.

Hotel: Santiago de Compostela

We spend the day in Santiago de Compostela, the end point of our journey on this famous pilgrimage route. Here there are a remarkable ensemble of interesting monuments and we will take a walking tour of the town before visiting its focal point, the Cathedral church which, according to legend, is built on the site of the wood where James’s bones were found. This afternoon is free to enjoy at your own pace.

Hotel: Santiago de Compostela

We transfer to the airport for our flight home.