![]() El Camino Real "died" in 1885 with the arrival of the AT&SF railroad.New Mexico became a territory of the United States in 1848 and statehood in 1912.El Camino became known as the Chihuahua Trail. The Spanish empire fell in 1821 the region became part of Mexico.Santa Fe was the capitol of New Spain, flying the Spanish flag for over 200 years (1603-1821).Settlement of New Mexico resumed in 1698. The Pueblo Revolt in 1680 caused the Spanish and many settlers to flee.The first Europeans along El Camino Real arrived in New Mexico with the Oñate expedition in 1598, 22 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.Before the Spanish arrived, the Rio Grande Valley in central New Mexico was occupied by Piro People and other Pueblo people.These royal roads ran throughout the Spanish Empire including Mexico to South America, and later to California. But the vast majority were simply tourists or outdoor enthusiasts like me.El Camino Real means The Royal Road, on which travel was controlled by the King of Spain or his representatives, and thus often called the King's Highway. Many more held some kind of faith and were using the Camino to possibly reconnect. In fact, after 32 days of walking, and having spoken to more than a hundred people, I would say only 1 or 2 were doing the Camino for religious reasons. People from all over the world gather there to walk it, so there’s plenty of people to meet.It’s a part of Spain I’d never seen & one of the country's most epic experiences possible.It is incredibly well developed so there’s no need for me to take heavy equipment like a tent or stove or sleeping bag.It’s a long walk, so would be a physical challenge.There is nothing solid in place yet, but walking the length of Nepal is certainly on my mind.Īs such, I wanted to walk the camino because: In the next few years I have a large desire to take on some much more daunting challenges. The simple truth is that I was looking for a challenge. Not that I have anything against religion, but that’s simply not why I wanted to walk. And nor do I have any desire to contemplate religion and see if it’s for me. ![]() Reaching the halfway point My reasons for walking the Caminoįirst off, no I’m not religious. It just so happened they had a fiesta starting that night and it was on the same street as our hostel! 2 Euros for a large glass of red wine was too hard to turn down, and we spent the whole night, and early hours of the morning, celebrating the finish! Well, in the end, I followed my intended schedule perfectly and arrived on the Saturday night, where me and a friend who flew out, got involved in the local Spanish celebrations. However, my aim was always to arrive on the 1st July, so that I had time to see the city and perhaps enjoy a beverage or seven to celebrate. I booked my flight home from Santiago on 3rd July, meaning I had 34 days in total to make it to the finish line. The first day, and in my opinion the toughest day of all, starts with you ascending about 900 metres up and over the Pyrenees as you leave France behind and start your first steps down into Spain.įrom then onwards, you have somewhere close to 800 km of sometimes flat, sometimes hilly terrain all the way across the North until you reach Santiago. I started my Camino on 31st May from St Jean Pied de Port, which lies in the deep South of France, roughly 15 km from the border with Spain.
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