1 00:00:00,450 --> 00:00:04,650 While dedicating a month of your life to walk the Camino may be admirable, it doesn't work 2 00:00:04,650 --> 00:00:10,369 for everyone. But any traveler can use this route as a sightseeing spine and as an opportunity 3 00:00:10,369 --> 00:00:15,369 to appreciate some of the joys and lessons that come with being a pilgrim. 4 00:00:15,369 --> 00:00:20,809 Just five miles before the Spanish border stands the French Basque town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. 5 00:00:20,809 --> 00:00:26,050 Traditionally, Santiago-bound pilgrims would gather here to cross the Pyrenees and continue 6 00:00:26,050 --> 00:00:27,269 their march through Spain. 7 00:00:27,890 --> 00:00:29,309 Visitors to this popular town 8 00:00:29,309 --> 00:00:31,670 are a mix of tourists and pilgrims. 9 00:00:32,170 --> 00:00:33,210 At the Camino office, 10 00:00:33,509 --> 00:00:34,329 pilgrims check in 11 00:00:34,329 --> 00:00:36,049 before their long journey to Santiago. 12 00:00:36,929 --> 00:00:39,450 They pick up a kind of pilgrim's passport. 13 00:00:40,909 --> 00:00:42,549 They'll get it stamped at each stop 14 00:00:42,549 --> 00:00:44,189 to prove they walked the whole way 15 00:00:44,189 --> 00:00:46,549 and earned their Compostela certificate. 16 00:00:47,969 --> 00:00:50,369 Walking the entire 500-mile-long route 17 00:00:50,369 --> 00:00:51,969 takes about five weeks. 18 00:00:52,369 --> 00:00:53,929 That's about 15 miles a day 19 00:00:53,929 --> 00:00:55,609 with an occasional day of rest. 20 00:00:56,049 --> 00:01:01,049 The route is well marked with yellow arrows and scallop shells. 21 00:01:01,049 --> 00:01:05,049 The scallop shell is the symbol of both St. James and the Camino. 22 00:01:05,049 --> 00:01:09,049 Common on the Galician coast, the shells were worn by medieval pilgrims 23 00:01:09,049 --> 00:01:12,049 as a badge of honor to prove they made it. 24 00:01:12,049 --> 00:01:15,049 The traditional gear has barely changed. 25 00:01:15,049 --> 00:01:18,049 A gourd for drinking water, just the right walking stick, 26 00:01:18,049 --> 00:01:23,049 and a scallop shell dangling from each backpack. 27 00:01:23,049 --> 00:01:32,359 The slow pace and need for frequent rest breaks 28 00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:34,840 provide plenty of opportunity for reflection, 29 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:36,620 religious and otherwise. 30 00:01:37,439 --> 00:01:39,579 For some, leaving behind a stone 31 00:01:39,579 --> 00:01:42,299 symbolizes unloading a personal burden. 32 00:01:44,459 --> 00:01:45,859 The first person to make this journey 33 00:01:45,859 --> 00:01:47,140 was St. James himself. 34 00:01:47,819 --> 00:01:49,540 After the death and resurrection of Christ, 35 00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:51,200 the apostles traveled far and wide 36 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:52,560 to spread the Christian message. 37 00:01:53,099 --> 00:01:55,459 Supposedly, St. James went on a missionary trip 38 00:01:55,459 --> 00:01:57,980 from the Holy Land all the way to this remote corner 39 00:01:57,980 --> 00:01:59,079 of northwest Spain. 40 00:01:59,879 --> 00:02:02,200 According to legend, in the year 813, 41 00:02:02,579 --> 00:02:04,219 St. James' remains were discovered 42 00:02:04,219 --> 00:02:06,579 in the town that would soon bear his name. 43 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,080 People began walking there to pay homage to his relics. 44 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,900 After a 12th-century pope decreed 45 00:02:12,900 --> 00:02:15,800 that the pilgrimage could earn forgiveness for your sins, 46 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,319 the popularity of the Camino de Santiago soared. 47 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,520 The Camino also served a political purpose. 48 00:02:25,819 --> 00:02:28,639 It's no coincidence that the discovery of St. James' remains 49 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,199 happened when Muslim Moors controlled most of Spain. 50 00:02:31,199 --> 00:02:33,199 The whole phenomenon of the Camino 51 00:02:33,199 --> 00:02:36,199 helped fuel the European passion to retake Spain 52 00:02:36,199 --> 00:02:38,199 and push the Moors back into Africa. 53 00:02:38,199 --> 00:02:40,199 But by about 1500, 54 00:02:40,199 --> 00:02:43,199 with the dawn of the Renaissance and the Reformation, 55 00:02:43,199 --> 00:02:46,199 interest in the Camino died almost completely. 56 00:02:46,199 --> 00:02:48,199 Then, in the 1960s, 57 00:02:48,199 --> 00:02:51,199 a handful of priests reestablished the tradition. 58 00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:54,199 The route has since enjoyed a huge resurgence, 59 00:02:54,199 --> 00:02:59,340 with 100,000 pilgrims trekking to Santiago each year.