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The Way of St James - not a path of roses is a Camino documentary about the difficulties most pilgrims encountered while on their way to Santiago.
Having been informed about the route, hostels, trekking techniques, best walking season and climate, they find themselves in a new dimension rarely explained by most guides.
This exceptional documentary reaches the heart of El Camino, the feeling of the interviewed characters, the pilgrims. This film links a series of interviews from different backgrounds and nationalities, discovering the essence of this famous route crossed by over 200.000 people just on the Holy Year 2010.
The Way of St James (Camino de Santiago) is a medieval pilgrimage to the Cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela (north of Spain). According to the legends later compiled in the 12th-century Codex Calixtinus, the site is believed to be the final resting place of St. James the Apostle. one of the twelve Disciples of Christ.
Though once a local and strictly Christian pilgrimage, the Camino today is an international phenomenon and attracts thousands of people from all around the world and from all beliefs. In 2007 nearly 115,000 pilgrims arrive in Santiago. Due to its importance in the continent's history, The Way of St James was declared First European Cultural Itinerary (Council of Europe, 1987) and Cultural World Heritage (UNESCO, 1993).
The most popular section of the Camino is the French route, 800 Km stretch from St. Jean Pied de Port (on the French side of the Pyrenees) to Santiago de Compostela. The Camino today – as in ancient times – remains an immense physical and emotional challenge. Considering all of the technological advances, many pilgrims might erroneously under estimate the difficulty of the modern pilgrimage.
Most of those who walk The Way of St James are not experienced walkers at all. Many have never done any serious walking in their lives. it is all too common for travelers to get caught up in competition for spaces in the nicest guest houses (albergues), to obsess over how far they are able to travel in a day, to put too much emphasis on the destination without taking the time to appreciate the journey.
Having been informed about the route, hostels, trekking techniques, best walking season and climate, they find themselves in a new dimension rarely explained by most guides.
This exceptional documentary reaches the heart of El Camino, the feeling of the interviewed characters, the pilgrims. This film links a series of interviews from different backgrounds and nationalities, discovering the essence of this famous route crossed by over 200.000 people just on the Holy Year 2010.
The Way of St James (Camino de Santiago) is a medieval pilgrimage to the Cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela (north of Spain). According to the legends later compiled in the 12th-century Codex Calixtinus, the site is believed to be the final resting place of St. James the Apostle. one of the twelve Disciples of Christ.
Though once a local and strictly Christian pilgrimage, the Camino today is an international phenomenon and attracts thousands of people from all around the world and from all beliefs. In 2007 nearly 115,000 pilgrims arrive in Santiago. Due to its importance in the continent's history, The Way of St James was declared First European Cultural Itinerary (Council of Europe, 1987) and Cultural World Heritage (UNESCO, 1993).
The most popular section of the Camino is the French route, 800 Km stretch from St. Jean Pied de Port (on the French side of the Pyrenees) to Santiago de Compostela. The Camino today – as in ancient times – remains an immense physical and emotional challenge. Considering all of the technological advances, many pilgrims might erroneously under estimate the difficulty of the modern pilgrimage.
Most of those who walk The Way of St James are not experienced walkers at all. Many have never done any serious walking in their lives. it is all too common for travelers to get caught up in competition for spaces in the nicest guest houses (albergues), to obsess over how far they are able to travel in a day, to put too much emphasis on the destination without taking the time to appreciate the journey.
