The Camino De Santiago Completed

Following on from the previous post about Camino De Santiago virtual fitness challenge, on 8th October 2021 I reached the 60% completed point of the challenge. The next postcard was only a couple of days away at that point.

10th October 2021: Leon

“León is the capital city of the Province of Leon and held the first European Parliament in 1188, creating laws that protected its people.

It was founded as a Roman military encampment in 29BC by the Roman legion Legion VI Victrix, serving under Caesar Augustus in their final stage of Roman conquest in Spain. In 74AD, Legion VII Gemina, under Emperor Hadrian, settled into the original encampment in order to protect their newly conquered territories and secure the transport of gold extracted from the nearby mines to Rome.

León is a splendor of various architectural styles from Gothic to Romanesque, Renaissance and finally Modernist. Some of the major places of interest are: Basilica of San Isidoro with its tombs of medieval monarchs; Santa Maria de León Cathedral (aka The House of Light) a Gothic style cathedral with stunning stained glass windows measuring 1764sqm of surface and one of the best preserved collections in Europe; Convento de San Marcos, once a convent, today it is a luxurious Renaissance style hotel; Casa Botines, a local savings bank, designed by the famous Antoni Gaud who was the designer of the spectacular Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.”

13th October 2021: Hospital de Órbigo

“A quaint village with a mere population of 980, it derives its name from the 16th century when the Knights Hospitaller (a Catholic military order) setup a pilgrim hospital that was named Hospital de Órbigo. The village is famous for its long stone bridge, a construction of 20 arches and the longest bridge in Spain. It is thought to have been originally built by the Romans to transport the mined gold to Rome, however, in 19th century the townspeople destroyed the bridge to slow down Napoleon’s forces in Spain. In recent times the bridge has been fully restored.

In 1434, lovestruck Leonese knight Suero de Quiñones obtained permission from King Juan II to hold a jousting tournament to win the hand of his lady. Alongside ten of his companions, Suero challenged any knight, who wished to cross the bridge, to a joust. Being the height of summer, the bridge was busy with thousands crossing it. Although his target was to break 300 lances, after a month of jousting and 166 battles, Suero and his men were so injured they couldn’t continue with their mission and declared it complete. To his misfortune he was killed 24 years later by one of the knights he defeated on the bridge. As it did historically the bridge continues to serve the pilgrims and travellers of the Camino.”

17th October 2021: Ponferrada

“On the way to Ponferrada at the top of Mount Irago is the 5 metres tall oak trunk topped with a simple cross called Cruz de Fierro (Iron Cross). Tradition says that a pilgrim shall carry a stone from the beginning of the Camino to the Iron Cross and drop it on the knoll. The purpose of the stone is to atone for ones sins and by carrying it, it is considered as the sacrifice undertaken to be released from those sins. Some pilgrims choose to leave a personal object instead of carrying a stone.

Ponferrada is completely surrounded by mountains and it is the last major city before reaching Santiago. During the Roman era, it was the largest mining center in Europe extracting gold and other minerals. The nearby Las Médulas gold-mining site has been a UNESCO site since 1997.

During the early 20th century coal mining thrived and by the second 20th century the city was economically based on mining and electricity generation. However, by the 1980s these industries closed and the city was in an economic decline. It was revived by the late 1990s and it now survives on tourism, wine production, wind power generation and slate mining. It is also seeing a steady population growth.

For castle afficionados, the Castillo de los Templarios (Templars Castle) would delight with its polygonal shape, double and triple defences and its giant walls. Built in 1178AD to protect the pilgrims walking the Camino, it was named after the famed Knights of Templar, a fierce group of highly skilled soldiers during the crusades. Open to visitors now and a spectacular view from the parapet walk, the castle also houses the Templars library of over 1400 books, including works from Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.”

By 22nd October 2021, I had reached the 80% completed point in the challenge in about 60% of the time I allotted to complete the challenge. At this stage, the completion of the challenge was clearly in my sights.

24th October 2021: Triacastela

“A small village of less than 1000 people, Triacastela bears an important and historic part on the Camino Frances. In the Codex Calixtinus, a manuscript book dating back to early 12th century, describes Triacastela as the final stage of the Camino. An anthology describing to pilgrims the way to Santiago de Compostela, it is thought to be the first tourist’s guide book. This section of the Codex is now listed on the UNESCO register.

Triacastela gets its name from the 3 castles that used to stand there. All three castles were destroyed during the Viking invasion of 968AD.”

27th October 2021: Palas De Rei

“It is believed that Palas de Rei was named after Pallatium Regis (Royal Palace) for having been the residence of Wittiza, Visigoth King of Spain in late 7th century. Initially co-ruling with his father as a way to assert their power from which they could not be removed, legend has it that once he became the sole ruler, Wittiza unleashed a tyrannical and licentious behavior that it earned him the name Wittiza the Wicked. It is not clear what happened to him due to conflicting information but he didn’t make it out of his 20s.

A preferred place of residence for Galician nobility, Palas de Rei has one of the best preserved medieval military castles in Spain. Built in the 14th century and strategically located on top of a hill, it is known as Pambre Castle. It has a square plan with four corner towers and two curtain walls that protects the internal keep.”

1st November 2021: Santiago de Compostela

“You have travelled in the footsteps of the early pilgrims and the many that followed throughout the Middle Ages. A journey deep in rich history, architectural diversity and stunning landscapes.

Now that you have reached the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the final UNESCO site on the Camino Frances, be sure to explore its mixed Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque structure. Building began in 1075 and took 136 years to complete. It is 100m long (330ft), 70m wide (230ft) and 75m high (246ft) with a seating capacity of 1200 people.

The Cathedral was built atop one of Jesus’ disciples tombs, St James the Great and it is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Santiago de Compostela. Relics of St James were discovered in 1879 and once authenticated they were buried in the crypt beneath the altar alongside two of his disciples St Theodorus and St Athanasius.

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia and the city’s old town was designated a UNESCO site in 1985. Aside from the Cathedral, some of the major sites to visit are: the neoclassical palace Pazo de Raxoi, the highly decorative baroque Abbey of San Martin Pinario, one of the world’s oldest universities still in operation University of Santiago de Compostela and the highly modern and contoured City Culture of Galicia (a complex of cultural buildings).”

Arrival at Santiago de Compostela marked the completion of the challenge. I had originally allocated 84 days (12 weeks) to complete the challenge but managed to complete the 773km challenge in just 60 days (71% of the original allocated days), doing 36 rides averaging 21.4km per ride. Overall, I am pretty pleased with the effort and enjoyed the challenge. The only questions are, should I do another Conqueror Challenge and if so, which one/s?

(Quoted sections for the various locations above are from postcard emails received from The Conqueror Challenges, the company that hosts the challenges).