Traveling El Camino De Santiago

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Many paths and ways converge at the bridge at Puente La Reina. Annually, thousands of pilgrims cross the bridge.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims gather for a journey on a venerable path to a sacred and spiritual city, Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. They will be hiking, biking or riding on the ancient Camino de Santiago – The Way of St. James. Pilgrims first trod this route in the 9th century in search of the bones of the apostle James in the city’s cathedral. James, later the patron saint of Spain, had been chosen by Jesus to spread the gospel there. 
Kelly Conway, CEO and president of Mattersight Corporation and a Windsor resident, has made the journey three times. He was initially inspired to go when he read a section about the Camino in John Michener’s book Iberia. Kelly says, “The Camino is a magical place, a place where spirituality, history, legend, beauty and physical exertion 
uniquely mix.” 
Likewise, Charlotte Terry of Charlotte Terry Real Estate Group has made the trip more than once. Of her experiences, she says, “It was an incredible journey. Really life-changing. I loved every step of the way. My first trip with a friend lasted 33 days. My feet have never been the same.”
Charlotte continues, “I went back the next year with my 79-year-old aunt and hiked the final 100 kilometers so she could get her pilgrim credentials. We stayed in basic hostels, sometimes rooming with 100 other pilgrims. Occasionally we treated ourselves to a hotel so we could have clean sheets and a hot shower. We spent one memorable night in our sleeping bags on the steps of a church under a canopy of bats.”

Read the entire article in the March 2016 issue

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