Photo Gallery Walking for God
Many years ago, the Way of St. James in Spain was largely ignored, with just a handful of pilgrims making the journey. Now, though, over 200,000 come each year. Despite the commercialization, though, it still offers an opportunity for reflection. Here, a walker on the Camino de Santiago passes a pilgrim statue.
The pilgrimage boom in recent years has gone hand-in-hand with commercialization as locals attempt to profit from the increasing number of guests. here, two pilgrims standing next to a soft-drink machine emblazoned with an image of Santiago's cathedral.
Justin Skeesuck, in wheelchair, and Patrick Gray have been friends since childhood. Skeesuck suffers from a rare auto-immune disorder, apparently triggered by a serious car accident when he was 16. Gray pushed Skeesuck the entire length of the Camino -- and the two were gratified by the amount of help provided by other pilgrims along the way.
Pilgrims inside the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela at the end of the journey. Pilgrims should spend as little money as possible along the way, but wearing Kevlar hiking socks worth 190 is no problem.
There are several different groups of pilgrims, with traditionalists complaining about the new popularity of the pilgrimage and about those who stay in hotels and guesthouses instead of in hostels along the way. Also controversial for some, it is possible to get a pilgrimage certificate for walks as short as 100 kilometers instead of the more grueling 769 kilometer route starting in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.
