A PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL | proof.nationalgeographic.com
During the summers of 2012 and 2013, I walked more than a thousand miles on the Camino de Santiago. Also called the Way of St. James, or simply the Way, by English speakers, it is a centuries-old Christian pilgrimage path through France and Spain. In each of the past few years, between 183,000 and 273,000 people from around the world traveled the route, which runs through cities, across mountains, and along Roman roads. It ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, where the supposed remains of St. James, one of Jesus Christ’s Twelve Apostles, are enshrined.
When I walked the Way, I became part of an ancient tradition thriving in a modern world. Though the pilgrimage is rooted in Christian tradition, it has been…