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Spirituality and sustainability on Spain's Camino de Santiago with guide Fran Contreras Gil

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Words by Russell Maddicks

Francisco Contreras Gil, known to his friends as Fran, is a journalist, radio reporter, broadcaster and author who has been exploring the history, legends and mysteries of Spain for over 30 years. His book, Guía Mágica del Camino de Santiago (Magical Guide to the Way of St James), takes readers to the heart of the most important pilgrimage route in the world – the trail leading to the shrine of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, representing a model of sustainable tourism since the Middle Ages.

When did your relationship with the Camino de Santiago begin?

Twenty years ago I was working for the national radio station Cadena SER on a popular programme called Milenio 3, which investigated the world of mysteries. I was inspired and proposed that we should produce a special programme on the Camino de Santiago. Throughout its history, the Camino has been a sacred route for pilgrims seeking a transformative connection – with their religion, with nature, with themselves. The Camino de Santiago was the world’s most important pilgrimage route in medieval times, and this is still the case today in the 21st century.

So you decided to walk the whole Camino, and make a programme about your journey?

Yes – to report on the day-to-day reality for a pilgrim walking the route. In October 2004, I set out on a 900km journey on foot, which took me 40 days to complete. Each day, I recounted my own experiences – but also the legends, secret histories and folk tales of the places through which I had passed.
Group of people smiling at the camera

You have since walked those same kilometres many times – but what was that first experience like?

It was a journey that transformed my life. The Camino goes way beyond the physical effort of trekking long distances or hiking over mountains. It is an experience that affects you as a human; it is spiritual and meditative. As you walk, you meet other pilgrims; many people form lifelong bonds. But it also connects you with all who have trodden these ancient paths over the centuries, right back to the Neolithic nomads, Celts and Visigoths who roamed these lands.

It also led to various reports and books you’ve written since...

It opened up a fascinating treasure trove of amazing stories, both ancient and modern, to discover and write about. Walking the full length of the Camino Francés, you pass through five autonomous regions – virtually the width of northern Spain, an area packed with incredible legends, historic places to visit, amazing people to interview, and some of the best food and drink you will find anywhere in Spain.

3 signs on a rock wall

How many times have you walked the Camino de Santiago since that first hike in 2004?

It’s important to remember that there are many Caminos de Santiago. For me, the genuine path is the Camino Francés (French Way), which starts near the French border in Roncesvalles in Navarre. Alternatively, you can start in Jaca in Aragon, and join the Camino Francés in Puente la Reina. From Santiago de Compostela, it continues to Finisterre on the Galician coast. I have walked this route 13 times.

Have you walked any of the other Caminos to Compostela?

I have explored many Caminos. I have walked the 1,000km-plus Via de la Plata (Silver Way), which starts in Seville in southern Spain and follows an old Roman road to Gijón on the north coast. I have also followed the popular Camino del Norte (Northern Way) along the coast flanking the Bay of Biscay; the Camino Portugués (Portuguese Way); and the Camino de San Andrés, which ends at the church of Saint Andrew in the historic, misty and magical village of San Andrés de Teixedo in far northern Galicia. One of my favourites is the oldest of all, the Camino Primitivo (Original Way) from Oviedo to Santiago.
Walking trail with a sign for direction

What led you to publish your book Guía Mágica del Camino de Santiago?

I had all these stories, and practical experience of walking the Camino, so I put them together in a book that explains the different Caminos. The book provides maps, detailed daily itineraries and lists of albergues (hostels for pilgrims) and places to eat. I also explain the history and background of all the ancient places you encounter along the way, which no other guide does. In 2015, having completed seven more Caminos, I thoroughly updated and expanded it.

Do you also lead guided tours on the Camino?

Two or three times a year, I organise and guide group tours, especially for foreign visitors from France, Italy, the UK and the Americas. Over seven, ten or 20 days we travel to key places along the Camino. I reveal the ancient and modern history of the region, and the magical places that were sacred even before Christianity. We travel slow, stay local and enjoy all the amazing specialities and wines that make northern Spain such an important gastronomic region.

Who were the first pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, and how did the pilgrimage to begin?

In the early ninth century, when the Iberian Peninsula was largely controlled by Muslim states, a hermit called Pelayo saw strange lights, like shooting stars, in the sky over the Libredón forest near Compostela. Believing this represented an important message, he told the local bishop. The two of them went to the forest, where they unearthed a tomb. There were no written records of who was buried there but, using ‘divine science’, they inferred that the tomb was that of Saint James the Apostle, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. According to tradition, after his martyrdom his remains had been carried from the Holy Land to the Iberian Peninsula.

The two men then informed the Asturian King Alfonso II, known as the Chaste, who made a pilgrimage from his castle in Oviedo to pay homage to the Apostle. Alfonso informed the Pope that the tomb of Saint James had been found, and Rome gave official approval to the relics. The town where James’ remains were buried became known as Santiago de Compostela, and the Camino de Santiago was born as a pilgrimage trail. The route that Alfonso took from Oviedo forms the basis of the path now known as the Camino Primitivo.

How does the Camino fit within the growing movement among travellers seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and travel responsibly?

The Camino de Santiago has been the model for responsible tourism since medieval times – maybe even the first form of such tourism. The Galician Tourism Board recently launched a Sustainable Galicia campaign to extend this ethos to all tourism in the region. It promotes zero-kilometre gastronomy – consuming food right where it is produced to support local food suppliers – and traditional dishes. It also promotes slow travel on foot, by bicycle or by trains such as the Renfe Cercanías (formerly Feve) narrow gauge railway that runs along the coast from Bilbao in Basque Country through Cantabria and Asturias to Ferrol in Galicia. But the whole of northern Spain has always embraced slow travel. It is not about rushed visits – rather, it is about food, nature and traditions.

 

With so many established walking routes leading through historical towns and villages, and so many stretches of incredible coastline to discover, a Camino pilgrimage is all about slowing down and enjoying something new each day. The Camino gives you more than sore feet and a sense of accomplishment; it gives you time to think, to wonder about the big things: spirituality, the world, nature and your place in it.

Glossary

The quality of being able to continue over a period of time, or the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance (Camrbdige Dictionary).

This refers to ‘the variability of living organisms, between and within species, and the changeability of the ecosystems to which they belong’ (The Convention on Biological Diversity).
According to the Responsible Tourism Partnership, ‘Responsible Tourism requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, and take action to make tourism more sustainable. Behaviour can be more or less responsible, and what is responsible in a particular place depends on environment and culture’. The concept was defined in Cape Town in 2002 alongside the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The process of protecting an environment and returning it to its natural state; for example, bringing back wild animals that used to live there (Cambridge Dictionary).
A movement reducing the distance between producers and sales and consumer establishments to a radius of under 100 kilometres, with the aim of minimising the effects that large-scale industry have on the planet, including soil erosion, water pollution, and habitat loss for wild species.
Being ‘green’ is used to describe actions or initiatives that are conducted in a sustainable way, in an attempt to reduce impact on planetary resource limits. However, the word can be used to describe actions or initiatives that do not actively do this, but rather convey an ethos of being planet-friendly; eg being outside, walking or riding a bike. This can be considered ‘greenwashing’ (when an individual or company paints an action as credibly sustainable when, in fact, it is an action that beenfits them, or that should be considered the bare minimum).