Camino de Santiago

Second day of the journey, the energy of the beginning is still there.

I found a cool shell! It says 1500 km, maybe if I were a bird, my guide says 1800.

The theory is that the lines on the scallop shell represent the many ways converging towards Compostela. Compostela is next to the Atlantic coast, so this seashell is common food there. Pilgrims would come back from the pilgrimage with a scallop shell attached to their bag as symbol of their accomplishment. Nowadays, many pilgrims attach this symbol on their back from the beginning. But I prefer the old way, I will only attach one to my bag once I have arrived.

So, the point of convergence should point towards Compostela, right? Well this was my minor 1800 km long pet peeve, many of the shells that indicate the way do not point towards the right direction. Zoom in on the top picture for an example.

The Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Garde basilica in Longpont-sur-Orge was founded in 1031, then part of the highly influential Congregation of Cluny (1200 locations and 10 000 members at the peak). This religious organization shaped a significant part of the European Middle Ages: religious reforms, politics, economy, philosophy, ancient literature copying, architecture and liberal arts between the 10th and the 12th century.

I failed to identify this neoclassical castle.

The way between Paris and Tours is not a major one in France. There are many more Frenchies starting from Vézelay or Le Puy-en-Velay, which go through gorgeous natural regions of France, so I can't blame them. But my way was to start from my home.

Since it's not a major route, the infrastructure for pilgrims is lacking. Marks may sometimes be few and far between, and there are not many of those unbeatable quality/price pilgrim stays, at least not in 2018. So for this night in Arpajon, I had to stay at an "over-budget" roadside hotel, eating macaronis with my trucker mates.

I am revisiting my pictures from my long ~1800 km (1120 miles) walk from my home, in Paris, to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain.

At the time, I couldn't take the whole ~72 days, needed to walk the entire trip, off in one go, but I still had my French-social-system ^TM^ powered multiple weeks of holiday per year to use. So, I completed it in segments of ~300 km over ~12 days at ~25km/day across 5 years (with COVID in the middle).

The thing about starting from your home is that it is incredibly liberating. All you have to do is put your backpack on your shoulders, cross the threshold of your house, and boom, the adventure has started. No need to stress about booking tickets or missing a departure. You decide when and how you move. This feeling of freedom is the essence of the way for me.

At the same time, you do not feel lost ^(it\ does\ happen\ sometimes)^ nor aimless, because you have one goal, to get to Compostela, and signs to follow along the many possible roads.

Santiago is Saint-Jacques in French, Saint-James in English. We have a Saint-Jacques tower in the middle of Paris, the last remnant (destroyed during the Revolution and rebuilt in the 1850') of a 16th-century church. It is a traditional start for Parisian pilgrims, along with Notre-Dame de Paris. It is the top picture of this post.

On this first day, I already had to make a big choice between two routes: going through Orléans or through Chartres. I chose the more historically significant city of Orléans.

The scallop shells, the symbol of the way, sometimes seen nailed to the sidewalk of big cities.

The way I have picked from Paris is the way going through Tours. It is a very old way, even older than the Compostela pilgrimage (9th century) in some parts, so it has a Latin name, "via Turonensis".

The train station of Massy, last stop for the day, sleeping at friends.

Interactive map: https://nco.ign.es/CaminoSantiago/