Anita and Padraig Grant (formerly of Ringsend) were brave enough to journey on foot from Leon to Santiago. El Camino de Santiago (Saint James Way) is the name given to the road pilgrims have followed since the middle ages. St James’s body is said to be buried under the Cathedral in Santiago. The pilgrimage is 900 km long and Anita and Padraig had an arduous journey. It took them about three weeks and they arrived in Santiago de Compostela foot-sore but very happy.

Anita has a written a journal of the pilgrimage and concludes:
‘It was a very long and hard three weeks. We stayed in 18 different rooms, had some good food and bad food (mostly bad) and walked through a lot of dirty, smelly villages (slurry land). We were roasted and frozen, chased and nearly savaged by dogs, met a lot of nice people along the way and had a lot of laughs. It has been a fantastic experience.’

A recommended guide book for all those venturing on this journey is ‘A Practical Guide for Pilgrims: The Road to Santiago’ by Milla Bravo Lozano.