El Camino de Santiago — una aventura de 1.200 años
Spain's medieval pilgrim route, brought back to life — and a goldmine of past-tense vocabulary.
Every year, more than 400,000 people from all over the world walk to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Some are religious pilgrims, but many are just looking for an adventure, a way to switch off, or even to find themselves. The Camino is a fantastic exam topic: it lets you use the preterite, the imperfect, opinions, and bags of cultural detail.
Throughout the article, the useful Spanish words and phrases are highlighted (with their meaning in brackets), so you can “steal” them for your speaking and writing. Tap the on any phrase to hear it.
El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James) is a network of pilgrim routes that all lead to one place: the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, where Saint James is said to be buried.
El Camino de Santiago es una ruta de peregrinación muy famosa.
The Camino de Santiago is a very famous pilgrim route.
Cada año, miles de personas lo recorren a pie, en bicicleta o a caballo.
Each year, thousands of people walk, cycle or ride it on horseback.
The route has been used since the 9th century, but it almost disappeared. In the 1980s the Spanish and European authorities revived it, and today it is busier than ever.
There isn't just one Camino — there are several. For GCSE, knowing these three is enough:
- El Camino Francés (the French Way) — the most popular, starting from St Jean Pied de Port in France and crossing northern Spain. About 800 kilómetros.
- El Camino Portugués — starts in Lisbon or Porto and heads north into Galicia.
- El Camino del Norte — runs along the green northern coast of Spain.
La mayoría de los peregrinos eligen el Camino Francés porque es el más conocido.
Most pilgrims choose the French Way because it's the best-known.
Mucha gente joven hace el Camino con amigos en el verano.
Lots of young people do the Camino with friends in the summer.
A typical day on the Camino looks like this:
- Wake up at sunrise.
- Caminar entre 20 y 25 kilómetros (walk 20-25 km) with a rucksack.
- Stop for a bocadillo (sandwich) and a coffee in a village along the way.
- Arrive at an albergue (hostel) for pilgrims — beds are about €15 a night.
- Get your la credencial (pilgrim passport) stamped to prove you walked.
- Eat the el menú del peregrino (pilgrim menu) — three courses for about €12.
- Sleep. Repeat.
Past-tense phrases ready to lift
Caminábamos unos veinte kilómetros al día con la mochila a la espalda.
We used to walk about 20 km a day with our rucksack on our back.
Por las noches dormíamos en albergues con otros peregrinos de todo el mundo.
At night we slept in hostels with other pilgrims from all over the world.
Cada día comíamos el menú del peregrino: muy barato y bastante rico.
Each day we ate the pilgrim menu: very cheap and quite tasty.
Ask anyone who has done the Camino, and they will say the same thing: it's not the destination, it's the people.
Lo más impresionante fue la cantidad de gente que conocimos en el camino.
The most impressive thing was the number of people we met along the way.
Conocí a peregrinos de Japón, Brasil y Sudáfrica en mi primer día.
I met pilgrims from Japan, Brazil and South Africa on my first day.
At the end, you reach the Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago and the enormous baroque cathedral.
Al llegar a la catedral de Santiago me emocioné muchísimo.
When I got to Santiago cathedral I was very moved.
Tradicionalmente, los peregrinos llevan una concha de vieira para identificarse.
Traditionally, pilgrims carry a scallop shell to identify themselves.
If you walk at least 100 km, you can collect la Compostela: an official certificate in Latin proving you completed the pilgrimage.
Preterite + imperfect (the killer combination)
El verano pasado hice una parte del Camino de Santiago con mi mejor amigo.
Last summer I did part of the Camino de Santiago with my best friend.
Hacía mucho calor durante el día y por las noches dormíamos en albergues.
It was very hot during the day and at night we slept in hostels.
Lo pasamos genial, aunque acabamos agotados.
We had a great time, although we ended up exhausted.
Opinions about the experience
Para mí, el Camino fue una experiencia inolvidable que me cambió la vida.
For me, the Camino was an unforgettable experience that changed my life.
Sin embargo, lo más difícil fueron las ampollas en los pies.
However, the hardest part was the blisters on my feet.
Future plans
Algún día me gustaría hacer el Camino entero, los 800 kilómetros.
Someday I'd like to do the whole Camino, all 800 km.
A model answer that uses cultural depth and three tenses cleanly:
El verano pasado hice una parte del Camino de Santiago con mi mejor amigo. Salimos de Sarria y caminamos los últimos cien kilómetros hasta Santiago de Compostela. Cada día caminábamos unos veinte kilómetros con la mochila a la espalda. Por las noches dormíamos en albergues juveniles y comíamos el menú del peregrino. Lo más impresionante fue la gente que conocimos: peregrinos de todo el mundo. Aunque acabé agotado, fue una experiencia inolvidable. Si pudiera, en el futuro me gustaría hacer el Camino entero, los ochocientos kilómetros desde Francia.
Three tenses, cultural facts (Sarria, 100 km, albergues, menú del peregrino, 800 km route), strong opinion phrases — exactly what AQA examiners reward at the top of Higher.