Camino de Santiago - To Walk Far, Carry Less

Off the Road is an unforgettable exploration of the sites that people believe God once touched: the strange fortress said to contain the real secret Adam learned when he bit into the apple; the sites associated with the murderous monks known as the Knights Templar; and the places housing relics ranging from a vial of the Virgin Mary's milk to a sheet of Saint Bartholomew's skin.

Along the way, Jack Hitt finds himself persevering by day and bunking down by night with an unlikely and colorful cast of fellow pilgrims -- a Flemish film crew, a drunken gypsy, a draconian Belgian air force officer, a man who speaks no languages, a one-legged pilgrim, and a Welsh family with a mule.

Overweight, overworked, and disenchanted, Kerkeling was an unlikely candidate to make the arduous pilgrimage across the Pyrenees to the Spanish shrine of St. James, a 1,200-year-old journey undertaken by nearly 100,000 people every year. But he decided to get off the couch and do it anyway. Lonely and searching for meaning along the way, he began the journal that turned into this utterly frank, engaging book. Filled with unforgettable characters, historic landscapes, and Kerkeling's self-deprecating humor, I'm Off Then is an inspiring travelogue, a publishing phenomenon, and a spiritual journey unlike any other.

The Camino de Santiago is a 1,200-year old pilgrimage that crosses Northern Spain from the French border in the Pyrenees to Santiago near Cape Finisterre. It is steeped in myth, history, and tradition.

The idea for the book came when I looked for a book to tell me what it was really like to walk the Camino. I found several straightforward travel guides, dry books on art and architecture, and lots of "personal" journeys. I wanted to know what day to day life was like on the trail. I personally was fascinated by the myths and legends of the Camino. I kept a journal while we walked, then once back home flush out the background until I got the book I was looking for a year beforehand. The reader learns what it is like to walk the Camino and gets lots of juicy tid-bits.

The journey takes you through 40 days of boot-sucking mud, snowstorms, and blazing Iberian sun. We walk out of the Pyrenees, across the meseta, through the hills of Galicia, then into the medieval town of Santiago. Come along and meet the people of the Camino; partying Germans, pilgrims who seek truth, Spanish punks, self-proclaimed Templar knights, the "elephant boys", and a Camino dog who walks 20 kilometers with pilgrims everyday. Stay in the refugios, some like palaces, others like bunkers, with hospitalieros who can range from drill sergeants to saints. Fly down the mountainside with Wayne, his foot bleeding, in a falling apart car with a self-proclaimed "Templar Knight" who blares Gregorian chants.

This is a great book for any one interested in learning about "the Camino" or any one who likes a good adventure story. Included are many tales about the people we meet and the places we stay at. The story recounts the rich history and myth of this legendary medieval pilgrimage that in its heyday attracted a half a million people. It gives practical information about the journey for people who are intrigued enough to want to try it. This is a pilgrimage that is accessible to everyone. It is safe and as challenging as you want it to be. Meanwhile you step back in time, and to a whole other mindset.