santiago ways

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The French Way, which can be considered as starting in Saint Jean Pied de Port (a small town in the French Basque Country) and in Roncesvalles (a small town in the Navarrese Pyrenees), is the most well-known and busiest road of all the Ways of Santiago, with a great difference in the number of pilgrims (more than 85% of the total) compared to the other roads. It owes its origin to three of the four main historical routes of pilgrimage that come from the interior of Europe, which converge in the small village of Ostabat, a few kilometers from Saint Jean Pied de Port.

It goes through 141 towns with services and, therefore, on average there is a population with some service (at least one bar or grocery store) every 5.6 km. This is a very significant fact, because it tells us that we have a large number of populations, small and large, where to stock up, drink, eat and sleep. The longest distances without services are: from Carrión de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza (17.4 km), from refuge from Orisson to Roncesvalles (16.6 km), from Villamayor de Monjardín to Los Arcos (12, 6 km), and from Villafranca Montes de Oca to San Juan de Ortega (12.2 km). Whoever made the Camino de la Plata sure smile when reading these 'terrible' distances without services.

With data from 2013, there are 272 hostels for pilgrims, of which 102 are public property (of some administration, religious community or association) and 170 are privately owned (private businesses). This gives a really surprising figure: on the French Way there is on average a shelter every 2.9 km. Surely there is no other Way so long in the whole world that, not by far, has a network of hostels of this magnitude. In addition, in general they are not small hostels, because altogether they offer more than ten thousand theoretical places (in fact more because in enough hostels it is allowed to sleep in the ground). And in times of maximum affluence, some youth hostels are also available to pilgrims, camping areas are enabled and the municipalities cede sports centers. And if that were not enough, we must add a good number of pensions, rural houses, hostels and hotels of all categories that are happy to receive pilgrims. Here it is good to make a point to remember that in good weather, sleeping outdoors, what the French express so tenderly with sleeping à la belle étoile, is a most enjoyable experience. more info at santiagoways.com