FYET No (S)pain No Gain: Hiking the Camino de Santiago in Northwestern Spain:
Over spring break 2017, Dr. Signori led a group of seven students on a hike (with packs on our backs) of the last 111 kilometers or so (~70 ish miles) over varied terrain on the Camino francés in Spain from Sarria into Santiago. The group flew into Madrid, and immediately took the train to Sarria (a six and a half hour ride) and began the six day walk to Santiago the next morning, sleeping in pilgrim accommodations along the way (albergues) in Sarria, Portomarin, Areixe, Melide, and Lavacolla. In Santiago, we spent the night at the Hostería San Martín Pinario (a former seminary constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries that has been converted to a hotel for pilgrims), and visited the Cathedral, taking a rooftop tour before attending the Pilgrim’s mass in the Cathedral and witnessing the swinging of the botafumeiro. We celebrated our arrival that evening with a group meal at the Parador de los Reyes Católicos, which was built on the orders of the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel in the late 1400’s. The next day, we had the morning and early afternoon to visit the city of Santiago before heading to the airport to take a flight back to Madrid and returning to the USA. Dr. Signori led students on a similar trip over spring break 2016.
In April 2017, Dr. Signori gave a plenary session titled “There is a Reason It’s Called the Camino Francés” at the American Pilgrims on the Camino (the national pilgrimage organization in the US) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.