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This summer the pilgrims return to the oldest and most trodden route in Europe.

After a few months in silence, the Camino de Santiago is in celebration for being the Holy Year, also extended until the end of 2022 due to the pandemic.

The essentials have not changed: the adventure of the pilgrimage, the attraction of its territories and its people, and the traveler's desire to put himself to the test.

But the Compostela experience has been

digitized

and the pilgrim will find many novelties.

These are some of them.

THE NEW MOBILE CREDENTIAL

It does not intend to replace the traditional Compostela, but pilgrims who cannot live without their mobile phone already have an app that allows them to certify their pilgrimage and obtain the credential in digital version. They will only have to scan the

QR codes

that they find on their way at the different points of the itinerary. Available on Android and iOS devices, the application is also used to know the flow of walkers arriving at the Pilgrim's Office.

The use of this digital system - the only one of this official and valid type - will coexist in parallel with the paper credential.

And its meaning does not vary.

La Compostela is granted only to those who make the pilgrimage to the Apostle's tomb, making

at least the last 100 kilometers

on foot or on horseback, the last

200 kilometers by bicycle

or

100 nautical miles

, ending the rest of the Way from the port on foot. disembarkation.

ESCAPES ROOMS JACOBEOS

Way to Santiago de Compostela SHUTTERSTOCK

The Holy Year is gamified. And nothing better than an

escape room

to test the pilgrim's ingenuity. The famous escapism games help

hikers and their neighbors

to learn about

the history, heritage and towns

of the route, through tests, clues and riddles. In the Jacobean version there is a lot at stake because users "must go to the end" and "save the Camino de Santiago" from a secret sect that can endanger the pilgrimage.

Baptized as The Escape Way, the initiative also has elements of traditional yincanas and

geocaching

(searching for treasures using GPS), but all the user needs is a mobile phone.

After opening in Astorga (León), urban escape rooms will be available in a handful of towns on the French Way: Arrés (Huesca), Los Arcos (Navarra), Santo Domingo de la Calzada (La Rioja), Belorado (Burgos) and Palas de Rei (Lugo).

GASTRONOMIC PASSPORT

The tasty gastronomy of the Camino, closely linked to its history and culture, has become one more claim of the pilgrimage.

Based on this premise, a credential has been created that can be downloaded on the Camino Lebaniego website and that offers pilgrims to

add stamps

in the affiliated establishments to win products and stays based on

indigenous gastronomy and foods

, historically linked to the pilgrim tradition. .

The initiative starts from the Lebaniega route, the branch that connects the Camino with the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana and the Camino del Norte, but these stamps can also be obtained on the Jacobean routes that run through Aragón, La Rioja, Navarra, Castilla and León, Asturias and Galicia.

HOSTELS IN REAL TIME

Due to the current difficulties created by the covid, the Association of Municipalities of the Camino de Santiago updates the open shelters on its website (www.amcsantiago.com) every week.

In addition, another novelty this year is Albergue LoT, a tool that reflects in real time the available places in these accommodations.

With this app, the pilgrims must either stay in a previous town (or continue to the next).

They will also be able to know before they can check if they have a bed in a locality dets from starting what degree of occupation the path has at that time and how to better organize their experience.

This is important due to capacity limitations imposed by the pandemic.

The Xunta also has a similar platform for online booking of public hostels.

THE AGES OF MAN

On the occasion of the celebration of the Jacobean Year and within the framework of the commemoration of the VIII Centenary of the Cathedral, this year a special edition of The Ages of Man is being held.

Under the title of

LUX

, which refers to the light inherent in Gothic cathedrals, the exhibition takes place in the provinces of

Burgos, Palencia and León

and has five exhibition venues: the Burgos cathedral, the churches of Santiago and Santa María del Camino, in Carrión de los Condes and the sanctuary of La Peregrina and the church of San Tirso, in Sahagún.

The exhibition addresses the origin and meaning of cathedrals and has as its common thread the figure of the Virgin Mary, a constant presence in so many cathedrals, churches, hermitages and monasteries that mark the Way.

THE FIRST VIRTUAL MUSEUM

There are places where no pilgrim gets lost, but there are many more that are rarely visited, either because they are small churches, or because not all the heritage has someone to teach it.

The main altarpiece of the town of Martes, the baptismal font of Sinues, the coffered ceiling of Mianos, the choir stalls of Berdún ... are some of the 26 architectural, pictorial and sculptural pieces of maximum value on the Camino Frances to Santiago passage through Aragon that can be seen in the first Virtual Museum of the route.

The objective is that the other four autonomous communities carry out similar initiatives.

The museum is available to all heritage lovers on their mobile devices, computers or virtual reality glasses, for a more immersive experience.

'A SAFE PATH'

Add a bonus of peace of mind.

Convert the Camino into a healthy and healthy space, as well as safe, and make recommendations and technological tools available to the pilgrim.

This Jacobean has invested more time and imagination than ever in climbing the path to the 21st century.

The Xunta's Safe Passage program also includes measures such as capacity limitations and Covid insurance to cover the expenses derived from a possible contagion during the visit to Galicia.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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