David Atkinson ’59

BY KATE DUNLOP

For more than a thousand years, since Alfonso II, King of Asturias, first traveled to see for himself if the bones in a tomb rediscovered by a hermit and identified as those of St. James the Greater were indeed the remains of Jesus’ apostle, pilgrims have made the journey to Santiago de Compostela from any number of starting points. The city, in Spain’s northwest region of Galicia, is the hub of a network of routes that all lead to its cathedral, where the saint’s remains are said to rest beneath the main altar. Santiago, along with Rome and Jerusalem, is the third major Christian pilgrimage destination; in 2025, more than half a million people will earn the Compostela, the official certificate awarded to those who complete the pilgrimage of walking the Camino de Santiago — the Way of St. James.

David Atkinson ’59 has been following the yellow arrows that point the way to Santiago since 2011, a year after “The Way,” starring Martin Sheen, touched off a resurgence of interest in the ancient tradition. For that first journey, he walked half of the 500-mile-long French route with his wife, Martha Luz. But the Camino kept calling: he did the full French Way in 2013 with the man he considers a brother, Ricardo Blanco, and repeated it in 2014. Six more pilgrimages on some of the main recognized routes of the Camino de Santiago followed, as did five books about his journeys. Now, with a sixth book in the works, Atkinson is planning his next Caminos.