There are Caminos de Santiago that cross cities, others that follow ancient commercial routes and some that seem to have been designed to unite history and nature. EITHER Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros It clearly belongs to this last group: part of Braga, crosses the Peneda-Gerês National Park, crosses the border into Portela do Homem and continues through Galiza to Santiago de Compostela.
Now, pilgrims who intend to discover this itinerary have a new tool to prepare for the trip. Was published or “Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros – Complete Guide”, a work dedicated to the journey between Braga and Santiago that brings together historical, patrimonial and, above all, practical information so that it aims to do it in person.
A road where Rome meets Santiago
One of the great particularities of this itinerary is located in its first kilometers. The course takes advantage of part of the history Roman Geira, linked to the old Via Nova, built to connect Bracara Augusta - current Braga - with Asturica Augusta, former Astorga.
After the passage of Gerês and the entrance to Galiza, the Caminho also recovers old clothes used during hair days muleteers, you are responsible for transporting groceries between different territories.
It is precisely this combination that gives it its own personality: the pilgrim does not find only yellow mushrooms, but also bridges, Roman milestones, small towns, rivers, mountains and an important religious and rural heritage.
186 pages to prepare for pilgrimage
The new guide is authored by Carlos da Barreira, José Manuel Almeida and Gaetano Pucca and tells how 186 pages and more than 200 photographs.
The publication includes maps and elevation profiles, distances, slopes, terrain characteristics and indications of the difficulty of the stages. There is also information especially useful during a pilgrimage: accommodations, restaurants, bars, pharmacies and other services available along the journey.
The photographs allow me to preview part of the heritage that accompanies the pilgrim: churches, historical buildings, bridges, Roman milestones, waterfalls and rivers.
An international path with strong Portuguese identity
O course near 239 kilometers between Braga and Santiago de Compostela It allows us to unite two territories deeply related to history, culture and Jacobean pilgrimage.
The guide has editions in Portuguese and Spanish, with English and Italian verses being planned. The publication aims, therefore, to also accompany the growing international dimension of this itinerary.
For Portugal, this Caminho also presents a particularly interesting element: Braga stops being just a city of passage or religious visit to assume the role of starting point for a complete pilgrimage to Compostela.
And in order to seek an alternative to the most familiar Jacobean itineraries, Geira and the Arrieiros offer something difficult to summarize with a single label: pilgrimage, nature, Roman archaeology, mountains and two countries united by the same destination.
Santiago hopes not final. But, on this road, a large part of the journey is precisely in what happens before arriving.
