To the Field of Stars (A Book Review)

Kevin Codd, To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim’s Journey to Santiago de Compostela (Grand Rapids: Eerdman, 2008), 271 pages.

Pilgrims have been heading to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain for more than a millennium. The site, believed to be the burial of the Apostle James, was one of three most popular pilgrimages during the Middle Ages, the other two being Rome and Jerusalem. I first heard of the pilgrimage when hiking the Appalachian Trail and it’s always been lodged in the back of my mind as something I would like to do someday. So, with that in mind, I recently decided to read up on the journey and selected this book as my starting point. Kevin Codd is an American, a Catholic Priest who spent seven years running a seminary in Belgium. During this time he made a 35 day, 500 mile pilgrimage,. His journey began in the French border town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and from there he headed across the border and northern Spain, joining up with other pilgrims as they head east.

The pilgrim’s route is well marked and heavily traveled. Along the way, there are refugios (hostels) where for a few Euros, the pilgrims can spend the night. There are many towns and villages along the way, allowing the traveler to travel lighter and to carry only snacks. Codd quickly settles into a routine, leaving early in the morning in order to avoid the afternoon heat, stopping for coffee and a snack in the midmorning, often arriving at his destination by noon, allowing him time during the hot afternoons to nap, find a shady place to read, write, swim or drink beer and to wash clothes. In recalling the trip, we learn of his problems with blisters (he has this problem the entire time, possibly because he daily lathers his feet in Vaseline). He talks of being hot and dirty, the stiffness of muscles and the challenge of snorers in the hostels. Along the way, he has conversations with some mountain goats and a snail and, at the end, with Santiago. The mountain goats give him the best advice, “Remain humble on this road or the road will humble you.” (15) Santiago refused to answer if he was the one who saved him and his companions from a thunderstorm that split into two cells and missed them, telling Codd that he’d know the answer when he gets to heaven. (267)

Friendships become an important aspect of the journey and Codd tells about the many friends he makes as well as those who get on his nerves (including a number of fellow priest he meets along the way). His writing in introspective and he often begins to question his own feelings such as judging a priest harshly for a lifeless mass and then wondering what was going on in the priest‘s life or in his own to cause him to feel that way. In time, Codd settles into a group of pilgrims. As a group, they often eat their meals together (sometimes even preparing them, but most often eating in bars and restaurants along the way. They make fun of the “super walkers” who try to cover as much mileage as possible as well as those who make the journey with a car carrying their gear or who just do short sections of the walk. As pilgrims, they live by a creed, turistas manden; peregrinos agradeced (tourist demand, pilgrims thank, 145). Slowly, as they get closer to the end, they feel the draw of Santiago. There is also the problem of an increase in the number of pilgrims along the way and they have a harder time finding lodging, which necessitates them arriving at the cathedral at the end a day before they’d planned.

I love the title of the book, which is based on a Latin interpretation of “Compostela (Compo means field and stella means stars). However, I was sadden that Codd always spend nights inside and never got to experience the stars at night. He does tells of one pilgrim who decides to climb and camp next to an old castle just to watch the stars and I felt a certain kinship with that chap. As one who’d served Mexican missions, Cadd’s Spanish is good enough that few people realize he’s an American, which allows him to learn more about what other people in the world think about Americans (and it’s not always nice or pleasant).

Having done longer hikes, I related to a lot of Codd’s experiences along the way and enjoyed the book. As I’ve been working through my journals of my Appalachian Trail hikes, I realize that I was not nearly as detailed as Codd, who recorded thoughts and kept detail accounts of what his body was experiencing. For those who like to do long hikes, I recommend this book.

Since this hike, Codd has done another pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and blogged about it. There are many websites about the pilgrimage. This link is one that has maps as well as lots of photographs. Buen Caminio!

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