'The Three Caminos' begin their journey

Three local Warwick residents: Marla Silbernagel, Vilma Blankowitz and Diana Eschmann, who have dubbed themselves, "The Three Caminos," had been practicing long walks in the hills and valleys of their hometown for months in preparation for an upcoming adventure this spring.
They planned to complete the arduous 30-plus day walk along Northern Spain's Camino de Santiago, or Way of Saint James, which was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during the Middle Ages.
And on May 14, after a short layover in Paris, they arrived at the starting point, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (foot of the pass), which straddles the French and Spanish border.
Today the most popular route is the Camino Francés (French Way.). And the beginning is considered the most difficult part of the Camino since travelers must cross the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles, where the journey through Northern Spain begins.
The distance from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela through León is about 800 km or 500 miles. That's about the same straight-line distance as Warwick to Willmington, North Carolina.
Travelers carry a document called the credencial, which gives access to overnight accommodations and which is stamped at each hostel providing a record of where they ate or slept.
It also serves as proof to receive a compostela (certificate of completion.)
Since the 1980s the route, popularized by many documentaries and most recently, a 2010 film, "The Way," starring actor Martin Sheen, has attracted a growing number of modern-day international pilgrims.
"The Three Caminos" will have to walk 17 miles each day to complete their pilgrimage by mid-June.
The biggest problem to date - foot blisters.
- Roger Gavan