He Santiago’s road It is more fashionable ever. This weekend it will surpass the record of pilgrims. They have already reached Santiago de Compostela 437,671, nowhere near last year’s record (438,000), and there are still two months left in the month. The figures will leave an absolute success without being a holy year and with a 55% foreigners.

But there are also national ones. “So much work and you get here and you free yourself,” says one woman. “She had retirement and I wanted to see what she felt like,” confesses a man. “She has a special magic,” says a veteran. A magic that they find in the different paths. There are those who do it from Portugal, but there are also those who opt for what is known as the English route. The goal is the same for everyone: the Plaza del Obradoiro, a place that has never before received so many pilgrims.

The year is still to end and the historical record has already been broken. “It normal after a holy year is for the number to go down of pilgrims, but this year the number of last year will be exceeded,” points out from the office of the pilgrim Suso Munín. 55% are foreigners. “We come from Mexico,” points out one group. “We from Canada,” adds another There are also a lot of Asian tourists. Pilgrimage is fashionable in South Korea, which occupies eighth place in the ranking of the Camino. “The boom it started with a book“says Ji Young Ping, from the pilgrim office.

Those who come the most are from the United States. But now there is also more women than ever. They have gone from 40% in 2006 to almost 53% last year. “We have surpassed ourselves,” says one woman. In the shops they notice the increase. “A lot of people have arrived and are bringing gifts for Christmas,” says Lola Parga, from the ‘O Camiño Empeza Agora’ store. But the experience of the road can only be lived by oneself.