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Finding the way: Memphians head to Spain to hike hundreds of miles

By , Special to The Daily Memphian Updated: October 27, 2025 2:22 PM CT | Published: October 26, 2025 4:00 AM CT

Hiking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in Spain hasn’t always been on the radar of adventurous Mid-Southerners.

The Camino traverses hundreds of miles of countryside in northern Spain as it winds to its final destination, Santiago de Compostela, and the cathedral where the apostle Saint James is buried. It’s considered one of the three important pilgrimage cities of Christianity, alongside Jerusalem and Rome. 

But the pilgrimage has become more popular with Mid-Southerners in recent years, thanks in part to the 2013 film, “The Way,” directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father, Martin Sheen. The story chronicles a mourning father’s hike along the Camino as he gains new insights into his lost son and himself.

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Jane Schneider

Jane Schneider

Jane Schneider is a freelance reporter for The Daily Memphian.


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