Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route into Spain

The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage has been the subject of a LOT of books; this one is entertaining and colorful, and the most fun of the tomes I've read so far.

If you loved the movie "The Way," then this book is a must read since many of its anecdotes inspired some of my favorite scenes in the movie.Written in 1994, "Off the Road..." recounts author Jack Hitt's pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago--a 500-mile or 800 kilometer journey from Saint-Jean Pied de Port in southwestern France, to Santiago de Compostela in the northwest corner of Spain; a pilgrimage that millions of peregrinos have traveled for more than 1,000 years. Not only does Hitt immerse you in the sights along the way, the struggles, the triumphs and the antics of his fellow pilgrims; he complements places of interest with historical yet surprising and sometimes irreverent facts, that at times left me either laughing or in awe of histories of Templars, relics and legends and lore.Along the way of Saint James, Hitt meets a colorful company of pilgrims from all over Europe who not only share in his quotidian peregrinations but add a lot of humor to the story, some of those moments building on those before until hilarity breaks down even the most deadpan of readers.But the most profound discovery that he and reader realize at the end of the Camino de Santiago is not about the revelations or epiphanies that one might expect from such a pilgrimage, but an inspiring sense of comradery in the community of new-found friends, each going about their day-to-day grind while contributing to the greater whole of their traveling procession.Triumph prevails when Hitt and his comrades arrive at Santiago de Compostela cathedral but not without a tear-jerking moment of gratitude and humility. I say no more but of course, I cried. As all good things must come to an end, so too must the travels along the camino and alas, the community of fellow pilgrims that we have all grown to love parts ways, each returning to the life they led or to new roads ahead.Buen Camino!

Every now & then I finish a book & say to myself, "I needed to read this!" Such is Jack Hitt's wonderful chronicle of his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrimage has fascinated me for many years, and I only regret not being able to experience it firsthand while I was in Spain for a couple of weeks in 1998.Jack Hitt is one of the most descriptive, as well as entertaining, writers I've encountered. It's almost as if you're right there with him & his companions each step on the trail. From start to finish the recurring question is, "What am I doing here?", "What am I supposed to learn from this?" He discovers that the answer lies in the whole complex of travel challenges, weather challenges, & people-relationship challenges that inevitably happen along the way.I love his conclusion: "Every pilgrim's temptation is the need to encounter a brand new truth, preferably one that's panoramic, cinematic, and ecstatic." What, in fact, one encounters is: "The essentials really, food and shelter - milk and s***! In the midst of all that work, wrangling the details of life stripped down to that essence, some tiny thing appears. It might be a funny line, a moment, a chance encounter, a thought that gives you the power to see yourself as you really are, there in that awkward surreal place...It's the best one can ever expect from all revelatory experiences, whether it's taking hallucinogenic drugs, walking a pilgrimage, or having children. You want instant epiphany? Try war..." And who can doubt that each of our lives is a "pilgrimage"?!

I enjoyed this book very much. The stories of life on the Camino all illustrate the struggles , not just of the work of walking the Way, but of life itself. The revelations the author expected didn't drop down from heaven at the moment he knelt at the feet of the statue at the end of the walk. They came bit by bit as he incorporated the small lessons of his Camino experiences into the life of his family. Thus he learns that all of life is a pilgrimage, a long journey with a destination in mind. Then there are all the little detours along the long, long metaphorical road.The people Hitt meets along the Camino are a microcosm of life back at home. There's the loud, uncouth, friendly pain in the neck. The sanctimonious harpy who declares just who is and is not "a true pilgrim," despite never having walked the Camino herself. The mule. The heedlessly self-involved schmuck who never learned the value of all-for-one-and-one-for-all. The control freak. The I'll-handle-this assuredness of a mother figure. We all know people like this. These characters are universal.This book was surprisingly funny and peppered with interesting historical background stories that tie together the experiences of both the ancient and the modern pilgrim. Now that I know the characters I'll re-read it again soon to see what's changed.

The one curious thing about Jack Hitt's book and the later film it inspired is in their different translations of what they're about - the Camino. Hitt's 'The Road' versus Sheen's 'The Way': and that basic etymological difference is reflected in their contents. Whilst several minor background scenes from the film are sourced from the book, apart from that they are completely different. This is no complaint, both are hugely entertaining, whilst neither would bear any relation to the Camino Frances today. 'Off the Road' is Hitt's well observed account of his pilgrimage written about 25 years ago: those days were certainly well into the modern exponential increase both in terms of interest in the Camino and numbers walking - but long enough ago to feel much more pioneering in feeling: pilgrims were still in some places a novelty. But again that is not an aspersion, on the contrary for today's pilgrim or reader, Hitt's book really 'hits' the mark with continual pithy anecdotes and reflections from his walk, which are still relevant now, yet are enhanced by feeling in a sense already historical. Hitt constantly seemlessly combines his own journeying with a wide-raging amount of easily digestible knowledgeable background information. What the book isn't is a boring description of a long walk - no simple guide book: what it is is a highly readable and thought provoking account of what drove him to walk and his thoughts provoked whilst walking. Hitt writes naturally and is naturally amusing about the challenges of being (or not being) a 'twue pwelgwim': along the way he meets many interesting situations and people, some celebrated in Camino lore, but never met or described predictably: his meeting with perhaps 'the' guru of the modern Camino, Fr Elias in O Cebreiro being a case in point! Similarly having read the book any idea of staying in a parador, or of taking the Dragonte variant - will be a definite no-no!Definite recommendation for pilgrim, whether true or not - or equally excellent for armchair traveller too.

I will admit, the introduction nearly put me off the book but I am glad I did read the whole thing. Jack Hitt touches upon all you would imagine a walk like this would entail. The physical aspect, the occasional isolation and the wide array of people he met. His style had me smiling, occasionally laughing, thoughtful and at times sad.By far the most interesting aspects of this book are the way he describes the characters (from a Dutchman who journeys in a "brandy educed nirvana", to the gypsie who led them on a wild goose chase) and the history and architecture of the Camino. A must read for anyone who, like me, hopes to one day walk this pilgrimage.

Such a good book .

very nice, arrived on time

loved this book