Extra: another legend

I am aware that even though I've mentioned a couple of Camino legends, I have never told the story of how Santiago ended up being a pilgrimage destination

Well... James, one of the disciples of Jesus, went to Spain to preach the gospel, before returning to Jerusalem. There he was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa. Following his execution, friends of James stole his body and carried it to the Mediterranean coast. There, they placed his remains in a stone boat that sailed without a rudder or sail, guided only by angels. The boat drifted through the Strait of Gibraltar and landed on the coast of Galicia

After various miraculous adventures, the friends buried James's body in a tomb in Galicia. The tomb's location was forgotten over the years, until the early 9th century, when a hermit saw showers of shooting stars falling over a specific location in a forest. The area was excavated, and the tomb of James was rediscovered

The king declared James the patron saint of his kingdom, and built a small church at the site. The city of Santiago de Compostela, which translates to "Saint James of the Field of Stars", was founded around the church

The site became a spiritual destination, with the network of trails that medieval worshippers used to travel to the shrine becoming known as the Camino de Santiago. Known Christian pilgrimages to the tomb of Saint James date back to the 9th century

So there you go! The stone boat sounds like fun...