The village of Terradillos de los Templarios, and dozens like it, were built to host medieval pilgrims walking the 500-mile (800-kilometer) Camino de Santiago route across Spain to the Apostle James' tomb in Santiago de Compostela. Today's Camino travelers are helping to restore villages that were losing their jobs, communities, and social fabrics as mechanization reduced the need for farm laborers and younger people moving away. Starting in the 1990s, the Camino regained international popularity, with tens of thousands of visitors hiking and biking it. After a dip in 2020 and a recovery with mostly Spanish pilgrims in 2021, there were 25,000 visitors in May alone on the most traditional route, the "French way." With daily visitors outnumbering residents tenfold in the tiniest hamlets, the impact is huge. Older residents worry about how to keep the unique pilgrim spirit alive even as popularity leads to greater commercialization.
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