The City Council of Arenas de San Pedro together with Bicigrinos Alcantarinos, led by Jesús Ocaña, Alfredo Rituerto and Francisco Roldán, have presented this week the ‘Camino Alcantarino’ project in the Torre del Homenaje before a large group of neighbors who welcomed it with enthusiasm.
The mayor, Juan Carlos Sánchez Mesón, welcomed those present and defined this project as exciting as “a project with a triple purpose, the first being spiritual and religious, since it follows the footprint that San Pedro de Alcántara marked through Extremaduran lands , La Mancha and Castilian, the second purpose is tourism, since it runs through countless municipalities and three different provinces and regions, with a rich monumental and natural heritage enhancing the rural world, and the third purpose is sports, since it can be done on foot, on horseback or by bicycle for a total of more than 300 kilometers.
Germán Mateos, Councilor for Culture and Heritage, thanked Jesús, Alfredo and Francisco for “this magnificent project and the good work carried out over many months and which is officially presented”, as well as the members of the Organizing Committee of the IV Centenary ” for the projects that they have been presenting and that have been carried out during this event that we are celebrating».
The ‘Camino Alcantarino’ project consists of two roads through Extremadura and Castilian lands, and a common section that follows in the footsteps of San Pedro de Alcántara, on itineraries that visit sites marked by the passage of the Franciscan Saint, both ending in the Sanctuary of San Pedro de Alcántara, where the Holy Sepulchre. These paths invite you to remember the journeys of your foundations, and to approach spirituality and your life path, doing it either by devotion, to fulfill a promise, to seek peace and interiority, by sharing the path, or simply by do sport.
The alcantarine road is divided into two sections, north and south, in addition to a common chaff.
The northern section is made up of 18 stages and a total of 383 kilometers in distance. This section passes through the convent of El Palancar, Plasencia, Yuste reaching Oropesa to end at the Sanctuary.
The Camino Alcantarino begins in the footsteps of the pattern of Arenas
The southern section is made up of 17 stages, covering a total of 347 kilometers of route. This section runs through places such as the convent of San Juan Bautista de La Viciosa, Campillo de Deleitosa, Belvis de Monroy, Peraleda de la Mata, Oropesa to finish in Arenas de San Pedro.
In addition, the first common section runs through Cáceres and neighboring municipalities such as Arroyo de la Luz, Mota de Alcántara, Garrovillas or Casar de Cáceres. And the last section in common runs from Oropesa to the Sanctuary of San Pedro de Alcántara de Arenas de San Pedro.
All pilgrims who make these routes either on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, will be issued the Pilgrim’s Credential in a Parish, convent or religious community, brotherhood, Town Hall or an authorized institution, in order to identify the pilgrim, facilitate access to the shelters or to be able to request the “Alcantarina” in the Sanctuary of San Pedro de Alcántara, at the end of the route, in the case of a certificate for having completed the pilgrimage.
The Credential will only be granted to all pilgrims who cover a minimum of 50 kilometers on foot, and 100 kilometers on bicycle.
The Camino Alcantarino is born, following in the footsteps of the patron saint of Arenas