El Camino Real -- originally part of 101 -- runs the length of the Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose. Its very name implies a regal history. Translated from the Spanish, it means The King's Highway.
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What does El Camino mean in English? El Camino is a Spanish phrase and translates to “the way in English. Many may know this word in relation to the Camino de Santiago, or The Way of Saint James, which is known as an important pilgrimage in northern Spain.
Most historians believe the Camino Real through Texas was developed in 1691 to link the Spanish colonial missions in East Texas with the administrative center of New Spain. And those missions were established to counter the threat of French intrusion into the northern borderlands of New Spain.
It's in Santiago where the remains of the apostle St.James are reportedly buried and the reason pilgrims originally started walking the Camino. More recently, the Camino has been named one of Unesco's World Heritage Sites and, in 1987, the first European Cultural Route.
Pilgrims originally started coming to this location from all across Europe to witness the reported tomb of the apostle Saint James, son of Zebedee, known as “Santiago” by Spanish Catholics. The alleged remains of Saint James were interred in this location sometime after his recorded death in 44 A.D.
The El Camino Real has many names, most common are “The Royal Road” and “The King's Highway.” The El Camino Real is widely known today as a 600-mile (965-kilometer) road which is spans from the area in San Diego near the Mission San Diego del Alcalá to the Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma.
While it is possible to follow the general route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro today on modern highways in New Mexico and Texas, many miles of the Trail cross private lands and many of the most significant trail sites are privately owned or managed by tribal, state, or municipal agencies.
Camino reals were known to link Spanish settlements from Mexico City to Sonora as well to Santa Fe as well throughout Baja California before Alta California. In Alta California, the route was needed in order to link the presidios (military forts), pueblos (towns) as well the missions.
Public bathrooms are not frequent on the Camino de Santiago. But, cafes, restaurants and bars are frequent, you may find one or two during the day, and these all have bathrooms that customers can use.