The journey between the British Islands and the Iberian Peninsula wasn´t that simple. In the past, it was one of the main routes. There was a considerable distance and it was a stormy area with strong currents of water. It took four to five days to arrive in A Coruña.
The navegation was direct from Bristol to the port of A Coruña, the sea voyage was difficult because the instruments of navigation weren´t developed enough and the boats were small and weak.
The Pilgrim´s Sea Voyage and Seasickness
The poem The Pilgrim´s Sea Voyage and Seasickness was written by an anonymous pilgrim probably between 1422 and 1461, and we can considerate it the first “sea-shanty”. In this book we can appreciate without any doubt the bad conditions of the journey for pilgrims using this Atlantic route, and it shows the terrible conditions of this pilgrimage by sea mainly when the weather was bad and it wasn´t any wind, it is principally a warning in first person for the future pilgrims about the difficulty of the journey.
The Voyage from Bristol to A Coruña
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Maritime route
Medieval Pilgrimage in A Coruña