Maryjane Dunn, a U.S. researcher and university professor and recipient of the Aymeric Picaud International Award, has said that interest in the Camino de Santiago in the United States is spreading “like wildfire.”

This he said in an interview he gave to the EFE Agency on the occasion of the award, presented by the League of Associations of Journalists of the Camino de Santiago for his work of research and dissemination of the Jacobean Route. Dunn expressed his surprise and pride at this recognition, which will be presented in the church of San Juan de Jerusalén in Cizur Menor, in the presence of prominent journalists from various regions of Spain.

The medievalist, based in Nebraska, has commented that the French Way is the most recognized in the United States, partly due to films such as ‘The Way’ (2010), but also to the work of previous researchers and their work in art, music and literature related to the route. According to Dunn, interest in the Camino de Santiago is booming in the United States, spreading rapidly “like wildfire.”

For the professor, the main attraction of the Camino lies in the possibility of immersing oneself in Spanish rural life and getting away from the tourist areas, which allows one to reflect on and appreciate the beauty, monuments and history of the place.

To those who have not traveled the route to the tomb of the apostle St. James, Dunn recommended the French Way and “to do it with a spirit of adventure and also to study what they are going to see, because they will appreciate more the art and architecture, the history, the Spanish people and the food, and open their eyes to a new world.”

Although he has noticed improvements in the route over time, Dunn confessed that he misses “what it was like before, for the adventure, for the novelty of doing it all.” Despite the growing influx of pilgrims, the professor has stated that she prefers to “be alone” and has even joked about taking a vow of silence.