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One of my first official Camino activities of 2014 was to book our air travel and finalize our full travel itinerary with my walking partner Marta. Although I have been training since June, I still have to deal with the travel logistics including timelines, work approvals, airfares, lodgings, cash flow, cost, passports (mine has expired) and synchronization with travel buddies. The reality of the commitment of time, money and effort hit me full force once I started to receive my ticket confirmations. It was confirmed and official, I was really going to walk 800 km’s on the Camino Santiago de Compostella arriving in France on May 16 and going home from Paris on June 29. Marta and I toasted and congratulated each other on our hard work and ticket confirmations over a glass of good Spanish red wine as we coordinated the travel for our spouses who will be joining us for the last week walk into Santiago.
The following table is the outcome of our planning last weekend. We have 3 full rest days at the start of the trip which we will spend in Biarritz and St Jean Pied de Port and we added a couple of days at the end of our trip in Paris before flying home. We are using Macs Adventure for our self-guided tour and they will support us by booking our lodgings, moving any baggage we don’t want to carry and providing advice and emergency support as required. Below is our finalized trip Itinerary.
| Date | Camino Walk Day | Where to | Comments | Total Km’s |
| Fri May 16 | Travel day | Toronto to Paris | Lufthansa Airlines | |
| Sat May 17 | Travel day | Paris to Biarritz | Air France-Arrive 3 pm | |
| Sun May 18 | Travel day | Relax in Biarritz | Spend day tourist | |
| Mon May 19 | 1 | Relax in St Jean Pied de Port | Mac Adventures-Day count starts | |
| Tue May 20 | 2 | Roncesvalles | Tough but beautiful walk in the Pyrenees | 23 |
| Wed May 21 | 3 | Akerreta | Mountain passes, beech, oak woods, River Arga | 27 |
| Thur May 22 | 4 | Pamplona | Undulating plain, fortress town, urban landscape | 15 |
| Fri May 23 | 5 | Puente la Reina | “Bridge of the Queen”, beautiful 6 arch bridge | 22 |
| Sat May 24 | 6 | Estella | Olive trees, small towns | 20 |
| Sun May 25 | 7 | Los Arcos |
Isolated 12 km between towns |
20 |
| Mon May 26 | 8 | Logrono | Rioja wine growing region | 27 |
| Tue May 27 | 9 | Najera | Rioja country roads | 27 |
| Wed May 28 | 10 | Santa Domingo | Country roads, mountain ranges | 21 |
| Thur May 29 | 11 | Belorado | Crop fields, oak woods | 22 |
| Fri May 30 | 12 | Atapuerca | Oak meadows , Oca Mountains | 29 |
| Sat May 31 | 13 | Burgos | Valley of the Pico River | 20 |
| Sun Jun 1 | 14 | Burgos | Extra Day in Burgos | |
| Mon Jun 2 | 15 | Walk to Hornillos | Transfer back to Burgos in evening | 20 |
| Tues Jun 3 | 16 | Castrojeriz | Transfer from Hornillos Burgos | 18 |
| Wed Jun 4 | 17 | Fromista | Crop fields | 27 |
| Thur Jun 5 | 18 | Carron de los Condes | Path follows the road | 19 |
| Fri Jun 6 | 19 | Calzadilla de la Cueza | 16 | |
| Sat Jun 7 | 20 | Sahagun | 22 | |
| Sun Jun 8 | 21 | El Burgo Ranero | 18 | |
| Mon Jun 9 | 22 | Mansilla de las Mulas | River Esla, Portillo Hill | 19 |
| Tue Jun 10 | 23 | Leon | Leon Plateau | 17 |
| Wed Jun 11 | 24 | Extra Day in Leon | ||
| Thur Jun 12 | 25 | Villadangos del Paramo | Leon Mountains | 21 |
| Fri Jun 13 | 26 | Astorga | Broom, heather, oak trees, conifer plantations | 26 |
| Sat Jun 14 | 27 | Rabanal Del Camino | Mount Irago | 19 |
| Sun Jun 15 | 28 | Molinaseca | 24 | |
| Mon Jun 16 | 29 | Villafranca del Bierzo | wealthy area of Bierzo | 30 |
| Tues Jun 17 | 30 | Herrerias de Valcarce | 22 | |
| Wed Jun 18 | 31 | O’Cebriero | Steep climb | 9 |
| Thur Jun 19 | 32 | Triacastela | 22 | |
| Fri Jun 20 | 33 | Sarria | Hamlets | 18 |
| Sat Jun 21 | 34 | Portomarin | River Mino | 24 |
| Sun Jun 22 | 35 | Palas de rei | Pine groves Eucalyptus trees | 24 |
| Mon Jun 23 | 36 | Arzua | Farming region of Ullo | 28 |
| Tues Jun 24 | 37 | Rua | 19 | |
| Wed Jun 25 | 38 | Santiago de Compostela | St James Cathedral | 18 |
| Thur Jun 26 | 39 | Extra Day in Santiago | ||
| Fri Jun 27 | 40 | Fly to Paris | Spend day in Paris | |
| Sat Jun 28 | Travel day | Spend Day in Paris | ||
| Sun Jun 29 | Travel Day | Paris to Toronto | Fly Home |
I will continue to evolve the travel itinerary with more information about each town, the geography, eco systems, history, and points of interest of the regions being walked through. I am already dreaming about the freedom of wandering through the mountains, valleys, plains, meadows, forests, towns and cities for 40 days following the call of the open road and most days arriving at a new location to discover and enjoy. One of the definitions of a Pilgrim is “A Traveler, A Wanderer”. A Pilgrim on the Santiago de Compostella is a wonderful role to have.
I would love to hear from those who have traveled this path. Don’t forget to leave a link back to your own blog too if you have one, via the commentluv feature here on the site.
Buen Camino
Marion
Marvellous planning you have done, and lots of room for serendipity.
I have stayed in the majority of towns and villages and cities that you are staying in.
Quite the adventure!
I hope you make it to one of my hikes soon – I am looking forward to meeting you.
Hasta luego