Author: 2cdssrs

The Camino Frances begins in St Jean Pied de Port in France and extends across Spain to Santiago for a total of 799 km (487 miles).  Our Camino2025 began in Pamplona and ended in Santiago, reducing our total potential to 712km (434 miles).

When we both struggled with bad colds, we skipped walking and used public transportation for 40 km (24 miles).  We also skipped segments of the Camino that totaled 220 km (135 miles) that we have walked two or more times before and chose not to walk this time due to one of the following reasons: (1) required us to walk more than 10 miles in a given day,(2) contained difficult terrain that we didn’t care to repeat for safety reasons or (3) included walking through densely urban or industrial areas not characteristic of the typical Camino, especially the Camino experienced by Medieval Pilgrims. Consequently, Camino 2025 amounted to walking only 275 miles in 43 days for an average of 6.4 miles/day.  Our longest walk was 9.0 miles and shortest was 4.1 miles. 

We are frequently asked “What does it cost to do the Camino”. Because of our unique approach to walking the Camino Frances, our expenses would likely be considered on the high side of pilgrims walking the Camino in a more traditional fashion.  So, an analysis of our costs follows, to give you a frame of reference should you be planning your Camino:

Total cost for Camino2025 (Total days=56, walking=43) was $12,750.   Air travel to Pamplona was $3615 ($3239: GSP to MAD, $376: MAD to PNA).  The train returning from Santiago to Madrid cost $113. Our average cost per day for lodging was 70.24€ ($81.50) and 55.24€ ($64.07) for meals and snacks.  Transporting our backpacks cost $428 and taxi/bus fares were 487€ ($565).  In retrospect, it was an extraordinary adventure vacation experience for less than $230/day for 2 adults.

Camino2025, our 7th Camino, in several ways was our best. Walking in the spring vs summer/fall eliminated our need to begin each day walking in the dark and reduced significantly the time waiting to checkin at our next destination.  It was nice to see more greens vs browns in the scenery around us, more flowers of different colors and less dried up streams/rivers. Conversely, we missed seeing, walking through and sampling the fruit filled vineyards and orchards.

Dealing with a bad cold for over a week was a bummer, but manageable and on hindsight, confirmed the healing environment of the Camino.  We lost several days of walking when sick, but we still made progress via taxi or bus.  In the end, after 43 days of walking over 6 miles per, carrying a daypack, we felt healthier and stronger, confirming that our advanced chronological age is still not a deterrent.

Interesting pilgrims, local citizens and hostelers enriched our experiences along the way and previous relationships were renewed, appreciated and strengthened. The cuisine and culture of Northern Spain reminded us of the value of simplicity in our lives and reinforced practices and lifestyles to be continued upon our return home. The simplicity of the Camino became even more apparent as we rejoined the complexity and stress of the world on our way back home.

Walking and living on the Camino Frances has had a profound impact on our lives and who we are.  Our physical, mental and spiritual condition has been influenced and strengthened by it. It has positively influenced our relationship and our appreciation of each other as we have shared the challenges and satisfactions associated with experiencing the Camino Frances together. 

The perennial question is “will we do it again” and the answer, as before, is “we’ll see”.

We walked to the newly updated Santiago train station just before daybreak. The new station has been under construction for as long as we can remember, but the final result is impressive.

The following is a brief journal of our train ride from Santiago to Madrid. Photos are a challenge when the sun is rising on your side of the train and seats on “better lighting” side are occupied. Also, interior train lights and other light sources create reflections that are picked up in photos taken through the windows. Further, the photo subjects outside are appearing and disappearing at 180 mph most of the way. So, please forgive the photo quality chronicling our ride down to Madrid.

After lunch we chilled a bit in our comfortable room and re-organized our packs again. (backpack and carry-on).

The temperature in Madrid got to 101F by mid-afternoon, so we were glad to not be walking. Looking back, the temperature in Santiago this afternoon was 87F.

So, we walked across Spain, took a train to Madrid and tomorrow it’s a jet to Charlotte/Greenville.

We’ll do a wrap-up on Camino2025 when we get back home.

Buen Camino!

After setting an alarm everyday for 2 months on the Camino, we slept in this morning until around 8, then walked next door from our hotel and had a breakfast of cafe con leche and Croissants!

When we finished, Linda returned to the room to begin reorganizing her stuff for the train trip tomorrow. So, Jim returned the 1.25 mile walk to old Santiago de Compostela to take some photos and checkout the inside of the Catedral.

When Jim entered the Catedral there was a 9:30 pilgrims mass beginning and no photos were allowed in respect for the parishioners.

So Jim took a seat and joined the 30 minute service. It was obviously in Spanish and Jim’s not catholic, thus being unfamiliar with the service routine. So, when not reflecting on the spirituality of the moment, he observed the artwork and sculpture and symbolism displayed all around him.

Here are some of his visual observations during the service and then after the service.

The ‘Botafumeiro’ is the famous giant thurible or censer in the Santiago de Compostela cathedral. It has been used since the Middle Ages, to clean the air when crowds of pilgrims, having completed the Camino de Santiago, arrived in Santiago de Compostela after their long journey.

The Codex Calixtinus, the first Camino de Santiago ‘guide-book’, refers to the ‘Botafumeiro’ as Turibulum Magnum, which means this ritual has been taking place at least since the 12th century.

The current ‘Botafumeiro’ dates back to 1851, and it’s made of silver-plated brass, is 160 cm high and weighs 62kg when empty plus up to another 10 kgs more when filled with smoking coal and incense. Eight men, called ‘Tiraboleiros’, are required to operate the ‘Botafumeiro’.

The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is the largest ‘Censer” in the world.

Moving forward, with the transepts to your left and right, you can focus more on the Altar Major which features St. James.

After his brief visit today to the old city and the Catedral, Jim hurried back to our hotel to get to work organizing his stuff for our return home,

The rest of the day was routine/uneventful. We got to bed early as our train departs for Madrid at 7:48 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Walked: 6.6 mi. Camino2025: 275 mi.

Today’s forecast called for temperatures in the high 90’s, so we decided to start walking at daybreak. We stamped our credential with the first sello for the day at Pención Xacobeo as we went out the door.

Our road formed a T, so we made a right then after a few more steps, made a left into the village of San Marcos.

We walked through San Marcos and then down the steep hill past the huge sports complex that dominates Monte de Gozo.

As we left Monte de Gozo, we began the final 3 miles through suburbs of Santiago on the way to the old city and the Catedral.

The following sequence of photos shows the changing looks of our way to the Catedral:

The position of the sun made decent photos impossible, so we’ll try again tomorrow.

We continued on to the pilgrim’s office where we received our Compostela. Our wait time was 5 minutes.

The crowds were huge, mostly tourists on a Sunday morning. The lines were long and the sun was getting hot. We decided to focus on getting lunch, getting checked in and settled in our hotel and plan to see the Catedral inside and get better photos during our “extra” day, tomorrow.

So Camino2025, our 7th, is now history.

More on Santiago and the Catedral and reflections on Camino 2025, to follow.

Walked: 7.0 mi. Camino2025: 268 mi.

This morning we revisited the traditional Camino route from O Pino to Amenal for the first time since 2015 (our first Camino). Since then, we have taken the route that follows the highway from O Pino to Amenal.

We were two hours early for checkin, so we got off our feet on the albergue front porch, in the shade, until Jim was sufficiently impatient, to walk another 1/4 mile to the hamlet center to check options and times for the two eateries located there.

He returned some 15 minutes later after learning that today was the beginning of a local festival and all eateries would close at 3:00 for the rest of the day. So we both then got to our feet and walked to our choice of eateries to have our main meal of the day, before checking in.

After checking in around 1:00, we washed and dried clothes in the pención common area (wash=4€, dry=3€).

We also went online and registered to facilitate receiving our Compostelas, when we arrive at the pilgrims office tomorrow.

It was 89F outside and the Spain sun made it feel hotter. So, we stayed inside, in our room and blogged/read til bedtime… and texted Ron (who follows our blog each day) Happy Birthday wishes.

Walked: 5.6 mi. Camino2025: 261 mi.

Santiago was waiting for us as we walked out the Salceda Albergue front door this morning at 7:30. We wished each other well and said our goodbyes.

Jim decided to make this a “hydrangea” walk, looking for other colors along the way. We were surprised at the range of colors over the 5 plus mile walk.

Our main meal essentially began the end of our day. After a good walk, sated appetites and full stomachs and daily routines behind us, we settled in the comfortable haven from the afternoon sun and chilled until bedtime.

Two more days to Santiago!