Walking to Santiago               

Luis Reports Live from the Camino

 

Walking to Santiago: “One of the 12 finest new treks on the globe.”
See Saranjan Tours in Outside Go Magazine April/May2008

May 8-18, 2010
Our unique departure includes overnight in Madrid and transfer
from Madrid to the Camino, and an extra day on the Galician
coast after arrival in Santiago.

 

Click Here for new brochure

 

Saturday
MADRID
The tour starts in Madrid at your hotel in the heart of the old quarter. Feel the buzz of the capital of movida, the city that never sleeps, on a walking tour. Tonight sample Spain’s delicious vinos and regional tapas in a medieval cellar by the Plaza Mayor. Overnight: central downtown ***—D

Sunday
MADRID • LEÓN
Travel north across the Plains of Old Castile to Roman León, the first stage on your walk to Santiago. Collect your Pilgrim’s Passport in the Cathedral of glass and see the Sistine chapel of the Romanesque. Dinner among the pilgrims in an old taberna featuring the wines of Castilla León. Overnight: historic inn —B D

Monday
LEÓN • SARRIA
Continue west to El Bierzo Valley,famous for peppers and grapes and the Door of Forgiveness. Reach the highest point on the Camino at Alto do Poio. Here you begin the walk to Santiago, to a market town overlooked by its ancient fortress. 13 km Overnight: countryside inn— B D

Tuesday
SARRIA• PORTOMARIN
Walk on to Portomarín where the old village was deliberately submerged by a dam; the village was rebuilt stone by stone above the
river. At dinner, contemplate the ruins barely covered by the Miño river as you enjoy the local organic meats and delicious godello wines of this corner of Celtic Spain. 21.5km Overnight: village hotel—B D

Wednesday
PORTOMARÍN • GONZAR • VENTAS DE NARÓN • PALAS

Walk on through Gonzar, a ghost town that still has a few lone canine inhabitants keeping watch. Pass Hospital, both inn and hospital for
medieval pilgrims; picnic lunch in the hospital’s atmospheric ruins. Wade through high grass to a nearby church to see beautiful frescoes. 24km Overnight: countryside pilgrim’s retreat—B L D

Thursday
PALAS • MELIDE• ARZUA
Pass through Melide and stop at the 12th c Church of San Pedro, with its distinctive Romanesque portal. You can collect your lunch in the market and relax with a view. Walk over the River Iso and discover the mystery of the labyrinth. Tasting the Wines of Galicia before dinner. 22km. Overnight: private manor house—B D

Friday
ARZUA • ARCO DO PINO
Spend the last night of your pilgrimage at Arca in a small countryside hotel. Dinner in the village. 19 km Overnight: village hotel—B D

Saturday
ARCA DO PINO • LAVACOLLA • SANTIAGO
Pilgrims, it’s customary to wash at Lavacolla before walking on to the Cathedral. In Santiago, you’ll collect your last stamp in your passport at the Diocesan office to obtain your Compostela/Certificate of Pilgrimage. 19km. Celebration dinner in the heart of old Santiago. Overnight: historic city center hotel—B D

Sunday
SANTIAGO
This morning join your guide on a walk through history in this UNESCO World Heritage town. Begin at the Cathedral, and continue through the city’s medieval streets to explore this Baroque treasure house. Join the noon Pilgrim’s Mass, if you wish, and enjoy a free afternoon and evening to explore on your own. Overnight: as above—B

Monday
SANTIAGO • COAST • SANTIAGO
The Atlantic ocean is just outside the city. See the amazing labyrinth stones of the Celtic priests, an ancient Celtic fort, and some of the historic granite built villages of the Galician coast. Afternoon at the beach--time to relax in the sun and swim before returning to Santiago early evening. Farewell dinner. Overnight: as above—B D

 

Tuesday
SANTIAGO USA
The tour ends after breakfast.—B

INCLUDED:
• Hotels based on double occupancy, with breakfast
• Breakfasts & dinners with wine
• English speaking guide & sag wagon support, including snacks
• Entrances per itinerary
• Transfers Madrid-León & Santiago-coast
• Pre trip documents including walking maps

PRICE:
• €2565 per person

Contact us: for private departures quote for your own group, min. 4 pax

 

Saranjan’s friend Luis Reports Live from the Camino:

Hola ,and this year I must add Bonjour, Familia and Amigos:

On August 21st, a  group of friends will be leaving for another Pilgrimage, this time for 7 weeks  in France and Spain. Two of us are from Seattle ( Alan Hergert and me), 1 from Wash DC (Kevin Conley) and 1 from Atlanta (Steve Whipple). As most of you know, in 2005 we did a 500 mile trek starting in SW France and in 2008 we did a 375 miler starting in Salamanca, Spain, both ending in Santiago de Compostela, (NW Spain).

 

This year, after a 2 day wine tour in the Bordeaux/St Emilion region, we will start by walking a portion of a spectacular 200 mile French route called Voies de Littorale, starting just SW of Bordeaux in the village of Biganos, heading south down the French west coast to the Spanish border. Once in San Sebastian, Spain, Kevin and Steve will head back to the USA on September4th and Alan and I will continue west, following most of the Spanish north coast and ending in Santiago.  This route is called Camino del Norte. In total we will walk about 700 miles, averaging 16 miles per day.

 

On September 13th, Karen and Ana (Alans wife) will  join us in Santander to walk the remaining 375 miles or so  to Santiago.  September 14th is Ana's 50th birthday and some of our relatives from the US will be joining us to help Ana celebrate this major milestone.

 

As I did in 2005 and 2008, I plan on sending weekly updates of our adventure, including highlights as well as low lights, stay tuned !!  A little history, trivia and a lot of food and wine stories. If you don't want to be included in the weekly emails just let me know.

 

We will miss our families and  friends but look forward to our return on October 13th. Below is a link with a lot of pictures and details on the Spain segment of the Pilgrimage . In addition, for those of you on FaceBook, you can follow daily updates by searching Camino del Norte- Santiago Compostela 2010 on your FaceBook page. Also attached is a picture of one of our training hikes as well as a map of the Camino del Norte.

 

Until we arrive in Francia, Adios and Au Revoir 

 

Peregrino Luis

http://www.santiago-compostela.net/cdn/en_cdn01.html

 

PART TWO

 

 

 

Bon jour, after almost 2 years of planning and anticipation, the big day arrived. On Friday night, we had a farewell and final planning dinner at Alan and Anas home, with appropriate continued training of fine food and wine. On Saturday morning, I visited with the Wades/Razores and 5 grand kids and Karen took me to the airport to begin the journey. They, along with friends and family will all be missed very much.

 

August 21/22
The Air France flight to Paris was very nice but Lufthansa and Singapore are still the best airlines in my view. Having said that, the Rully 2006 Joseph Drouhin Bourgone Blanc was very tasty and then enjoyed a 6-hour sleep on their fully reclining beds. The only issue was that French security took my hiking pole as a dangerous tool, it had made it through USA security without issue, go figure.

Met Alan, Kevin and Steve at the Bordeaux airport, rented a car and checked in at our hotel in St Emilion, a beautiful hill top village just east of Bordeaux. Wine heaven. After a few bieres (beers) on the plaza, we went to a wine shop to experience a St Emilion Figeac, a Premier Gran Cru with foie gras. Then dinner where we ordered "pave," pavo means turkey in Spanish so I assured the boys we were having turkey of some sort, well pave means a filet/steak so we ended up with mystery meat of some sort but it was good. We were all very tired from the overnight flight and almost fell asleep in our pave.

August 23
We were picked up at 8 am by Henri, our very knowledgeable wine guide for the day. Our first stop was Le Mission Haut Brion, the sister winery to Chateau Haut Brion, the famous first growth Bordeaux winery. After a very detailed tour by Laticia, we got to taste both wineries 2004 vintage; the Chateau won hands down, but at $700 a bottle it was expected. We then drove by numerous other wineries and the Bordeaux countryside. For lunch we went to a local Fruits de Mare (seafood) house. We enjoyed a Lamproie, a white fish from the Girone River cooked in St Emilion wine with leaks, with their house wine. After lunch we had a tour of Chateau d' Yquem, the most famous and expensive sauterne wine in the world, currently at about $1,000 bottle. I am guessing our tasting of the 2004 was about $50 each. We tried to get seconds but no go. We then drove by Figeac, Petrus and Cheval Blanc among others, ending at a local shop where we tasted 10 different local varieties. We entertained our hosts by singing the only French song we know, Chevalier de la Table Ronde, a drinking song of course. A10 Star day.

The dinner highlights were foie gras, sea bass and Brittany huitres (oysters) accompanied by a Sancerre and 2 St Emilion Premier Gran Cru's. When in Rome drink and eat like the Romans.

The French section of our route is called The Voie Littorale from the mouth of the Gironde River to the Spanish border at Irun, but we started in Biganos. The 375 Km route follows the French west coast and was the 5th most popular pilgrim route in the 12th century, very isolated today.

 

August 24
Another beautiful sunny day. We dropped the car at the airport and cabbed it to our starting point, the town of Biganos, just SW of Bordeaux. We thought we could have breakfast before walking but before we knew it we were in the forest and no sign of civilization or food and we had 25Kms before our destination of Sanguinet. Luckily we had a couple of power bars but we started to run low on water, actually we ran out of water and it was HOT, in the low 90s. What a start to our 700-mile trek. But then the 1st Camino miracle occurred. We were walking by what appeared to be a summer home and we noticed that a family was having lunch in their patio. In our tarzan French, we asked them if we could have some l'eau (water). Before we knew it, they were treating us to wine, home grown tomatoes, local formages and home made preserves, with fresh French baguettes of course. What a nice family, they were from Bordeaux on their last days of their 4-week mandatory vacation (see pic). After an hour plus visit, we continued to Sanguinet, a lakeside resort village. We tried to check into our hotel but they didn't open till 6 o'clock, a preview of things to come. It was a total dump. After a quick shower in the quasi shower, we went to the local barbershop for our traditional Camino buzz cuts (see pic). This year Esteban went for a 0, Luis and Alberto a 1 and Big Daddy a 3, he claims he has an important meeting when he returns. Anyone remember the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ Nest”?
We had a very nice dinner at the local restaurant, the highlights being Cannard Confit and Coquille St Jacques with roasted apples. Wine was their local rose. During dinner we met a very nice family from Paris. The negative perception of unfriendly French toward Americans is fading fast.

August 25
After a quick petit dejunea, we got an early start to avoid the expected mid day heat.

Another sunny and warm day, a very different experience so far from our wet and cold 2008 Camino. However, the singing by the Camino boys quickly reappeared as in past years. Today's walk took us through flat tall pine and cornfields. But again, no villages until our destination, but since we had a fairly short 25 Km day, we were finished by lunchtime. After checking into our hotel on Etang de Biscarrosse lake near the town of Parentis-en-Borne, we went swimming, a very refreshing break. Then the 1st nap. For dinner we went to a local pizzeria for varied pizza, moules frite (mussels with french fries) and house vin.

August 26
Another hot day expected for our 30 Km trek from Parentis de Born to Mimizan so we were on the road by 7 am. So far the terrain has been totally flat, but occasionally we are walking on deep sand, a challenge, but today most of our walk was on a very nice bike path through pine forests and bordering a few lakes (see pic). We have yet to see another single pilgrim!! We later found out that only 10 pilgrims have gone through Mimizan in 2010, and we are the first Americans. What are we doing here?

 

Our hotel in Mimizan is very nice with a cold pool where we tried to soak our tired bodies away. After showers we visited the church of St Mary, completed in the 13th century. The remains have retained its medival art vivid colors and contains one of the oldest French representations of Saint Jacques dressed as a pilgrim. As we went to dinner there was a lot of activity going on, it was their annual village "feria" (fiesta), a 4 day affair. The whole town was out partying with 5-6 music stages going simultaneously and rows of bodegas and food kiosks offering local drinks and food. Not to mention the opening parade. But for dinner we went to the local restaurant for Cannard de Confit and Entrecot, supplemented by their local rose, becoming one of our favorites given the warm weather. They partied all night long and they have 3 more full days to go! We were in bed by 10 pm but sleeping was difficult with all the street activities.

 

August 27
Today's walk took us from Mimizan to Lit et Mix, a 30 Km stage, except we made a few wrong turns and it ended up closer to 33 Kms. Having said that, the trail is very well marked. We just need to pay better attention. Probably the best day so far, still sunny, a few hills and great vistas. Although we had a petit dejeuner before we left, our first stop in Bias, we convinced the cafes cook to make us oeuf et bacon (eggs and bacon), they liked us a lot and also treated us to their local formages and fruit. Our 1st two-breakfast day! They also made us Jamon sandwiches to go since there were no other villages to our destination. The last few Kms were along the Courant de Contis River, with occasional kayakers paddling by the swift moving stream. Our hotel, Club Atlantic, is a low-end resort type of time-share with, again, very small but clean rooms, but a nice cold pool. We toured the small village and then had dinner at the hotel. They made an incredible agneau (lamb) on the spit, with roasted local vegetables and their own rose wine. We got to know Stan the owner, chef and entertainer very well. We sang our Table de Ronde to please the mostly French crowd.

 

August 28
Another beautiful day but cooler for our walk to Moliet-et-Mas, an expected 32 Km day. NOT!! The only place for lunch was a small sea village 1.5 Km off the route where we enjoyed Moules Roquefort. In addition, we missed a few turns adding another 2.5 Kms for a total of 36 Kms, or about 22 miles, a brutal day. The last 5 Kms were very difficult specially since I got my first blister in 3 Caminos, a doozie one on my left little toe, OUCH. On the way we visited The Chapelle de Maa, a small church from the time of the Knights Templar. Some of the pain was forgotten by a warm welcome from Sizie, the baker at the local pattisserie on the edge of town. She gave us free pastries and made arrangements for a taxi to take us to our hotel at the plage (beach), another 4 Kms off the route. No way we were walking another step! Moliet-et-Mas is a very nice beach resort with its streets full of tourists enjoying the last day of their European "August" vacation. We had a similar experience to Seaside, Oregon. We didn't get to the hotel till 7 pm and after a quick shower went to the hotel restaurant, we weren't walking anywhere, for the best cannard confit of the trip, a Bordeaux and a Cote de Gascone rose to help ease the pains. Then straight to bed.

 

August 29
We had made arrangements with the taxi to pick us up at 7 am, which came very quickly, for a drop off at the same patisserie for our daily petit dejeuner before another long day in route to Capbreton, a 31Km day turned 33 Kms by a few wrong turns again. The pattisserie comped our meal again; apparently they do this for pilgrims, a very nice gesture. The early morning was cold, in the mid 40s, fall is arriving. The first half of the route is a nice stroll through tall pine forests with occassional rolling hills through deep sand paths. Basically, from Bordeaux south the whole area is a huge sand dune. Villages are now every few Kms to break up the still sunny walk day. The last part of the route took us right through the fashionable resorts of Seignosse-lePenon, Hossegor and finally to our destination of Capbreton. As we walked by the promenades along the hotels, the beaches were packed with vacationers enjoying the last days of summer. The European economy must have been hit very hard; many of the locals can only afford half a bathing suit. Just saying.

 

Our hotel was right on the beach and the nicest so far; a good thing since tomorrow will be a rest day and long naps will be taken. We went swimming in the cool but pleasant Atlantic followed by a Fruits de Mare feast as we watched the sunset. We are now in the Pays Vasque "French Basque Region" so for dinner we went to a Spanish restaurant for a Paella, actually very good, where we had a blind wine tasting of French and Spanish rose. They were both very good. The nights are now getting cool so long sleeve/fleeces are needed.

 

The Camino routines have kicked in and the memories of past Caminos are resurfacing. Long hard days, hitting the "wall" around 12 miles then its 1 step at a time, but rewarding once completed. So far we have walked about 170 Kms, 17 miles per day. We had forgotten the pains and rewards, but it's nice to be back.

 

As most of you know, I am a AAA personality. So although I know I can't totally change my ways, my goal in this Camino, in addition to sharing part of it with Karen and my good buds, is to SLOWDOWN. And smell the roses. A challenge for me, but starting to make progress. My nickname is now Louie " Lentemente", and the boys have even written some words to the tune of The Beatles, “All You Need is Love” to remind me if I start to stray from my goal. Time well tell how I do but a good goal.

 

Until next week where I expect to send the next update from San Sebastian, Spain.
Au revoir,
Louie Lentemente

http://www.santiago-compostela.net/cdn/en_cdn01.html
From Capbreton, France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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