Join me on my 650 kilometer (400 mile) adventure from Lisbon, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I’ll be chronicling my trip on a regular basis from the trail, but will also be recording my planning and preparation activities that I hope is useful to anyone else inspired to take on their own pilgrimage.
I intend to mainly stay on the Portuguese Central Route, although depending on weather and other factors, I may at times jump over to the Coastal Route.
My objective it to reach Santiago de Compostela no later than October 11, after starting my hike on September 11.
While on the trail, you can follow my progress on my daily blog; but before I leave, I intend to document many of my preparations and provide some insights into the gear I intend to take along on this journey.
FAQs
What is a Camino?
Santiago de Compostela is the site of a cathedral that proports to hold the remains of St. James. For nearly a thousand years, the faithful have made pilgrimages to Santiago. “Camino” literally translates to “road” so Camino de Santiago means the road to Santiago. People throughout Europe have made the pilgrimage, so there are many “roads” leading there. The most popular being the Camino Frances, which starts in St. Jean Pied de Port along the French/Spanish border and travel west through northern Spain
Will you be camping along the way?
No. There are hostels, called “alberges” that are specifically for people making the pilgrimage. I will have some blog posts about alberges. In some of the cities where I plan to take rest days, I’ll stay in a hotel.
Why are you walking the Camino?
My wife passed away last year after being in poor health for many years. As her primary care giver, I had to give up many activities that I enjoyed doing. The Camino is my opportunity to do one of my favorite things (hiking) while having plenty of time to contemplate what comes next in my life. As a side benefit, I’ll get to meet fellow pilgrims from all over the world.
How long will you walk each day?
It will vary based on weather, distance to the next town and how I’m generally feeling. My schedule is built on averaging 14 miles per day (23km). If I average that, I’ll reach Santiago exactly one month after I begin. That includes three planned rest days in some larger cities. If I can average more per day and arrive early, I hope to do a quick side trip to Morocco before heading home.