Traveling with Joe

The following is the Itinerary I just received from the tour company.  I think it speaks for itself so I’m going to avoid much comment.  My only addition is a short conversion of Kilometers to Miles

20kms = 12.4 miles

30kms = 18.6 miles

I have also avoided the temptation to download photos of the highlighted locations (Except the one at the bottom of this page).  With todays technology I could know virtually every step of this trip before I got on the plane.  I want to walk (pun intended) into this blindly.  At least you can get a feel for what the trip will be like.

Joe Jeter Wednesday, Sept 17, 2014

Day 1 Roncesvalles

Meet at the Pamplona train station at 4PM. Drive up to Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees. Our pilgrimage begins the medieval kingdom of Navarra. We walk about 6 kilometers to warm up so have your hiking boots on! We’ll join other pilgrims from around the world at an evening Mass in the church of the 11th century monastery of Roncesvalles. This monastery is one of the earliest examples of gothic church architecture in Spain. After Mass, pilgrims receive the blessing by the canons of the monastery, a rite dating from the 12th century. A hearty dinner will follow mass. Welcoming dinner is included tonight.

Day 2 Zubiri (22 kms)

 

After breakfast, begin the walk to Zubiri by way of the Mezkiritz and Erro passes to Zubiri, a small, roadside village nestled in the valley beneath the passes. We sleep in two small inns here.

Day 3 Pamplona (22 kms)

From Zubiri we continue our Camino. Once in Pamplona, visit the 14th century gothic cathedral of Santa Maria la Real (St. Mary the Royal) and the narrow streets, famous for the “running of the bulls” during its annual San Fermín celebrations every July. Plan to eat at the different “tapa” or “pinxho” around the main plaza.

Day 4 Puente la Reina (24 Kms)

We depart the city today across the gentle, rolling prairies surrounding Pamplona on our ascent to the Sierra del Perdón. Before arriving in Puente la Reina, we will divert to the lovely Romanesque church of Santa María de Eunate (optional side trip). Once in Puente la Reina, plan to visit the Church of Santiago with its lovely 13th century image of St. James on the Calle Mayor. The 11th century, Romanesque bridge gives the city its name – bridge of the queen, built by Queen Doña Mayor.

Day 5 Estella (22 kms)

Our route today takes us through the wheat fields of Navarra, through villages filled with crumbling noble homes – Maneru, Cirauqui, Lorca, until we finally reach Estella. Founded by King Sancho Ramírez in the 11th century in order to take advantage of the pilgrim traffic and to help populate this part of his kingdom, it is mentioned in the 12th century pilgrim’s guide the Codex Calixtinus, as one of the medieval pilgrims’ most valued halts along the route. Numerous churches, convents, palaces and monuments recall its illustrious past and its historic links to the Pilgrim Way. Those who wish to do so may attend Mass this evening in the fortified royal church of San Pedro de la Rúa, where the kings of Navarre once swore their oaths to protect the rights of their subjects.

Day 6 Los Arcos (21.8 kms)

On our way out of Estella this morning we pass the monastery of Irache, where sick and injured pilgrims were once tended to by the residence monks. Sample some of the local wine at the “fuente del vino” which the adjacent winery has installed in commemoration of the monastery’s former generosity towards pilgrims. Following our arrival in Los Arcos, plan to celebrate Mass (optional) in the beautiful church of Santa Maria, with its elaborate Baroque altarpiece, its Renaissance period bell tower and its restored Gothic cloister. (There will be an option to walk another 5 k after lunch to reduce tomorrow’s kilometers a bit)

Day 7 Logroño (28 kms)

Our Camino today takes us into La Rioja, Spain’s smallest province and a region renowned the world over for its excellent wines. Its capital city is Logroño. On our way to Logroño, we’ll visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Torres del Río; styled after the Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepuchre, its construction is attributed to the Templar knights. Plan to visit the Church of St. Mary in Viana, where the tomb of Cesare Borgia, the Renaissance prince and warrior, and illegitimate son of Rodrigo Borgia (the future Pope Alexander VI), can be found.

Day 8 Nájera (29 kms)

A pleasant morning’s walk takes us through the city of Logroño and out into the rolling fields dedicated almost exclusively to the cultivation of wine as we make our way today to Nájera, once a royal city belonging to the kingdom of Navarre. Along the way we will also pay a visit to the 16th-century Church of The Assumption in Navarrete where we can admire its elaborate Baroque altarpiece. In Nájera we will visit the spectacular Royal St. Mary’s Monastery (Monasterio de Santa María la Real), built in 1502 at the site of a 12th-century apparition of the Blessed Virgin. The monastery is home to an outstanding Gothic cloister, an elegant carved choir and, most significantly, a royal pantheon where several kings of Navarra are buried. We will shuttle back to our hotel for a second night in Logroño.

Day 9 Santo Domingo de la Calzada ( 21 kms)

Our destination today is Santo Domingo de la Calzada, one of the most emblematic villages on the route. It is here that, according to legend, the miraculous resuscitation and crowing of a roasted hen served as a harbinger of an even greater miracle: the miraculous resurrection of a pilgrim unjustly hanged for theft, through the intercession of St. Dominic of the Causeway, the saint for whom the village is named. We’ll visit the magnificent Cathedral of the Holy Savior, where a live rooster and hen keep watch from their pen overlooking the main altar in commemoration of the miracle.

Day 10 Belorado (24 kms)

We bid farewell to the Rioja region this morning and enter Castile and Leon. Castile is the medieval kingdom that brought to completion the re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, gave birth to modern Spain and gave the world Castellano, Castilian Spanish, the language spoken by hundreds of millions of people the world over. Our journey today takes us through Viloria, the birthplace of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, to Belorado, where our hotel is located.

Day 11 – San Juan de Ortega (24 kms)

Today we travel through the Montes de Oca (Goose Mountains), dreaded by pilgrims in the Middle Ages as a hideout of bandits and wolves, and where many pilgrims became lost as they made their way through the dense pine forests. To assist them, San Juán de Ortega, a 12th century monk, built a monastery in this desolate area. After reaching the monastery we’ll visit the saint’s tomb in the monastery church. There we will also have the chance to admire a lovely Romanesque capital which depicts the Annunciation and which draws hundreds of visitors each spring when, on the Feast of the Annunciation, a single ray of sunlight through the church’s window strikes the capital, illuminating the images of the Virgin and St. Gabriel. We’ll sleep tonight just across from the monastery in a small B&B beside the Camino.

Day 12 Burgos (27.6 kms)

Burgos’ magnificent gothic cathedral rises in the distance as we make our way to this lovely city, home to one of the most magnificent examples of Gothic architecture in all of Spain and the final resting place of Spain’s great epic hero, El Cid, whose tomb can be found beneath the towering copula. We’ll meet with a local tour guide this afternoon.

Day 13 – Burgos to Hornillas del Camino (20.kms)

Our departure from Burgos this morning marks the beginning of a new stage in our pilgrimage to Compostela, as well as a significant change in the rhythm of the Camino. Gone are the mountains which have been our constant companions since St. Jean Pied-de-Port, we must now traverse the austere and solitary plains of the Castilian tableland that forms the center of Spain. Meet at the first café in Hornillas to be shuttled to El Molino del Camino.

Day 14 – Hornillas del Camino to Castrojeriz (22 kms)

After breakfast, we return by van to Hornillas and continue our walk. The Camino leads us through Hontanas and later to Castrojeriz, an ancient Roman, and later Visigothic, settlement that was the scene of many battles between Christian and Muslim forces until it was definitively recaptured for Spain by King Alfonso VII in 1131. Shortly before entering the village we will pass beneath the enormous arch of the Convento de San Antón (St. Anthony’s convent), once the property of a medieval religious order famous both for their charity towards pilgrims and their skill at curing a dreaded skin disorder similar to leprosy known as “St. Anthony’s Fire”, which spread throughout Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries.

Day 15 Castrojeriz to Fromista (25.5 kms)

After breakfast we cross the Mostelares Heights and the broad expanse of wheat fields that lead us through the dusty Castillan villages of Itero de La Vega, Boadilla del Camino and finally, we follow one of the channels of the Canal de Castilla. Once in the town of Fromista, you’ll have the opportunity of visiting one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture. Our small hotel is located beside the albergue and across from the Church of St. Martin. Fromista.

Day 16 – Fromista to Carrión de los Condes (20 kms)

From Fromista, we’ll carry on along a footpath that leads us to Carrión de los Condes, where we will sleep tonight. Just before our arrival there, we’ll stop for a visit to Villalcázar de Sirga and its enormous fortified basilica, Santa María la Blanca (St. Mary the White), another one of the properties entrusted to the legendary Templar knights along the Pilgrim’s Way-the other ones being a castle Ponferrada and a church in Galicia

Day 17 – Carrión de los Condes to Terradillos (25 kms)

Our destination today is Terradillos, a small village where in the middle of the seemingly endless expanse of “space” that dominates the province of Palencia. From Terradillos, we shuttle ahead to Sahagún.

Day 18 – Terradillos – El Burgo Ranero (22.3 kms)

Today we walk through Sahagún, the first large town in the province of León. Once known as the “Spanish Cluny”, as it once boasted a famous Benedictine monastery. In the 11th century, King Alfonso VI invited the French monks of Cluny to come and re-found the monastery according to the stricter principles of the new order. For centuries it flourished as a centre of the arts and letters; sadly, today all that remain of this once-great foundation are the great arch of the main entrance and two minor towers. Our walk continues to El Burgo Ranero , but we sleep for a second night in Sahagun.

Day 19 – El Burgo Ranero to Mansilla de las Mulas (19 kms)

The “Calle Real”, or “Royal Highway” is the name of the main street we take when leaving El Burgo Ranero. Once we reach Mansilla de las Mulas, you’ll find sections of it medieval walls, was once an important commercial and livestock trading centre and boasted seven churches and three hospitals to attend to the flow of pilgrim traffic along the Camino de Santiago. Today, only two churches remain. We shuttle ahead to Leon where we sleep for three nights.

Day 20 Mansilla de las Mulas to León (20 kms)

In Roman times, the city of León was founded as a garrison for the Seventh Legion. In the Middle Ages there was no other city on the entire route to Compostela which could boast as many churches, monasteries, convents and hospitals to attend to the sick and the poor as this one. León’s cathedral rivals that of Burgos in its beauty, though in this case it is not only its Gothic architecture but rather its 1,800 square metres of colorful stained glass windows which inundate its interior in a rainbow of light and color that elicits the awe of visitors. By way of contrast to the graceful and soaring cathedral, the nearby Iglesia de Isidoro, next to our hotel, is an elegantly compact and solid example of the Spanish Romanesque. The ceiling of its Royal Pantheon, often called “the Sistine Chapel of Spanish Romanesque art” is covered with an impressive series of medieval paintings depicting the months of the year and the labors appropriate to each, from the planting of crops to their harvesting and the slaughter of pigs.

Day 21 Leon to Oncina de la Valdoncina (12 kms)

From the outskirts of Leon, in a town called Virgin del Camino, we’ll take the south branch of the Camino and leave the highway to the cars and trucks. This is a pleasant walk through typical Castillan countyside. Shuttle back to Leon for a good nights rest.

Day 22 – Oncina de la Valdoncina to Hospital de Orbigo (20 kms)

In the morning, we leave Oncina de la Valdocina and continue our walk along fairly flat terrain until we reach the famous bridge in Hospital de Orbigo where jousting contests once took place. *Note the Asturian Mountains to the North where your guides, Jorge and Mario are from. Once in Hospital de Orbigo, we shuttle ahead to the lovely town of Astorga where we stay two nights at a newly opened “spa” hotel in the town center. Asturica Augustus was an important communications hub for the Romans and the most important city of this region of Spain, known as the Maragatería. So important was the city on the route to Compostela that in the Middle Ages the city boasted up to 25 hospitals for the care of sick and injured pilgrims. Here we will have the opportunity to admire the unusual Episcopal palace designed by Antonio Gaudí, and attend Mass in the cathedral.

Day 23 –Hospital de Orbigo to Astorga (15 Kms)

From Hospital de Orbigo, the landscape begins to rise a bit as we enter small pine forests, vineyards and walk along footpaths made of red clay earth. Plan to view the Roman mosaics, visit the cathedral and the Palacio Arzobispo designed by Antonio Gaudí once back in Astorga. There is even a small chocolate factory here!

Day 24 – Astorga to Rabanal del Camino (22 kms)

Today our journey through the plains of Castile and León and the endless stretches of wheat fields finally reaches an end as we enter the mountains of León. Just 15 years ago, the tiny village of Rabanal del Camino was almost completely deserted, abandoned by its inhabitants who had left to seek work in larger nearby cities such as Astorga and Ponferrada. Its fortunes, like those of many of the villages through which we will pass today and tomorrow, have been revived thanks to the continuous flow of pilgrim traffic each year. In Rabanal, there is a small Benedictine community who recently settled here from San Millan de la Cogolla, in La Rioja. The three monks who live here discovered their vocations on the Camino de Santiago and were later granted permission by their abbot to found a new monastery on the route to attend to the spiritual needs of pilgrims. Tonight plan to celebrate Vespers with the monks in the former parish church of Rabanal, which now serves as the monastery church.

Day 25 – Rabanal del Camino to Ponferrada (31 kms)

Leaving Rabanal, our day’s journey begins with a walk to the semi-abandoned village Foncebadón and, just beyond it, to the Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) The cross is one of the contemporary Camino’s most emblematic points and the highest point on the Camino (1,500 meters, or 4,921feet); here pilgrims often deposit a stone brought from home or some other point along the Camino to deposit at the base of the cross as a symbol of shrugging off the weight of one’s sins. Afterwards, our descent of the mountain takes us to Molinaseca, a lovely riverside village nestled in a bend in the Meruelo River beneath the shadow of the Bierzo Mountains. Be sure to soak your feet in the river before continuing on to Ponferrada, (another 6 kms!) the capital of the El Bierzo region of Spain, and once an important Roman mining town, thanks to the abundance of gold mines once found in the region. Its name (Pons Ferrata in Latin) derives from its bridge which stretches over the River Sil, and which in 1082 was reinforced with iron, another mineral found in abundance in the region. It was the home to the Templar Knights, sworn to the protection of pilgrims traveling the Way of St. James. Their imposing castle still stands, and has become the emblem of the city.

Day 26 – Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo (25 kms)

Today’s journey will be through a well cultivated agricultural region of the Bierzo. We are still in Castilla y Leon, but signs of Galicia are on the horizon. Bierzo has always offered the pilgrims wonderful hospitality and an advantageous point from which to begin the next day’s ascent to O Cebreiro. Villafranca del Bierzo boasts many historical buildings. Upon entering this town, plan to get your stamp at the Church of Santiago on your left. Beside the church is the most famous albergue along the Camino. Be sure to have a beer here with Jato, the owner, and relax before continuing to your little hotel at the far end of the village.

Day 27 –Villafranca del Bierzo to La Faba ( 25 kms)

We leave the hotel and continue our pilgrimage west. The Camino is nestled in the valley floor where we follow the Rio Burbia and later the Rio Valcarce. We’ll pass lots of tiny villages filled with tiny little cafes. Our hotel is in the hamlet of Herrerias, but we continue up the hill to La Faba where your guides will be waiting to shuttle you back down to the hotel for a good nights rest.

Day 28 – La Faba to Triacastela (25 kms) (+ 7 if kms planning to walk to Samos)

Today’s destination is one of the most memorable along the entire Camino. With its stunning vistas of the valleys below from 1300 metres up, the ancient pallozas (pre-Roman stone dwellings built by the Celts), the fog which descends to envelop the village in an enchanted mist even in summer…few places along the Camino are as enchanting as O Cebreiro! O Cebreiro is also the site of a Eucharistic miracle that occurred in the village’s little pre-Romanesque Church of St. Mary’s around the year 1300. The story goes that a farmer from a nearby village one day struggled up the mountain to hear Mass, despite the winter storm that was raging. At the moment of the consecration, the local priest-having lost faith in his vocation and in the sacrifice that he was offering-looked out from the altar at the farmer, alone in the church, and inwardly ridiculed the poor man’s faith. At that very moment, the sacred host visibly changed into flesh and the wine into blood. The chalice and the paten from that long ago Mass are still preserved in the church, in a reliquary donated by Queen Isabella the Catholic herself, who stopped here to venerate the miracle during her own pilgrimage to Santiago in the year 1488. The lush valleys and rolling green hills of Galicia, Spain’s Celtic region, bear more than a little resemblance to Ireland. Today we will pass through numerous small villages dedicated principally to cattle rearing and along simple footpaths that make the bend and transform themselves suddenly into quiet village lanes. Nestled in a tranquil valley, our destination today is Triacastela, founded in the 9th century following the reconquest of this the area from the Muslims. Today nothing remains of the three castles that gave the village its name. To the west of Triacastela, some 7 kms away lays the Benedictine monastery of Samos, one of the oldest in all of Spain and an important symbol of Galician culture. We shuttle ahead to sleep in Samos in a famly run hotel beside the Rio Oribio (option to continue walking there). Before dinner, plan to celebrate Mass and vespers with the monks in the monastery church.

Day 29 – Triacastela ( Samos) -Sarria (15 K from Samos or 21 K from Triacastela)

You are welcome to walk from the hotel in Samos to Sarria (15 K of beautiful countryside) or shuttle back to Triacastela and walk from there, also very beautiful. Our journey today ends in Sarria, the site of an ancient Roman settlement that was repopulated in the 8th century by Bishop Odoario of Lugo. King Alfonso IX of León, who favored the city with several important building projects, died here in 1230. Today, Sarria is one of the biggest towns in this area with all services including laundry!!!!

Day 30 –Portomarín (22 kms)

Just before Portomarín today we pass the 100 kms mark on the Camino, the minimum point from which anyone traveling to Santiago must walk in order to receive the Compostela. The Portomarín in which we will sleep tonight is not the Portomarín that pilgrims in the Middle Ages knew; that one lies below the waters of the reservoir we see beneath the bridge we cross, which was built in 1960, ordered by Franco. The village’s impressive fortified church, built by the monk-knights of the Order of St. John in the 12th century, was disassembled stone by stone and moved up the hill to its present location, together with the balcony of the village’s town hall and the Romanesque façade of the Church of St. Peter. Note the numbers on the building.

Day 31 Palas do Rei (25 kms)

Though it retains nothing of the medieval atmosphere that made it an important village on the medieval pilgrim’s route, Palas de Rei, is a friendly and welcoming place, and it’s where we’ll make our rest for the day. The town’s name (Palace of the King) derives from a legend that says that the Visigothic king Witiza built the town’s palace.Just as it was in the Middle Ages, the Palas de Rei in the center of many small farming hamlets, and fine examples of Romanesque churches throughout the region. Our little hotel is on the edge of town.

Day 32 (Nov 1) Arzúa (28.7 kms)

Our journey today begins in Palas and ends up at the town of Arzúa, just 39 kilometers from Santiago. En route to Arzua, we’ll pass through the bustling small town of Melide, once an important intersection in the Roman Via Traiana and the northern Camino route which come down from the Cantabrian coast. Today we enter from Galicia’s Lugo province into La Coruña, one of four provinces in Galicia. You’ll notice the chestnuts and oaks native to the region gradually give way to fragrant forests of eucalyptus, imported to the region for use in construction in the 19th century.The town of Arzua is known for its creamy cow cheese. Even though you won’t be here at the time of the cheese festival, which takes place in March, you’ll be able to sample this delicious cheese in any of the cafes which line the streets. En route we’ll pass through the bustling small town of Melide, once an important intersection in the Roman Via Traiana and the northern roads descending from the Cantabrian coast. Today we also pass from Galicia’s Lugo province to La Coruña. The chestnuts and oaks native to the region gradually give way to fragrant forests of eucalyptus, imported to the region for use in construction in the 19th century. Arzúa: PAZO SEDOR- Tel: 981 501 600

Day 33 (Nov 2) – Arzúa – Amenal (24 kms)

Our journey today through fragrant eucalyptus forests ends in Amenal, a tiny hamlet only 16 kilometers from our goal, and well positioned so that we may make an early entrance into Santiago tomorrow morning.

Day 34 (Nov 3) –Amenal – Santiago de Compostela (16 kms) This morning, we will want to get an early start so as to reach Santiago before the noon Mass at the catedral. The first town we walk through today is Lavacolla, an important ceremonial halt for pilgrims in the Middle Ages, who used to wash themselves in the river prior to their entry into the holy city of Santiago. If we are lucky, the gigantic botafumeiro will be used at the Mass. Afterwards we will head over to the Pilgrim’s Office to receive our Compostela and later, a guided tour with a local historian.

Day 35 (Nov 4) 

A day out to Finesterra and back. The tour is officially over at 10 a.m. after breakfast.

Santiago de Compostela

 

 

Day 1 to Day 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 10 to Day 20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 20 to Day 29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Final Leg