T -6 Travel Logistics and Schedule

This title may leave you, dear reader, under the impression I’m prepared, under control and well organized. That would be a myth...

Last time I walked I was 6 months ahead of the curve, deciding in the spring of 2003 to head for Spain in September of that year. Lots of research, planning, details and the like. This year’s sojourn was committed to stone a little over a week ago, around August 15th. My ticket was booked the following day and I’ve been training like a mad fiend ever since. More on that another day.

Late the 28th of August, less than a week from now, I’m outta here to Frankfurt, with a connection the following morning on to Madrid. I shoulda checked the corresponding train and bus schedules needed to get me the rest of the way to Roncevalles or St. Jean Pied de Port (SJPP), one of my two possible starting locales. SJPP, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port a little French town on the eastern face of the Pyrenees, is where I started before. It is the traditional kick off point for most. Problem with it is that the first day’s trek involves going over the Pyrenees, up 3500 vertical feet along with almost 30 kilometers/18 miles of walking. Roncevalles http://www.whatpamplona.com/roncesvalles.html the first village in Spain, is most notable for its position on the western side of the Pyrenees, taking the mountain trek, resplendent with sweat, tears and possibly blood, out of my equation. Given my late decision to do the Camino, and limited (read not yet adequate) training, I’m not sure which place to head for. Stay tuned.

Anyway, the airplane ride was a points flight and I got it with almost no notice, something akin to winning a lottery. I booked it right away without the rest of the travel details covered. Turns out my connections to the Camino trailhead take me north via rail from Madrid into Pamplona. I then turn eastward for my destination(s). Trouble is the Madrid-Pamplona milk run arrives at 6:30 PM, and the last east bound bus leaves 30 minutes earlier. So I don’t have an elegant plan (yet) for getting out of Pamplona, which leaves me some 50 or 80 kilometers short of my respective targets on the 29th. My hope is to start walking August 30th, the reality may be the 31st.

From the Pyrenees, the pace is about 25-28 km or 15-17 miles/day. 2-3 days on foot should see me back to Pamplona; a week into the journey is Logrono, with another 7 days to Burgos, which completes the first 300 kilometers. Then there’s 8 days needed to cross the arid central plain, the mesetas, leading into Leon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n,_Spain A couple of days passed Leon transitions into the final 300 km/180 miles of the walk. It’s defined by two ranges, the Mountains of Leon and the Sierras. I’m then into the rolling Celtic-like country of the northwest, closing the kilometers to my destination; the city of Santiago de Compostela http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela

With luck and no broken or seriously damaged parts, I should arrive the last day of September, leaving 1-2 days to put my feet up, sip a little wine in the cafes, and relax. My fondest memories of Santiago from my last adventure is reconnecting with walkers I had met somewhere during the previous 30 days. Those were occasions of great emotion; strangers only weeks earlier, they had become immense in my heart. Such a chance encounter on the streets of Santiago was to instantly fall into a huge hug, a smile of loving satisfaction, and the understanding that we were somehow joined, perhaps eternally, as fellow pilgrims. I cherished those last days. There were immeasurably beautiful. I hope for more of the same in slightly more than a month.