Why would we hike across Spain??

Miles Today: 0
Total Miles: 0

Very soon we begin our “pilgrimage” on the Camino de Santiago, where we will mostly walk....and bike a little....from St Jean Pied du Port in France, over the Pyrenees mountains into Spain, then east to west across Spain to the town of Santiago. 

Santiago is the traditional end point for the various Caminos or ‘pilgrim routes’ that originate all across Europe and have been used for over 1100 years. Hundreds of thousands of people travel by foot, bike, or horseback each year. The route that we plan to do is the most popular route with well over 200,000 “pilgrims” per year, most on foot traveling at least 100 km and many walking 800 km (500 miles) or more before reaching Santiago.

The ‘reason why’ varies from person to person. For many it is a time of inner growth, a physical challenge, and an opportunity to meet others from around the world. Some  were inspired by the 2010 movie The Way starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez——available on Netflix if you want to get a sense of what we are doing! Others have had this adventure on their bucket list for years.

The initial “we” is me, my good friend Scot “Blaze” Smith and Scot’s fraternity brother Rick “Chumley” Rumbaugh. We will mostly walk the 700 km to Sarria, Spain where my wife Judy and Scot’s wife Eileen will join us for the 100 km to Santiago and then all 5 of us continue on to the west coast of Spain along the Camino Finisterre for another 90 km to the town of Muxia.

Approximately 580 miles in total including about 115 miles on bikes. For the walking portion we plan to average about 16 miles per day. 

I have never done a blog before, but numerous friend have asked that I send photos so I thought I would give this blog format a try. My goal is mostly a few photos a day with some details of the day with a wee bit of philosophy and thoughts thrown in.

The frequency of posts depends upon internet availability, hiking fatigue level, and perhaps Spanish wine consumption.

I hope you decide to follow us in our adventure.

The HikeAcrossSpain begins the first week of April! 

Terry Davis