We’ve arrived to Santiago de Compostela!

What a great start to our 2007 Camino de Santiago Tours – a wonderful, worldly group! They were fortunate to see the Botafumeiro (the giant incense burner) swung through the Cathedral in Santiago – a special treat to end our tour! Here is a picture before our celebratory dinner!

For a look at some more of our tour pictures, see: April Photos

Gracias and hasta pronto! Alex

29 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago | No Comments

April Camino de Santiago Tour has begun!

We have just finished our first full day of walking along the Camino de Santiago in 2007! It was a beautiful day coming down from the mountain top village of O’Cebreiro into Tricastela. For a larger sample, click on the picture on the right and keep an eye out for more soon to be published Fresco Photos!

We are excited to have a trully international group of clients with 3 from Canada, 3 from Denmark, 2 from Hong Kong, 1 from Norway, 1 from the UK, and 1 from Australia! We are looking forward to a great week!

More soon as we are off to dinner……

Saludos and buen camino!

Alex

20 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago | No Comments

Basque Country Tour, April 2007

Well, we just finished a great private Spain-taneous tour of the Basque Country with a family from Connecticut. It was a short visit of only 4 days, but we managed to fit in quite a lot of things!

Some of the highlights were:

• Bilbao and the Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry’s titanium masterpiece.
• The coast of Vizcaya, which included Gernika and the tiny hermitage of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.
• San Sebastian and the fabulous concha beach and an interesting guided tour the Chillida-Leku Musuem, the Basque Country’s most famous sculpture’s country farm house.
• A visit to the Rioja Wine region where Gehry’s new gem, the Marques de Riscal Hotel, was opened last year.

Feel free to have a glimpse at some of our photos!

14 Apr 2007 in Basque | No Comments

The Camino de Santiago, The More Things Change….

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage to the sacred tomb of Saint James located in the Northwest corner of Spain. Over a thousand years separate those first faithful footsteps and the steady stream of 21st-century pilgrims that currently wander the streets of Santiago de Compostela. The key to survival is adapting to change and over the last millennium the Camino and pilgrims have transformed in many ways.

In 1993, UNESCO declared the Camino de Santiago a world heritage site. It starts from the boarder of France and works it way west to the city of Santiago de Compostela covering some 750 kilometers. Originally, pilgrims had to navigate their way using the sun, moon, stars, and even the Milky Way. Getting lost was part of the journey. Today, the trail is so clearly marked that losing your way is not really an option. With shinny traffic signs, brass and tile scallop shells, and the distinct yellow arrows you’ll always be pointed to Santiago.

The oldest documentation of the Compostelana, the official certificate of having completed the pilgrimage, was delivered to André le Breton in the Capilla del Rey de Francia and dates back to 1321. Almost 700 years later, you can still request the Compostelana certificate, complete with your name in Latin. To be eligible you must have either walked or ridden a horse for the last 100 kilometers or bicycled the last 200 kilometers. The demand for this document has grown such that there is now a special Pilgrim’s Office that will attend to your petition.

For the complete article, please click here.

07 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago | No Comments

What is the change in elevation on the Camino de Santiago Tour?

We will be walking from O’Cebreiro to Santiago de Compostela. For a detailed map of the distances between towns along the Camino and their respective altitudes, please click on the image to your right. This data has been kindly provided to us by Arturo Murias of: http://www.godesalco.com

07 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago, FAQs | No Comments

How do I get from Santiago Compostela to Madrid?

Your best bet would probably be to catch a plane from Santiago to Madrid. You could go by train or bus, but they take a very long time. There are excellent internal flights (cheaper than the train and bus – flights can be as low as 50Euros!) that fly Santiago to Madrid. The companies that service this route are:

• Vueling Airlines
• Iberia Airlines
• Spanair

01 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago, FAQs | No Comments

Does the group stop for breaks on the Camino de Santiago Tour?

The great thing about the Camino is that it is very well marked and we encourage people to walk at a pace that is comfortable for them – this is not a race! We want you to enjoy the route and we also like to stop with our clients for a coffee or along the way and take everything in!

01 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago, FAQs | No Comments

What is a typical day like on the Camino de Santiago Tour?

After breakfast, we lace up and get the blood going with a walk for a couple hours, where we will do a check point to make sure that everything is OK. You then continue along the Camino for another 1-2 hours where you will come across a complete gourmet picnic prepared with the all the freshest local ingredients.On some days, we continue for 1-2 hours more after lunch to burn off dessert.

In the afternoon, we go to our hotels, where we take a shower, siesta and just relax! We finish our day with a glass of tinto and a feast of the local gastronomy. We then retire for the night and get ready to do it again! On some afternoons, we have planned excursions, such as a visit to an ancient monastery or perhaps a massage at a spa!

01 Apr 2007 in Camino de Santiago, FAQs | No Comments