Camino de Santiago

Michael Kelly 15 November 2019
I had the pleasure of travelling with some friends to Bilbao in Spain on 15th November 2019 to do part of the Camino de Santiago walk or the way of St James from Pamplona to Burgos over 5 days. We spent 7 days overall in Spain. We flew with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Bilbao. We were extremely lucky as the weather was mild each day, we just experienced some rain and snow on our last day of walking. It was a great experience walking the Camino with the peace and quiet of the paths. We were blessed to meet up with other pilgrims each day and shared our experiences over lunch and relaxing pilgrim dinners each evening before we retired for the night in our private rooms at each of the hotels we stayed at after walking an average of 25 kms each day. May-June and September are the best time to walk the Camino de Santiago, as the weather is lovely, downpours less likely, and you'll have plenty of company along the way – but it won't be quite as crowded.

Each day consisted of an early start at 7am walking and we took regular coffee breaks along our walk in lovely quaint villages which were dotted with beautiful churches, simple restaurants, cafes and lovely gothic buildings dating back for hundreds of years. There is pretty much a little village every 5 kms which gave us the opportunity to take a break and have a coffee and experience the peace and quiet of these lovely villages. I did not find the walking difficult, I recommend anyone to have a good pair of hiking boots or comfortable walking shoes with a good grip and light rainproof jacket also. We had no problem staying well hydrated each day as the opportunity to stop and take regular breaks was wonderful.

Our last night finished in the lovely town of Burgos which is home to the famous Cathedral of Burgos, its architecture is very Spanish and Gothic. The town hosts many historic and religious buildings. The old town is lovely and we enjoyed pinchos or tapas as they are known with some beers. The company was brilliant and we met up with a lot of other fellow pilgrims and shared our experiences about our wonderful trip. Everybody was so friendly. Our last night was very memorable in this lovely town of Burgos before we took a bus back to Bilbao the following day to fly home to Dublin.

I really recommend this trip as it is a great life experience for walking enthusiasts. I would be delighted to plan and tailor make a trip for anybody that wishes to walk this pilgrimage route which goes back hundreds of years. Please get in touch to plan your experience. I look forward to hearing from you.