Holiday In Spain

Saturday 5 April 2025

I have just two days now before I set off, initially to Stanstead Airport for my flight to Biarritz, ahead of my Camino trek. The path I will be taking is the Camino Francés, one of the many ancient pilgrimage routes that leads to Santiago de Compostela, in the Spanish region of Galicia near the country’s north western extreme. I have now booked my accommodation for the first two nights; Monday evening will see me in the French city of Bayonne, before I take a local train down to the Pyrenean foothills, to St Jean Pied de Port, where I will stay overnight on Tuesday before starting my 800 kilometre trek up into the mountains, on Wednesday morning. All being well I will arrive in Santiago just over a month later – but let’s not get ahead of myself just yet!

Yesterday afternoon I completed my ‘dress rehearsal’ – a full packing exercise that proved, just about, that I could fit my entire belongings for my five-week trek into my trusty 30-litre rucksack. This effort proved more challenging than on my earlier hikes, mainly because I have to take a sleeping bag on this occasion for some of the overnight accommodation in which I am likely to be staying. I have made several economies to achieve this awesome packing feat, jettisoning some clothing and more than one or two ‘luxuries’. As for walking poles, I will need to buy these early on the trail, as such weapons cannot be taken into the cabin of the plane (they would need to travel in the hold as ‘sports equipment’ for an additional cost of £40-something each way). I will also need to buy a penknife, and a second water bottle, before I set off from southern France.

The easy element of preparation on this particular trip is the route planning, as the Camino Francés is, by all accounts, very well signposted. I also have a most comprehensive guidebook, John Brierley’s excellent (and annually updated) ‘A Practical & Mystical Manual For the Modern-day Pilgrim’, that contains many maps and detailed information on the route, together with hints on mindfulness and the spiritual side of the Camino experience.

So the next two days are free for me to enjoy with Rachel, and with family and friends, before I set off on Monday morning. I will check in here again then and, subject to wifi availability, daily as I progress along the Camino Francés. Thank you so much to those who are following my travels – see you again very soon!

My Blog heading today ‘Holiday in Spain’ is a suitable choice for an imminent Iberian adventure. The words are borrowed from the title of a 2002 song by California rock band Counting Crows, written by the group’s frontman Adam Duritz. The number first appeared on the band’s fourth studio album ‘Hard Candy’, before being re-recorded two years later as a ‘duet’ with Dutch pop-rock band BLØF that topped the charts in the Netherlands.