Allison Cowie

How does one walk over 500 miles from the Pyrenees to the Atlantic? They just follow the yellow scallop shells, of course.

I’ll be hiking the Camino Francés, which is the most popular of many routes that make up the Camino de Santiago. My Camino Francés will begin on the French side of the France-Spain border, in a small village called Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. On my first day of hiking, I’ll cross over into Spain, staying the night in Roncesvalles. I’ll follow the trail (marked with those scallop shells!) westward across northern Spain, crossing through small towns and major cities such as Pamplona and León en route to Santiago de Compostela. After reaching Santiago, I plan to continue walking for a few more days on the Camino Finisterre, which will take me to the “Edge of the World” — the Atlantic coast off Galicia, north of Portugal.

I’m basing my itinerary on the one shared by Stingy Nomads, which has many great resources on the Camino. Following this plan, I’ll average around 15 miles a day for 37 days to get from SJPDP to the ocean.

I expect I’ll have to work hard to not rush through my Camino. When I was backpacking with friends through Torres del Paine last year, I usually finished at the head of the pack. I love walking fast, but I usually do this at the expense of water breaks and photo opportunities. I also need to slow down so I don’t overdo it on the first few days… the trail should take me at least five weeks to cover, and an injury would make the remaining hike difficult at best. So I’ll be trying my hardest to slow down, drink plenty of water, and take lots of pictures to share on the blog.