Meeting of the group at 8.30 AM in a central hotel in Madrid (Possibility of booking accommodation nights in Madrid prior to the start of the tour). Departure in our private minibus towards Roncesvalles. During the journey we will present the guide and the logistics of the trip, in addition to showing the film The Way and a documentary about the experience of doing the Camino de Santiago. Lunch in a restaurant, where we will start to meet our fellow pilgrims and enjoy a typical Navarrese menu. Arrival in Roncesvalles. Upon our arrival we will have free time to rest until it is time for those who wish to attend the exciting Pilgrim’s Mass that takes place in the Collegiate Church, a very special first contact with The Way, where we will receive the traditional pilgrim’s blessing. Welcome dinner at the hotel (included).
Breakfast. We move to the nearby Saint Jean Pied du Port, the starting point of the Camino for thousands of pilgrims from France where we will take a walking tour of the town, visiting the first locations where the movie was filmed, such as the train station, the bar where Tom and Jost met each other, the Church of Notre Dame and others, living the atmosphere and the pilgrim excitement together with those who, like us, will cross the Pyrenees on foot, starting their adventure of 800 kilometers (500 miles). Today we start our Camino in the most mythical stage of the French Way, the Napoleon Route to Roncesvalles. We left Saint Jean on foot following in Tom’s footsteps through the famous Notre Dame Gate and Rue d’Espagne. We will go up in our transport, saving the hardest part of the ascent, with stops to admire the impressive landscapes that the French Pyrenees offers. We begin our stage on foot of 10 kilometers (6.3 miles) and that will take us to Roncesvalles, crossing the border on foot with Spain. Stage of medium difficulty. We will walk accompanied by our guide and without haste (Estimated time of about 4 hours on foot, picnic lunch included) enjoying one of the most beautiful and spectacular stages of the Camino. Those who are not in a position to do the stage on foot can continue with our transportation to our accommodation in Roncesvalles. Dinner at the hotel.
After breakfast, we will take a short walk through Roncesvalles to see its main monuments and all those points that appear in the film, such as the hostel where Tom and Jost sleep as well as the mythical roadsign that marks the remaining 790 kilometers to Santiago de Compostela. Our stage on foot today, through the Navarrese Pyrenees, will take us from Alto de Mezquiriz, where Tom deposits part of Daniel’s ashes to Alto de Erro (10 kms / 6.3 miles). We will enjoy the forests and the architecture of these beautiful mountain villages. Already gathered at Alto de Erro and with our transport, on the way to Pamplona, we will make a stop at the Bridge of Rage in Zubiri, where the scene of Tom’s backpack falling into the river was filmed. Arrival in Pamplona and after settling in our central hotel and resting, we will make a visit of the city center with a local guide, ending with a wine in the same place where the scene of Tom and Jost’s confusion between Tapas and Pintxos was filmed … beautiful and fun walk where we will also get to know this city famous for its “Running of the bulls” in the well-known San Fermín festivals and which are internationally known thanks to Ernest Hemingway. Dinner not included. The guide always makes an interesting and typical “pintxos” tour through the city center to which all our pilgrims are invited to join.
Breakfast. Departure from the hotel in our vehicle to the starting point of our walk. Today our stage on foot will be 11 kms (7.2 miles) from the Church where Tom and Jost (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza) meet Sara (Dulcinea) to the Church of Santa María de Eunate. We will ascend the famous Alto del Perón “ Where the Path of the Wind joins the Path of the Stars ” with its well-known monument to the pilgrims and where Tom again deposits Daniel’s ashes. Today we will enjoy lunch (included) at a pilgrims’ hostel before walking the last kilometers to one of the architectural jewels of the French Way, the Hermitage of Santa Maria de Eunate. Once reunited, we continued the Camino with our transport to the nearby town of Puente la Reina, where the Aragonese Way and the Roncesvalles Way converge and is now the only French Way. We will visit the famous Church of the Crucifix, the Church of Santiago and we will finish our short walk in one of the symbols of the Camino de Santiago, the 12th century bridge and symbol of the APOC (American Pilgrims on the Camino). It is exciting to cross this bridge that has been facilitating the passage of pilgrims for 900 years and that gives to this beautiful town its name. On the way to Logroño, we will make brief stops at the well-known Irache Wine Fountain as well as in the town where the characters in the film end up sleeping in the street after meeting the mad hospitalero. Arrival in Logroño and accommodation in a central hotel. Dinner not included. Before dinner the guide will make a walking tour of the city center where we will see the police station where Tom was arrested as well as the pilgrims’ hostel and other locations from the film along with the rest of the city’s outstanding monuments, offering the possibility to dine again based on tapas in the famous Laurel Street in the capital of La Rioja.
Breakfast. We could not pass through La Rioja without experiencing (not with the same results) the excellence of its wines and landscape. We start the day driving to the beautiful town of Nájera, visiting the Monastery of Santa Maria la Real, to later walk through vineyards and cereal fields (6 Kms / 4 miles) to the town of Azofra. Once reunited we will vivit the wineries where the scenes of the food of our protagonists were filmed, which ends with Tom drunk and arrested. We will visit these traditional Rioja wineries and eat in the same place a typical Rioja menu with the famous lamb that Jost was so obsessed with. After lunch we move to another emblematic point of the Camino, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, to see its Cathedral with its famous chicken coop, walls, the pilgrims’ hostel from the 12th century today transformed into a Parador and relax in this typical pilgrim village. Group dinner in our beautiful hotel (Included)
Breakfast. Departure in our transport to the point of the Camino where we will begin our stage today (8 Kms / 5 miles). We will walk through the Montes de Oca, the last forests before reaching the Meseta (Flat lands), to the Monastery of San Juan de Ortega, a place full of history that houses one of the most beautiful Romanesque chapiter in Spain. After the walk we will move to Burgos. City where the episode of Tom and the group with the gypsies and the theft of his backpack takes place. Let’s not expect to find that atmosphere of bonfires and dances in the streets of this city. But we will visit the locations where the main scenes were filmed, very close to the main monuments that interest the pilgrim. Accommodation at the hotel and lunch included in a typical Castilian restaurant closely related to the movie “THE WAY”. After lunch, we will visit the city with a local guide to see its main monuments, as well as the different filming locations of THE WAY. Dinner not included. The guide offers again to accompany you on another interesting visit to the tapas area in the city center, very close to our hotel.
Breakfast. We will drive to our starting point for our stage on foot. Today we will know the central section of the French Way, which crosses the Meseta (Plateau), for some the most difficult part of the Camino, but for others the most special due to its solitude and infinite spaces. We will walk 10 km / 6 miles through the landscapes of the cereal fields. After the walk we will continue following the route of the Camino to the restaurant where we will have lunch in a typical Mesón del Camino. After lunch, we will continue the route to León, but not before without making a few short stops to see those places that the characters of our beloved film passed through. Arrival in León and accommodation. Today the accommodation is really special, since we will stay at the Parador de San Marcos, the luxurious hotel where our protagonists stay at the invitation of Tom. A historic building, former pilgrims’ hostel in the Middle Ages. Dinner included in the Parador.
Breakfast. Today we start the day with a visit to the historic center of León by the hand of a local guide. From its beautiful Gothic cathedral to the Palacio de Botines, the work of Antoni Gaudi. After the visit, with our transport, we will make a brief stop at Puente Órbigo to see the longest medieval bridge in Europe, which has been crossed by pilgrims for 1,000 years. We continue to Astorga, an important town on the French Way, where we will visit, at the foot of the Camino, its Roman walls, the Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace, also designed by Antoni Gaudi before enjoying a lunch in a typical restaurant at the foot of the Camino and thus get the strength for our short but special hike today. After lunch we leave the Castilla plateau behind to ascend to Foncebadón and from there walk to the mythical Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) (2 kms / 1.3 miles). After our walk today, we will descend to the beautiful town of Molinaseca, one of the most beautiful on the Camino, to stay and walk through its beautiful streets and get to know its Roman Bridge. Accomodation in Molinaseca. Dinner (included).
Breakfast. Today again, following the footsteps of the protagonists of our trip, we continue our Way to finally reach Galicia, the last stage of our journey. We begin with a brief stop in Ponferrada to see its famous Templar Castle, which for centuries protected the passage of pilgrims. We head towards the famous O Cebreiro, the entrance to Galicia on the French Way and where we will discover once again some Hollywood tricks with some of the scenes from the movie THE WAY. Our path on foot today begins in La Faba, from where we will go up to O Cebreiro passing through the entrance marker to Galicia (4.8 kms / 3 miles). Upon arrival in O Cebreiro we will have a visit to this village, of Celtic origin, to see its typical constructions, the pallozas and the Church of Santa Maria la Real de O Cebreiro, place of the famous miracle of the chalice and undoubtedly one of the most special sites for the pilgrims in the whole Camino. Lunch at O Cebreiro (Included). We continue with our transport, following the Camino, to Samos, a Monastery founded in the 6th century, with 1,500 years of history where we will know its main places before arriving at our accommodation in Sarria. Today we will stay in a typical Galician Pazo (“palace“) where we will learn more about Galicia and its culture. Dinner (included)
Breakfast. Today our steps already lead us to Santiago. Despite the fact that in the film there are not many scenes walking in Galicia, we cannot miss to get to know this region as it deserves and explore its landscapes throughout the day today. Today our walking path is divided into two sections. We start with a visit to Portomarín and its incredible Church of San Nicolás and surroundings to get to Gonzar. Here we start our first walk knowing a typical pilgrim hostel and walking 5 kms / 3 miles to Ventas de Narón and its beautiful Templar Chapel of La Magdalena. In this section we will visit “Castromaior” a typicall celtic village, 2.500 years old. After this first walk we move, following the Camino, to Melide where we will enjoy a traditional lunch in one of its famous “Pulperias” (Octopus Restaurants). After lunch and with renewed strength, we will walk along one of the most beautiful sections of the French Way in Galicia to the town of Boente (5.6 km / 4 miles). After this walk we will arrive at the gates of Santiago to see the famous Monte do Gozo (Mount of Joy), where we will relive another of the scenes from The Way, a place from where pilgrims can see the towers of the cathedral for the first time. Dinner and accommodation in Monte do Gozo.
Breakfast. Today we enter Santiago as pilgrims, walking the last kilometers from Monte do Gozo to the Cathedral (4.8 kms / 3 miles) where the remains of the Apostle rest and we will attend the pilgrim’s mass and his famous Botafumeiro. After mass we will arrive at our accommodation in the heart of the old town. Free time for lunch (Not included). In the afternoon, we will visit on foot with a local guide the historic center of the city, a world heritage site, and we will visit the Portico de la Gloria, the main entrance to the Cathedral, recently restored and a masterpiece of Romanesque art. Very special farewell dinner full of surprises to celebrate our arrival.
Breakfast. Today, like our pilgrims in the film and tens of thousands like them from Santiago, we move to the beautiful Galician coast, to the Atlantic Ocean. We will go to Muxía, the point of the final scenes of the film THE WAY to see the Sanctuary of Virxe da Barca and conclude the visits to all the points of the Camino that we have known from the hand of these characters. After visiting the place where the legend says that the Virgin Mary appeared to Santiago, we will visit the town of Finisterre. The lighthouse is the place with the Km 0 marker and called the end of the world since Roman times. Lunch in a typical fish and seafood restaurant in Finisterre. After lunch, return to Santiago de Compostela. Free time in the afternoon. Dinner not included.
Breakfast and end of our services. At this point it will not be a goodbye, but a “see you later“, because we are already pilgrims in Santiago and surely life and the Camino will reunite us one day. BUEN CAMINO ALWAYS !!!!
English