Donline's Blog: Camino: The Summary!

Kim & Don's Camino. 21 to 31 May 2016.

3427Km (road distance actually travelled).

We have had a fabulous Camino journey, & have been so pleased that many of our friends have (virtually) travelled it with us! It was a fantastic journey, we met so many lovely people, went to so many wonderful places. This is now the second time that we have been blessed to visit Santiago de Compostela. Once on Cruise, this time by motorcycle. God willing we will visit (at least?) one more time - the "proper way" a walked pilgrimage from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela. As this will take us around six weeks to complete, we sadly wont be able to do this for some years, but it's most definitely on the "bucket list". Actually, it is the bucket list!

"The Way of Saint James" is never meant to be an easy path.

We did have a share of difficulties:

A major fuel dispute in France: at times leaving us with NO fuel!
On a few occasions: torrential weather!
SatNav that developed major power issues & kept switching itself off at the most inopportune moments!
Helmet intercoms that kept disconnecting - a major safety issue at large road junctions.

By the Grace of God, & the help of the Apostle, none of these turned out to be show-stoppers (but could of done - especially fuel!), and also didn't spoil the enjoyment of our journey.

Below we have compiled some information on what we did, how we did it, & inspirational reading / viewing - which might help you on "The Way".

If you would like further information on how we planned our Camino, please contact me via this Blog.

This is roughly the route that we took. The only really significant change was that we had to drop the leg from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre - I had scheduled for just too many Km by far that day, and sadly that section had to go.

Don & Kim’s 2016 Camino by motorbike - Day by Day

Leaving home: Denmead, Portsmouth Ferry Terminal.

Day 1: France: Caen/Ouistreham, Domagne, Tours.

Day 2: St George's de Bailleraux, Cognac & Bordeaux, Limoges.

Day 3: Bordeaux, Pomerol, Saint-Émilion, Toulouse.

Day 4: France Lourdes, Pays Basque St Jean Pied de Port.

Day 5: Pays Basque Pyrenees, Spain Pamplona, Logrono, Zarraton.

Day 6: San Juan de Ortega, Burgos, Lean, Astorga.

Day 7: RAIN! Santiago de Compostela, Lodoso.

Day 8: Asturias region, Villapedre.

Day 9: Gijon, Picos de Europa, Torrelavega, Santander.

Day 10: Ferry crossing, Portsmouth, Denmead home!

Holly, our wonderful Honda Crosstourer Highlander VFR1200X - who was good as gold the whole trip. A truly great bike: fast, comfortable & able to haul the two of us & significant amounts of luggage without complaining! Well done Holly! Now to book her in for a well deserved service!

http://www.honda.co.uk/motorcycles/range/adventure/vfr1200x-2016/overview.html