This year I will embark on yet another Camino walk. This will be my fifth time there, and walking six different routes this year. This year will also be my longest walk exceeding 1000km or 600 miles. About half of this year’s route will be new to me, and the other half, will be on previously walked trails.

The Camino is a unique experience, even between companions, each one will have a different experience, challenges, and take-aways. There is a saying on the Camino: Your camino starts when you reach Santiago. The tomb Santiago or Saint James of course being the typical destination, located in the north-western corner of Spain, in Galicia, in the city of Santiago de Compostela. The most known route is the Camino Frances which runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the south western part of France, and travels 790km to Santiago. This was my first Camino in 2015. I physically suffered during this Camino, but I got hooked, and returned to walk the Camino Norte and Camino Primitivo in 2017, then the Camino Portuguese in 2017, and then the Camino Olvidado in 2022.

This year, I will start in Bayona France, and walk the Camino Norte along the cost of the Bay of Biscay for 16 days. Of these 16 days, six will be new to me. After the 16 days, I will then head south and cross the Cantabrian Mountains on the Camino Vadiniense – all new to me – for eight days. I then connect to the Camino Olvidado in Cistern for two days – which I have walked before, and then head north for five days on the Camino Salvador – new to me – to once again cross the Cantabrian Mountains to the city of Oviedo. From Oviedo, I head south west to cross the Cantabrian Mountains one more time on the Camino Primitivo for 11 days (I’ve walked this route before), and then finally in the town of Melide, I connect with the Camino Frances for the final three days. That’s a total of 45 days on the trail, and lots of coast, but mostly mountains. The route is roughly the neon green highlighted in the map below.

I plan to share my journal on this blog of this Camino as I have shared other adventures. I leave California on April 24th and will start walking a few days later. Feel free to ask questions, and share the blog to anyone who might be interested.

As we say on the Camino… Buen Camino!