What a great start to our 2007 Camino de Santiago Tours - a wonderful, wordly group! They were fortunate to see the Botafumeiro (the giant incense burner) swung through the Cathedral in Santiago - a special treat to end our tour! Here is a picture before our celebratory dinner!
We have just finished our first full day of walking along the Camino de Santiago in 2007! It was a beautiful day coming down from the mountain top village of O'Cebreiro into Tricastela. For a larger sample, click on the picture on the left and keep an eye out for more soon to be published Fresco Photos!
Well, we just finished a great private Spain-taneous tour of the Basque Country with a family from Connecticut. It was a short visit of only 4 days, but we managed to fit in quite a lot of things!
The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage to the sacred tomb of Saint James located in the Northwest corner of Spain. Over a thousand years separate those first faithful footsteps and the steady stream of 21st-century pilgrims that currently wander the streets of Santiago de Compostela. The key to survival is adapting to change and over the last millennium the Camino and pilgrims have transformed in many ways. In 1993, UNESCO declared the Camino de Santiago a world heritage site. It starts from the boarder of France and works it way west to the city of Santiago de Compostela covering some 750 kilometers. Originally, pilgrims had to navigate their way using the sun, moon, stars, and even the Milky Way. Getting lost was part of the journey. Today, the trail is so clearly marked that losing your way is not really an option. With shinny traffic signs, brass and tile scallop shells, and the distinct yellow arrows you'll always be pointed to Santiago.
The oldest documentation of the Compostelana, the official certificate of having completed the pilgrimage, was delivered to André le Breton in the Capilla del Rey de Francia and dates back to 1321. Almost 700 years later, you can still request the Compostelana certificate, complete with your name in Latin. To be eligible you must have either walked or ridden a horse for the last 100 kilometers or bicycled the last 200 kilometers. The demand for this document has grown such that there is now a special Pilgrim's Office that will attend to your petition.
For the complete article, please click here.
We will be walking from O'Cebreiro to Santiago de Compostela. For a detailed map of the distances between towns along the Camino and their respective altitudes, please click on the image to your left. This data has been kindly provided to us by Arturo Murias of : http://www.godesalco.com
Fresco Tours is based in Bilbao, Spain (on the northern coast), home to the magnificent Guggenheim Museum. If you choose to fly into Bilbao, we would be delighted to have your company to drive down to the official starting point of the tour, Burgos. Alternatively, you could fly into Madrid and take either the bus or train (2.5 hours) to Burgos. Please see the attached map for your convenience.
The great thing about the Camino is that it is very well marked and we encourage people to walk at a pace that is comfortable for them - this is not a race! We want you to enjoy the route and we also like to stop with our clients for a coffee or cerveza along the way and take everything in!
After breakfast, we lace up and get the blood going with a walk for a couple hours, where we will do a check point to make sure that everything is OK. You then continue along the Camino for another 1-2 hours where you will come across a complete gourmet picnic prepared with the all the freshest local ingredients. On some days, we continue for 1-2 hours more after lunch to burn off dessertl.
We encourage you to walk before and be prepared for your own enjoyment. However, this is your vacation and not boot camp! During your walk, one of the guides will be on the trail with the group to keep an eye that all is well."These are the questions that have nagged at consumers since the first service transaction. The practice of tipping is meant as a form of thank-you for services rendered, or beforehand as a subtle bribe for special treatment.
Tipping need not be considered mandatory or automatic. Too often, tips are taken for granted or expected regardless of the quality of service. Tipping should be done at your discretion and as a reward for good or superlative service.
If there is one standard rule in tipping it is this: If someone renders special service to you along the way, show your appreciation with a tip."
The amount of KM's scheduled for each day varies from 25KM's to 15KM's. We have designed this tour to allow the possibility to walk the last 100KMs to Santiago, which is a requirement by the Church if you are going to ask for the Compostelana Certificate. However, the walks are accompanied by a support vehicle and options for less (or more!) KM's are possible on a daily basis. We can tailor the Camino to suit your needs!
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