Compostela - Spain

Travel Story

This article is the sequel of the pilgrimage that started in France. If you haven’t read it yet, you can check it in details here » .

Here, we are focusing on our journey from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, to Fisterra in Spain.

We were excited to visit a different country while still following Camino de Santiago.

At first, we considered walking the North coast of Spain via the Camino del Norte. But in the end, we decided to take the Camino Frances as we knew at the time of this trip, fewer people than usual would actually walk it, thanks to the Covid crisis.

Santiago is the official finish line for the pilgrimage, but we wanted to walk that extra distance until Fisterra, the “End of the World” according to the first pilgrims.

To wrap it up, towards the end of this trip, we realized that achieving this pilgrimage was more a mental challenge than a physical one. For example, we experienced a great difficulty to walk between Santiago and Fisterra as we felt that Santiago marked the end of our journey.

Anyway, if you keep making one step after the other, you will eventually reach your destination. If we could do it, you can also make it.

The way has been paved by those who achieved it before, and we wish you to follow their steps as well.

Ultreïa!

Overall feel

What we appreciate

• The pilgrims came from all over the world
• Welcoming atmosphere towards the pilgrims
• Clean facilities

What we dislike

• National break time between 14:00 and 16:00, called siesta
• Public water taps for the pilgrims were removed or cut off
• Foreign pilgrims taking pictures of us without asking for our permission
• The Spanish part felt much more touristic

In details

Stats

• Way of travelling: Walking
• Starting date: August 23, 2021
• Duration: 41 days
• Distance: 890 km

Crossing the border

Crossing the border between France and Spain consisted in climbing up and down the Pyrenees. There wasn’t any clear demarcation, so we didn’t know exactly when we actually passed the official border. We only realized it as we entered Roncevalles, the first town on the Spanish Camino.

At that time, we were supposed to get tested for the Covid, but there was not any controllers around the border.

Fab 🇫🇷

As a French national, you can of course stay as long as you want in Spain.

Mina 🇯🇵

Mina had a working holiday visa which allowed her to stay inside the Schengen area for one year.

Otherwise, Japanese passports’ holders can stay 90 days in 6 months inside the Schengen area.

Road condition

The road is still well-maintained. Compared to the French part, it’s way busier, especially as you approach Santiago. We could feel on our way that the towns’ economy relied mainly on the pilgrims. Also, since Spain is a wider territory, the distance between each village is greater. Expect to walk 10~15km in average to reach the next town.

Regarding the weather, it was hot and dry until we entered Galicia. From there, it was rainy and windy most of the time.

Funny thing is, it resembles the French Finisterre as both share the same weather, same geography and same Celtic culture.

Accommodations

We have little experience as we only stayed at normal accommodations three times. But according to the other pilgrims, most of them are full-booked quickly. They had to plan their journey ahead, and make reservations for every day.

Alternatively, you can choose to stay at a donativo (accommodation based on donations) or a public albergue (hostel) run by the local council. In both cases, they don’t accept reservations. You need to arrive there before the siesta (14:00~16:00) to be able to get a bed. We could witness many pilgrims queuing many hours before the check-in time.

Anyway, you can expect really clean facilities wherever you decide to stay in Spain.

Freedom camping

Freedom camping is not as easy and popular as it was in France, but it is still possible to do it. Even though the locals didn’t really care much, they didn’t expect to see freedom campers either. We would try to find a good spot a little bit further from the villages if possible. Also, if you pitch your tent to close to the main path, you might get awakened by the other pilgrims, as they tend to start their walk before the sunrise. In general, they are not noisy, but they would use bright head torches and can potentially disturb your sleep.

Another tip we should give you is to mind the sprinklers. The Spanish seem to really enjoy gardening, and they tend to use them everywhere. We got up a few times because of our tent getting suddenly wet at 3:00 AM.

Facilities

As we mentioned earlier, we had to walk longer distances between each village. Additionally, not every village had shops or public facilities, such as toilets, water taps or benches…

However, whenever you can find them, there are in neat condition, but mind the siesta schedule.

It’s good to know that every super market has a restroom corner where we would refill our water bottles. There, we appreciated that we could find fresh products as a lower price than in France.

Regarding the drinking water, it was actually difficult to access it. It seems that all the public water taps on the Camino had been removed (on purpose?). We could find running ones a few hundred meters away from the main path, in larger cities.

Otherwise, it’s easier to ask the locals to refill your bottles with the following sentence: “Necessito agua, por favor”. To all Spanish speakers, please forgive us our mispronunciation.

Communication with the locals

Spanish mainly speak Spanish. We both cannot speak Spanish so it was a little bit difficult at first. I had to use French words as it sounds more similar to Spanish ears.

Even though Spanish are helpful and friendly, their way of communicating might feel aggressive. We had to get used to it. If you speak loudly, they will understand you better, somehow.

Something we noticed is that Spanish are really active people, especially between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM. The locals will happily chat with you while doing their long walks within this time frame.

Food

Mina had some trouble digesting the Spanish paprika. Since it is a central ingredient in the Spanish cuisine, we had to avoid 90% of the local prepared food. Plus, I’m vegetarian and the Spanish dishes include a lot of meat and fishes.

Our only option left was the “tortilla de patata”, the Spanish potato omelette, that we would have everyday.

Hopefully, if you decide to visit this country, you will be able to enjoy the local specialties better.

Otherwise, we could find many fresh fruits and vegetables for a bargain. We especially enjoyed the watermelons.

Vegetarian friendly:

⭐⭐⭐☆☆

Like in France, the vegetarian diet is not part of the Spanish culture. However, we could prepare our own meals easily with the local produces. Special mention to the local olive oil that was the best one we’ve ever had so far.

What we eat:

• Arroz (local rice)
• Tomatoes
• Watermelons
• Tortilla de patata
• Olive oil
• Chocolate
• Digestive biscuits
• Gaspacho
• Kefir

⭐ Fab's favourite:

Fresh Watermelons

⭐ Mina's favourite:

Hot chocolate with churros

5 memorable places

Santiago de Compostela	The official finish line for all the pilgrims
Zariquiegui	Peaceful and beautiful view on the dry valley
Irache	Free wine tap
La Casa de los Dioses	Camp managed by volunteers where you can find food, shelters and other pilgrims
Fisterra	The actual end of Camino the Santiago for us