I loved Lourdes, which was my starting point in 2016. I lit a candle before I started walking for those suffering in Syria at the time. The evening procession was beautiful and the morning mass in the grotto was said in several languages, including arabic. Truly a place of peace.
As a pilgrim, it doesn’t really matter where we walk, but why we walk. And, as Machado and Serrat said: “walker, there is no road, you make the road by walking...”
Buen Camino.
I did Brisbane-Dubai-Barcelona (and then train to Lourdes, where I started my walk) and returned via Madrid-Dubai-Brisbane. It was the most direct way for me.
Enjoy Burgos, a lovely city. I did not encounter any thieves, just a lady playing music in front of the old archway into the cathedral square, by the river, who insisted in having money before I filmed her... What I did discover was the nicest Sevillian gin: 'Puerto de Indias'. Buen Camino!
Hi roamingpaddy, I did this route in early September 2016, except that I stayed in Arudy instead of Ste Colome and in Ordiarp instead of Mauleon. The route is generally well marked with red and white markers. The only tricky sections were leaving L'Opital St Blaise (where I decided to follow the...
Hi Falcon269, I walked from Lourdes to SdC in Sept 2016. It added 7 days compared with starting in SJPdP. It was definitely quiet but I did not feel as if it was remote. It is certainly neither wild not strenuous. It is a lovely walk, very green, with lovely villages and little towns with old...
I took my 17-40 f4 attached to my 6d and wouldn't have lasted too long. And my 70-200 f 2.8 was never a sensible option, regardless of how I carried it!
I cosidered taking my 50mm f1.8 because of small size and light weight, as well as the large aperture benefits, but I opted for the wide angle...
Mmm...that looks really uncomfortable to me... For a small camera, maybe... but with a typical dslr and lens weighing around 2kgs or more, all that weight hanging from a clip off one side strap and bouncing on your chest with every step for 6 hours or so.... I think I would hate it within 5...
Yes, I would have loved to take my 70-200 but that was clearly beyond what I considered sensible... Too heavy, too expensive, too obvious and too silly to take with me to the showers every day!!! My 14-35 was not a bad compromise... Especially for inside the old churches and for the ochre hills...
I agonised for months over this same issue before my Camino last year. Finally, I ended up walking 1000 kms from Lourdes to SdC with my Canon 6D and the 17-40 EF lens in the camera bag attached to the backpack straps at hip height (all 3kgs of gear) and it never bothered me a single bit. I did...
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon