My first 100km trek - #350WordsWeekly

By the end of April, I will start my first trekking adventure, and for my first journey I chose "The Saint James Way" or in the local language "O/El Camiño de Santiago". Compostela is in Galicia, Spain, and this is one of the most popular hiking ways in Europe. One of the reasons is, you can start your journey in several places and follow many different directions (you can check the image on this post to figure out). Only in Portugal we can find 4 different paths and that's why this hike is mentioned using the plural many times.

This is a religious pathway but all of us can do this hike. Catholics will be able to find a special offer like shelters where you can sleep without paying a specific price! But you should be generous, those places depend on your donation. I'm reticent to name those places as hostel because you can find a bed if you arrive soon but if you arrive later maybe you will need to sleep in the floor with your sleeping bag and sleeping pad... Other benefits of a religious hike are discounts for pilgrim in some cafés and restaurants.

If you wish to get a certification of your pilgrimage you should get a "passport" before starting your hike and collect stamps in those places and others such Catholic places and institutional places along the pathway. You will need to hike minimum of 100 km walking or 200 km if you prefer to use a bike. Accomplishing this step, you will be able to apply for your "Compostela" (“Compostela” is the name of certification). Remember, these benefits are for Catholic pilgrims only.

Don’t worry if you aren’t Catholic, you will be able to find places to sleep too and you will hike behind forests and villages full of cultural references. 

This way is marking by yellow arrows or scallops. The scallop is a symbol of this journey and for my first journey I pretend to follow these marks from Tui to Santiago. I’m choosing a short distance maybe, but this is the recommendation for starters.

The sections I will chose are:

Tui - Redondela (31km / 19mi)
Redondela – Pontevedra (17.5km / 11mi)
Pontevedra - Caldas de Reis (22km / 13.5mi)
Caldas de Reis - Padrón (19km /12mi)
Padrón - Compostela (25km / 15.5mi)

and I’m thinking about divide the first section in 2 parts. I hope you enjoyed this post and, in that case, kindly comment, subscribe and share. I will be sharing my adventure soon.

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