Camino Norte (last week from Terra Che)

1.)   Summary | Contribution

The last week of the Camino Norte, from Villalba, in the province of Lugo, to Santiago de Compostela is approximately 110km | A non-refundable deposit of €195 is requested to reserve your place. The total contribution per XirCammini member (including the deposit) is €695 and this covers

1. Airport transfers from Porto Airport to the first accommodation in Spain and from the last accommodation in Spain to Porto Airport
2. Other local transport
3. Daily baggage transfers (max 10 kg cabin bag per person)
4. Accommodation in twin / double sharing accommodation on B&B basis. A choice of accommodations include Casa / Hotel Rural, pensions and a monastery.
5. 3 dinners.
6. Credencial, assistance in obtaining the Compostela certificate.

The camino is spread on 5 walking days walking days and due to the inavilability of choice accommodation, other than donativos and municipal albergues at various etapas, we have included multiple nights in the some accommodations and daily person transfers. Thank you.

Please follow this link to register your interest. Do not pay anything at this stage. A non-refundable deposit of €195 will be requested once we have the required minimum number of persons interested:

2.)   Flights

Flight information is as follows. Do not book before we confirm that we have the required minimum number of persons registered / interested to join:

Outgoing: FR1509 Malta – Porto on 24th September and

Incoming: FR1510 Porto – Malta 1st October

3.)   Important Notes

XirCammini is not a tour operator or travel agent. We are a not-for-profits, membership-based association registered in Malta with the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations (VO: 1646). This explains why our pricing is some 15% – 30% lower than that of other organisations and generally offers more, i.e. our walks are not self-guided (although one can walk part or all of the way on their own). We set off as a group with a group leader from among our members who is an experienced Camino afficionado. This means that, at all times, you have someone to assist and, if required, trouble-shoot. Even with very well planned an executed itineraries, occasionally there could be a last minute issue with, say, accommodation or land transport, a mis-directed baggage that does not arrive at a particular accommodation, an injury etc. So, having the support of a group and a group leader can be a relief. In terms of accommodation we tend to choose varied accommodation (i.e. a monastery, a hotel, pension and where available, a casa rural etc.) almost without exception on a twin room basis (other than where we add a private albergue experience). From the baggage that arrives at our daily destination we can also safely assume that our accommodation is generally the same as the ones used by more established Camino tour operators. What we try to achieve is that pilgrims travelling with us have all the basic essentials catered for while in Spain, leaving you to concentrate on the spiritual journey, social interaction and camaraderie. Being in a group also means that you will make new friends from different walks of life but who share the same passion for the Camino.

4.)   Membership

Since we are a membership-based association, people travelling with us would need to be members of XirCammini.

5.)   Camino Norte: Introduction |Length | Terrain

At over 860km in Spain alone, the Camino Norte is one of the longest Camino on Spanish soil, starting from either in Bayonne in France or in Irun or Santander in Spain.  We will be walking the last stages of the Camino Noerte from Villalba to Santiago de Compostela. The distance is of around 110km, making it eligible for the Compostela for walking pilgrims from the Pilgrim’s Office once you reach Santiago. The Camino Norte currently attracts less than 2% of all Camino pilgrims applying for the Compostela in the Pilgrim Office in Santiago.

The Camino is a scenic one which means, there will be some elevations and distances may vary on a daily basis due to ruta complementarias. The lack of accommodation (other than municipal albergues and donativos) means that we will use additional transport to and from certain accommodations where we would have repeat nights.

• Villalba to Baamonde + – 20km Today’s walk would be through wooded areas and rural villages in the Terra Chá region of Galicia.
• Baamonde to Friol+ – 25km. From Vilalba we walk in the direction of Miraz and then go off-piste to our accommodation, a casa rural, in Friol. (inclusive of dinner)
• Marcela to Biomorto + – 25km. Our walk will take us from Marcela, through Sobrado dos Monxes (famous for its monastery) and to one of our highest points on this Camino. Enjoy the panorama. In Sobrado there is a 10^th century monastery with a façade that is a remarkable work of art. we will continue the walk to Biomorto and from there transport will take us back to our accommodation in Friol. (inclusive of dinner)
• Biomorto – Rua + – 28km: We would be sharing part of this route with pilgrims from the Camino Frances (who would be meet us after Arzua and will experience some uphills as we get closer to Santiago. In Rua we will stay at a beautiful Casa Rural (inclusive of dinner)
• Rua to Santiago de Compostela + – 22km:  Today’s walk heads initially towards a wooded area and then continues mainly on roads to Monte de Gozo and into Santiago de Compostela at >250m above sea level .

6.)   Some other practical matters

For members joining us from overseas you can either meet us at the airport or we can agree to meet at the first accommodation in Villalba the evening before we start walking.

Well before the Camino we also set up a WhatApp group for the pilgrims on the Camino so that you start interacting beforehand with questions, practical advice, food or medicine intolerances etc