Two Weeks to Go

Preparing for Spain

My partner and I are putting together more details about our upcoming 4-week adventure, divided between 8 days of sight-seeing and 15 days of volunteer service. That allows for 5 days of unhurried travel both to/from Spain and within the country.

Cathedral Santa Maria de Regla de Leon (photo by me)

Choosing Our Travel Spots

This was relatively easy.

We wanted the two cities to be up north due to the intense heat in southern Spain.

We chose Leon because it is big with much to see and do.

Then we chose A Coruna because it is on the ocean and in Galicia, near Santiago. We get beautiful panoramas, and a short trip to report to the albergue in Ribadiso.

Places to Visit

Taking 8 days to visit the historical city of Leon and the oceanic city of A Coruna will be a new style of travel for us. 

We are thru-hikers, not sight-see'ers, but that is how this particular camino is working out. 

And truth be told, we are looking forward to the newness, the opportunity to enjoy a locality with more depth and the ability to view each day as kind of a down day.

Although we have experience with Galicia from our Camino Cataluna Aragon in 2023, where we caught the train from Zaragoza to Santiago, and then followed the traditional route to Finesterra and then Muxia, we did not have experiences with the peregrinos of the Camino Frances.

Travel

International flights require precision. 

One would think that the number of layovers is the most important factor, but that is not the case. 

Where the layovers occur is much more important.

In Great Britain, even if the layover is solely for international transit, one must, e.g. at Heathrow, process through immigration and customs. Additionally, currently one must have a pre-approved international entry visa, even though never leaving the international section of the airport. And that means, unfortunately, luggage collection and re-check.

The shorter the layover, the higher the probability of a missed connection due to weather or maintenance or crew staffing and so on.

If not at the final destination, the first layover inside the European Union’s internal border control Schengen zone still requires processing through immigration and customs before making the connecting flight.

Because of our camino-not-a-camino plan for this year's adventure in Spain, the travel plans are simpler.

We fly from Rochester to JKF NY, and make the connecting flight to Madrid, where our plane travels end. I can not emphasize enough - BYPASS THE UNITED KINGDOM, if needing a layover. Once we process into the Schengen zone, we will take a train. 

We have not reserved the train as we can not be certain of the time required to clear the EES system. With no reservation, we have no stress about missing the train. After all, it is quite some distance from Madrid's Barrajas airport to the main train station in the central city.

The return flight is Madrid to Atlanta to Rochester. We gave our layover in Atlanta sufficient time, that unless there is an issue with Immigration staffing, we should make the second leg of our travel home without problem.

Frankly, the return trip matters a whole lot less. If we are stuck somewhere, it is an adventure, not a delay or hassle.

Travel documents

Passports are easy. We have our passports and neither expires within six months of our arrival to the European Union. 

In the past European Immigration and Customs was smooth, well-run and hassle-free. SO NOT THE CASE now.

I have been keeping a watch on the Schengen Zone entry/exit system problems. The new EES has been in effect since of October of 2025 and there are frequent horror stories of hours and hours of delays at the point of entry into the Schengen Zone with many missed connecting flights to the final destination.

And one must pre-apply within a certain window of time to the EES system. Failure to do so will result in being denied boarding at the airport by the airlines.

The Advantage of Serving in the Municipal Albergue in Ribadiso

When walking the Camino de Santiago in any of its variations, pilgrim credentials get "the peregrino" into municipal facilities. These municipal facilities are basic, very basic, but also very cheap and are self-selecting in that one must be doing a documented pilgrimage.

This is where the pilgrim’s credential comes in handy. It is proof that one is authorized to stay in municipal shelters.

The people staying there are not surprised by the minimal accomdations, and in fact, have selected that over a private albergue with more extensive comforts.

The down side is that those using municipal albergues often engage in "the race" to be the first one at the albergue at check-in, since a bed is first-come/first served.

Wrap Up

Anyway that is where things stand now.

We still have two weeks before we leave, but we have shifted into physical training mode. I am doing a mix of yoga and body flow (tone and balance), jogging (cardio) and of course, tap dance (balance and coordination), and some weight training ... but not much.
Taking all the activities together, I am training on average, two hours a day.

The plans are made, the preparations are complete.

 

Date	7 July 2026
Total All Caminos:	2450 miles
Total Lodging:
Total Airplane(s) / Trvl Insrnc:	$ 1000 / $ 199
Total Transportation:	$ 1000