I wanted to walk my own Way of St. James in 2023. But as I don’t do things by halves, I wanted to start from home in the traditional way. So I quit my job, packed my things and left my apartment on July 1, 2023 to set off for Santiago de Compostela.
The movie
During my almost 4-month trip, I collected a lot of video material, which I then compiled into a short film. The film is available on Youtube and shows the different landscapes and areas that I crossed on the almost 3000 kilometers.
Preperations
There wasn’t really much to prepare for my trip. Before I set off, I put together a small packing list and looked for a promising route. As the Way of St. James is a well-signposted network of paths across Europe, I didn’t have to search for long and quickly found what I was looking for online.
In addition to a tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat, I packed a gas stove and a few clothes in my rucksack.
I bought a pilgrim’s passport online and that was the end of my preparations.
The route
My route took me through 4 different countries. First, I ran from home along the Rhine to Basel in Switzerland. From there, I continued through the Jura mountains and along the lakes to Geneva. Shortly afterwards, I left Switzerland again and continued my journey in France.
In France, I first went through the Rhone Valley and then on through the Great Massif Central. Here I actually encountered more cows than people and enjoyed the quiet time.
Later, I continued through flatter terrain to the border with Spain. Before the Pyrenees, however, I continued north to the sea, where I also crossed the border into Spain.
I followed the Camino del Norte along the north coast until shortly before Gijon, before walking along the Camino Primitvo to Santiago de Compostela.
Once I had reached my actual destination in Santiago de Compostela, I made my way to Finisterre, the end of the world.
Finally, I continued on to Muxia, where I ended my journey after almost 4 months and 2986 kilometers.
Reports
If you would like to find out more about my journey to Santiago de Compostela, you will find it on my blog. I wrote a diary there from time to time, documenting my experiences.
