We’ve read so many times about the Camino de Santiago … and then forgotten about it again. But somehow, it would always pop up again – in magazines, on YouTube clips or in a casual conversation.

We love being out in nature and have done a couple of hiking trips in and around Cape Town, our home city.

In 2014 we’ve decided it was time to undertake this journey in Spain … we were ready for an adventure – totally out of our comfort zone – and a hike for four weeks in Spain sounded like the perfect opportunity.

Over the years we’ve bought all the hiking equipment we could possibly use and one day in May 2014, after a hike on the famous Table Mountain, we’ve made the decision to buy our tickets to Spain …

… but then Corna’s dad suddenly passed away. We had to deal with our grief and there were then other commitments that needed our attention … again we’ve put the Camino on hold … but it was always present in our thoughts.

By the end of 2016 we were so trapped in our work commitments that we needed to somehow “break out” of this routine to stay sane. And this is how we – eventually – bought our tickets to Spain, packed our backpacks and by the end of March 2017 we were ready for an adventure of a lifetime!

A map in our John Brierley guide book of the Camino Frances – starting in St Jean Pied-de-Port in France and ending in Santiago de Compostela in Spain

We would have loved to start walking from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France, but unfortunately we were time-restricted.

PAMPLONA → SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Our Camino would therefor start in Pamplona and end in Santiago … we hope to have the opportunity to go back one day to walk the full Camino Frances ☺️.