Two Weeks To Go
| Date | 10 Jun 2025 |
| Total This Camino: | 0 miles. |
| Total All Caminos: | 2353 miles |
| Airplane | $ 1360 |
| Travel Insurance | $ 360 |
My partner and I are putting together more details about our upcoming 30-day hike through eastern Spain.
Although we have experience with Catalonia and Aragon from our Camino Cataluna Aragon in 2023, following the Río Ebro upstream will be unknown territory, so we need to know more about where the walkers walk and through what terrain.
Weather
With only the summer timeframe for our 30 day through-hike, we start with the weather / climate forecasts for northeastern Spain. Our enemies are heat exhaustion and stroke, the expected very high amounts of sunshine and with corresponding absence of cloud cover, and typical arid anticipated precipitation conditions. All this is anathema to the protection of our skin.
As expected from previous experience in Spain, during this time of year, there will not be much in the way of precipitation nor cloud cover. Temperatures will range from average lows in the high 60’s at night to average highs in the 90’s during the day.
So with hot, sunny, clear blue skies for normal operating conditions, our counter-defense measures will be sun-exposure regulating clothing, backed up with regular deployment of sunblock SPF 50 often and liberally
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.
Currently flying through Newark NJ is highly problematic due to equipment outages and tower staffing, meaning a high likelihood of flights being delayed at best, and canceled at worst.
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.
A layover inside the European Union’s internal border control Schengen zone still requires processing through immigration and customs before making the connecting flight, if not at the final destination.
So for us, the easiest travel from the United States to Barcelona, the city nearest our start point, is through Philadelphia.
We find a flight, modestly priced, direct from Philadelphia to Barcelona. Our flight from Rochester to Philadelphia has a 1 hr 30 minute layover. To be honest, that is too short for me. I can see any number of the aforementioned issues arising such that we can not make the international gate before it closes to boarding. My partner is more concerned with time efficiency, as she does not like sitting around airports waiting. Sitting around airports is a price that I am willing to pay for peace of mind.
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. I have pretty much found European Immigration and Customs to be smooth, well-run and hassle-free, if you are prepared.
I have been keeping a watch on the Schengen Zone entry/exit requirements as they are implementing a new electronic registration program, but it will not be in effect during our timeframe for the Camino.
Choosing the Route
So next up is geography. Even at the end of June, the southern parts of Spain, like Andalucia, are openly hostile to activities that require early afternoon exposure to the blinding sun and super-excessive heat.
Balancing hiking routes versus climate, we decide to walk opposite to the flow of the Ebro River. The Ebro River empties into the Mediterranean Sea about 60 miles south of Barcelona. Our start point is Deltebre, a small town in the estuary of the Río Ebro. From there, the Camino de Santiago del Ebro ends 250 miles to the northwest in the city of Logrono.
Down Days to Sightsee
We want to keep 3 or 4 days to visit interesting places along our route. We visited Zaragoza two years ago and want to visit again. We have never been to Logrono, and want to explore there. That requires two nights in each city.
Walking Days and Distance
Subtracting out travel time to and from Spain, and visiting time, we have approximately 23 or 24 days of walking. Dividing the total distance of Camino del Ebro - 250 miles - by 23 days tells us that we need to maintain an average of 11 miles per day.
In an ideal world, that would be our goal, but hiking trails often involve detours and construction and poor signage, all underlied by human error, like not paying attention. So it is better to plan on an average of 13 miles per day. And given the heat, we will be starting about 6:30 every morning in order to stay out of the oven that is Spain in July.
Using the Municipal Shelters
When walking the Camino de Santiago in any of its variations, our pilgrim credentials get us into municipal facilities which is a bonus. They are basic, very basic, but also very cheap and are self-selecting in that one must be doing a pilgrimage. This is where the pilgrim’s credential comes in handy. It is proof that one is authorized to stay in municipal shelters. I have already ordered and received our credentials from the volunteer organization, American Pilgrims on the Camino.
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 zumba (aerobics), yoga and body flow (tone and balance), weight training (strength), jogging (cardio) and of course, more and more hiking with my 25 lb backpack.
Taking all the activities together, I am training on average, two hours a day.
The plans are made, the preparations are complete.
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