The French Way

The French Way (Spanish: Camino Francés) is the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James, the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. It runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side and then another 780km on to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and Léon. A typical walk on the Camino Francés takes at least four weeks, allowing for one or two rest days on the way.

Paths from the cities of Tours, Vézelay, and Le Puy-en-Velay meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. A fourth French route originates in Arles, in Provence, and crosses the French–Spanish frontier at a different point, between the Pyrenees towns of Somport and Canfranc. This fourth route follows the Aragonese Way and joins the main Way of St. James at Puente la Reina, south of Pamplona, in Navarre, about seven hundred kilometers from Santiago de Compostela.

We do not have 4 weeks in which to complete the route, and therefore decided to do a shortened route. To qualify for the Compestela one needs to complete the last 100km of the route, therefore we are going to start our Comino in the town of Sarria. http://goo.gl/maps/sgudz



Jonkershoek - Two Waterfall's Route, Stellenbosch



We plan to start on the 16^th / 17^th of September and will be walking for a minimum of 6 hours per day / estimated 20km per day.  Sounds like a lot, but we have done several perpetration walks in the beautiful maintains surrounding Cape Town, and in Citrusdal, and we are both confidant that based on the times and speed walked on these training walks we will have no problems completing the planned distance every day. Map



Winterhoek & Cedarberg Mountains, Citrusdal, Western Cape RSA



Our goal is to reach Santiago on Marelize’s birthday on the 22^nd September, attend the midday mass, and receive our Compostable, stamped with the same date.

Next you might ask how the officials will know that you have completed the required distance, and have visited the route as mentioned. Most pilgrims carry a Credential or pilgrim's passport that is stamped at hostels and restaurants along the way. We received ours from the Confraternity of St. James of South Africa, the South African organization supporting pilgrims from South Africa. http://www.csjofsa.za.org/

Beun Comino

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Way