Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 Tour Offerings

Choose Happiness Adventures will be offering a tour walking the Camino Francés from Astorga to Santiago de Compostela for the Fall of 2017.

And

For the Spring of 2018 we will be offering two tours; the Caminho Português on the Traditional route and the Camino Costa da Morte.

Overview of the Camino Francés 2017

During the Middle Ages, the Camino was responsible for the largest movement of people in Europe: millions of people, both rich and poor, made their way to Santiago de Compostela along this route, where at the end the pilgrim mass and certificate of pilgrimage ensured they would spend less time in purgatory. The route was nearly lost to history until the past couple of decades.

When most people talk about “the Camino”, they are referring to just one of the many routes to Santiago de Compostela also known as the Camino Francés (the French Way), this route starts at St. Jean Pied-du-Port in France, crosses the Pyrenees, and continues westwards across Spain about 60 miles south of the coast. It passes through the cities of Pamplona, Burgos, Leon, and a host of smaller towns and villages, and is about 500 miles in length.

Choose Happiness Adventures offers a portion of this 890 kilometer/500 mile walk beginning in Astorga and concluding at the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela.  Our tour totals 265 kilometers/165 miles and will take 17 days to complete. You will qualify for a Compostela as well as a Distance Certificate from the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago.

The tour brochures is available on our website at http://choosehappinessadventures.com/wp/brochures/Camino%20Franc%C3%A9s%20Tour%20brochure.pdf

Overview of the Caminho Português 2018

The Caminho Português Traditional Route is the favorite of the renowned novelist Paulo Coelho. The Camino Português is a remarkable journey, enjoyed by many. Along this route you will dine on some of the best food and wine Portugal and Spain have to offer. The residents you may encounter feel a special devotion to Saint James and often will offer encouragement to those travelling to Santiago. The Portuguese Way is an authentic and culturally rich experience and one that should be experienced at least once.

The Portuguese Way is the second most popular Camino in terms of numbers of pilgrims. While the whole Camino Português has its starting point in the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, most pilgrims start their trip from Portugal’s second largest city, Porto.

This route gently winds its way northwards, along ancient roads and paths that run through woodland, farms, villages, towns and historic cities. Some of these paths cross creeks and rivers flowing under several bridges of medieval Roman origin. This is a Camino enriched by the presence of chapels, churches, convents, shrines–stone altars usually found at crossroads and wayside crosses, where the comforting image of Santiago the Pilgrim is ever-present.  The hospitality offered by the people is proverbial.

Our tour will begin in Porto, Portugal and walk to Santiago de Compostela the distance totals 234.4 km/151.8 miles and will take 17 days to complete. You will qualify for a Compostela as well as a Distance Certificate from the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago.

The tour brochure is available on our website  at http://choosehappinessadventures.com/wp/brochures/Camino%20Portugues%20Tour%20brochure.pdf

Overview of  Camino Costa da Morte 2018

Join us on this Camino route which pre-dates Christianity, as pagans would head to Fisterra (Finisterre) on the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death). This is a beautiful Camino much more unspoiled and less travelled than the others.

We will begin our adventure by meeting in the old city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Santiago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we will have an extra day to rest up from our flights and to explore the old city of Santiago. Santiago is the ending destination for all Caminos, this Camino is the only route that begins and ends in Santiago.

We  walk  from Santiago to Muxia and Finisterre and then back to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. We walk along the rugged coast to the sanctuary of A Virxe da Barca in Muxía, a traditional pilgrimage destination in a stunning location by the Atlantic Ocean. As the legend goes, the Virgin Mary herself met St. James at this very site and helped and encouraged him in his preaching throughout Galicia.

After spending a day in Muxia exploring, we continue our walk to Finisterre where the pagans believed the sun died and the worlds of the dead and the living became closer. We enjoy a day in Finisterre after which we walk back to Santiago.

This tour  will begin in Santiago de Compostela; the distance totals 214.3kms/133.3 miles and will take 17 days to complete.  You will qualify for  the Muxiana, Fisterana and Compostela certificates as well as a Distance Certificate from the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago.

This tour brochure is available on our website at http://choosehappinessadventures.com/wp/brochures/Costa%20da%20Morte%20Tour%20brochure.pdf