Alternative Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostella

This Pilgrim Route is a self-developed and walked walk from the front door in the Landgraaf in Limburg to the cathedral. A nature lover is looking for peace and quiet on the sea, hence a route to the French coast and the coastline to Spain in Santader. A tough hilly route in early, perhaps too early, spring. Defying hail, snow, thunder and rain there have been at least 10 very sunny days of these 72 days. Interested then read the preparations and the diary from day to day with the corresponding separate GPS tracks. See for this Pilgrimage .

Characteristic of the route in Belgium are the crosses on the houses and the chapels. This route along the coast is very beautiful, but I had not taken into account the strong winds from the sea, which made the trip quite difficult. In this early season, many campsites are also closed and it is not an area that many hikers walk through. Nice and calm. The Bay of Somme is a real attraction and worth a little longer to visit the orchinological park.

Le Mont Michelle is spectacular and an absolute 'must-to-do'. Impressive and certainly the serene cathahedral itself. After the Mont I went a bit more inland because the coastal wind made this route a lot heavier and it had no added value to continue to follow the coastal tongue of Brittany.The inland also suddenly offered more variation in the landscape which clearly added value had. Then picking up the coast again at La Rochelle and encountered a gigantic rich lake area here. This is really a charming landscape, but sometimes difficult because these lakes had to be walked around and so more kilometers came to the counter. The coastal route was picked up again and I enjoyed the heavy terrain through the dunes but along a lot of broom. The choice wasn't too difficult when I faced the bay to walk around it or take the ferry from Royan.

The shoreline across the beach was followed until I entered trespassing and all my communication channels fell from the sky. Because of this I had to exchange the coast for the mares and felt many marshlands under my feet. Even now for Arcachon I was happy that a ferry took me across.

The coastal route in Spain is beautiful and there are few hikers here that I have met. In total 5. The route indication is sometimes downright bad and even my GPS has occasional cures. The hilly terrain suits me and there are lovely duck villages and especially fishing places that I have visited. We have made extra time for the city of Bilbao. It was very special that I saw the 2nd Transbordeur here by accident and this is also a World Heritage Site but is clearly of a later date than the one in France. This is still used intensively and motorized traffic can also use it. On the other side again a special feature that I have never seen. A real escalator just outside on the street to bridge the slope. It is all strange and special because I saw an outdoor lift in the middle of a village to bridge the difference in height between 2 streets. You just have to get on it.

However, I had to decide to stop this route here and switch to the classic, old route. What a difference. I get completely upside down when a bus stopped right in front of me and all 'pilgrims' got out and walked part of the route every day. Some 5 km, others more. Still respect because not everyone is capable of what I am. There are disabled and elderly people, but also sporty types. Each his and his own 'camino'.