Proposed Pilgrimage Itinerary *

This Pilgrimage is in association with Missionaries of the Sacred Heart - MSC Missions and is being undertaken to raise funds for the children of the Holy Family Care Centre in South Africa. Participants are being asked to raise a minimum of €500.00 for this worthy cause. After booking with Marian Pilgrimages you will be asked to contact them to organise this if not done so previously.

Day 1 - Monday 22nd September | Depart Dublin

Check-in at Dublin airport for your flight to Santiago de Compostela. On arrival, you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lugo where you will stay in the 4 star Hotel Mercure Lugo Centro for 3 nights with breakfast and dinner.

Day 2 - Tuesday 23rd September | Sarria to Portomarin - Walk 23km approx. 6hrs

After breakfast depart your hotel with your walk guide for a transfer to Sarria to begin your walk which will pass the monastery of La Magdalenain on the edge of the old town of Sarria. Here the group will have the option to celebrate Mass before beginning the final 100km of the Camino. On passing the cemetery you cross the �Ponte Aspera� bridge towards a pleasant and peaceful walk through many picturesque villages along quiet country roads shaded by vast oak trees. On the latter stage of the route, you can see the ruins of the old monastery of Santa Mar�a de Loyo, the original building of the Order of St James. Enter Portomar�n over the river Mi�o via the modern bridge where you might get a glimpse of the old site of the village. On crossing you can ascend the Escalinata de Nuestra Se�ora de las Nieves, the little chapel at the top of the stairs before taking some time to relax and refresh in the town square before being picked up by your coach and retuning to the hotel. Selection of shorter walks - Sarria to Peruscallo 8km | Mercadoiro to Portomarin 5km

Day 3 - Wednesday 24th September | Portomarin to Palas de Rei - Walk 24km approx. 6hrs 30mins

Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and take the coach back to Portomarin. Leave Portomarin across the Belesar and around Monte San Antonio towards Ventas de Naron passing through the villages of Gonzar and Castromaior where a small Romanesque Church dedicated to the Virgin is located. On crossing the sierra de Ligonde on the Dorsal Galega (the Galicain Ridge) you enter the farming region of Ulloa where you begin to descend through oak trees and meadows. On your decent the first eucalyptus trees come into view and after Brea you ascend the Alto do Rosario, a traditional point for Pilgrims to stop for prayer, where you can see Monte Pico Sacro the mountain that overlooks Santiago de Compostela on a clear day. Continue into Palas de Rei your finishing point and take time to relax and explore before being collected by your coach and returned to the hotel. Selection of shorter walks - Portomarin to Gonzar 7.7km | Gonzar to Hospital de la Cruz 2km | A Brea to Palas de Rei 5km

Day 4 - Thursday 25th September | Palas de Rei to Arzua - Walk 29km approx. 7hrs 30mins

After breakfast we leave for Palas de Rei via coach. Leaving Palas de Rei you descend towards San Xuli�n crossing over the river Ruxian. Continuing onward through the village of Casanova and many Galician hamlets. Before crossing the R�o Seco over the Magdalena bridge to Disecabo and the mediaeval Puente Velha which spans the R�o Furelos you will reach the main town of Melide. Continue the day through forest tracks, meadows and cornfields till you reach the villages of Boente and Rivadiso, take some free time before being transferred back to the hotel. Selection of shorter walks - Palas de Rei to O Cota 7km | Melide to Boente 5km or/and Boente to Ribadiso da Boente 8km

Day 5 - Friday 26th September | Arzua to O Pedrouzo - Walk 22km approx. 5hrs 30mins

After breakfast leave the hotel and return to Arzua and continue our route to O Pedrouzo where you walk a shaded section of the Camino through more villages and hamlets such as Cortobe, Ferreiros and Santa Irene. You make your way across numerous streams, through woods and along quiet country roads before reaching O Prdrouzo. Here you will be met by your coach and transferred to Santiago where we will check in to the hotel Gelmirez for 3 nights. Selection of shorter walks - Ribadiso da Baixo to Salceda 11km | Santa Irene to O Pedrouzo 4km

Day 6. Saturday 27 th September | O Pedrouzo to Santiago de Compostela - Walk 20km approx. 5hrs

After breakfast you pack up and take the coach back to O Pedrouzo and walk via Amenal and Santiago airport to Lavacolla. Here you can follow tradition, by washing in the river to prepare ourselves for our arrival to the Holy City. Continue to Monte do Gozo, the mount of joy, here we will get our first glimpse of the Cathedral like so many pilgrims before. Here we take time to enjoy lunch before continuing to our goal, Santiago de Compostela. Complete your walk at The Obradoiro Square, here you can enjoy your achievement and witness the newly restored Cathedral and visit the tomb of St James. Selection of shorter walks - O Pedrouzo to Lavacolla 10km | San Marcos to the Cathedral in Santiago 6km

Day 7. Sunday 28th September | Santiago de Compostela

After breakfast we can leave for the Pilgrims Mass at noon in the Cathedral. Visit the tomb of St. James again, absorb the wonderful architecture of the Cathedral, explore the many narrow cobbled streets, and enjoy the Galician cuisine. Return the short distance to the hotel for a group dinner.

Day 8 - Monday 29th September | Farewell Camino

After breakfast in the hotel the group will say good bye to Santiago and begin the journey south to the Marian Shrine of Fatima in Portugal where they stay for 2 nights in the Hotel Regina with breakfast and dinner. On route the group will stop to visit the Sanctuary of Alexandrina da Balasar before continuing to Fatima.

Day 9 - Tuesday 30th September | Fatima

After breakfast in the hotel the coach will pick the group up for a morning trip to Valinhos and Aljustrel. They will start by walking the Hungarian Way of the Cross, stopping at Valinhos where Our Lady appeared on the 19th August in 1917. After praying at this very special place we will walk to the Cabeco where the angel appeared to them the first and third of the three occasions that he appeared in 1916. They then proceed to Aljustrel, the village where the three little shepherds were born. They visit their homes and the well at the bottom of Lucia's garden where the angel appeared the second time. Our last stop before we return to the hotel will be Fatima Parish Church. Lunch in the Hotel restaurant. In the afternoon the Pilgrims can attend Mass at 3:30pm in the Capelinha (apparition site) after which there will be an introductory tour of the sanctuary. See the Capelinha, the Rosary Basilica and tombs of the Seers, Statue of the Sacred Heart and water fountain, candle area, Berlin Wall, Chapel of Adoration, Reconciliation Chapel and Basilica of the Holy Trinity before returning to our hotel for dinner. Pilgrims can then attend the evening Rosary and Candlelight procession in the Sanctuary 9:30pm there will be Rosary and Candlelight procession in the Sanctuary.

Day 10 - Wednesday 1 st October | Return Home

After breakfast the group will take their transfer to Lisbon airport for their return flight to Dublin