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Ávila, a great excursion from Madrid

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If you are Catholic, you probably know Ávila from Saint Teresa. Otherwise, you might know this city because of its history, Medieval wall, or its sweets. Avila is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it is less than two hours North of Madrid, and a great and recommended visit.

It had been a long time since I visited this city, but I recently had a getaway with Celia. We took the train from Madrid, which was an adventure, having to change trains in El Escorial. We hit the city running, visiting El Real Monasterio de Santo Tomás straight from the train station. Sto. Tomas has one of the purest Gothic churches in Spain with an altarpiece by Berruguete, possibly the most famous Spanish artisan in this field, it also houses the tomb of the Infante Juan, Ferdinand and Isabella’s teenage son, three beautiful cloisters, etc.

We had the traditional steak for lunch and explored Saint Teresa’s home, now turned into a chapel -although they have kept her original room! We toured the Medieval wall, one of the finest in Europe, the Gothic cathedral, St. Teresa’s convent, all the beautiful little streets, sweet shops, and many palazzos, and squares. Since the visit was during Christmas, we got to see a few amazing Nativity scenes as well.

So, although Toledo and Segovia are better known day trips from Madrid, Ávila is in a remarkably close third position.

Should you walk the Camino?

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Many of the people I have met since I did my first Camino in 2017 tell me how much they want to do it. Most folks will never get around to walking it. Well, I am here to guide you.

What is your motivation to walk the Camino? In my case, I had dreamt about it for years, but it took my father’s passing for me to finally commit. Maybe you have heard from a few pilgrims that it was a cool experience? Or maybe you have a higher motivation. Although it is bad Camino etiquette to ask pilgrims why they are walking (it is none of your business, you can read more pointers here), most folks do it in between jobs, after college, to “find themselves.”

You 100% should walk the Camino. For clarity, for healing, for your mental, spiritual, and physical health, to get to know the country in a way not even Spaniards know, for culture: history, architecture, art, food, etc., to disconnect from civilization (you are not walking the Appalachian trail), but just walking for hours on end each day means that you are not looking at a screen for those hours, and yes, for fun.

Your first task is committing, maybe therein lies the issue.

Your next step is to figure out how much time you have. For the full enchilada, you are going to need thirty something days. Or you can do a shorter Camino like the Primitivo which will take you around 12 days. Any less and you are really cheating yourself out of the transformative experience that is the Camino. Sure, you only need to walk 100 km (62 miles) -less than a week- to get your Camino certificate, your Compostela, but if you are walking the Camino to hang a certificate on your wall, you might as well just go to Disney World.

Once you know how much time you have, take a look at all the different Caminos, you can start in Paris, Geneva, Madrid, Lisbon, Bordeaux, you name it. The Camino starts at your doorstep.

Money. The Camino in Spain is relatively inexpensive. You can get away at 30 Euros a day. You will need more if you want to stay in hotels instead of Albergues, and much more if you are going to walk in France or anywhere else in Europe. On the other hand you will need much less if you camp and/or if you make all your own meals.

Then you make your travel plans: planes, trains, buses, whatever.

And your equipment, there are a million YouTube videos on this, even I have written about it here.

That’s it, you are on your way, Buen Camino!