You can say. " Madrid via Barcelona to
A Coruña " -around- !
It is a trip almost around the world to get in Ferrol . My goodness Is this serious ?
Sorry, it is not a joke. In fact, over the past 20 or more years traveling around and living in Europe, I can state more or less categorically that, as regards international travel by rail, road, and almost as poorly by air, the EU never occurred. Each country is, with limited exceptions, in the same insular state it always was regarding surface transportation options.
It is a Euro-version of the old "down east" US (Maine) joke: "Nope, you can't there there from here..." Here in the US it is correctly pronounced (in regional dialect as ): "Nope! Yuh caaaahnt get theeeeah from heeeeah!" Of course it is hugely funny when a salty old-timer gives the advice while toying with his pipe to some young urban couple in their shiny new sports sedan who think that all things are possible.
In too many cases, there is simply no direct or convenient way to go from point A to point B in Europe if those points are in different, even adjoining countries. The primary exceptions are from major hub or industrial cities in the various countries. There is a cross-European series of "main-lines" that provide fast, efficient and economical travel between these major nodes. However, if you live far off this route, you are literally off the map in terms of direct rail or bus routes.
The problem occurs even within countries like Spain. Before the EU / Schengen treaty opened Spain and many other countries to international visa-free travel from previously unconsidered and undreamed of points. Before this, national politics, regional issues, economic difficulties and any variety of longstanding problems all contributed to keeping most of Europe "balkanized" if you will.
Consider that in the 20th Century, Spain encountered and survived three very serious existential threats. First, the reign of fascist General Francisco Franco, second, the Spanish Civil War (which many historians regard as a proxy war for World War II), followed by World War II. The economic vicissitudes and hardships, as well as the and necessary decisions forced by these three serious events, and in the case of General Franco, the fact that he remained in power until the mid-1970s, explains in large part why the rail and road networks in Spain are as they appear today.
It takes generations to undo these patterns of isolation and neglect. Even today, it is usually through huge cash infusions in the form of grants from the EU that enables Spain to build modern autopistas (motorways) to better link it to its European neighbors.
The current conflict among those seeking to undertake one or another of the popular European Camino routes is that so many of them span multiple countries that getting to a starting point in an obscure or nationally unpopular route can be a serious journey in itself. Also, I would just "offer this up" as one of the sacrifices to be made whilst undertaking a Camino.
The reason is simple. In so many places the Camino is the only economic activity other than subsistence level farming or very small scale industry. In other words, if not for the spurt of economic activity related to the Camino and pilgrims, too many places in Spain, Portugal and southern France would wither away, depopulate, and lose their reason to be.
Those of us who have walked the
Camino Frances can appreciate this fact when we come to a town with a published population of only 80 people. Yet the town has perhaps two hostals, three albergues, four cafes, two tiendas, a panadería, a functioning church, and has some sort of bus service stopping at the nearby road junction. Do your maths. Clearly everyone in the town works directly to support the pilgrims that patronize the various businesses there. No Camino...no town...keep it alive...spend locally!
I hope this helps.
But it could be shorter timewise than train&bus etc. Wasn't going through expences for those though...
