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Sarria to Santiago at short notice

Andrew Rennie

AndrewR
Time of past OR future Camino
Planning 2017
Hi everyone, I had been planning to walk the Camino from St Jean Pied de Port with my brother, possibly next year. Suddenly and shockingly he passed away last week. I will be travelling from Australia to the UK for the funeral at the start of August. I have limited time off work but want to walk the Sarria to Santiago section in memory of my brother. Can anyone give advice on getting from Gatwick UK to Santiago and then out to Sarria to start? Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.
 
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Easyjet fly directly from Gatwick to Santiago, though with a 06:00 departure in early August the timing may not be very convenient for you. Monbus run a daily bus direct from Santiago to Sarria at 18:00, arriving at 20:55. You may find a cheaper fare by booking in advance online. It is also possible to travel from Santiago to Sarria in two stages by changing buses in Lugo.
http://www.monbus.es/en/
 
When you eventually show up at the Pilgrim Office to obtain a Compostela for your memorial effort, be sure to inform the staff person that you walked this Camino in memory of your recently deceased brother.

They can append your Compostela at the bottom with the Latin phrase "Vicare Pro - (brother name) Rennie." It means, at least colloquially, "in place of" and infers that you walked the Camino in place of your deceased brother.

I did this from my deceased brother in 2014, and again this year for my just deceased father. My quite religious mother was very pleased.

There is no charge for the Compostela or for this service. But, all donations are gratefully accepted.

I am sorry for your loss. Walking a Camino is a great time and opportunity to grieve privately and to let go.

I hope this helps.
 
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Hi Andrew, so so sorry to hear about your brother's sudden passing. I can only imagine the grief and shock your family is going through. Hope the funeral is a special celebration of his life.

If the Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Santiago doesn't work out for you, it looks like Vueling also has flights that leave at 9:10pm and arrive around midnight. https://www.kayak.com/flights/LGW-SCQ/2017-08-07-flexible/2017-08-14 (I just threw in a random August date).

Take care, God bless you.
Faith
 
Hi Andrew , my condolence with the los of your brother.
I think your questions are already answerd.

Wish you a memorabel walk , Peter .
 

Hi Andrew.What a wonderful gesture you will do for your brother. Hope you will find strength and warmth with your family and friends.

All the best and take good care. Hope you come back here on the forum and tell us how it went.

Buen Camino!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Ryanair fly from Stansted to Santiago - if the times were more convenient, Gatwick to Victoria, to Tottenham Hale then Stansted by train might be worth looking at; or even Gatwick to Stansted by National Express coach
Google maps would help fill in the details
 
I am very sorry for your loss, Andrew. May your brother rest in peace. It’s a beautiful idea making your Camino pilgrimage a memorial for him.

Last year I let go of my hopes to walk the full Frances route when I heard that a friend in England was terminally ill. Because of the time frame, like you I decided to walk from Sarria to Santiago (starting out from Australia.)

If you find that flights to Santiago from Gatwick don’t suit you, have a look at Ryanair. As an earlier post said, National Express run a direct route from Gatwick to Stansted: it takes 2 hours 40 minutes (but I’d allow heaps of extra time for traffic!) and 10 times a day; GBP15. For useful Gatwick-Stanstead information see https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/gatwick_stansted_bus.htm and for online bus bookings see http://www.nationalexpress.com/routes/gatwick-to-stansted.aspx

As has already been pointed out, Ryanair flies from Stansted straight to Santiago. Three caveats re Ryanair: it’s only cheap if you book extremely well in advance, and you must keep a paper copy of your boarding pass, because they charged a couple near me a whole heap extra at the airport because they only had their passes on their mobiles! And at Stansted a number of us were confused about the correct Ryanair departure gate: check and double check you’re in the right queue! Their prices are already getting quite high for August, e.g. GBP93 and 79 for 1 August and 7 August; intervening days are a lot more, so book straight away, if you choose Ryanair. They do not fly to Santiago on Thursdays.
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/cheap-flights/london-stansted-to-santiago-de-compostela?out-from-date=2017-07-05&out-to-date=2017-10-05&in-from-date=2017-07-05&in-to-date=2017-10-05

Empresa Freire has multiple bus departures from Santiago to Lugo: here are examples for 7 August. (They are on strike at present, with minimal services, so maybe you need a Plan B, just in case: e.g. share a taxi to Sarria.) The tickets are cheap: buy on the bus.
http://www.empresafreire.com/html/ingles/seccion3a.php

At Lugo bus terminus go to the Monbus counter and buy a ticket (also cheap) to Sarria. See schedule: http://www.monbus.es/en/routes-points-of-sale/123/travel-to-sarria/ You'll be able to walk to your accommodation from the bus station.

Opinions seem to be mixed about whether or not to spend a day in Sarria before starting your pilgrimage. I wish I had: it felt ungrounded to arrive in a place, go straight to bed, then leave at dawn, without first seeing where I had landed! Also, although you will be one of many starting at Sarria, you will be amongst numerous well-seasoned pilgrims who have been walking for days and weeks: I felt such a novice! Do ask other pilgrims for help and information: most will be glad to share their knowledge with you. Pace yourself, and keep well hydrated.

If needed, I suggest you seek advice on the forum about booking accommodation in advance, as it will be peak time…. also about storing or sending ahead excess luggage if necessary, because you'll want to walk as light as possible.

Andrew, all the very best for your special Camino, ‘carrying your brother’ in your heart.
 
I am no expert, but I have an alternate suggestion.

Gatwick to Madrid has three carriers according to the google gods.
Then there is a great train trip, Renfe, in which you will see much of Spain from Madrid to Sarria taking about 6 hours.
Start walking, then maybe fly from Santiago, like I did by Iberia airlines( or cheaper airline) back to Madrid and London or wherever your connecting flight to Australia goes.

All the best and condolences.
 
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That is very sad indeed @Andrew Rennie. A terrible loss.

From Santiago airport to Sarria by bus, via Lugo, takes about 3 and a half hours, including the transfer at Lugo. It is very straightforward. Hopefully the bus strikes will be over by then.
 

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