[NAGDU] Walking the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Route in Northern Spain with a Guide Dog

[Al Elia]

Richard – I’m so glad to hear that you’re doing this. I walked the Camino from Burgos to Santiago back in 2010 or so with my then-guide Zion, a German Shepherd. I did not use a tour guide, but simply showed up, so I can’t tell you about using a tour guide. However, my experience was that if was not difficult to find a person or group to walk with for a day or longer. The only parts I found to be a bit difficult, from a blindness perspective, were the parts where you walked through a city because the signs identifying the camino path needed following, so walking without a partner/group was a challenge. I only had to do it solo a few times, and when I wanted to confirm if I was on the right track, asking people on the street or in a cafe/store for help yielded assistance. Note that there is a section of the camino towards the end (I don’t recall the towns), where you had to either country walk along a mountain road or navigate a foot-path strewn with large rocks that my guide dog refused to guide me along, and there is a section earlier on where  you have to ford a stream.

As for lodging, you can just stop at whatever refugio you find after about 4 or 5pm. You’ll hear when your near a refugio. In my entire time there, I only had one instance where an innkeeper refused me because of my guide dog, and contacting the police solved that problem.

As for getting your dog in to Spain, you need an international health certificate. I don’t recall whether it had to be stamped by the USDA within 48 hours of fflying, or if that was just for traveling to the UK. In any case, I’m sure googling will inform you of the process. You’ll need to have your dog microshipped, and depending on the type of chip used, you may need to bring a chip-reader with you for Spanish customs to use. In practice, I only had to actually produce my documentation once when enteringt the EU out of several trips, but that was back in the good old days before the sstupid ACAA attestation forms. Things may be stricter now.

Good luck, and enjoy! The Camino was the most mentally-relaxing trip of my life.

Yours,

/Æ


On 23 Jan 2024, at 21:58, Richard wrote:

> All,
>
> For some time I have hoped to walk the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage
> route to the Northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. The time is
> now. My pup is in great shape and I can train for the walk. I should be
> ready by the time I want to go, later this year or late spring 2025. I hope
> to walk a portion of the longer route, perhaps  about 80 miles in eight
> days. Segment length varies. Some days may cover as many as 12 miles.
>
> Do any of you know of anyone who has traveled to Spain with their pup? I
> hope to learn how receptive Spanish authorities are. It would be wonderful
> to connect with anyone who has walked the Camino with their pup. I hope to
> find a group organized by a  tour provider.
>
> The Seeing Eye Web page on international travel has been quite useful. I now
> know more about  required certificates for vaccination verification and
> related matters. Through the site I located one dog training program in
> Spain, Fundación ONCE del Perro-Guía in Madrid. Now I'm searching for a
> friend or associate who speaks Castilian Spanish to help me communicate with
> this school about guide dogs in Spain.
>
> By the way, through a friend, I located one tour provider, a British
> company, Travel Eyes International, but they do not accept dog guides on
> their tours. Imagine that! Do any of you know of other tour companies and of
> anyone who has had experience with a tour provider--preferably a provider
> that accepts handlers who work their dogs.
>
> I will appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.
>
> Richard Petty
> Richard.petty at earthlink.net