Our hiking plan
Our goal: A total of ~14 500 km from Gibraltar to the North Cape.
(36 months of effective hiking: 3 years)
(36 months of effective hiking: 3 years)
PHASE 3 has started this April 2024!!
Our itinerary/Notre chemin
PHASE 1: 3043 km from Gibraltar to Ortigueira (Spain) - January 2022 to September 2022 (8.5 months)
Step 1: Heading west from Gibraltar (Southern point of Europe) to Cabo de sao Vicente (West-southern point of Portugal):
We first hiked on the long distance european trail E4 from Gibraltar to Tarifa then Cadiz.
Then, from Cadiz to Sevilla, we followed the "via Augusta" (one of the numerous trails leading to Santiago de Compostela).
To reach Cabo de Sao Vicente from Sevilla, we hiked along the "via Algarviana".
Then, from Cadiz to Sevilla, we followed the "via Augusta" (one of the numerous trails leading to Santiago de Compostela).
To reach Cabo de Sao Vicente from Sevilla, we hiked along the "via Algarviana".
Step 2: Santiago de Compostela trails from Cabo de sao Vicente to Ortigueira:
From Cabo de Sao Vicente we followed the "el camino"/le chemin/the trail to "Santiago de Compostela" : Rota Vicentina, The fishermen's trail and the via Portugues de la costa (the ones that follows the coastline of portugal up to Porto). We also, starting from Porto, walked inland toward Geres natural park (as recommended by friends on our way) and from Portela de Homem took the camino da Geira e dos Arrieros to Santiago de Compostela.
After our arrival at Santiago de Compostela we hiked the last stretch of the Camino towards Fisterra-Muxia then headed up to Malpica following el "camino dos Faros". From Malpica we walked along the coastline to Ferrol and from there reached Ortigueira where our first phase ended and our first fall/winter break started.
After our arrival at Santiago de Compostela we hiked the last stretch of the Camino towards Fisterra-Muxia then headed up to Malpica following el "camino dos Faros". From Malpica we walked along the coastline to Ferrol and from there reached Ortigueira where our first phase ended and our first fall/winter break started.
End of Phase 1, we have walked a total of 3043km!
WINTER BREAK N°1 : Our winter/cold months semi-break (October 2022 to March 2023)
We arrived in Ortigueira (Spain) end of september 2022.
During our 5 months break (October 2022 to mid-March 2023), Casey and I have planned to:
We arrived in Ortigueira (Spain) end of september 2022.
During our 5 months break (October 2022 to mid-March 2023), Casey and I have planned to:
- Work on an independent project for our future, to create a new working environnement for ourselves, our "after walking" plan.
- Work as staff at the Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V (Casey); in the service industry or at Domain Moritz (Celine).
- Spend christmas and new years with our families.
- Give our donators feedbacks on how the 2 projects are doing in Germany and in Sierra Leone.
PHASE 2: 2403 km from Ortigueira (Spain) to Nevers (France) - Mid-March 2023 to end of September 2023 (6.5 months)
Step 1: Santiago de Compostela trails and GR78 from Ribadeo to Béziers:
After our 1st winter break we resumed our hiking project and started in april 2023 where we have left it: in Ortigueira.
From Ortigueira, we followed the coastline to Ribadeo from which we followed the camino del Norte, in reverse (compared to the usual folks and flocks), up to Santander then hiked inland to join the camino Frances (dark red on the map below) at Estella, then we hiked along it, crossing the city of Pamplona until we reached St-Jean-pied-de-port. We kind of moon-walked our way to France.
Once we crossed over The Pyrénées to reach the south of France at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, we took the GR78 towards Béziers, in the south-east area of France. This, in order to visit and meet some of our good-all-days friends who live in Perpignan, Montpellier, Albi and Aix-en-Provence.
From Ortigueira, we followed the coastline to Ribadeo from which we followed the camino del Norte, in reverse (compared to the usual folks and flocks), up to Santander then hiked inland to join the camino Frances (dark red on the map below) at Estella, then we hiked along it, crossing the city of Pamplona until we reached St-Jean-pied-de-port. We kind of moon-walked our way to France.
Once we crossed over The Pyrénées to reach the south of France at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, we took the GR78 towards Béziers, in the south-east area of France. This, in order to visit and meet some of our good-all-days friends who live in Perpignan, Montpellier, Albi and Aix-en-Provence.
Step 2: Heading towards the North in the French countryside from Béziers to Roanne;
Just before Beziers, from Olonzac, we headed North first by taking the GR77 towards the Lake of Vesoles then the GR7 and GR60 towards Marvejols before heading up to Roanne via Le Puy-En-Velay.
Step 3: Five weeks of KAYAKING down the Loire from Roanne to Nantes:
To add some fun to our adventure, Casey and I, have decided to buy ourselves inflatable rafts/kayaks and get them delivered to us at the Roanne Post office.
From Roanne (underlined in Red), we will paddle down the Loire with our Packrafts to reach the french coastline at Nantes. We started paddling in september of 2023 and reached Nevers as our final destination for phase 2 and we will finish our kayaking adventures the next year in Nantes.
From Roanne (underlined in Red), we will paddle down the Loire with our Packrafts to reach the french coastline at Nantes. We started paddling in september of 2023 and reached Nevers as our final destination for phase 2 and we will finish our kayaking adventures the next year in Nantes.
End of the Phase 2, we've arrived in Nevers and have covered a total of 5446 km!
WINTER BREAK N°2: Our winter/cold months semi-break (october 2023 to March 2024)
We have estimated that we will arrive in Nevers (France) end of september 2023.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
We have estimated that we will arrive in Nevers (France) end of september 2023.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
- Work on an independent project for our future, to create a new working environnement for ourselves, our "after walking" plan.
- Work as staff (if needed) at the Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V (Casey); in the service industry at "La cour d'Alsace" in Obernai (Celine)
- Spend christmas and new years with our families.
- Give our donators feedbacks on how the 2 projects are doing in Germany and in Sierra Leone.
- PHASE 3: ~2500 km from Nevers to Mont-saint-Michel (France) - Mid-April 2024 to End of September 2024 (5.5 months)
After our second winter break, we have started our 3rd phase on April 23rd 2024! We will be kayaking the last section of the Loire from Nevers to Nantes (~500 km)
We will then catch again the European long-distance trail E9 which runs along the coastline. In France, the E9 is built upon the local network of GR trails : GR 34, then GR 223, GR 21.
This year, our objective is to complete the GR 34 part: very famous french hiking path also known as "Le sentier des douaniers" which runs along the entire coastline of Bretagne and covers more than 2000 km.
This year, our objective is to complete the GR 34 part: very famous french hiking path also known as "Le sentier des douaniers" which runs along the entire coastline of Bretagne and covers more than 2000 km.
By the end of Phase 3, we will have covered approximately a total of 8000 km.
WINTER BREAK N°3: Our winter/cold months semi-break (October 2024 to April 2025)
We have estimated that we will arrive in Mont-Saint-Michel (France) end of september 2024.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
We have estimated that we will arrive in Mont-Saint-Michel (France) end of september 2024.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
- Work on an independent project for our future, to create a new working environnement for ourselves, our "after walking" plan.
- Work as staff (if needed) at the Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V (Casey); in the service industry or at Domain Moritz (Celine)
- Spend christmas and new years with our families.
- Give our donators feedbacks on how the 2 projects are doing in Germany and in Sierra Leone.
PHASE 4: ~2500km from Mont-Saint-Michel (France) to Grenaa ( Denmark) on the E9 trail - Mid-April 2025 to End-September 2025 (5.5 months)
For the last phases of our project, we had to adapt our hiking months according to the climate. To do this, we will start walking again only from mid-April to the end of September. Since our cruising speed is approximately 400km/month, we can hope to do approximately 2500 km for this stretch and will have to postpone the rest for the next hiking season.
In France, the E9 is built upon the local network of GR trails : GR 34, then GR 223, GR 21. We would already have done the GR 34 in 2024 and will now start our hike then on the GR 223 this year. We will start in the Mont-Saint-Michel in the North West of France and climb up along the E9 through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany until the North of Denmark where we should reach our goal for this year: 2500km.
From the Mont-saint-Michel in France, our itinerary will be quite simple, we will hike along the coast on the E9 up to Hamburg (Germany).
Then from Hamburg we will switch to the E1 trail up to Grenaa (Denmark).
In France, the E9 is built upon the local network of GR trails : GR 34, then GR 223, GR 21. We would already have done the GR 34 in 2024 and will now start our hike then on the GR 223 this year. We will start in the Mont-Saint-Michel in the North West of France and climb up along the E9 through Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany until the North of Denmark where we should reach our goal for this year: 2500km.
From the Mont-saint-Michel in France, our itinerary will be quite simple, we will hike along the coast on the E9 up to Hamburg (Germany).
Then from Hamburg we will switch to the E1 trail up to Grenaa (Denmark).
By the end of Phase 4, we will have covered approximately a total of 10 500 km.
WINTER BREAK N°4: Our winter/cold months semi-break (mid-September 2025 to April 2026)
We have estimated that we will arrive in Grenaa (Denmark) end of september 2025.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
We have estimated that we will arrive in Grenaa (Denmark) end of september 2025.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
- Work on an independent project for our future, to create a new working environnement for ourselves, our "after walking" plan: one of our ideas -> building a pilot project of a trilingual eco-friendly extra-curricular garden (périscolaire) "les jardins d'Alice".
- Work as staff (if needed) at the Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V (Casey); in the service industry or at Domain Moritz (Celine)
- Eventually go on a small trip to Kabala, Sierra Leone, to help Ava and Fazineh to kickstart the building of their community center.
- Spend christmas and new years with our families.
- Give our donators feedbacks on how the 2 projects are doing in Germany and in Sierra Leone.
PHASE 5: ~2000 km from Greena (Denmark) to mid-Norway on the E1 trail (Krokstranda) - Mid-April 2026 to September 2026 (5.5 months)
WINTER BREAK N°5: Our winter/cold months semi-break (mid-September 2026 to April 2027)
We have estimated that we will arrive in KrokStranda (Norway) end of september 2026.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
We have estimated that we will arrive in KrokStranda (Norway) end of september 2026.
During the winter months break, Casey and I have planned to:
- Work on an independent project for our future, to create a new working environnement for ourselves, our "after walking" plan: one of our ideas -> building a pilot project of a trilingual eco-friendly extra-curricular garden (périscolaire) "les jardins d'Alice".
- Work as staff (if needed) at the Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V (Casey); in the service industry or at Domain Moritz (Celine)
- Eventually go on a small trip to Kabala, Sierra Leone, to help Ava and Fazineh to kickstart the building of their community center.
- Spend christmas and new years with our families.
- Give our donators feedbacks on how the 2 projects are doing in Germany and in Sierra Leone.
PHASE 6: ~2000 km from mid-Norway on the E1 trail (Krokstranda) to the North Cape - May 2027 to Mid-September 2027 (4.5 months)
We will walk our talk and initiate the last piece of trail towards the North Cape in May 2027 (winter temperatures hopefully will be gone by the time we start walking).
We will start hiking (mid-Norway) and climb up to the North Cape along the european hiking trail E1.
From approximately Krokstranda (Norway) to the North Cape, barely any detours. Except from one important deviation/Umleitung (because it is on Casey's bucket list) to the Lofoten islands. Then we will get back to the E1 and hope to reach our goal : The North Cape by September 2027.
We will start hiking (mid-Norway) and climb up to the North Cape along the european hiking trail E1.
From approximately Krokstranda (Norway) to the North Cape, barely any detours. Except from one important deviation/Umleitung (because it is on Casey's bucket list) to the Lofoten islands. Then we will get back to the E1 and hope to reach our goal : The North Cape by September 2027.
By the end of this last phase of about 2000 km, we will have reached our final goal and covered a grand total of ~14 500 km.
Our whereabouts
on the map
The WALK has started:
We will keep you posted every day/or every other day on our whereabouts (via google map up above this paragraph).
We've started the phase 3 of our adventures! We are currently paddling down the Loire and are now in: Orleans, France
Side note:
We are still looking now for sponsors and generous donators to participate in our fundraising campaign for Innocence Lost Foundation and Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V.
Help us to start a butterfly effect: support these 2 beautiful organizations and participate from afar or on our way to our fundraising effort by following the steps given on our donation page: all profits will go directly to them, be a part of our mosaic of donators.
We will keep you posted every day/or every other day on our whereabouts (via google map up above this paragraph).
We've started the phase 3 of our adventures! We are currently paddling down the Loire and are now in: Orleans, France
Side note:
We are still looking now for sponsors and generous donators to participate in our fundraising campaign for Innocence Lost Foundation and Kinderhaus Bodensee e.V.
Help us to start a butterfly effect: support these 2 beautiful organizations and participate from afar or on our way to our fundraising effort by following the steps given on our donation page: all profits will go directly to them, be a part of our mosaic of donators.