Lace up your hiking boots, limber up your legs and set out on an unforgettable pilgrimage to the Spanish HOLY city of Santiago de Compostela. Join knowledgeable and experienced guides Judy and Juan Carlos on the walk of your life as Spanish Steps traces the centuries-old footsteps of pilgrims who have ventured across the expansive landscape of the Iberian Peninsula for 1,200 years.
Spanish Steps is a guided pilgrimage that offers a rare sense of history, dramatic sight-seeing and a comfortable daily regimen of hiking across the Spanish countryside. The peaceful pace of foot travel provides an unusual perspective on this fascinating part of the world.
Based on the folklore of a religious vision from the 9th century when a lone shepherd discovered the bones of Saint James illuminated by a celestial beam of light, the quest to Santiago de Compostela has become a popular modern day trek. For some, the religious motivation is still strong, but for most adventurers, WHO follow the trail of the pilgrims, the Camino is a grand pleasant journey that leads to a unique cultural immersion.
We will meet in the Basque capitol of Pamplona, world renowned for the traditional spectacle of the running of the bulls and brought to life by Ernest Hemingway in his famous novel, The Sun Also Rises.
After becoming acquainted with this charming city, Spanish Steps will travel north to the base of the Pyrenees and the scenic town of Roncesvalles. Here, nestled in this dramatic mountain range that forms a rugged border with France, we will secure Pilgrim's Passports and set off from the steps of a famed monastery.
We will focus on the most beautiful portions of the Camino, averaging nine to twelve miles per day and providing gourmet roadside picnics from a fully provisioned support vehicle. Tour guides will be available at landmarks and cities along the way, offering expert background on the route millions have followed to the shrine of the Apostle.
Most of the terrain is flat, so walking is easy, allowing hikers to gaze across the rolling hills of northern Spain at farm fields, small villages, and ancient castles. Pilgrims will be encouraged to wander the back streets of villages, sip coffee at charming plaza cafes, and sample local wine and tapas from popular bodegas.
Spanish Steps will guide trips during the Spring and early Summer, when the poppies are blooming and the grapes are budding on the vines, and in the Fall, when the fields are bustling with the activity of the grape harvest . Personalized group trips will be available upon request.
We look forward to hearing from you. Hasta Luego, Pilgrim.

Judy Colaneri, owner of Spanish Steps and Roman Roads, is also a culinary trained chef in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado. She spends eight months of the year working in Europe, personally guiding adventurous travelers through her favorite part of the world. Her love of exploration and hiking, joined with her passion for language and the culinary arts, will make your trip a walking-gourmet odyssey.

Having walked the Camino de Santiago five times, Judy knows every inch of the way. Her first experience was in 1994 from the heights of the Spanish Pyrenees. The following year, a 1,000-mile walk from France into Spain along the Camino Frances lead her to Santiago de Compostela. In 1996, she began her pilgrimage in French Pyrenees. In 2003, Judy walked the Camino solo through Spain two times, following both the inland route and the less-travelled El Camino del Norte, which follows 300 miles of beautiful coast. To date, Judy has led 55 groups of pilgrims to the steps of the cathedral in Santiago.

Judy studied the Spanish language in Barcelona, Spain; Sevilla, Spain; and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. While Spanish is her second language, Judy is also familiar with a number of other Romance languages, including Italian.

Having visited more than 25 countries around the globe, Judy has found Spain to be the most exciting. When Judy isn't cooking, enjoying the winters in Aspen, or guiding fellow pilgrims to Santiago, she can be found cycling or walking the back roads of Europe. Her prior experiences walking the Camino de Santiago and trekking in Tuscany led her to the idea of forming this company with her walking partner Juan Carlos.

Juan Carlos Fuentes, our Spanish representative, is a Pilgrim from the word go. He has walked the Camino de Santaigo eight times and has explored the backroads of Tuscany. Born and raised in Valladolid, Spain, he will share his knowledge of history and language, and his great enthusiasm for the Spanish and Italian cultures.

Lorriane Miller works with Spanish Steps teaching our Camino “WALK AND TALK” participants the Spanish language while in route. Lorraine believes that learning a new language opens the mind to new people and places so she makes this an exciting and fun experience while instilling in her student the desire to become life-long language learners. Her classroom, whether with or without walls, is a non-threatening enriching environment to acquire a second language through interaction, interplay, and intercambio. Intercambio is Lorraine's unique way of bringing two languages and two cultures together to learn from each other. In Lorraine's class everybody is both a teacher and a student.

Seen here with the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, Lorraine is a native Californian, who now makes her home in Aspen. Her expertise in language instruction spans over 12 years and two continents. She has lived and worked in Spain, teaching executives English in Malaga, Madrid and Valencia. She has taught English in California, and intensive Spanish courses in Costa Rica and Baja California. She is currently a full-time assistance professor at the community college teaching English as a second language and Spanish.

Fabio Mucchi, Participates as a cooking instructor for our “TUSCAN RAMBLE” tours. He is the director of Scuola del Colle, where he brings travelers from around the world into an Italian kitchen to learn and appreciate culinary excellence. Fabio's love for Italian foods, combined with his understanding of American cooking, has helped him recreate a variety of regional and seasonal recipes that can easily bridge the two cultures. Fabio is dual USA-Italian Citizen and speaks fluent English, French, Spanish and Italian. He is a member of International Association of Culinary Professionals, IACP.

Ken Bartle is the photography teacher for our "PHOTO SPAIN" tour. He has been taking pictures for more than thirty years, learning along the way from photographers and artists of differing media about composition, light, and the non-teachable essence of what it is that makes a piece of art great. His training has been through simply looking at the world and seeing it as in a photograph. In addition he has taken numerous workshops with excellent teachers of the craft; and by going out with a camera, and by spending many hours in the darkroom.