FHUHS Spanish

Trip to Spain 2012
El Camino de Santiago

Images along the Camino
(Reload page for more)

The Camino de Santiago: What is it?

Professors Herren-Lage (FHUHS) and Lefebre(OVS/BVS), along with Mr. Snay (FHUHS) will be leading a trip to Spain in June and July of 2012. The trip will expose students to daily life in Spain, which we intend to do by hiking a portion of the Camino de Santiago. The Camino is a 1000+ year old pilgrimage across the north of Spain to the city of Santiago de Compostela. Tens of thousands of pilgrims make the trek every year, for both spiritual and cultural reasons. Our students will have many opportunities to experience aspects of both rural and urban Spain, and will meet Spaniards and other internationals from all over the world. Misters Chase and Herren are currently preparing a formal academic plan for the trip which we anticipate will result in course credit for the experience once approved by the School Board.

We intend to walk about half of the Camino in Spain over the course of 24 days (app. 300 miles), from Burgos, a centrally located regional capital, to Santiago de Compostela (Mr. Herren walked the entire Camino in 2006 while living in Spain).

ACTFL Published an Article About Us!

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, a professional organization of language teachers and professors, recently did a story about our trip in one of their publications! The April 2012 edition of The Language Educator ran an article written by Patricia Koning on things that teachers do during the summers to improve in their professions and to recharge their enthusiasm. Our trip to walk the Camino is featured in a special side-bar, and they used one of Mr. Herren’s photos from the Camino as the central image of the entire article. The article is available online to ACTFL members, but we have scanned the relevant section and placed it here. (Copyright 2012 © ACTFL)

Would you like to support us?

Our goal is that the per student cost of the one month trip, including transportation, will be $2500 or less per student. We have a very solid budget for expenses once in Spain ($1250 per student calculated at the exchange rate at the time of $1.20 per Euro. See below for the current rate.)

We are currently accepting donations and will be conducting a fund raising raffle in February and March (drawing to be held on April 2). Your support and/or donation to our fund raising efforts will facilitate a once in life time experience for a deserving student from our community. Thank you!

See our list of current donors below.

Our fund raising goal is $250 per student. As of Saturday, May 19, 2012, we have raised $148.00 per student. If you’d like to help, we’re accepting cash or credit card donations. You can make a secure credit card donation through PayPal by clicking the button below.

Or, we can accept checks payable to the “FHUHS Spanish Club” and sent to:

FHUHS Spanish Club
c/o David Herren
33 Mechanic Street
Fair Haven, VT 05743

More information about the Camino

• American Pilgrims on the Camino
• The Camino Francés ( The “Camino francés” is the name of the specific route we will follow)

Key Dates for Students and Parents

• View previous dates ↩

• Monday, April 2, 3:30 pm. – The official raffle drawing

• May 1 : Passports (1 parent/guardian, plus student) Mr. Herren has passport applications in his classroom. The Orwell Post Office can process the application and even take official passport photos.

  When you fill out your passport application, make sure that you select the passport book and not just the card. The passport card cannot be used for international flights.

  Mr. Herren needs your birthdate and passport number as soon as possible for the airline reservation!

• June 4 : Balance of Trip fees due

Dates of the trip:

• depart for Spain : June 19, Boston, Iberia Flight #6166 6:20 pm
• arrive Madrid, June 20, 7:20 am (2 nights in Madrid, Hostal Persal)
• depart Madrid by train or bus, June 22
• Ajés, Burgos : June 22-23
• Camino : June 24 – July 16
• Santiago de Compostela : July 16, 17
• Madrid : July 18 (Hostal Persal))
• Return to U.S. : July 19, Iberia Flight #6165 1:55 pm
• arrive Boston, July 19, 3:20 pm

Hotel in Madrid

We will be staying in Madrid a total of 3 nights: June 20, 21 and July 18. Reservations have been made and confirmed at the Hostal Persal. The Persal is just a few short blocks from the very center of Madrid, Puerta del Sol. Our reservations will be in a combination of double, triple and quad rooms, and includes the morning meal.

Current Donors

The following local businesses have stepped up to support our trip to Spain. Be sure to show them your appreciation and visit their establishments.

Some very generous folks have simply made direct donations to our fund raising, and we’re extremely grateful for their contributions. Please support these benefactors any way you can!

Current Euro to Dollar Exchange Rate

As of Saturday, 19 May 2012 the current exchange rate is:

• 1 Euro (€) = USD$
• 1 US dollar ($) = €

(Exchange rate calculations courtesy of hotscripts.com)