Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[Tune]

Greetings everybody. I am a young danish guy that will walk the Camino in 34 days from 29 March.

Ill be on Bayonne railway station 2045 Monday evening, March 28.

I will be starting my walk from Oloron-Ste-Marie and walk on to Somport. I will be sleeping in Bayonne, Pau, or even better, Oloron the first night. Does anyone know if there are any public transportation leaving Bayonne after 2045 on to Pau or Oloron this evening? I wish to go as far as possible the first day.

Has anyone walked this route and have anyone any good tips they want to bring on to me?. Is it worth to check out the "de la pena" monestary on the way?

How is the weather over the Somport-pass these days. Any experiences?. Is it easy to fin Albergues on this route and are there any that you can recommend? I would like to walk between 27 and 35 km on this route is this too much for a young and pretty fit man?

Ive heard that the pass on to Roncesvalles is pretty tough. How is this one compared?

Thanks for your input. From the excited pilgrim...

[falcon269]

The last train from Bayonne to Oloron-Ste. Marie is at 1820, so you probably will need to spend the night in Bayonne.

There was snow in early November crossing to Somport, so any weather is possible in March and April.

The crossing is easier than the one to Roncesvalles. That said, I was the most scared of my caminos heading up the river valley from Oloron. The path was angled into the river on mud covered by wet leaves, and very slippery. Any slip ended in the river or a barbed wire fence above the river! Neither seemed particularly desirable. I would recommend staying on the road in wet weather. The road is narrow with no shoulders in many spots. Fortunately, it is not heavily traveled. You just need to be very careful of the traffic, and step off the pavement for on-coming traffic.

Downhill from Canfranc Estacion may have been the worst weather I have encountered. A policeman stopped to take a photo of two storm-blown pilgrims, then got back into his car and drove off. I am sure our photo is on the police station wall somewhere giving great amusement to many officers.

Have fun. It is a great route.

[Debinq]

hi Excited

I suggest you have a look at the "au coeur du chemin" site which can be found on some of the posts in the Piemont Route section - there is good info in French on the Oloron - Somport section there

The monastery at San Juan de la Pena is well worth the detour - I did it in Sept 06 from Sta Cilia via Binacua; the climb up from Seros is pretty steep and wasn't particularly well signposted when I climbed it; so if you can stand the motorised traffic (even the occasional tourbus!!) then there is always the bitumen road up there from Seros - the monastery closes for a few hours during the middle of the day. The track down from Somport to Jaca (via Canfranc and Villanua) is very scenic

buen camino

Peter

[Debinq]

hi

here is the URL

http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/-Et ... ml?lang=fr

rgds
Peter

[Tune]

Thank you so much guys. Usefull information.

Tune Nielsen

[Daíthi]

Hola, I would be grateful if you could give me a list of the villages/ towns between Oloron Sante Marie and Somport. Also the distances (km ) between each village (if possible). I would also appreciate any other useful information that would be helpful. I have alreadt walked " El Camino Frances ( SJDP to Santiago ) and Irun to Oviedo . I hope to walk from Lourdes --Oloron -Somport- Pamploma and then go by bus to Oviedo and continue from there ( Ruta del Norte ) to Santiago. I will be starting on the 22nd of September from Lourdes. What is the total distance ( kms ) from Oloron to Pamplona ? Thanhs for any help you can give me. Daithi from Ireland

[falcon269]

Across Somport:

http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/spi ... ubrique569

From Lourdes:

http://vppyr.free.fr/pages_piemont_sud/ ... nt_sud.htm

[gitta]

Hi Tune - det lyder som en spændende ide... jeg har selv gået turen fra Oleron op over Somport og videre til Jaca i efteråret 2007...
du starter ret tidligt på året, og ruten op er flot, men kold og sikkert også ret våd ( det tog os tre dage at nå op til passet men vi gik heller ikke så hurtigt - vi var to "gamle" damer på 62 år) ... sørg endelig for at ha en god vandrestav med til støtte når der er meget mudder ! og du må endelig huske at gå forbi turistinfomationen i Oleron og bede dem om at give dig den opdaterede oversigt over ruten op til passet - du får det printed ud på tre stykker papir med al info, også om herbergerne.... Der er ikke så mange pilgrimme på ruten så tidligt - men jeg mener bestemt at herbergerne er åbne... at gå på landevejen op (i stedet for at følge vandrestien) er meget farligt og kan ikke anbefales medmindre det er absolut nødvendigt -(husk GUL VEST - så du er meget synlig!!!) vandreruten går på hver side af vejen, den er rigtig flot ! Jeg skal selv gå denne rute "baglæns" i midten af april - Min ven og jeg starter her d. 23 april i Condom på Le Puy ruten, og går mod Saint Jean Pied de Port, krydser over passet (det er ikke så svært, og der er ret mange pilgrimme den vej) går videre til Puenta de la Reina, og ca. d. 10 marts begynder vi at gå "baglæns" på Camino Aragones mod Somport og tilbage til Oleron....
Krydser man over passet ved Roncesvalles gælder det også her om at få den seneste information fra turistkontoret i St. Jean Pied de Port ang rute, vejrforhold og andet vigtigt... husk at vejret ER MEGET OMSKIFTELIGT I PYRENÆERNE OM FORÅRET og der kan falde sne i marts måned... husk godt med varmt tøj over Somport også.... Du må være forberedt på meget mudder, koldt vand og regn - tag regnbukser med der går helt ned over støvlerne, regnjakke, og så en poncho allerøverst ! så kan du gå hele dagen.... herbergerne er for det meste kolde... men alt i alt - en meget flot tur - du møder de seje pilgrimme her, du skal nok klare det... vil gerne høre mere om turen når du kommer hjem.... jeg er med på santiagopilgrimmenes facebook side.... BON CAMINO - hilsen fra Gitta Bechshøft

[Sandeeps11]

hey Debinq in your url not found any thing....

[pickena]

Hola Peregrinos,
I am planning on doing the camino Aragon in August-I'm travelling from Ireland-I'm trying to work out where I will fly into-I think Lourdes has an airport-can anyone give me this information.
Where to fly into to start camino in Orolon Ste Marie, and any information on public transport that I need to get from airport to the above start point-I would really appreciate some help.
Michelle

[mspath]

Michelle,

You could fly from Dublin to Biarritz on Ryan Air. Here is their web >> http://www.ryanair.com/ie/cheap-flights ... o-biarritz From Biarritz train to Pau and another train to Oloron-Ste Marie. There are many trains each day. See this SNCF web page >> http://www.voyages-sncf.com. The total cost for the trains is roughly 25 euros.

Bon Voyage and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

[tipperary]

Hi Michelle,
Margarets suggestion is excellent, its an easy transfer.
Another option is to fly Aer Lingus to Toulouse and you can also transfer via Pau.
If you wish to stay overnight in Oloron, Gite Bastet is top class. However you need to book in advance as entry is normally by keypad. If you arrive late at night Google maps can enable you to pinpoint its exact location.
Buen camino
Justin

[Debinq]

hola Sandeeps
just saw yr post - try this

http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/spip.php?article166


this section has the 'detail des etapes' (Gabas - Ste Christine du Somport) I can't think of a more thorough route description

happy trails

Peter