Camino de Santiago de Compostela

[Steffan]

Hello everyone!

What an exciting prospect! My first Camino, and I am going all alone!
I will arrive in Lourdes at 9am on the 2nd of July 2011 and then have the entire month at my disposition. I haven't booked a return flight yet and can stay anything between 1 day and 4 weeks! Yippeee! I am quite fit, but not an experienced hiker at all!

I chose the Lourdes starting point as it is in easy reach from London with Ryan Air, and it looks like Lourdes is on the 'Voie du Piemont', which leads to Oleron Ste Marie.

From there I don't really know yet which direction to take towards Pamplona - either South via Jacca, or West via St. Jean Pied de Port.
Can anyone please advise me about the two alternatives, or other options?
I am not decided on any particular route yet, and perhaps walking from SJPDP the Camino Baztan to Biarritz or Bayonne is another possibility, especially as I have to consider form where to take my return flight to London.
I have a tendency to staying in France, because I speak French rather well, but no Spanish (I am originally from Germany), but besides this it is more important to walk a not too difficult, not too overcrowded, but a scenic route.

Also, I read somewhere of a 'Camino-office' in Lourdes, where one can register for the Camino? Does anyone here have this information? I plan to stay in Lourdes for the first day or two, to acclimatise and to experience the more 'serious' religious vibes there, before heading off West

Another question regarding gear: I got a 30L backpack, which I don't plan to fill with more than 10kg in total (including water and food), so every decision what to take counts:
I believe one should have a silk liner for the hostels to sleep in, but I also came across a very light weight hammock, which could double as liner. Do you think such a hammock is a good thing to have in order to have the choice to sleep under the stars in case there is no bed to be found anywhere? Is it safe to sleep outdoors like that? (I heard of dogs and even bears in the Pyrenees!)

I am so excited and at risk of making romantic rather than practical decisions, so any advice from experienced Camino-istas is very welcomed!

Thanks in advance!
Steff

[falcon269]

Here is a website for the Voie du Piemont:

http://vppyr.free.fr/vpp.php

The crossing at Oloron-Ste. Marie is very nice, and quite scenic. The Camino Aragones in Spain is not too crowded, but June, July, and August are the busy months. Many of the accommodations are small, so it does not take much of a crowd to fill them. You join the Camino Frances at Eunate/Puente la Reina.

The Voie du Piemont has a reputation for tough terrain, particularly if you follow it all the way to Bayonne.

[Anniesantiago]

Last year I walked from Jaca to Pamplona and all I can say is it was a GORGEOUS walk! There were no pilgrims to compete with and the scenery was spectacular. The albergues were lovely also.

I haven't walked the other route, but I would like to

[lucky]

Hello Steffan,
Congratulations on your decision to walk the camino and considering the difficulty of getting to St Jean from England congratulations on your decision to start from Lourdes. I walked from St Jean to Santiago starting July 2010.From my research and taking into account your French speaking skills i would walk Lourdes- Asson-Arudy- Oloron Ste Maria- Sarrance- Borce- Confranc Estacion- Jaco- Santa Cilia- Artedia- Sanguesa- Izco- Tiebas- Eunate this stop is a must stay especially if you are walking for religious reasons you stay at the albergue next to the octagonal church .You will now be close to Puenta La Ruena and the Camino Frances and the rest will be up to you.
I will be starting from Lourdes and taking this route to SAntiago in August so will be interested to see how you get on you will be fine with silk sleeping bag liner but leave the hammock and leave anything else that is not absolutely necessary because after a few hours walking your pack feels like it just doubled in weight. If you want to walk Lourdes to Santiago you will need at least 6 weeks so good luck whatever your decision
Bien Camino
Paul

[Alan Pearce]

Hi Lucky

Are you taking the tunnel through the mountain to Canfranc Estacion, or are you walking over the mountain via Col de Somport ?

The photo beside this post was taken at Somport in April 2008.

Buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

[lucky]

Hi Alan,
Thanks for your reply, my research into this route is still in it's early stages but looking at your photo i'm no Chris Bonnington so looks like tunnel would be favourite.
Paul

[falcon269]

I don't know if the tunnel is open to foot traffic. The shoulder is narrow, but I don't see any signage prohibiting pedestrians:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 62,,0,9.04

There is no view from the tunnel, of course!!

[Canuck]

The Somport tunnel is 8.5 km long.
I wouldn't even think about crossing it on foot, not only because of the distance but also because of the busy heavy truck traffic.
It is considered dangerous and not recommended by some French pilgrim web sites.

Why not go on the trail? It's not difficult and very pretty. You'll enjoy it far more than the tunnel.
Ask the village folks in Borce and they will give you indications for a nice and safe way to make it to the pass.

Enjoy,
Jean-Marc

[Alan Pearce]

I have sent a PM to Paul apologising for being mischievous. I thought that he had inadvertantly left Somport off his list of towns that the trail went through, and was trying to gently point this out to him.

In 2008 I was told by a watchman at the mouth of the tunnel that predestrians were definately not permitted to pass through.

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

[caminka]

hello steff!

what exciting choices you have for your very first camino! I don't think you can go wrong on any of the routes, but maybe a few comments can help you decide.

I walked both pyrenean passes, somport (oloron - jaca - puente la reina) and cize (sjpp - pamplona) but I don't knwo the route in between (ie, oloron - sjpp). both are spectacular in their own ways.

the somport pass you approach rather gently along the valley of gave d'aspe where the route is mainly along narrow paths (sometimes a bit eroded, so ask about conditions) and on the busy main road (huge trucks!) before you really go to climb a fine path up to the top. the views are good, but you have to bear in mind that this is a forested valley, there are no far-reaching views and you are surrounded by 2000+ peaks towards the end. the descent is also along a valley, although a bit more pronounced at the start. absolutely no need to use the road tunnel. from oloron the ascent usually takes two long days (30km+30km, oloron - bedous - somport) and the descend one long day (31km, somport - jaca). this is possible to cut into shorter stages. some accommodation must be reserved in advance as some french gites d'etapes operate on codes (gite bastet in oloron, french gite on somport) and there is obligatory reservation in monastery of sarrance. I recommed the small pilgrim-only gite in the lovely medieval village of borce (reservation also recommended, as it only has 6 beds) and if you are staying there or in the village etsaut below it and have time and energy, I highly recommed a detour on GR 10 to chemin de la mature, a route literally cut through a sheer 300m wall (you'll need at least 2h for it, it's 1h climb).
from jaca the route is typically spanish (tracks, occasional road walk, a magnificent corner of a roman road) up and down the hills. you are in sight of the pyrennes almost all the route.
If you have time, another detour I would recommed is that to monasterio viejo de san juan de la pena. what we did: we walked camino aragones to the access road for santa cruz de la seros and san juan de la pena and hitchhiked to the monastery (we got a direct hike, and although the locals that picked us up didn't intend to go all the way, they were so kind that they took us to the top), then walked down the 300+m extremely steep and stony climb(!) with spectacular views, to santa cruz de la seros and from there we took a scarcely but adequately waymarked path via village binacua to santa cilia de jaca.

to the cize pass you start climbing as soon as you leave sjpp. the climb is mostly along a narrow tarmac road with fairly wide grass shoulders, then a track over the highest part and a steep path to roncesvalles, or a road to ibaneta then track to roncesvalles. the views are spectacular all around as the pyrenees here are only covered in pastures, but you don't see many rocks. it takes one day to get to roncesvalles (25km) and it is possible to break the stage at huntto or orisson (in 2005 you had to make a reservation for both, in pilgrim office in sjpp).
then it is mostly down to pamplona, with some, now paved I hear, steep descents.

I think that to reach puente la reina via somport takes a day or two longer then via sjpp, it depends on your stages, of course. if you will go from oloron to sjpp, it seems there is a new gite d'etape in hopital ste blaise.
camino aragones (somport - jaca - puente la reina) goes directly to obanos or puente la reina and to reach pamplona you have to go backwards on camino frances for a day, over sierra del perdon. there are a number of GRs around pamplona if you would want to leave camino aragones earlier (say, between monreal and tiebas), but I don't know how well, if at all, they are waymarked, I had difficulty finding any information at all.

I don't know of any specific santiago-pilgirm office in lourdes, but there are a general pilgrim office and a regular tourist office. perhaps you could order a credencial from a german association?

you should have no problems in spain, many people in albergues speak at least a little english or french, especially on camino frances. and there is always another pilgrim who can help with translation.

have a fine walk!

[SDM]

Hello Steff,

I walked this year from Lourdes to Santiago to Finisterre to Muxia. I started the Camino alone ... but I met very special people along the Way.

I obtained my Credential (2 days before I started) at the Information Centre at the Basilica. They also gave me information but this was in French (which I do not know ...)
http://www.lourdes-france.org/index.php ... =en&id=469

I spent 2 days in Lourdes and it was a great spiritual experience ...

and it looks like Lourdes is on the 'Voie du Piemont', which leads to Oleron Ste Marie.

Yes, Lourdes is in the Camino del Piamonte.
See the following Spanish website for further details
http://www.gronze.com/camino-de-santiag ... amonte.htm

The Camino del Piamonte I followed was the GR78.

More details here in French
http://www.rando64.fr/8-13154-La-Voie-d ... -GR-78.php

The information is also available in English, but I can not find these all in one place (some stages below)
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/M ... 6b168b.pdf
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/M ... 7b3408.pdf
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/M ... 18eeff.pdf

From there I don't really know yet which direction to take towards Pamplona - either South via Jacca, or West via St. Jean Pied de Port.
Can anyone please advise me about the two alternatives, or other options?

I went via St. Jean Pied de Port and I really enjoyed it. I walked from Lourdes to SJPdP (staying at Bétharram, Arudy, Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Mauléon and Saint-Just-Ibarre) in 6 days because I wanted to spend Easter Sunday in SJPdP. If you decide to go via SJPdP I would recomend to walk it in 7 days (staying at L'Hôpital-Saint-Blaise).

Every time I knocked on a door for water, people were extremely nice and helped me out. Villagers I met were friendly, asking me if I was going to Compostella and if I was going alone ...

I had a 25+5 L backpack for my Camino from April to June.

If you have more questions, let me know.

Have a great time,

Sarah

PS: This is my first post ...

[Steffan]

Hello again everyone!

It took me some time to write a reply, which doesn't mean that I didn't look at them and study them.
I am really thrilled for all your advice, especially from Alan, Caminka and Sarah!
You have no idea how helpful you were, and I am so impressed by the effort you put in advising me!

After two weeks of preparation and getting kitted out, I am now rather nervous, as my flight to Lourdes leaves tomorrow morning at 6.20am. I doubt being able to get a nights sleep and probably will crash in my hotel room!

At least a couple of days are spent in Lourdes, and I have decided on the following route (subject to change):
Lourdes - Arudy - Beost -Gabos - Somport - Jacca - Somport - Borce - Sarrance - Oloron - - - SJPDP - Ports de Cize -Roncevaux - Valcarlos - SJPDP - Helette - Ustaritz - Bayonne.

That way I will walk the two Pyrenean passes twice, back and forth, up and down!

Spain comes next time, this time I will listen to two Spanish language courses from my MP3 player, which might help to distract me from sore feet and achy joints!!

I will write about my experience of this route after I return to London!

Warm regards!
Steffan

[dutchpilgrim]

Hi Steffan,

a bit late, somehow I missed your post.
Have a look at
http://www.aucoeurduchemin.org/spip/spi ... ubrique569

Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo

[caminka]

good route, Steffan!

that certainly is an interesting plan you have. walking both passes in both directions!

I am very interesting on your opinion on arudy - somport part. I am planning to sleep in the refuge d'ayous. I would like to see sunset/sunrise on pic du midi d'ossau.

maybe you will still catch this. there are two routes to follow from villanua to castiello de jaca. the left one (going down), signposted as GR 653.1, follows the eastern side of the valley and is more shady in the morning. it was adequately waymarked in 2009 (all the intersections but little in between) and there was noone walking it. there was a police car doing rounds, though. it starts from the old centre of villanua which is off the main route. go left at the first bridge and pass a small park with wooden sculptures.

wow, sarah, that info on vppyr in english is quite something! is there also something before oloron? from lourdes on?

[SDM]

good route, Steffan!?

Yes Steffan... good route! You will have to tell us all about it when you are back.

wow, sarah, that info on vppyr in english is quite something! is there also something before oloron? from lourdes on?

Caminka, I have done some Internet searching and I have found the Camino del Piamonte GR 78 information in English (from SAINT-PÉ-DE BIGORRE to SAINT-JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT).

GR 78® Camino del Piamonte

FROM SAINT-PÉ-DE BIGORRE TO BRUGES
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_a0697ed7-89da-4c9c-96d3-b7a960604a64.pdf

FROM BRUGES TO BUZY
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_8992c29f-e9f5-4f1b-a3c0-090336b1cb45.pdf

FROM BUZY TO OLORON-SAINTE-MARIE
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_92fe0f37-de2e-4755-aeca-de603046376c.pdf

FROM OLORON-SAINTE-MARIE TO L'HÔPITAL-SAINT-BLAISE
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_90efeb9d-d782-4942-a49e-f1d9bf6b168b.pdf

FROM L'HÔPITAL-SAINT-BLAISE TO MAULÉON
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_5c65b9b4-1a90-45ed-a02f-9013e67b3408.pdf

FROM MAULÉON TO SAINT-JUST-IBARRE
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_ec94956a-3b6d-4b23-a9ca-66f51a18eeff.pdf

FROM SAINT-JUST-IBARRE TO SAINT-JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT
http://cdt64.tourinsoft.com/uploadtif/MEDIA_2c6ebfe3-6b34-4b81-b68f-3fbd1b02727a.pdf


According to the GRONZE Camino del Piamonte website http://www.gronze.com/camino-de-santiago/camino-del-piamonte.htm there are 2 routes

1. Route with yellow stickers (from Narbonne to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port)

2. Route with the red and white GR signs (from Carcassone to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port)


I actually "lost" (fell out of my pocket in my first walking day ...) my printouts from the GRONZE Camino del Piamonte website and therefore I followed the GR 78 (longer and harder than the yellow stickers route ... as per website).

Sarah

[caminka]

wow, thanks, sarah!

I read passing mentiones on french sites that there is dual waymarking in some pleaces but nothing very precise. although, judging from gronze site, the routes are quite different. I decided for GR78, mainly because it's the one on ign maps (it is marked with a scallop shell there, though).
from lourdes it's even more confusing because nearly every site or guide I look into has a bit different route. some pass via saint pe de bigoree, some avoid it, some pass via arudy, some avoid it. I hope it's not so confusing in reality and that GR78 is well waymarked.

[swieser6]

hi, I'm going to start my 7th Camino de Santiago, this time from Lourdes, at the 9th of october, is there anybody who can give me more infos about passing the Somport Pass in this time of the year and if there are any special difficulties
tks very much
Stefan

[falcon269]

I crossed Somport in October. There was rain heading up the pass, and snow at the top. The road was closed, but it was passable for hikers. Down in Canfranc it was rain again, and strong winds into Villanua. Only the hostal was open there, and almost nothing in Canfranc was open. From my email that day:

When the Office de Tourismo opened at 1000 (scheduled opening -- 0930), we received information that only two places of accommodation were open, and one was full. We we to the other, but it was locked tight, so we ate a tortilla patata, drank a cafe con leche, and decided to walk on to the only open hotel in Villanua, that would close at 1430 to reopen at 1900. It was 1145, so we put it into afterburner, and headed down the road.

We covered a French two hour and thirty minute walk in one hour and forty-five minutes! The thirty knot tailwind helped. It was six degrees Centigrade in Estacion Canfranc (Canfranc Estacioin in Spanish), and was snowing in Somport we discovered later. As the weather system passed by, the temperature dropped and the wind pickup speed. When we would hit narrow places in the valley down the Rio Aragon, the wind would accelerate. We were being buffeted around by the gusts, but kept moving. It took a wide stance (no reference to Senator Larry Craig) to keep from being blown into the lane of traffic. Traffic was sparse because the roads were closed in Somport, and only tunnel traffic was being permitted up the valley roads, so we did not feel particularly unsafe.

We arrived in Villanua to a roadblock by the Spanish police armed with the latest in fully automatic weapons. The smiled and let us through. Earlier an official car stopped going the other way, the uniformed person inside got out, smiled at us, pulled out a camera, and took our pictures. Two crazy pilgrims in full rain gear fighting the wind and rain down the valley! I am glad we could make his day enjoyable.

[Priscillian]

I walked the Camino Aragones on my second pilgrimage in 2000. The walk up from Oloron is very ... up; and from Somport it's equally down! And both are glorious providing you don't get the heavy fog which can blanket the area in minutes. From Canfranc it's a gentle hike along the River Aragon until Jaca. Then you turn right!
On my recent survey I was astonished to find that only 2% of recipients said they had walked the Aragones, fewer even than the Portuguese. And yet it is easily one of the most beautiful
Enjoy and go easy.
If you get the opportunity to visit and stay at the Monastery of Leyre I do highly recommend it!
TS
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

[nathanael]

Stefen, greetings I walked from Lourdes France on June 5th. all alone not a person was seen on the road. It was peaceful and very enjoyable, I presume from having stayed at Lourdes 3 days and enjoying the shrine. The hostels I stayed had not seen anyone in some time in Arundy I stayed at the priest house and he was a gracious man we communicated in Italian.You will enjoy the walking very peaceful and serene. Buen Camino and a safe time.
n+