First Camino Frances 2020.

[sandraessex]

I have just booked my ticket from Toronto, Canada and plan to start the walk from SJPP around the 10th or 11th of April. I arrive in Paris on April 8 and have not yet booked my train ticket. My plan is to walk the entire route in 5 to 6 weeks. I have allowed some extra time as I like to stay a few days in some places. This will be my first camino although I did complete the Inca Trail in 2015. I am doing the walk alone and hoping to find lots of great information on this blog.

 

[wayfarer]

Welcome Sandra, use the search function to check for any information you need or just ask any question here.
Happy planning and Buen Camino.

 

[Pelen]

If I would walk in that period I would have brougth some wool underwear.

Buen Camino!

 

[sandraessex]

Welcome Sandra, use the search function to check for any information you need or just ask any question here.
Happy planning and Buen Camino.

Thank you. This is a great site. I have been using the search function and now have a list of suggestions.

 

[sandraessex]

If I would walk in that period I would have brougth some wool underwear.

Buen Camino!

Thanks. I will see what I can find.

 

[Martin 888]

Hello from Nova Scotia. I walked the Frances last year and am repeating in May/June this year, also solo.....OMG, you’re going to love it ! Two suggestions......if you’re not already a member you should join the Canadian Company of Pilgrims, great organization and good info resource....they have a big Toronto chapter. Also Dan Mullin’s weekly podcast from Australia....’My Camino - The Podcast’.....excellent info resource and lots of fun.....I was episode 131 back in July. Buen Camino !

 

[sandraessex]

Hello from Nova Scotia. I walked the Frances last year and am repeating in May/June this year, also solo.....OMG, you’re going to love it ! Two suggestions......if you’re not already a member you should join the Canadian Company of Pilgrims, great organization and good info resource....they have a big Toronto chapter. Also Dan Mullin’s weekly podcast from Australia....’My Camino - The Podcast’.....excellent info resource and lots of fun.....I was episode 131 back in July. Buen Camino !

Thank you. I am going to join.

 

[Martin 888]

Thank you. I am going to join.

Another invaluable tip......google ‘hiker’s wool’ from New Zealand.....best blister prevention system on the planet !

 

[sandraessex]

Hello from Nova Scotia. I walked the Frances last year and am repeating in May/June this year, also solo.....OMG, you’re going to love it ! Two suggestions......if you’re not already a member you should join the Canadian Company of Pilgrims, great organization and good info resource....they have a big Toronto chapter. Also Dan Mullin’s weekly podcast from Australia....’My Camino - The Podcast’.....excellent info resource and lots of fun.....I was episode 131 back in July. Buen Camino !

Hi Martin 888: I have just joined the Canadian Company of Pilgrims and ordered their credentials. Does this replace the official badge I need from France/Spain to walk the camino? Thanks

 

[Former member 49149]

Another invaluable tip......google ‘hiker’s wool’ from New Zealand.....best blister prevention system on the planet !

Turga gave this reference earlier this year, another source for lamb's wool. Denmark. Someone else posted a similar item available in US pharmacies, so maybe some of it creeps up over the border.
https://www.koogko.dk/lanolinholdig-uld-50g I bought mine from New Zealand. It worked well for me.

 

[Martin 888]

Hi Martin 888: I have just joined the Canadian Company of Pilgrims and ordered their credentials. Does this replace the official badge I need from France/Spain to walk the camino? Thanks

Well done.....you won’t regret it ! The CCoP credential is very nice and official but is an alternative not a replacement so to speak. I also purchased one last year but ended up needing more space because collecting sejos is great fun and the credentials become great souvenirs. I filled two last year and had them both stamped in Santiago which they were happy to do at the pilgrim office. As my second I used the official one that you pick up at the pilgrim office in St Jean PdP. Have just purchased two CCoP credentials for this year. BTW while I’m on the subject, it is untrue that you have to pick up 2 stamps per day to qualify for your compostela......only pilgrims walking just the last 100k have to do that......i found it such fun I collected 2 or more each day......best ones are from town halls !

 

[Icacos]

Oh, I so envy you! I started at SJPP April 7th. Mornings can be very cold and my thin merino capri length underwear were invaluable, and they doubled as sleepwear at night. The morning we left Burgos the temperature was - 4 degrees. You will have a warm hat no doubt, but be sure also to have a warm scarf to wrap around your neck. There were several times I wished I had had one, particularly in Galicia where it was so cold and rainy. Have a wonderful time.

 

[C clearly]

the official badge I need from France/Spain to walk the camino?

Hi, and welcome to the forum! Just to clarify, there is no "official badge" that you need.

On the Camino, you are simply walking across Spain. Anybody can do it (if they are legally in the country, of course).

If you want to stay in special pilgrim albergues (run by municipal governments, churches, volunteer associations, etc) that are intended only for pilgrims, you need to show an official "credencial" (aka pilgrim passport) that is available from the Cndn pilgrim society, or from the Forum Store, or from many places on the Camino itself. If you want to get a compostella (certificate from the cathedral) in Santiago and you have met the requirements, you need to show your credencial with 2 daily stamps (sellos) for the last 100 km you walked into Santiago.

Many people wear a shell on their backpack, but many don't. There is no requirements. (Some people argue that the shell was traditionally obtain in Galicia and then worn on the homeward walk.)

There is no overall registration system for pilgrims. Your name and information will be collected at various albergues and hostales to meet Spanish requirements for registering guests in lodgings and hotels.

 

[sandraessex]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! Just to clarify, there is no "official badge" that you need.

On the Camino, you are simply walking across Spain. Anybody can do it (if they are legally in the country, of course).

If you want to stay in special pilgrim albergues (run by municipal governments, churches, volunteer associations, etc) that are intended only for pilgrims, you need to show an official "credencial" (aka pilgrim passport) that is available from the Cndn pilgrim society, or from the Forum Store, or from many places on the Camino itself. If you want to get a compostella (certificate from the cathedral) in Santiago and you have met the requirements, you need to show your credencial with 2 daily stamps (sellos) for the last 100 km you walked into Santiago.

Many people wear a shell on their backpack, but many don't. There is no requirements. (Some people argue that the shell was traditionally obtain in Galicia and then worn on the homeward walk.)

There is no overall registration system for pilgrims. Your name and information will be collected at various albergues and hostales to meet Spanish requirements for registering guests in lodgings and hotels.

Thanks so much. I had read abo

 

[sandraessex]

Thanks so much. I had read abo

Thanks so much. I had read about the shell and compostella. Appreciate the clarification. I am hoping to stay in the alberques along the route.

 

[NorthernLight]

BTW while I’m on the subject, it is untrue that you have to pick up 2 stamps per day to qualify for your compostela......only pilgrims walking just the last 100k have to do that.....

This is not true. While the volunteers in the Pilgrim Office may not enforce the two stamps per day rule for those who clearly walked a very long way, the rules do require two stamps per day for the last 100 km for walkers. Sometimes the rule is strictly enforced. Don’t risk it, get the stamps.

 

[C clearly]

while I’m on the subject, it is untrue that you have to pick up 2 stamps per day to qualify for your compostela......only pilgrims walking just the last 100k have to do that..

Why would you say that? It is like saying "it is untrue that you have to drive under the speed limit." Many people drive over the speed limit, successfully, but it would be a very misleading piece of advice.

Look at the official website of the Pilgrim Office here and read the rules. It clearly says "You have to stamp the Credencial twice a day at least on the last 100 km (for pilgrims on foot or on horseback) or on the last 200 km (for cyclists pilgrims). "

 

[sasecurity]

I have just booked my ticket from Toronto, Canada and plan to start the walk from SJPP around the 10th or 11th of April. I arrive in Paris on April 8 and have not yet booked my train ticket. My plan is to walk the entire route in 5 to 6 weeks. I have allowed some extra time as I like to stay a few days in some places. This will be my first camino although I did complete the Inca Trail in 2015. I am doing the walk alone and hoping to find lots of great information on this blog.

Also planning my first Camino for the first week in April, travelling hype myself and have allowed myself 8 weeks so I can stop off and explore as much as possible, I’ll maybe see you on the trail. Buen Camino