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I will be a member of the class of 2015.
I wouldn't worry too much about prebooking while on the Camino at that time of year. But from what I've heard booking overnight in Bayonne on your way to SJPDP and in SJPDP before you start is a good idea.
I'll be starting around the 7th our paths may cross.
I have not gotten a start date yet, still making travel arrangements. I am going to spend a few weeks in Gaucin after and have my youngest son wanting to come over for about a week. Trying to coordinate everything. Would be nice to run into you on the journey.
The 1730 bus from Pamplona started on March 30, 2014, but in previous years, bus service to SJPdP did not start until May. ALSA can be very inconsistent in its routes, and often does not announce the start of a route until after it has started! Good luck on an April start for the bus next year!
just keep an ear open for our good ol aussie accent. Just dont expect to hear "Crikey cobber. Let's throw another shrimp on the baaaaarby" LOL[/QUOTE]
Hi, I'm in the very beginning embryonic stages of conceiving my first Camino for sometime next year. I've been lurking on this site for a short time only. I haven't figured out how to choose my route yet. In fact, if you can point me to a good thread about the various routes, I'd appreciate it. I've looked around, but not come up with one. I plan on taking at least a month to do my walk. No idea what my departure dates will be. I'm not terribly fit, so I'll be spending the year in training and walking, as well as cutting weight. I'll be walking alone. I heard about the Camino approximately five years ago and was very interested then. Haven't given it much thought since. Suddenly, the idea came out of nowhere and sat on my consciousness in a very demanding way over the last month and it seems it is both time to do this and imperative. So, even though I have no money, no equipment, no experience, I'm self-employed and will have to meet my maintenance expenses here before I go, my business will feel my absence and likely the impact will take a few months to recover from as I build clientele back up, and the entire thing seems impossible, unlikely, and even irresponsible, it also feels like none of that matters. At all. I can't wait.
Have fun planning, and buen camino! Don't let a camino be too disruptive of your life and routine. They both go on beyond the pilgrimage. The experience can be a transformation, and the transformation is best when you integrate it with family, work, and life. Be sure to have fun doing it!
Ah, Falcon, I can see how you might have had a concern reading this bit. The thing is, I'm running up on 57 here. If I don't do a little Life Disruption now, I'll miss my chance to change things up as well as the opportunity to put some feet on my lifelong travel dreams. It's apparent to me if I continue to wait until there are ample resources or time, I'll never hit the road. Frankly, there's a good chance I'm as retired as I ever will get, so I might as well create a window for myself now while I'm healthy and strong enough. And keep going from there! Should I choose to, I could work with clients by Skype and if I end up planning a trip longer than four weeks, I may very well do so. This trek is a way to build a couple of things into my current life as well: passion, excitement, fitness, a goal to kedge towards, reflection on what wants to be born next, a direction for the next 30 years, and the joy of stretching into the impossible despite the ever present urge to be self-limiting.
HI.I am from AB,Canada. My husband and I are planning for May and June of 2015 as well. WE are planning around the 15th of May, fly to Paris and then train..bus to St. Jean. What dates are you looking at.
Hello Shirley, I plan on leaving from SJDP the first of May. I have been looking for a way to get there and it appears that there are a number of people going to Paris and going from there to SJDP. I am interested in connecting with other pilgrims to travel with. I am somewhat flexible in start dates at this point in planning , I have one of my children that wants to meet up in southern Spain in June for a holiday . I have been thinking about the el camino for several years and was going to do it when I retired. I retired at the end of last May. I am active in that I cycle and swim regularly but haven't been walking. I am going to start soon to break in my shoes and condition myself for the trip. I am spending a lot of time now trying to decide on the gear I will need and I am really in need of all the help I can get. Good thing I have time on my side. I have a brother who is in the Hood River valley area, he and his wife run the Rasmussen farms over there. I haven't been to Oregon since I thumbed around the US and Canada in the early 70's.
Hi Bobby!
Thank you, Dennis. It feels like the journey has already begun as a negotiate the inner workings that are craving the Camino. Even before I started thinking about which route to take, I started collecting links to foot care posts here. You guys are great! I think the first place to start is a visit to a podiatrist to have that long overdue talk about flat feet and pronated ankles, hoping that, in combination with gleaning blister prevention wisdom here, will address structural issues and reduce the probability of injury.
I walked the Camino Frances in 2012 to Santiago and then on to Finisterre and Muxia. I am returning June 23, 2015 to hike the Camino del Norte.
I've seen this thread as well as another with exercises to strengthen the feet. Great resources. Very sobering.
Please dont get the assumption that I was suggesting you take a half hearted approach to "Foot care". I too last year when thinking of doing this trip consulted a Podiatrist to see if my old slabs of meat (feet) would be up to the task. My comment was more of a , dont over research what you can do as this sometimes leads to, too many solutions that in the end only serves to confuse you and eventually drives you away from your main goal.
I hadn't connected your comment to directly to foot care at all, but received it as approaching all things in balance. Was your trip to the podiatrist helpful?
I was walking 3-4 hours a day in preparation before I came to the Camino. On day three on the, I had blisters on my heels. That what has prompted me to make so many comments about foot care.
Oh my goodness. Maybe I should change that. Thats suppose to read 7th(ish) of May. At the time I joined the forum I didnt have the date pegged down. So Im a pure Camino virgin so to speak. However I have done a considerable amount of walking in my time.
Hey there.
Primus, it's an easy bus ride back to Santiago. There's a bus drop off/pick up area in the center of town. Can't miss it. (If you avoid transport the rest of the Camino, it will feel odd to be in a vehicle again.)
Strange how a movie can do that to you, huh? To make you feel that you NEED to do it. For me it was seeing an article about the Camino in the local paper, followed by "The Way" coming to the local theater a few months later. (Watch for the documentary "Walking the Camino-Six Ways to Santiago" that should be out on video in November) Having done the Camino two years ago, I'd say keep studying the Spanish, but don't let lack of knowledge dissuade you from doing the Camino. Wonderful people living and working on the Camino are used to dealing with someone who doesn't speak their language. Plus, there's a very good chance you'll form a bond with someone who does speak Spanish and they will help you out. As for currency-plenty of ATM's along the way. My biggest decision right now is sleeping bag related. Last time (sept/oct.2012) I used only a fleece bag liner. I'm debating going lighter, simply because I remember how warm some of the albergues were. When you have a room full of bodies, it can become too warm. But that's just me.
No reason to be nervous, Angie and you will find pilgrims to walk with right away in SJPP.
Hi, my son and I are doing the Camino in April 2015 and we lived in Boulder from 2000-2008. Good luck and Buen Camino!Hi! I'm from near Boulder, Colorado USA. I plan to start my Camino in 2015. I plan to start the CF in SJPDP and go all the way to at least SdC. My husband doesn't have the time for such a long Camino so he will meet up with me for about the last two weeks. We're still deciding when to start the Camino. We're trying to avoid the hot days of July and August, but the warmer weather of the other months keeps our packs lighter. All the cold weather in May this year has made us rethink starting even in mid May, but perhaps this strange weather won't repeat itself in 2015. I really want to walk the Napoleon route over the Pyrenees, but this is already a lesson learned. Limited planning seems to be the best approach to the Camino.
I read something about the Camino almost a year ago and felt the calling. I felt if would be really neat to do, but not something I would likely ever do in this busy world. However, the calling has persisted and here I am!
Thanks to Ivar and everyone who contributes to this forum. Along with the Brierley bookI have learned so much about the Camino. Now to work on the training. I'm up to about 6.5km but did do a 9.5km walk a few weeks ago.
Buen Camino!
Congratulations! How exciting!Looking forward to joining the class of 2015. We'll be starting 4 May 2015 in SJPDP.
When we first planned to walk the CF 8-9 months ago, it all seemed so far away. But I've just booked our flights and first 2 nights accommodation and now it all seems so real! And we really haven't started training yet! Bits of walking off and on (we bought most of our gear 9 months ago). But now we have the motivation to start some real training, because we can see the clock counting down
Booking the accommodation was interesting. Many hotels in SJPDP seemed to be fairly heavily booked already. Same in Roncesvalles. This site was useful.
http://www.roncesvalles.es/directorio/index.asp?id=listado&cat=hotel&lg=frn
After Roncesvalles we'll 'free wheel' as far as accommodation goes. Who can tell where we'll end up and when...
We hope to make it all the way to SdC. We've allowed ourselves 48 days. We'll need it, as we are really not very fit. If we manage it faster then we might go on to Muxia or there again, the 'Boss' may decide enough is enough, as we'll pop over to the UK and Ireland to visit family on the way home.
Look forward to seeing some of you en route
Shall be flying into CDG on the 4th and hope to get to SJPDP by the 5th. and hope to start by the 7th. So how booked out is SJPDP? My problem is Im not sure what time Ill get to SJPDP due to the fact I can get any train schedule out of SNCF this far out for May. So Ill either get to Bayonne on the 4th and have to stay there the night. Or Ill just make SJPDP at night of the 4th.
Accommodations in early May are not a problem. Your arrival is between French holidays (there are 5 in May). There will be albergue beds in abundance; if you want a hotel, then you can search booking.com on the day you will be arriving, and find something. I like Hotel Ramuntcho.
All good. Just secured me a room at Chambres d'Hotel Garicoitz. Ill be winging it for the rest of the way, but just wanted a couple of good nights after the long 23hr flight then near 8 hours all up on trains, before I hit the road.
I believe it can be a bit rainy in April, but May is starting to be very popular. Either way
. Hopefully I'll be able to walk to Finisterre this time as well, since blisters and time kept me from going last time. 
John,
Yes i am!!!
Hey Brisbanegee. Just up the Bruce from you. When are you heading over?
I found an app called DuoLingo to be very helpful. As for your new start date, seems its going to be quite a forum meet up around that time. I suggest as it get closer someone should initiate a Class of May 2015 thread so we can all get a look at who we'll have to look out for.
Thanks for this. I've been looking for apps and hadn't come across this one. Giving it a go right now to see what I think. DuoLingo has an interesting back story, as well. http://www.fluentin3months.com/duolingo/ I'm also going to rent audio Spanish lessons from my local library. All that high school Spanish one million years ago, such a shame I didn't keep it up, but unfortunately our focus was almost entirely on written work and not spoken and listening work.
Gday mate. Where in oz you hailing from Cejanus? You wont be the only grandfather in the group (although I tell myself Im too young to be a grandparent. Im so deluded. LOL) Seems we shall start the same day.
Cejanus, sounds like a great plan! What do you do for foot preparation this far out? I'm looking for all the best ways to prepare for my first walk next September.
Hi again, my apologies for not getting back earlier. I have been testing the waters of the Pacific at Burleigh Heads.
Awesome, Cejanus! Thanks for the detailed explanation. My feet do the same thing and it was the first thing I started concentrating on. In addition to the pumice stone, I have found nightly use of a black nail file (coarse) helps as well as a combination of applying Salicylic Acid (found in over the counter acne preparations--I use Nuetrogena's ) to help slough off old skin, followed by Gold Bond ointment or Mary Kay's Satin Hands Softener will do the trick. I do it right before bed, put on a pair of socks and drop into the sack. It improves things immediately and will remediate the situation over time. Once the cracks are gone, they'll stay soft and crack free as long as I am doing the nail filing and deep moisturizing routine every night. Which of course, I forget to do after awhile.
I am planning to walk the Camino Frances beginning about May 17th of 2015. I've been waiting 9 years for this opportunity!
Wishing you the best of luck as it seems i will be going early than anyone
