Wow,
Hello all and THANKS!
t2andreo I will be sure to check out some of your personal posts while planning and again keep searching the forum as questions arise in my mind. Detailed information is helpful and at times gives us ideas we hadnt considered.
nreyn12 thanks so much for the tip to learn the Spanish and that being vegetarian there means about the same as it does in Japan. You say no meat and they bring you ham. Its weird.
One of my biggest concerns is storage of things. I will be leaving Japan where Ive lived for the past two years and this will be my trip before I return home. Are there places in Paris or near that I can store my other luggage at whilst I hike?
Also- what are some needs you didnt expect on the camino and things you thought youd need but didnt?
Thanks again for the warm welcome.
This is a somewhat unusual issue. Most people doing a Camino are concerned with how to send one suitcase ahead to be waiting for them in Santiago and services exist to do that. How many and what kind of things will you be dragging with you and which need storing? Suitcases or duffel bags? What sizes? Here are some general suggestions fo ryou to consider:
1. If you are flying in and out from Paris CDG, I recommend your search the airport web site for a "left luggage service" or "luggage storage." Here is the CDG airport page with a drill down on "luggage service"
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/shops-services/practical-service/luggage-service/ I did not see the storage capability, but please noodle around yourself.
2. If there is nothing located at the airport proper, the next best thing is to arrange something in the town or Roissy - where the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is located. You might find a self-store location that can rent a small compartment for a few months. You will need to take a taxi to and from the airport, but it should not cost too much.
3. Consider the cost of storage for several months versus paying to ship your luggage home ahead of you. UPS and FedEx offer this service. One assumes they, or another parcel service has offices at CDG. Yes it will cost a few hundred dollars, but your bags would be waiting at home for you.
In this regard, I just looked at FedEx. Go here:
http://www.fedex.com/locate/index.html?cc=us#start They have two office within a couple of miles from CDG. You would take a taxi to get there. Print the address and directions - in French and give to the taxi driver at the Arrivals level.
Here is the FedEx page in France, but in English:
http://www.fedex.com/fr_english/
I played around with rate finder on their web site for shipping from CDG to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and came up with a rough estimate of about $1,800 USD (total) to ship 4 suitcases, each weighing about 50 pounds (23 kg). You could pro-rate that if you had more or fewer checked bags. But it ain't cheap.
Based on this exercise, I suggest you want to go a cheaper route. The cheapest way is to check your bags to Paris and find someone to hold them for you - do you know anyone who lives in or near Paris? Or, figure something out working together with Ivar and whoever he suggests you contact.
4. If there are any members of the forum who live near the CDG airport, perhaps they might offer to hold your stuff for you. However, I would approach this with some skepticism unless the forum members are known to others who can vett them. I trust nearly all the forum members implicitly, even those I have never met. That is the bond of the Camino, as you will discover. But one should be cautious.
Finally, you could send a private message to Ivar Rekve - the fellow in Santiago who runs the forum to ask him if he has any ideas. Just go to his profile and click on Start a Conversation and at the bottom lock it down so only you two are communicating. That makes it a Private Conversation or a PM.
All this said, and thinking out of the box, Japan is closer to Arizona than France, I think. Can you check into a LCL "Less than Container Load" freight shipment, where your secured and shrink-wrapped luggage would go home on a ship via Los Angeles? It would cost less than FedEx and you do have time. Going one step further, instead of using luggage, use triple-walled overseas freight boxes and just freight them home via sea-borne conveyance. Wrap all your stuff in plastic trash bags to ensure they stay dry and uninfested enroute. I lived in Europe for a few years and this is how my personal belongings went over and how they came back to me.
Okay, it may take a month or six weeks, depending on sailing times but your luggage would arrive at your home about the same time you do. Depending on where you are living in Japan, there must be hundreds of international logistics companies and freight forwarders who can handle this very small job (for them) for you.
MANY of them cater to gaijin (foreigners) like you. Just ask around. If all else fails, call the U.S. Embassy and ask to speak to the General Services Officer (GSO) or someone in his/her office who is knowledgeable about shipping household goods. This is the person who manages all logistical stuff for the embassy and embassy personnel moving to and from the U.S. and Japan. See if you can find out who THEY use. Go from there.
Remember, you likely have more time than money - if I assume correctly. Put your thinking caps on. Sometimes the fastest route is not the most direct route.
Among other things to make ends meet, Ivar operates a baggage service where he holds stuff sent through the Spanish post office for at least 60 days. You might be able to cobble something together that would help with his assistance. BTW - I saw shrink-wrapped hard-sided suitcases in his office that the Spanish post office accepted for postage...go figure. However, I understand that is determined by the postal clerk at the sending point. So it is a bit iffy - check with Ivar. He is the expert.
Final point, no one cares what you look like or how you are dressed whilst on Camino. In all the towns and cities along the way, we can pick each other out by our zip off cargo trousers, Macabi shirts (women), wild beards, and bad hair days.
If you do the research here and pack the correct synthetic material items. perhaps shipping a small amount of "conventional" or tourist clothing to Ivar at Santiago from Paris or the post office at St. Jean Pied de Port, you can get through this adventure easily. Then just ship everything directly home to Arizona the way you are sending all your other personal stuff.
You CAN live out of a rucksack and one carry-on. Remember, put the thinking cap on and read these postings carefully. Ask questions. That is what we are here for. The only dumb question is the one you do not ask.
I hope this helps.
