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and you can get back to your training program soonI'm going to be about a year behind you. :lol:
I am 55 this month and LOOKING SO FORWARD TO THIS JOURNEY!!!!! I shall write again when my plans are def......thanks to all... Well done and welcome to the family.
I am one of the few members of this Forum who has never even considered starting in SJPP. Actually, when I first did a bit of research back in 2007 regarding the Camino, Roncesvalles always appeared as the starting point. Admittedly most of my research was done on Spanish sites. So, since then, we have started our Camino from Roncesvalles three times, once from Jaca and once from Ourense. If I still choose the Francés again, I would probably start from Pamplona. AnneTedh said:Love it
I'm heading there around Sept 10th, still undecided about starting at SJPP because of that 15 miles (mostly up) through the wash of the Pyrennes. Though just did 12 miles on a trail that makes the CdS an easy stroll through the park in comparison (sore muscles and feet to prove it). So may well go for it. I'll be 68 when I begin and look forward to what happens.
On my last Route Napoleón I saw nothing but thick fog!gerardcarey said:
Hi Ted.Tedh said:
So true. Especially as I am in the middle of training. One thing that may help, is to develop gradually and stick to it. I'm going to have to back peddle because I was in 8 miles a day shape and ended up on a difficult to severe trail for about 13 miles - 5 miles past my "shape". Now I have some muscle strain and while I give it somewhat of a rest on weekends, this morning I could only manage 4 miles before my legs started giving out.sanddreamer said:
"No one ever reached Santiago by sitting in the bar!" Wisdom of the Caminolbpierce said:
PANO said:
Tia Valeria said:
Magnara said:
My wife and I are 60 and will be leaving St. Jean for Orission on Aug 20th. Hope to meet you along the way. We are going to go slow slow slow and savor every step and villiagededubya said:Thanks for that! My wife and I leave Aug 20. We are both mid 60's and your post made shed my misgivings!
..... I have been working to fix that over the past 9 years....constantly reminding myself that without fear / going outside comfort zone ......well there can be no change/ growth as it has done before ....hahahahaha
Annie Little said:Hey Jim your comments under the section of blog called exercise sucks .. which I have just read..... resound within me... my exact thoughts about fear...... I have a great Projector in my mind.... always projecting forward to potential for disaster
My Camino later this year will not be the scariest thing I have done .....but still the "projector" is showing the same movie
Anne
trevorcc said:
I finished my first Camino on 24th June - walked from Pamploma to Santiago - today, I booked and paid for my tickets for next year - will leave Australia on 20th April and begin walking from St.Jean on about the 23rd.......I will have just turned 66.Re: Just returned from the Camino....Advice to others 60+ years
I, too, just returned from the Camino and fit your category.....64. What you said is oh, so true although I managed to hold on to my underwear and my own socks.
The only thing I would add is to savor each moment, let what's around the corner come to you in its own time, and listen to your body.
I walked from Ponferrada to Santiago this May and am already planning my trip for next year from St. Jean.
God bless you and congratulations!!!!
Wow! What an inspiration! I have just bought my plane ticket leaving May 24th 2014 and hopefully leaving SJDP on the 27th.
Rosemary, you and I will be walking at essentially the same time. I am starting out on May 18 with a "Get me started" group program and we will be in Pamplona May 21 then we will be on our own. I will be going at a slower pace after that I suspect. Perhaps we will meet up since it looks our end date is nearly the same (assuming you mean June 27th
).
Well that was an experience of a lifetime and something nobody who seriously wants to do the Camino should turn from.
Was it difficult? Not overly so.
Sure there were days when I was tired, hot, wet, had sore feet and on onew occassion had a honking great blister that put me off the road for a day, but if you are even moderately in shape, and remember you are not in a race, and do only what you are capable of doing per day, you will have the time of your life!
I did not start as a pilgrim, but I ended up as a person who firmly believes that Christianity is alive and well in people who walk the Camino and that God is great, and I do not mean that in a great religious type of way, with visions, or Halleluja choruses echoing through the land, He just is great and exists. ( I still swear like a trooper when things go wrong btw)
I left St Jean Pied de Port on 6 April and arrived in Santiago on 12 May. I left on my own and met dozens of the best people I have ever met in my life. I laughed more heartily than I have done in many years, I learned that charity between friends is invaluable, I have dozens of Facebook friends thanks to the Camino, all of whom I would welcome to my home, I saw the beauty of Spain, the wonders of large cities, the delights of tiny villages, heard cuckoos calling, cows mooing and sheep bleating, and smelt for days, dung and slurry that was being spread on fields. I never heard a cross word, or felt that I was ripped off in any way,in fact I had people track me down if I had over paid. Not once did I see see a police car with its siren sounding, nor fear anything untoward was possible.
I had a Rastafarian Russian surf board instructor fellow Caminoist (that is a story in its self!) tend, with care and tenderness to a bad blister I developed, and he used up his own precious first aid kit helping me and gave me a great pair of socks, a man, a month before I would never have dreamt of even speaking with. Now I know I could trust him completely.
The food was first class, the albergues were better than I imagined they would be, the whole exercise was cheaper than I thought, and I did not want to come back home at the end of it.
Yes you will experience challenges such as loosing your underwear inexplicably, finding you have adopted someone elses socks and sweating like a pig, but it is only underwear and I feel the benefit of losing 28 lbs to the point I now take two steps before my pants start to move, but I also lived amongst men and women from their 20s to their 80s who were a joy to be with and shared happiness and stories. I had no trouble sleeping and no trouble getting up in the morning. I soon got used to having a shower with a woman in the stall next to me. Inserting earplugs at night was just as natural as brushing my teeth, and I missed nothing of the creature comforts of home, what ever that may have meant.
If you want the time of your life, if you want to learn something incredible, if you want to see something fresh and with a different outlook on life, travel the Camino, and dont worry about the little things. You dont need peanut butter or to phone home every night. Go on, do something different. All the information about what you should do or bring is extremely well documented on this forum ten times over. Just do it. Buen Camino....Neil
Well that was an experience of a lifetime and something nobody who seriously wants to do the Camino should turn from.
Was it difficult? Not overly so.
Sure there were days when I was tired, hot, wet, had sore feet and on onew occassion had a honking great blister that put me off the road for a day, but if you are even moderately in shape, and remember you are not in a race, and do only what you are capable of doing per day, you will have the time of your life!
I did not start as a pilgrim, but I ended up as a person who firmly believes that Christianity is alive and well in people who walk the Camino and that God is great, and I do not mean that in a great religious type of way, with visions, or Halleluja choruses echoing through the land, He just is great and exists. ( I still swear like a trooper when things go wrong btw)
I left St Jean Pied de Port on 6 April and arrived in Santiago on 12 May. I left on my own and met dozens of the best people I have ever met in my life. I laughed more heartily than I have done in many years, I learned that charity between friends is invaluable, I have dozens of Facebook friends thanks to the Camino, all of whom I would welcome to my home, I saw the beauty of Spain, the wonders of large cities, the delights of tiny villages, heard cuckoos calling, cows mooing and sheep bleating, and smelt for days, dung and slurry that was being spread on fields. I never heard a cross word, or felt that I was ripped off in any way,in fact I had people track me down if I had over paid. Not once did I see see a police car with its siren sounding, nor fear anything untoward was possible.
I had a Rastafarian Russian surf board instructor fellow Caminoist (that is a story in its self!) tend, with care and tenderness to a bad blister I developed, and he used up his own precious first aid kit helping me and gave me a great pair of socks, a man, a month before I would never have dreamt of even speaking with. Now I know I could trust him completely.
The food was first class, the albergues were better than I imagined they would be, the whole exercise was cheaper than I thought, and I did not want to come back home at the end of it.
Yes you will experience challenges such as loosing your underwear inexplicably, finding you have adopted someone elses socks and sweating like a pig, but it is only underwear and I feel the benefit of losing 28 lbs to the point I now take two steps before my pants start to move, but I also lived amongst men and women from their 20s to their 80s who were a joy to be with and shared happiness and stories. I had no trouble sleeping and no trouble getting up in the morning. I soon got used to having a shower with a woman in the stall next to me. Inserting earplugs at night was just as natural as brushing my teeth, and I missed nothing of the creature comforts of home, what ever that may have meant.
If you want the time of your life, if you want to learn something incredible, if you want to see something fresh and with a different outlook on life, travel the Camino, and dont worry about the little things. You dont need peanut butter or to phone home every night. Go on, do something different. All the information about what you should do or bring is extremely well documented on this forum ten times over. Just do it. Buen Camino....Neil
Well done Cecilia on taking the Camino Road. Enjoy and don't push yourself too hard, but rather stop once in a while and smell the roses.
Hope you get as big a kick out of it, as did I. Take your time and remember to rest and be thankful. Oh and laugh a lot, that is most important![/quote]
I couldn't have worded myself better. Starting out again in 6 weeks from now at age of 60, and will pay my whole attention to each and every day, go in my own pace, with no intention at all to arrive in Santiago before I am ready for it. Thank you for an insightful post, Cloosh.
I certainly intend to!!!
Cyndy,Thanks for your in site and inspiration.
I will be going May 17 and am so excited. I will be 61 and traveling alone but am looking forward to meeting many new people along the way. I have been waiting 40 years to do the camino and can hardly believe my dream will finally be realized
Brendan,
Well that was an experience of a lifetime and something nobody who seriously wants to do the Camino should turn from.
Was it difficult? Not overly so.
Sure there were days when I was tired, hot, wet, had sore feet and on onew occassion had a honking great blister that put me off the road for a day, but if you are even moderately in shape, and remember you are not in a race, and do only what you are capable of doing per day, you will have the time of your life!
I did not start as a pilgrim, but I ended up as a person who firmly believes that Christianity is alive and well in people who walk the Camino and that God is great, and I do not mean that in a great religious type of way, with visions, or Halleluja choruses echoing through the land, He just is great and exists. ( I still swear like a trooper when things go wrong btw)
I left St Jean Pied de Port on 6 April and arrived in Santiago on 12 May. I left on my own and met dozens of the best people I have ever met in my life. I laughed more heartily than I have done in many years, I learned that charity between friends is invaluable, I have dozens of Facebook friends thanks to the Camino, all of whom I would welcome to my home, I saw the beauty of Spain, the wonders of large cities, the delights of tiny villages, heard cuckoos calling, cows mooing and sheep bleating, and smelt for days, dung and slurry that was being spread on fields. I never heard a cross word, or felt that I was ripped off in any way,in fact I had people track me down if I had over paid. Not once did I see see a police car with its siren sounding, nor fear anything untoward was possible.
I had a Rastafarian Russian surf board instructor fellow Caminoist (that is a story in its self!) tend, with care and tenderness to a bad blister I developed, and he used up his own precious first aid kit helping me and gave me a great pair of socks, a man, a month before I would never have dreamt of even speaking with. Now I know I could trust him completely.
The food was first class, the albergues were better than I imagined they would be, the whole exercise was cheaper than I thought, and I did not want to come back home at the end of it.
Yes you will experience challenges such as loosing your underwear inexplicably, finding you have adopted someone elses socks and sweating like a pig, but it is only underwear and I feel the benefit of losing 28 lbs to the point I now take two steps before my pants start to move, but I also lived amongst men and women from their 20s to their 80s who were a joy to be with and shared happiness and stories. I had no trouble sleeping and no trouble getting up in the morning. I soon got used to having a shower with a woman in the stall next to me. Inserting earplugs at night was just as natural as brushing my teeth, and I missed nothing of the creature comforts of home, what ever that may have meant.
If you want the time of your life, if you want to learn something incredible, if you want to see something fresh and with a different outlook on life, travel the Camino, and dont worry about the little things. You dont need peanut butter or to phone home every night. Go on, do something different. All the information about what you should do or bring is extremely well documented on this forum ten times over. Just do it. Buen Camino....Neil
Hello,Well that was an experience of a lifetime and something nobody who seriously wants to do the Camino should turn from.
Was it difficult? Not overly so.
Sure there were days when I was tired, hot, wet, had sore feet and on onew occassion had a honking great blister that put me off the road for a day, but if you are even moderately in shape, and remember you are not in a race, and do only what you are capable of doing per day, you will have the time of your life!
I did not start as a pilgrim, but I ended up as a person who firmly believes that Christianity is alive and well in people who walk the Camino and that God is great, and I do not mean that in a great religious type of way, with visions, or Halleluja choruses echoing through the land, He just is great and exists. ( I still swear like a trooper when things go wrong btw)
I left St Jean Pied de Port on 6 April and arrived in Santiago on 12 May. I left on my own and met dozens of the best people I have ever met in my life. I laughed more heartily than I have done in many years, I learned that charity between friends is invaluable, I have dozens of Facebook friends thanks to the Camino, all of whom I would welcome to my home, I saw the beauty of Spain, the wonders of large cities, the delights of tiny villages, heard cuckoos calling, cows mooing and sheep bleating, and smelt for days, dung and slurry that was being spread on fields. I never heard a cross word, or felt that I was ripped off in any way,in fact I had people track me down if I had over paid. Not once did I see see a police car with its siren sounding, nor fear anything untoward was possible.
I had a Rastafarian Russian surf board instructor fellow Caminoist (that is a story in its self!) tend, with care and tenderness to a bad blister I developed, and he used up his own precious first aid kit helping me and gave me a great pair of socks, a man, a month before I would never have dreamt of even speaking with. Now I know I could trust him completely.
The food was first class, the albergues were better than I imagined they would be, the whole exercise was cheaper than I thought, and I did not want to come back home at the end of it.
Yes you will experience challenges such as loosing your underwear inexplicably, finding you have adopted someone elses socks and sweating like a pig, but it is only underwear and I feel the benefit of losing 28 lbs to the point I now take two steps before my pants start to move, but I also lived amongst men and women from their 20s to their 80s who were a joy to be with and shared happiness and stories. I had no trouble sleeping and no trouble getting up in the morning. I soon got used to having a shower with a woman in the stall next to me. Inserting earplugs at night was just as natural as brushing my teeth, and I missed nothing of the creature comforts of home, what ever that may have meant.
If you want the time of your life, if you want to learn something incredible, if you want to see something fresh and with a different outlook on life, travel the Camino, and dont worry about the little things. You dont need peanut butter or to phone home every night. Go on, do something different. All the information about what you should do or bring is extremely well documented on this forum ten times over. Just do it. Buen Camino....Neil
Willow........I started this thread some time ago, and I do not know who is also reading this thread today. I certainly don't feel qualified to give an expert opinion on your proposed hike on the Camino, except to say that it is an arduous walk at the best of times, before even taking into consideration any medical concerns you have and the fact that you will be travelling with Patch. My initial reaction is one of trying to dissuade you from the attempt, if it is your intention to walk alone. The route is long and rough, there are great stretches where you are well away from civilisation never mind a major access road, should you require medical attention suddenly. Also using the Albergues enroute you will find little privacy and the accommodation is very basic and I know nothing about the rules and regulations of bringing along Patch. I would strongly recommend that perhaps you post your intentions with some of the people more experienced with the Camino. You will find them sincere, trustworthy and more knowledgeable than am I in giving an opinion. Ivar Rekve who runs this site, may be a good person to try and contact.
Hi Cyndy my daughter and I also plan starting in SJPP on 17 May! I turn 60 and she turns 30 so it will be a celebration of the starting of our new decades. Hope to meet you there!Thanks for your in site and inspiration.
I will be going May 17 and am so excited. I will be 61 and traveling alone but am looking forward to meeting many new people along the way. I have been waiting 40 years to do the camino and can hardly believe my dream will finally be realized
Hi Annie, I leave from SJPDP on 6th September, hopefully I'll see you on the way.
Welcome to the forum. I have been reading this forum daily and must admit love the excitement as I prepare for my Camino this September. I live in Oneonta and have so for the past 15 years. Our youngest goes off to college this August which is allowing my wife and I to live a dream. Stay in touch before, during and after your Camino experience. I would love to hear from you.
Rest up and then travel well Trevorcc. I competed my journey in 2013 and my heart aches to go again. Each time I think of it I feel so emotional that I think, "what's wrong with me?' The Camino was the most uplifting expedience of my life and my soul just wants to fly once more that's what's wrong with me. So my planning is under way and the heart beats faster in anticipation.
you'll be a day ahead of me!Re: Just returned from the Camino....Advice to others 60+ years
Patty I have just repeated your mantra to some others last week
Jeffrey I also will be on Camino Sept 2013- hope to meet you. leaving St jean Sept 18th
Annie
Peggy, I know this is an old thread but wondering how it went? I just turned 62 & have been training for a charity walk to see how my creaky bits would manage. How is it for a female in our age group in & out of the alberques and staying in close enough proximity to other pilgrims on the road for safety sake? I love hiking but haven't camped or backpacked (yet). I found a local group that does weekly 13 mile hikes. Will join them once the 108 heat indexes of August are behind us. How long did you hike Leon to Santiago? I am conserving that route 2nd week of May 2017
@Suzi Wooldridge
