S
Sojourner47
Guest
Well, I'm back earlier than anticipated - knee trouble mainly, along with "le cafard"....
I started at St Jean, got as far as Najera before knee and sadness finally got to me.
The 2 big surprises: VERY crowded, and VERY FEW singles walking.
The albergues were filling up by 1300 - one day I had to walk another 12kms to Los Arcos, as Villamajor de Monjardin was completo early (as several of us had to) - so that was a 46km day.
Given that the responses to a much earlier question I asked on here -" do people walk alone from choice or necessity?" - were overwhelmingly that everyone starts out alone from choice - by far the majority of walkers were in couples or small groups, leaving me - the loner - somewhat isolated, hence le cafard. One is never so lonely as when in a group who are all sticking to themselves. OK, maybe it was me, but I did attempt to interact, without much success.
I anticipate the howl of protest this will engender, but that was my experience. Pilgrim comradeship was decidedly thin on the ground.
Another surprise was the noticeable lack of English pilgs - I met one other guy the first day out , lots of Irish, French, Germans and of course Spanish - even more Koreans and Japanese than Brits.
On a positive note, the walking was really good, scenery the best. The albs were generally better than I'd feared - I did get a nice hot shower and a good sleep every night. And the weather was brilliant for the first 4 days, rain and mist afterwards, but comfortable walking .
Conclusion (at the moment) - I will try to find a compatible companion next time (if there is a next time) .
I started at St Jean, got as far as Najera before knee and sadness finally got to me.
The 2 big surprises: VERY crowded, and VERY FEW singles walking.
The albergues were filling up by 1300 - one day I had to walk another 12kms to Los Arcos, as Villamajor de Monjardin was completo early (as several of us had to) - so that was a 46km day.
Given that the responses to a much earlier question I asked on here -" do people walk alone from choice or necessity?" - were overwhelmingly that everyone starts out alone from choice - by far the majority of walkers were in couples or small groups, leaving me - the loner - somewhat isolated, hence le cafard. One is never so lonely as when in a group who are all sticking to themselves. OK, maybe it was me, but I did attempt to interact, without much success.
I anticipate the howl of protest this will engender, but that was my experience. Pilgrim comradeship was decidedly thin on the ground.
Another surprise was the noticeable lack of English pilgs - I met one other guy the first day out , lots of Irish, French, Germans and of course Spanish - even more Koreans and Japanese than Brits.
On a positive note, the walking was really good, scenery the best. The albs were generally better than I'd feared - I did get a nice hot shower and a good sleep every night. And the weather was brilliant for the first 4 days, rain and mist afterwards, but comfortable walking .
Conclusion (at the moment) - I will try to find a compatible companion next time (if there is a next time) .