Saint Francis Way

[margorush]

I am wanting to do the Saint Francis Way to start with. I need to know everything since I am a beginner. I have a cpap. I could probably do without it but I really do not want others to hear my snoring. I is loud.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Welcome to the Forum, margo

American Pilgrims on the Camino (APOC) has a nice FAQs about a pilgrimage on a Camino which may give you some additional help.

The good news is, you are in a forum with a wonderful group of people. Most are here to help people like you to achieve their pilgrimage goals. We can offer you encouragement, knowledge, and point you in the direction that will help you help yourself.

My suggestion to start is this:

1. Take a deep breath. Write down in large letters the reasons why you want to go on Camino. Place that piece of paper where you can see it every day. That way, if anxieties and fears threaten to overwhelm you as you plan, you can just breath, read what you have written, and focus on those reasons until the negative stuff fades.
2. Make a list of questions and concerns that you have.
3. Go to the Search Engine at the top of the Forum pages.
4. Enter the words or phrase that you want more information about. You will get a huge amount of information to explore.
5. If you find that you need help with anything, post a new thread so that your question or concern can be readily seen. If you post a question within someone else's thread, you won't receive as big of a response.
6. Remember that perfect timing as it relates to how you feel, scheduling, and day to day life issues, seldom align themselves perfectly. If one waits for such to occur, doing something like a pilgrimage will always be in danger of taking a back seat while you wait for that perfect alignment to happen.

 

[grayland]

The Way of St. Francis would not actually be a good route for an inexperienced pilgrim. We walked it a couple of years ago from Florence. We are pretty experienced with many Caminos in France and Spain.
It is sadly lacking in infrastructure for pilgrims and the route markings continue to be confused and troublesome. It is a great route...but just difficult to navigate now.

I would suggest that the Via Francigena would have more infrastructure and route markings.

 

[Deleted member 77020]

The Way of St. Francis would not actually be a good route for an inexperienced pilgrim. We walked it a couple of years ago from Florence. We are pretty experienced with many Caminos in France and Spain.
It is sadly lacking in infrastructure for pilgrims and the route markings continue to be confused and troublesome. It is a great route...but just difficult to navigate now.

I would suggest that the Via Francigena would have more infrastructure and route markings.

I have a Camino friend who is Italian living in Italy and has basically said the same thing. Plus she states it's very expensive.

 

[grayland]

Italy is very expensive compared to Spain or even..France. My post above is, of course, just my opinion and others may find it different. It does seem to me to not be a good place for a first experience.

 

[KJFSophie]

The Way of St. Francis would not actually be a good route for an inexperienced pilgrim. We walked it a couple of years ago from Florence. We are pretty experienced with many Caminos in France and Spain.
It is sadly lacking in infrastructure for pilgrims and the route markings continue to be confused and troublesome. It is a great route...but just difficult to navigate now.

I would suggest that the Via Francigena would have more infrastructure and route markings.

Agree 100% ...Not at all for beginners ( or some fairly seasoned either )

 

[Camino Chrissy]

The Way of St. Francis would not actually be a good route for an inexperienced pilgrim. We walked it a couple of years ago from Florence. We are pretty experienced with many Caminos in France and Spain.
It is sadly lacking in infrastructure for pilgrims and the route markings continue to be confused and troublesome. It is a great route...but just difficult to navigate now.

I would suggest that the Via Francigena would have more infrastructure and route markings.

I was thinking the same thoughts as you regarding the OP. I have walked three Caminos in Spain and recently walked the Le Puy route in France. In my recent research of the Way of Saint Francis, I still feel uneasy about tackling this route, and would probably choose the Via Francigena for the reasons you mention.

 

[kmrice]

We’ve walked the Cammino of St Francis twice, and the Camino de Santiago twice. St Francis is harder, but, I would think, doable for a first timer. Get Sandy Brown’s book, The Way of St. Francis, Cicerone Press (they have it on Amazon in hard copy or Kindle) and visit his website at Caminoist.org. Sandy is very generous with advice and know both walks very well.