3-4 extra days: more of Camino Frances, or Camino Finisterre?

[caminojen415]

Hi everyone... about to start my first Camino next week (!!!) and realised I may have a few extra days. 3-4, in fact. I am not planning to walk the "full" Camino Frances (as in, not starting at SJPP) because of time constraints. I'm planning to start walking on the 31st of March in Burgos and continuing on to Santiago. However, I have a few extra days that I hadn't originally planned on. I'm wondering--should I rather start earlier on the Camino Frances (say, in Logrono?) so that I am not essentially starting with the Meseta, or should I just start in Burgos as planned and then carry on to Finisterre when I get to Santiago? I'm starting on 31 March regardless of where I begin. Any advice?

 

[Mark Lee]

The flatter section of the Camino Frances known as the "meseta" is roughly the section between Burgos and Leon. So if you start your Camino in Burgos you will experience walking on the meseta.
Logrono is roughly 4-5 days before Burgos, depending on your walking pace. So you may be rushing a bit to get to Burgos from there in 3-4 days.
Maybe walking to Finisterre may be a better option. Either way it's a win-win.
cheers

 

[caminojen415]

okay that does not help me with my decision, but I guess at least I know I can't go wrong either way... thanks

 

[Mark Lee]

okay that does not help me with my decision, but I guess at least I know I can't go wrong either way... thanks

ha ha....well, the advantage of starting in Burgos is that you don't do that walk into Burgos, which is ok and part of the Camino, but is pretty urban overall. On all my Caminos I was happy when that section ended and I got in the area of the cathedral there in Burgos.
Hard to give someone advice on which fork in the road to take in a situation like that. It hinges on a lot of factors such as physical condition, interests, tastes, etc.

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi everyone... about to start my first Camino next week (!!!) and realised I may have a few extra days. 3-4, in fact. I am not planning to walk the "full" Camino Frances (as in, not starting at SJPP) because of time constraints. I'm planning to start walking on the 31st of March in Burgos and continuing on to Santiago. However, I have a few extra days that I hadn't originally planned on. I'm wondering--should I rather start earlier on the Camino Frances (say, in Logrono?) so that I am not essentially starting with the Meseta, or should I just start in Burgos as planned and then carry on to Finisterre when I get to Santiago? I'm starting on 31 March regardless of where I begin. Any advice?

Hi, Caminojen,
Welcome to the forum!

I always try to schedule those 3 or 4 extra days into my Camino. Then either I find that I want to take rest days along the way, or I want to spend a day in bed with a cold, etc, OR I arrive in Santiago with those extra days to walk to Finisterre/Muxia. So if it were my camino, I'd stick with the plan to start in Burgos, and then see how it goes. Having flexibility is one of the most liberating things about a camino -- no need to stick to predetermined ideas that may not comport with the camino as you find it once you're walking.

 

[caminojen415]

awesome, thank you both! i will continue as planned then.

 

[rometimed]

Days off are great, Muxia was my fav after leaving Santiago.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Start in Burgos and have the extra time to get to Santiago if you need it (e.g., Peg got food poisoning and that caused 3 days of no walking.) If you have time left over then go to Finesterre.

 

[MaryLynn]

Starting off in Burgos is a great way to begin your Camino. And beginning with the meseta is a bonus!