2yrs planning 1yr delay only 6 months to go

[AmyFromAlbertaCanada]

Greetings! I am new to this forum and starting to get excited and apprehensive at the same time. Leave of absence approved, flights are booked, reservations made in SJPDP and waiting to book Orrison. My departure date is mid May and I wanting to book Orrison and then most of the rest of the way will most likely be what will be. Not sure what to expect with the bed race, are there enough beds? Should we be reserving a day or two in advance? I have no idea what to expect. Just following along and keeping hope that things will work out. How far away are we from your departure?

 

[C clearly]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. You'll get all the information you need, and more, so please ask whatever you want and be patient with all the different opinions you will get.

Since May and September are the busiest months for starting from SJPP, you have the right idea for the start - booking SJPP and Orrison. Depending on how things evolve (we have no way of predicting) you might want to reserve up to and including Pamplona. From that point there are more frequent choices of where to stop for the night and people start to spread out. I would expect it to be fine to wait until you are on the Camino and then book 1 or 2 days ahead.

For preparation, the most important thing is to get the right footwear. If you have any questions about that, have a look at the threads tagged with foot wear & care.

How many days do you have, to walk?

 

[trecile]

Depending on how things evolve (we have no way of predicting) you might want to reserve up to and including Pamplona

The last time I was on the Francés was May 2019. I was glad that I booked up through Pamplona. The stage before Pamplona ending at Zubiri or Larrasoaña can really be a bottleneck.

 

[AmyFromAlbertaCanada]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. You'll get all the information you need, and more, so please ask whatever you want and be patient with all the different opinions you will get.

Since May and September are the busiest months for starting from SJPP, you have the right idea for the start - booking SJPP and Orrison. Depending on how things evolve (we have no way of predicting) you might want to reserve up to and including Pamplona. From that point there are more frequent choices of where to stop for the night and people start to spread out. I would expect it to be fine to wait until you are on the Camino and then book 1 or 2 days ahead.

For preparation, the most important thing is to get the right footwear. If you have any questions about that, have a look at the threads tagged with foot wear & care.

How many days do you have, to walk?

May 16 to June 21 is the plan but my flight home isn't until the 27th of June so I have flexibility. I will check out the foot wear and care, thank-you

 

[JerryStroebele]

For great advice on footwear and foot care read John Vonhof's book: "Fixing your Feet . . ." Buen Camino

 

[Pipmahoe]

I walked the Frances in 2018, the best advice I got was….if you plan on stopping either the village before or after the ‘set’ stage in the guide books you’ll find there is less of a bottle neck for accommodations. I found that The majority of pilgrims tend to use Brierly guide books which I too used, they are very useful.

 

[CA_Pilgrim]

May 16 to June 21 is the plan but my flight home isn't until the 27th of June so I have flexibility. I will check out the foot wear and care, thank-you

We'll probably cross paths! I'm taking it a bit slower, I'm planning to average around 12 miles per day with built in rest days about every 7 days. I start on May 10 and plan to arrive in Santiago on June 20 to celebrate my 65th birthday.

This has been 10 years in the making for me. I originally was going to do it for my 55th birthday, but work and life got in the way, then 60th and the same thing happened. Now at 64/65, I'm partially retired and have already told my employer that I plan to take May and June off next year.

 

[Ellann]

We'll probably cross paths! I'm taking it a bit slower, I'm planning to average around 12 miles per day with built in rest days about every 7 days. I start on May 10 and plan to arrive in Santiago on June 20 to celebrate my 65th birthday.

This has been 10 years in the making for me. I originally was going to do it for my 55th birthday, but work and life got in the way, then 60th and the same thing happened. Now at 64/65, I'm partially retired and have already told my employer that I plan to take May and June off next year.

Your story is similar to mine, many years in the planning. So many delays but finally Flights booked to Porto mid May and ever hopeful Covid is under control. I will be 63 still working full time but taking 6 weeks off, and not really planning or booking ahead.

 

[WhiteLotus]

Greetings! I am new to this forum and starting to get excited and apprehensive at the same time. Leave of absence approved, flights are booked, reservations made in SJPDP and waiting to book Orrison. My departure date is mid May and I wanting to book Orrison and then most of the rest of the way will most likely be what will be. Not sure what to expect with the bed race, are there enough beds? Should we be reserving a day or two in advance? I have no idea what to expect. Just following along and keeping hope that things will work out. How far away are we from your departure?

Hi Amy, welcome to the forum. My daughter and I will start from SJPDP May 14th and have booked Orrison and will book the next 2 stops after that then just wing it as I don’t want our Camino to be so controlled by booking beds in advance not knowing days we may need a rest etc. Still searching for decent flights from Seattle to Paris and we gave ourselves 7 weeks as I will be 66yrs old on December so need that wiggle room. I have wanted to do this for over 15 years but life happened, my husband passed away in 2014 and then our 2020 Camino was cancelled due to shutdowns.….so I’m just about to start training here at home with my treadmill, Total Gym, rowing machine and a rebounder as I have work to do in losing some weight and strengthening muscles from previous health issues. Congratulations on deciding to start your Camino!