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Great advice above. Here are a few of other thoughts...
Lots of things are closed on Mondays, especially in the smaller villages, so plan to carry food/supplies especially on Sunday and Monday.
The Cele Valley Variant is considered by some to be the prettiest section on just about any Camino...
I walked Le Puy starting August 2022, which had several very hot days. As people have said, starting early helps a lot. Usually, on hot days, I tried to be done walking by 1:00PM or so.
Generally, the heat didn't worry/bother me too much, but there was one day when I walking from...
I couldn't find any posts about this topic on the forum (first time that's ever happened) so I thought I'd ask...
It always seemed to me that wringing hand-washed clothes never works very well, and I wish I had a wringer available to squeeze out more water.
My question for all the wise...
On the Le Puy route, I think you'll find that Le Puy to Cahors has the most walkers (not the last stages near SJPDP). It's beautiful and quite popular with the French. But "busy" on Le Puy route is nothing compared to the Frances route. I found all the routes very safe, but I'm a man, so I'm not...
Looks like the Tour de France will not directly stop in any Spanish Camino towns this year, although it may cross over with some of the GR routes for the French routes.
La Vuelta (Spain's tour), on the other hand, does cross over in some traditional stops on some of the popular Camino routes...
Haven't done the trail, but have visited Matera. Absolutely loved it. Our plan was to make it a base for a few days while we explored the area, but we were enjoying ourselves so much, that we just stayed in town and explored. It's nothing like any place I've been before.
Also had an...
Yes, it looks like schedule has changed. You may want yo consider cab.
If you take train, be aware the station is several kilometers from the town so you would have to walk into town.
If you want to do some sight seeing on your rest day (and not just rest), then I'd suggest Figeac. A short bus ride will take you to Rocamadour which is a very cool place. Also Figeac itself has all the services you need like laundry, restaurants, etc.. Enjoy!
As you suggest, we're taking a train from Paris to Orthez, and a taxi from Orthez to Navarrenx. (I found a taxi in Orthez online, and the driver told me to contact him a day ahead of time to arrange the ride.)
@Shazenalan FWIW... Here are our specific walking plans...
19km - Navarrenx to...
I'm starting in September and will be starting in Navarrenx. I walked these stages when I did the GR65 last year, and enjoyed them. Three days of walking before SJPDP.
I took a selfie stick apart, and connected the holder to my pole with black zip ties. The button to my selfie stick also easily popped off so I just held it separately. It worked like a charm. FWIW... I only used it a few times, but it added virtually no weight, so it was still worth it.
It struck me when I did the Camino that everyone makes a series of decisions that defines their pilgrimage:
How far you travel.
What mode of transportation you use.
What you carry.
What type of lodging you stay in.
What route you take.
How much planning you do.
What language you speak.
What...
Does Wise Pilgrim support off-line (airplane mode) tracking?
I used Map.me with downloaded maps from Gronze for my Le Puy and Camino Frances pilgrimage.
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