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Recent content by jameswberk

  1. jameswberk

    Primitivo Albergues

    Valeria, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'm very glad to hear that the facilities have improved along the route. Your story about avoiding the bunching is interesting. I often wondered if I stayed an extra day somewhere, if the crowding situation would be significantly different the next...
  2. jameswberk

    Primitivo Albergues

    Hi Markks, This site has a good overview of the etapas and accommodation: http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los ... primitivo/ I walked the Primitivo in August of 2010. Unfortunately, it was extremely overcrowded and probably as a consequence the albergues were many times in very poor...
  3. jameswberk

    Hiking both directions

    The good news is that in France you should have no problem at all walking "backwards" because the routes (well the Le Puy route for sure) are a part of the GR (Grande Randonnée) long distance trail system which means they are not exclusively Caminos as such and are trail-marked in both...
  4. jameswberk

    Route from St Jean to join Camino Del Norte at Irun

    I thought I'd post an epilogue along with some info I found which would be useful to anyone with the same itinerary in mind. I spent the last week or two in France talking with gite owners/hospitilarios and people in the tourism offices along the way inquiring if it was possible. In the end I...
  5. jameswberk

    The Via Turonensis in 2012

    Hi Everyone, I was searching for a route to walk with someone who is not in great shape and is getting on in years. This route immediately appealed to me as it seems pretty flat for the first 500K or so. In addition I live in France and speak the language but have never been to this part of the...
  6. jameswberk

    Jet Lag

    Thanks for this Pieces, it is super interesting! The combination of light exposure and deprivation never occurred to me. I'll have to try this next time I fly. Ultreya, James
  7. jameswberk

    Jet Lag

    I definitely find the West to East flight is much worse. In the other direction (depending on length of flight) you take off and land the same day and it is just a matter of staying awake 6 or so hours longer than normal, which I just think of as like going out late on the weekend. To get...
  8. jameswberk

    No free treatment for sick pilgrims

    What's interesting and I think very important to understand from Joe's case is that it all seems to have happened in France. I live in France myself and find the prices he was charged very high, but I've been lucky enough not to require anything beyond simple care (i.e. no expensive tests) up...
  9. jameswberk

    St. Jean to Santiago in 27 Days???

    Very happy to help! To be honest, booking your train to Irun is not a bad thing at all. It is easier to get to Logrono from Bilbao as there is direct bus and train service I think, but there is no reasonable air fare on short notice from Paris to Bilbao, so you probably would have had to go...
  10. jameswberk

    St. Jean to Santiago in 27 Days???

    Hi Cookie. I just thought I'd give some additional advice. The connections either by bus (http://www.alsa.es/) or train (http://www.renfe.com) from Irun to Logrono can be a bit complicated as you may have found. However, the connections with Pamplona are direct and you may find it an easier...
  11. jameswberk

    Blister Prevention and Foot Care

    I have two tips on this topic, one preventative, the other blister treatment. On my second Camino a pèlerine in France introduced me to NOK CREME ANTI-FROTTEMENTS (or NOK anti-friction creme. This was very, very effective against a thigh rubbing issue I was having but it is also fantastic in...
  12. jameswberk

    Thigh chafing

    I experienced this problem myself on two Caminos. It is very unpleasant and got to the point of bleeding at one stage. I tried talc, but this requires a lot of reapplications which can be tricky and I found it to be only moderately effective. During my second Camino which began with a month in...
  13. jameswberk

    No free treatment for sick pilgrims

    This is an interesting topic precisely because of the ambiguity seen in the other answers. Legally speaking I believe non-EU citizens are not exempt from payment. In practice this may not be the case. Speaking from my own experience I have twice walked the Camino. Once as a non EU citizen, the...
  14. jameswberk

    How do people get to SJPP to start

    Also, you can take this low cost carrier back to Paris from Santiago: http://www.vueling.com
  15. jameswberk

    How do people get to SJPP to start

    I can understand from LA it must get pretty tricky. That said, the train is about 100 Euros if you book ahead and most planes will get in from the USA early in the morning Paris time so it is definitely possible to do the plane/train combo. If you really want to get creative with air...
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