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My experience is that most people bring a single pair of shoes for walking and another lightweight pair of flipflops or clogs for showering and airing out their feet at the end of the day.
I second the recco to start in Aumont-Aubrac. From there you will get a taste of the Aubrac Plateau before you descend from it at St. Chély-d'Aubrac. Then follow another poster's suggestion and take the bus from Conques to Decazeville. Or further to Figeac if you are short of time.
We took a...
We went to the Ontañón winery which is a short bus ride from the city center. The tourist office, which I recall was on the Camino, told us which bus to take and made a reservation for us. When we arrived we found we were the only people on the tour. The twenty-something guide, Jesús, was very...
I haven't tried the app Ma Rando which is mentioned in the article, but it might be of use elsewhere in France. Perhaps I should say "eventually of use", since when I searched for the GR65 I found almost nothing related to that route.
Based on just a little experience, my wife and I have found that areas in rural France are readily accessible by public transportation. We reached an isolated spot on the Via Podiensis (the Le Puy route) via train and bus. The website <<Rome2rio >> can help you verify this.
If you wish to have...
You may already know that this route will take you through some of the least populated areas of France. So my suggestion would be to ask ahead, as Roland49 just mentioned, at the auberges or gîtes where you stay. By that I mean, where to dine on the next segments of the GR65.
I think your best...
As @OzAnnie suggested, whether or not you have visited Paris before would be key to my decision if I were doing the planning. It has a lot to offer and a lot of great walking. So what I have done, make that what my wife and I have done multiple times, is stay a night or two near Gare...
I have watched this movie about four times. I saw it for the first time about four years after I joined this forum and two years before my wife and I managed to walk most of the Camino Frances. The movie increased my interest in spending more than a month walking this route. But here's what has...
Good advice already about Air Transat. Porto is a delightful small city and worth a visit. Madrid is bigger but with two great museums. We've returned from both.
If you park long term in Montreal, I wouldn't park at the airport hotels. Theft of late model SUVs and high end cars does take place...
Firstly, I don't know what kind of terrain you've experienced in the Summer Mountain Leader program, but if it's been challenging, the Chemin du Puy might disappoint you. There are some ascents and descents, but I don't believe it will compare with high altitude trails like the Haute Route or...
@David Tallan
Flights to Barcelona start April 14, based on a "test" I just tried. I selected a return from Porto and return flights were available into November. But best to check it out yourself with your own possible itinerary.
How far in advance is always a crap shoot, but if I were going...
This may not appeal to you, but if you'd like to start and finish at the Toronto Pearson airport, check out fares on Air Transat. They service seasonally Porto, Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona and their open jaw fares do not penalize you price-wise. So you can fly to Barcelona or Madrid and return...
We took the TGV from Paris to the end of the line at Hendaye. Then a cab (we could have walked) from Hendaye to a small shopping center in Irun. In front of the shopping center there was a bus stop. We had a meal in a resto in the shopping center while waiting for the bus. The bus arrived and we...
On the day of the fire, my wife and I were in a Porto hotel getting ready to start the coastal route to SdC. The fire dominated the TV programming that day and we watched it sadly.
We'll be back in Paris early May and we look forward to seeing the progress of the restoration.
I wonder if the movie The Way has helped to form an expectation that walking a Camino route will be transformative. Personally, I had no such expectation when my wife and I first walked most of the CF in 2013. And walking with a spouse created a kind of instant "Camino family", so the experience...
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