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I have no real regrets from my camino, but there are a few things that I'd do differently the second time around! I figured I may as well share, just in case someone finds themselves in the same position that I was in. If I could start again, I would…
1) Go inside the church in Santo Domingo...
There were no problems with theft in March or April 2014. I didn't meet a single pilgrim who had had something stolen - and trust me, people would have talked about it.
We stayed in albergues through most of our camino.
But lots of private albergues that offered dorm beds for 5 euros also offered double rooms for 20 or 25 euros. If you're travelling with a partner, 10 euros each isn't much for a semi-private room! These rooms generally shared bathrooms with...
...have major problems with blisters. During my walk I only had one small one on my heel, and the threat of one of my big toe. But I went through *a lot* of compeed because I shared with people that I met along the way. On day 2, I met a girl with awful weeping blisters in Larrasoana. Nobody -...
Yes, you can! It's a small albergue. We went to the pilgrim's office to get our credentials (they weighed our bags there, too), and then the lovely volunteers assigned us a bed in the albergue and walked us over. It's just a few doors down.
We were sorely disappointed by Samos. We chose that route because it was recommended to us by the hospitaleros in both Granon and Bercianos - 2 magical places - as having a similar atmosphere. So we arrived expecting a common meal, a sharing circle, a sense of community. Instead, we found a big...
I'd start in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and just get as far as you get! You can always come back another year and pick up where you left off.
During our walk, we took a rest day in Burgos and Leon - both much-needed. We also had 4 or 5 short days of 10 or 15 km, either due to physical problems or...
...to cook a beautiful communal meal in the albergue.
The parochial albergue in Granon (donativo)
Our evening in Granon definitely stands out as *the* highlight of the camino for us. The host, Jesus, greeted each of us in the yard with a hug and then led us up dark stone steps into the albergue...
...by light), and accept the noise as part of the experience.
I was only bothered by a few people during my camino: one who tossed and turned *non-stop* on the top bunk, those who left the communal kitchen a mess, and those who complained too much about the amenities.
I was also bothered on...
We had two stage guides: the sheet given out at the pilgrim's office in SJPP and the Brierly map book. Sometimes the stages coincided, but more often they didn't. We didn't purposefully avoid stages (except in the last 100 km) - we just liked walking between 20 and 25 km per day, and planned our...
I agree with other posters: start where you are! I loved Pamplona, and walking through the Rioja was magic. If you asked me what the most beautiful parts of the camino were for me, I'd say the first 3 days (from SJPP to Pamplona) and Galicia (from Cebreiro to Samos/Sarria). But everything was...
I didn't like the last 100 km as much, not because of the "new" walkers - many of them became good friends for a day or two - but more because there were so many more albergues and bars. Instead of automatically running into the same people at every stop, we had a brand-new group every night for...
I always kept mine (along with cards and money) in a black zippered pouch that I wore cross-body. When walking through cities, the pouch was under my clothes, but for the most part I just wore it like a purse. In albergues or when leaving my backpack outside, I stuck my phone in there too, so...
That golf course ghost town was weird. Ask my Dad if there was any part of the whole walk that he disliked, and he'll talk about that ghost town! I didn't mind it so much, but he had a very strong negative reaction to it. I felt that way walking through Logrono, although most people I spoke to...
We started walking on March 17th, and ended on April 23rd. Even in the last 100km (during holy week), when things started to get really busy, we didn't have to worry about beds - even though lots of people did. It probably helped that we didn't follow any stages - we just walked as far as we...
Gracias a todos! I have one more logistical question…I'll be staying overnight in Bayonne, and then taking the train to SJPP the following day. Does the Bayonne-SJPP train have to be booked in advance in mid-March? Would I be taking a risk by only purchasing that last leg of the train trip on...
I *almost* felt disappointed because I really wanted to stay at l'Esprit du Chemin, and it's closed until April. Then I realized that it's silly to feel disappointed about such a trivial thing - especially when I'm about to set out on such an amazing journey. See? I'm already trying to learn to...
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