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  1. CowboyJoe

    And One More Piece of Advice...

    I recently posted a list of 10 pieces of advice for doing the Camino (also found on CaminoJoe.com), but I left out perhaps the most important. To paraphrase Jack Kerouac: "Love your walk. Every minute of it!"
  2. CowboyJoe

    10 Pieces of Advice For Walking the Camino

    I’ve been home from the Camino quite a while now—a year-and-a-half, to be exact. I thought I would write a final entry in my blog (CaminoJoe.com) within the first 30 days of returning, but that gave way to 60 days and then 90, and then…I wanted time to let my Camino experience fully sink in...
  3. CowboyJoe

    Camino Stats

    Check out these numbers from the Pilgrims Office in Santiago: https://oficinadelperegrino.com/en/statistics/
  4. CowboyJoe

    The Camino Is...

    I wrote this while on the Camino last June and added to it today. The older, original version is still on my blog (CaminoJoe.com). I thought it might bring back a memory to those of you who have walked the Camino--and serve as food for thought to those of you who are planning your first...
  5. CowboyJoe

    Camino Francigena vs. The Way of St. Francis

    Friends, After having done the CF last summer (SJPDP to Santiago), the road is calling again, but this time to Rome. Do any of you have experience with both the the Way of St. Francis (from Florence to Rome) AND the Camino Francigena (portion I am considering due to time constraints is from...
  6. CowboyJoe

    Lyrics/music to Hymn to St. James?

    Does anyone have or know where I can get the lyrics--or better still, the sheet music--to the Hymn to St. James that the cantor sings during the swinging of the Botafumeiro in the Cathedral in Santiago? We would like to sing it in our parish--St. James, by the way--when our new Bishop comes...
  7. CowboyJoe

    LIVE from the Camino The River that is the Camino Deposits Me and My Fellow Peregrinos in Santiago Tomorrow...

    Tomorrow (Saturday) we reach the end of our journey, all the way from SJPdP to the footsteps of the Cathedral in Santiago. The cumulation of weeks of struggle and blisters, laughter and beauty, conversations and silence, prayer and thanksgiving. A journey within by going without. For me, it has...
  8. CowboyJoe

    LIVE from the Camino Song for the Camino

    Walking more than 30,000 steps a day, everyday, the mind thinks many thoughts. Here's some of the thoughts I was kicking around going into Rabanal del Camino a few days ago. It's still a work in progress... "Camino Santiago" (To the tune of 'Hotel California') On a cold Spanish pathway, strong...
  9. CowboyJoe

    Channeling Don Quixote...

    Just passed the hakfway mark and am channeling Don Quixote: "When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical may be madness. To surrender dreams, this may be madness ...Maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be." Miguel de Cervantes...
  10. CowboyJoe

    LIVE from the Camino Live from the Camino: I Past the Halfway Mark!

    No turning back now! I'm 250 miles into the walk. Cold, rainy day going into Sahagun. Just missed the running of the Bulls. Lucky for me, probably, I'm just lame enough to try it. For more details and photos of my pilgrimage so far: Caminojoe.com Buen Camino Everyone!
  11. CowboyJoe

    Listening to the Silence Through the Meseta...

    The Camino is an endless repetition, a universal calling, a prayer: Walk. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. The Camino is not what you think it is. And not what you think it should be. It is everything and it is nothing. It forces you and moves you, teases you and slams you, questions you and fights you...
  12. CowboyJoe

    What I've Learned So Far

    I'm six days into the Camino. Here's what I've learned so far; 1. The Pyrenees route is steep and hard. Especially if you're in your 60s-70s. If you are in your 20s, not so much. But if you are not in good physical condition with a backpack, it can be a tough go. Best to overnight at Orrison...
  13. CowboyJoe

    Anyone Tenting?

    Leaving Tuesday for CF and debating whether to take my ultra-lightweight tent (2.2 lbs.), but it pushes my pack weight to 18 lbs., and that's 13% of my body weight. I know that free camping is not allowed in Spain, but also know that some have done it in a respectful manner. I have some concern...
  14. CowboyJoe

    Hotel Recommendation SJPDP?

    I'm arriving around 9:00 p.m. the end of May in St. Jean Pied du Port. Any recommendations on a hotel that is close in?
  15. CowboyJoe

    36 Days. 800k. Possible to skip ahead 60-80k?

    I have a tight timeframe to do the CF--36 days, so that makes it walking an average of some 22k a day, which seems like a lot. I'm starting May 25/26 in SJPDP. Air reservations already made. I'd like to not spend every day just walking long distances, but to have 3-4 days built in at interesting...
  16. CowboyJoe

    Advice: Biking vs. Walking?

    I plan to walk the CF this June, but I've been battling a case of plantar fasciitis for several months and while I hope to shake it (tried everything from chiropractors to physical therapy), the planner in me says to prepare to bike the CF if it doesn't get better. So, my questions are these...
  17. CowboyJoe

    Which Is Best: Arriving in Paris or Madrid?

    I know that others have given helpful advice about arriving in Paris or in Madrid en route to St. Jean Pied du Port to begin their Caminos. My question is this: Has anyone arrived in both airports before (on different trips, of course!) and if so, which in-bound route do you find preferable...
  18. CowboyJoe

    Tenting?

    I've read where there are no convenient campgrounds along the Camino, but has anyone taken an ultra-light tent and free camped? Is that allowed in Spain? If so, what has your experience been? Thank you, heading out in late May, 2016!
  19. CowboyJoe

    Arrival/Departure Airport?

    I'm hitting the Camino trail in late May/early June as soon as HS track season is over. Any advice on what airport to fly into/out of would be most appreciated. Thinking of flying into Paris and departing out of Madrid--and taking the train to/from those airports. Another option is returning via...
  20. CowboyJoe

    Weather in November?

    Considering going in November, finishing early December. Anyone gone in that timeframe and if so, what kind of weather did you experience? Any problem finding hostels/hotels open? Many others on the road? Anyone else going then? Thank you for any advice!

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