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  1. MichaelC

    When do most pilgrims feel like quitting the Camino de Santiago?

    Bravo! I think a big difference between a day hike or weekend hike and a longer pilgrimage is that those rougher days are part of the experience on a pilgrimage, and aren't always so "rough." For a day hike, if it's raining or too hot or even if I simply want to sleep in, I just stay home.
  2. MichaelC

    Has the Camino Frances become a victim of its own success?

    Everyone always forgets about this one 🤣😅
  3. MichaelC

    Finding Accommodation in SJPP without Communal Meals or Public Speaking

    @JTD - The albergue in the church at Nájera was the only other place I recall that had us go around & give our reasons for walking. I hate forced sharing too, though I usually just fake it & say something innocuous. Edit: Payafac was right; I was thinking about Grañon. I liked staying there...
  4. MichaelC

    When do most pilgrims feel like quitting the Camino de Santiago?

    I need to amend my response: apparently four months before a Camino is when I start asking myself “why am I doing this?” Of course this will pass & of course I am walking again this spring, and I’m half laughing at myself for having the same doubts and jitters as the first time.
  5. MichaelC

    Tips for Tackling O Cebreiro Hill During Your Camino Walk

    I really enjoyed that variant. The one cafe we stopped at had a petition to make it the official route.
  6. MichaelC

    Tips for Tackling O Cebreiro Hill During Your Camino Walk

    In another thread on "when did you feel most like quitting" a number of people have mentioned the long climb to O Cebreiro as one of their more discouraging days. Which is a shame, because it is a lovely walk ... if you do it at the start and not the end of your day. My advice, for those...
  7. MichaelC

    When do most pilgrims feel like quitting the Camino de Santiago?

    I'd differentiate between "having to stop" (due to a family crisis, or an injury) versus "wanting to quit." Perhaps those first few days after Pamplona also? I felt like there were a few people I met who dropped out before and after Pamplona after deciding the camino wasn't for them. I didn't...
  8. MichaelC

    When do most pilgrims feel like quitting the Camino de Santiago?

    Actually quitting? Not once, even for a moment. Leaving the crowds for a quieter Camino? There was a stretch early on the Francès where I was tempted to take a bus north & continue on the Norte. I’m glad I didn’t.
  9. MichaelC

    How Important Was It To You To Do "Full" CF ?

    I've been pondering this question more as I plan future caminos, and I'm finding that what is very important to me is often arbitrary & makes no sense. For the CF, I'd say that starting in Saint Jean or Roncesvalles is very important. I don't think walking in stages, or doing a shorter...
  10. MichaelC

    Roncesvalles and Mansilla seem to be the bed crunch trouble spots

    Those numbers are amazing. One thing to consider - starting later in September puts a pilgrim on track to arrive in Santiago in time for All Souls Day.
  11. MichaelC

    Is the Albergue in Roncesvalles a “must”?

    I arrived late, and wish I had had time to explore the buildings and attend mass. I did enjoy being part of the large group & meeting so many people, even though overall I strongly prefer the smaller, more intimate albergues. It's also an iconic stop, so that's a plus. I'd place it under "a...
  12. MichaelC

    Is that OK to use Google maps for Camino Frances?

    I needed google a couple times to help me find my way out of town. I think Ponferrada was the worst (though I might be confusing it with another city). I simply could not find the shells, and I slowly accumulated other lost pilgrims. We knew generally which direction we were supposed to be...
  13. MichaelC

    How Important Was It To You To Do "Full" CF ?

    And also to escape punishment for crimes, to take on a lover in a foreign land, to make money ... the medieval accounts contain plenty of stories of "bad" pilgrims! From Pícaros y picaresca en el camino de Santiago, Pablo Arribas Briones (1993), (I found this in an article by Geroge Greenia...
  14. MichaelC

    How Important Was It To You To Do "Full" CF ?

    I'm with all those others who wrote that it was the length of time that was important to me, rather than doing a "full" camino. Ditto. I actually withdrew an invite to have friends join me on my next walk; I realized I was doing a lot of planning around what I thought their needs would be...
  15. MichaelC

    Super highway or not? (on trail from Sarria to Santiago)

    Oh but I had one morning that was literally like that, and this was at the end of October! I was in the middle of a wave of many hundreds coming out of O Pedrouzo. It was a solid line of people for most of the morning. By contrast, the previous two nights there were four of us in one...
  16. MichaelC

    Requesting some thoughts (re starting point) from experienced pilgrims, please?

    The trail into Samos does get crowded sometimes ... :)
  17. MichaelC

    Requesting some thoughts (re starting point) from experienced pilgrims, please?

    I agree with those who recommend spending the night in Samos, stopping for lunch in Sarria, and spending the next night further along. There will be plenty of pilgrims to socialize with, but you won’t be part of that massive wave out of Sarria.
  18. MichaelC

    Requesting some thoughts (re starting point) from experienced pilgrims, please?

    Trust that instinct! And trust Anamiri! I 100% agree, there was something magical about the walk from Triacastela to Samos.
  19. MichaelC

    Planning 40 Days on the Camino Frances

    I met some French walkers who passed through Roncevalles and spent the night in Burguette. If I ever walk this way again I'd consider doing the same.
  20. MichaelC

    How much route planning is actually needed?

    I took the alternate route via Samos, which put me completely out of synch with everyone. There were nights where there were only six pilgrims in the entire town, and I met them all. I didn’t realize until the last day that there were many, many hundreds of pilgrims in each town on the...

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