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  1. M

    Water availability Sarria to Santiago

    On that heavily trafficked part of the most travelled Camino you will rarely be more than an hour from a bar, restaurant or village with a public water source. A small bottle carried between these should suffice.
  2. M

    Bypassing Sarria to get to Santiago

    By mid-October in a Covid-constrained year it doesn't seem likely you will encounter a crowded Frances even after Sarria. We did that stretch at about that time in a regular year and didn't have any problems.
  3. M

    Peanut Butter on the Camino Frances?

    Last I heard the only difference between peanut butter and roasted peanuts is that the butter was pre-chewed. What's the problem with buying peanuts -- available everywhere -- and chewing them a while before taking a bite of bread? In a couple of seconds you won't know the difference.
  4. M

    walking the Camino aged 79 (the French way)

    It's kind of sadly ironic that the first day out of SJPdP -- if you go all the way to Roncevalles -- may be the hardest day of the entire Frances, and comes at exactly the wrong time when the peregrino is least prepared for it. But the alternative Orrisson stop is maybe a little too close to the...
  5. M

    What is the app used on the Camino to secure beds?

    I have used both Booking.com and Hotels.com with equal success. Both give a lot of info to help make a good choice, although both are limited to the inventory that has signed up with them. Sometime if you can't find a listing in the town you want to stay it's possible to identify a property in...
  6. M

    A leisurely start from St Jean Pied de Port

    You can do what we did a few years ago: stay in San Sebastian (a great place!), take an AM train to SJPdP in time for the pilgrims's lunch at one of the many restaurants, get your passport at the pilgrim office, and then start off for Orrisson. It's only a couple or three hours walking after all.
  7. M

    Walking from Sarria

    It's a personal decision of course, but I much prefer walking well before or after peak season. If you shoot for late March-early April or sometime in October (my personal choice) you will have less competition for accommodations. And whenever you or your husband start fretting about making a...
  8. M

    10 km or less a day, possible?

    Why not? I'm a big fan of "moseying" along. However I think you will find that even with occasional stops to smell the flowers -- and inhale a cafe con leche as well -- you will be getting to your daily destination in just a few hours, maybe too early to check into a hotel or albergue. And I...
  9. M

    Beware of Stranger's Kindness - :)

    My wife is a specialist at photographic beheadings. She would have been in great demand during the French Revolution.
  10. M

    Any wild life safety concerns on the French Way??

    LOL...nobody calls a dog "cabron." If there wasn't a goat in the vicinity that doesn't leave many suspects.
  11. M

    Any wild life safety concerns on the French Way??

    I got bumped off a narrow place on the path by a passing cow one time, but IIRC that was on the Sanabres.
  12. M

    Roncesvalles Albergue

    I didn't know you could even get breakfast in Roncevalles. We just had a cup of bad coffee from a machine downstairs in the albergue and then a very good breakfast an hour or so later in the next town. Be sure to get the chistorra with your eggs.
  13. M

    No albergues for 24 km on the first stage?

    It's an unfortunate fact that the very first day is probably the hardest day of the entire route (in terms of altitude gain/loss) if you go all the way to Roncevalles. It would be nice it it arrived later when the pilgrim is better conditioned, but such is life. For those in good walking shape...
  14. M

    The Gift of Ithaca

    Still my favorite poem. I have a copy on the wall near my desk.
  15. M

    My first Camino

    I second the suggestion to stop at Orisson on the first day -- mainly BECAUSE it is the first day and you will not be acclimated. There is a certain bitter irony that the first day out of SJPdP for many includes one of the steepest and longest ascents on the CF as well as the knee-busting (for...
  16. M

    The unpredictable ends of my Camino!

    Downhills are hard, all right, but mostly on the knees. I think if I were the OP I'd seek a medical opinion from a vascular surgeon -- not just a general doctor -- if he has not done so already. The doctor he saw may say it was phlebitis, but as a veteran of both phlebitis and a deep vein...
  17. M

    Average Kilometres per Day

    The daily distance thing is kind of a conundrum for me at age 73. I really don't enjoy walking very much after 20km or so, but that usually means stopping pretty early in the afternoon. Unless the stopping point has some interesting things to see it can get a little tedious just sitting around...
  18. M

    Training

    While some conditioning is a good idea, it should be kept in mind that the Camino is not, and should not be, the moral equivalent of the Bataan Death March. After all, when you get tired you can just stop for that day, and Lord knows there are plenty of places for that. I would, however, suggest...
  19. M

    5-10km/day pilgrims

    I like Hurry Krishna's suggstion to start from Sarria and do the last section into Santiago. That will give you a taste of the Camino on a segment where there are lots of albergues, hotels, cafes, and public transportation should you need it. After arriving at Santiago you can always hop on a...
  20. M

    Pre Trip Anxiety

    Here's how I look at it: what's the worst that can happen? Shin splints, terminal blistering, weather forecast for four inches of rain every day the the next two weeks, bubonic plague outbreak that closes all the albergues? So what? You are still in Spain, a beautiful country with lots to see...

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