30 days are enough from S.J to Santiago?

[erikuz]

I will start from SJ on the 20th of May and planned to be back on the 18/06... do you think I can do it?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

do you think I can do it?

If you started in Pamplona, "yes" might be more certain!

 

[zammy]

no. it's about 800 km, you will have to walk akmost 30 km a day to make it, meaning no rest days, very tiring.
if you have a tight schedule start from pamplona and even then it's going to be hard and very demanding.
you won't enjoy it.
i suggest you start 100 km west of Pamplona.

 

[David]

No.

You will turn your pilgrimage into a race, a race based upon fear - the fear of being late. It will colour all of your days and your dreams at night.
You will race, you won't stop to enjoy, you won't drink a little too much with those wonderful people you met, you won't take a detour, you won't fall asleep under a tree for an hour or so and wake up with tiny spider webs on your boots, you won't take a day off - in fact, you cannot take a day off so there is a second fear, of being injured ...... which might make you late .....

pilgrim, make your pilgrimage what it should be - a once in a lifetime (unless you become hooked of course!) time out from the delusional mad 'real' world which allows the possibility of a transformational internal readjustment, a connection, a courage, a joy - your life changed, forever.

So don't scrimp on it - if you are time short then start a little further along the Camino, far enough along that you no longer worry about time ... it is like this - regardless of all the tips about boots and carrying less and so on, all genuine and excellent tips - the absolute top tip is "don't be time poor"

buen Camino :wink:

 

[hyalinejim]

My experience is the opposite of the scenarios proffered above.

I did it in 30 days and took two days off along the way. I never felt rushed or stressed. I really enjoyed it. But I didn't have a deadline... it just happened to take 30 days.

Some might like walking an average of 30k a day. For me, once I got fit, 20 to 25k felt a little short to me. If you're enthusiastic I say give it a shot.

 

[Choweth]

I have never walked but I think it depends if you want to see some surrounds of the towns, how long a break you want or must take if at all, and how fit you are starting out, etc. I personally am setting aside 40 days just for walking/breaks because I know I want to just stay steady but very much want to enjoy a few towns along the way.


{Candace}

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Some fit walkers would do it in 30 days, but many take a bit longer. I definitely couldn't have done it in 30 days, but I know others who have. If you have a time limit and become concerned you are falling behind schedule, you always have the option to skip some days in the middle somewhere and bus ahead.
Margaret

 

[robertt]

Another choice is to walk until the time is up. My first Camino took me from Le Puy to Pamplona, but none of that was planned. Let me tell you, it was a real thrill to go right back to the same hotel in Pamplona the next year and head out again. I ended up in Portugal, then walked back to Santiago and out to the sea. No plan! Most people want a plan and firm destination. If you are in that minority of pilgrims who don't, why then, that's where you are.

If you want to skip bits, why not? I don't skip. I like to look down at my shoes at the end and know that they have walked every inch of the way. But that's just me. Also, I like flat bits, urbanisations, factories etc. (I get enough "nature" where I live. My ceiling is a battleground between pythons, goannas and possums.) The world's biggest parking lot for Citroens is one complaint of many who do the Portugues. I wouldn't have missed it!

I also don't worry about whether I'm evolving spiritually or acquiring any "depth". If I come home and start getting rid of excess and find myself making changes that should have been obvious before my Camino...then maybe James has been on the job. Of course, if that doesn't happen, then it's no big deal. I wrote the story (linked below) The Thief of Saint Faith about a villain who does the Chemin for the worst possible reasons...and derives an ultimate benefit in spite of massive disillusion just when he thinks he's getting a grasp. I'm a complete amateur at writing, but I was pleased with the idea of saints who, whether they existed or not, can use my very fakery to make me less of a fake.

Back on topic, if there is joy in fairly racing to that Cathedral in Santiago, then race! The joy is a signal to do that. If you fancy yourself as a dawdler, then dawdle. (I doubt you'll ever be able to compete with me there. KiwiNomad tries valiantly, but...) Most people fall in between dawdling and racing, which is probably a good thing.

Really, I just go, and, if something isn't working for me, I can change, either my actions or my head. There are days when even I step out and cover lots of ground fast. But there are seldom two consecutive days like that.

 

[Francescalignumvitae]

Hello!

Really liked what you wrote....walked SJPP to Santiago last autumn and would not have missed the whole walking into Burgos or Leon; it gave texture and contrast to the whole tapestry of my journey.

Am heading out to Oporto in another 11 days and though I have a 'loose framework' of ideas and intentions for the after Santiago bit (seeing a bit of Spain and southern Portugal), the 'Camino' unfolds itself and will show me what I need to see along the way.

Some of things we resist the idea of (walking into a big city), can actually turn out to be an entirely different experience.

As you said, so I found: returned home last November and shed a number of skins: inner and outer worlds: physical possessions, old mental structures, a few pounds of body weight, a few more pounds of emotional baggage and so it goes.

Allow, allow, allow the journey to unfold; accept accept accept whatever is there (city sidewalks or quiet forest paths); as inner judgements transmute, the outer world is revealed in all its....glory.

Buen Camino!
Francesca

 

[antjie]

Thank you Robertt for your post. This is my first Camino - starting 15 May....or whenever and I would like to just take one day at a time....bored or interesting; tired or energetic, alone or with company, spiritual or just empty space.....I wanna start this journey with no expectations or preconceptions. This is MY journey. So now I am going to stop reading what everyone else experienced.........ha ha will never be able to do it - I am addicted to this forum!

 

[naplesdon]

It took me 42 days in 2 tranches. I started in September 2011 and walked for 9 days from SJPP to Logrono but due to some pressing business that came up at home and some killer blisters, I retired. I went back to Logrono in June 2012 and walked the rest of the way to Compostela in 33 days at a very relaxed pace. No blisters but days of relentless rain slowed me down that trip. There is so much to see and experience (i.e. a pot of vino tinto with people you just met) it's a shame to turn you trek into a race. I start early every day and walk 20k to 25k and then try to get my backpack in the queue at the hostel towards the front of the line each day. I like sleeping with a roof over my head, taking a hot shower and long nap every afternoon; plus I take rest days of 5k to 10k every 5 days to refresh, see the local treasures and do my washing. I personally think you could do Logrono to Compostela in 30 days and enjoy every minute.

 

[Deleted member 12253]

30 days,no problem, I did in 30 days in 2011 at age 62, don't know your age, I don't take rest days only a few days 15/20 km, 30/35 km a few days and you are there,i walked Santiago to fines terra and muxia another 4 days and met up in Santiago with pilgrims I walked with in Pyrenees . Go for it Buen cmino

 

[wayfarer]

There you have both views of your question so really its up to you. I walked the Camino in 32 days not counting the two rest days, one in Burgos and one in Leon, I was 58 when I did it and have cardiac issues. Some days I didn't feel like walking very far and more days I didn't want to stop at all. You really won't know untill you start.
Have a great Camino. :arrow:

 

[EamonnOC]

I'm planning my first full camino in September. I have given myself 31 days and I will be finishing on my 59th birthday. Hopefully I have given myself enough time. I live in the Mourne Mountains and have always been a hillwalker. However in order to complete the walk in the time, I have started to increase my fitness level. I am currently doing three 15-25 km hillwalks per week at a very brisk pace and will increase that as I get closer to September. I am doing the Mourne Way Marathon in June (this will be my third year in a row) as it gives me another goal to work towards.
Basically my advice is "get fit before you start" and then you'll find the pace of 30 km per day very leisurely. In addition be very strict about the weight you carry and limit it to 10% of your body weight with a maximum of 10 kg. Get used to walking properly with two poles as it will take the stress off your lower limbs and greatly decrease the possibility of having an injury that will slow you down.

 

[erikuz]

Wow.. Thnaks everone.. all good suggestions...I can't wait to leave...
cheers,