3rd - 4th May to San Juan Pied a Port

[jotedesco]

Hi my name is Jo. I hope to start my Camino on the Sunday. I am from Australia.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi Joe

Welcome. I'm sure you will meet other Australians both here and on your pilgrimage. Enjoy.

Buen Camino

John

 

[MermaidLilli]

I am very impressed as to how many Australians come halfway around the world to the Camino. I met several last year on the CF. Did someone write a book about the Camino in Australia?
smiiiiile
Lillian

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Lots published I think - including a recent one with a fascinating title " The Year We Seized the Day" by Elizabeth Best and Colin Bowles. I've been trying to get hold of a copy but its not available here - yet!

 

[Rose Louise]

Lillian

Tony Kevin wrote "Walking the Camino - a modern pilgrimage to Santiago" - in which he relates his experiences along the way from Granada to Santiago (Via Mozarabe and Via de la Plata)

Cheers Rose Louise

 

[MermaidLilli]

Thank you Rose, I just looked on Amazon and I guess it's not out until May 1, after I leave for Spain. Bummer, would have liked to have read it before going. Will do after I guess ,
Thank You
Lillian

 

[nicola]

hey jo!

my name is nicola - i'll be in st. jean on sunday to, hopefully.... i am from austria and travelling with a friend... maybe we'll meet!

cu

 

[Arn]

Hi Jo...and welcome to the Class of 2008!

I and several fellow peregrinos are under a month before we begin Our Camino. It's an exciting time and the days seem to be rushing right by.

Thak a look at the Class of 2008 thread and the calendar at the bottom of the page to see who may be walking their Camino at the same time.
Buen Camino
Arn

 

[jotedesco]

hey jo!

my name is nicola - i'll be in st. jean on sunday to, hopefully.... i am from austria and travelling with a friend... maybe we'll meet!

cu

Hi Nicola
how wonderful - oops I read Australia not Austria. I was going to ask where from in Australia

 

[jotedesco]

Hi and thank you everybody for your thoughts.

Now two questions please:
I arrive in Paris on Saturday May 3 at about 13.30 and I then want to go to Bayonne via the GTV and then the train to SJPP and sleep there on Sat May 3. Will the office be open to get the Credential or will it be open on the Sunday morning before I head off?

I am planning to stay at Orisson on May 4 - should I pay upfront from here? What if the weather is a problem that day?

Thank you
Jo

 

[jotedesco]

Hi again
well I thought I was organised but ...
I am trying to find out if I can get the TGV from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Bayonne or if in fact the train goes from Paris CDG to Bordeaux and then I have have to change trains. I would really like to get to SJPP on the night of the 3rd May. Is this possible given that I arrive at Paris CDG at about 1.30 pm? Is it going to take 6 hours to Bayonne and then I need to get another train which will take an hour?
AEROPORT CDG 2TGV
16:38 (03 May) BAYONNE
22:41 (03 May) 6h 3m
#5222
Jo
ps it is good to hear back from the members who are going to be there at the same time as I am

 

[chax]

I am planning to stay at Orisson on May 4 - should I pay upfront from here? What if the weather is a problem that day?

Definately you should do a booking - I am not sure if they accept any booking fees but the place is easily packed especially if the weather is bad!!!!! When I was there, it was full by 12.00hrs. Unfortunately if you do not manage to get a place there, then you have to walk an extra 16km to the next refugio.

I consider Orisson one of the best refugios along the road .... fantastic dinner and very nice breakfast!!!

Buen Camino
chax

 

[jeff001]

Unless you want to take a taxi for Bayonne to SJPdP there is no way you can get there on the 3rd. The last train leaves at 18:13. The Hotel Paris Madrid is literally next door to the Bayonne station and is a good place to overnight. You can the early train the SJ and time to look around there and get your credential before going to Orisson. You can, and definitely should book a place in advance and you don't have to pay until you get there. If you are in reasonably good condition you can get there in 2-1/2-3 hrs from SJ.

 

[sillydoll]

The last bus to St Jean leaves Bayonne at 21h06 and gets to St Jean at 22h18

Bus timetable to St Jean here:

http://www2.ter-sncf.com/Images/Bayonne ... -21351.pdf

 

[jotedesco]

Thank you everyone ... I am now as organised as I can be and it is in the lap of the gods. I arrive in Paris 1.30 pm - then get down to Bayonne at about 11pm where I have booked to stay at the Hotel Paris Madrid. After a good night's rest go to SJPP next morning, look around, get the credential and then off to Orisson if the weather is good etc. etc. If all is good arrive at Orisson at about 4 pm Sunday night. I am so excited!
Jo

 

[kubapigora]

And I have some serious problems trying to check connections from CDG Airport to St Jean. TGV site (ideally we would like to leave from the airport station) is not returning any information. Have you make a booking via any other sites? We are travelling in mid august, but I would like to check all the possibilities and prices.
I have serched the forum- there's a lot on that issue, but it seems that I'm the only one having trouble with tgv website Please help...

SORRY, got it now!
Well, that's how it looks...
I'm landing in CDG on 11.55 (easyjet, so it may be tricky)
then tgv 13.37 to Bordeaux (arriving 18.02)
then train 18.56Bordeaux to Bayonne (arriving 20.35)
and finally sillydoll's 21.06 coach Bayonne to Saint Jean Pied de Port (arriving 22.18)

May be a little bit too tight in places, but can be done. What do you think? Is it worth risking? I'm seriously thinking about this option...

 

[jeff001]

EasyJet has a E44 flight from CDG to Biarritz that gets you there at 18:50. It's a relatively short cab ride from there to Bayonne. Sounds easier than what you are planning.

 

[kubapigora]

Thanks, but we are trying not to fly if we don't have to. If we had time and good connection- we would probably travel on a train all the way from Poland.