Advice on Trip Planning

[hokiebobwise]

Today, I informed my manager that I plan to walk the Camino within the next year, assuming all things hold. Here is my origional plan

• walk the Frances starting in Logrono
• extra day of rest in Burgo and Leon
• Spend a few additional days in Santiago (with a bus trip to Finisterre)

I would be back in the office on the 32nd day, having only had to burn 21 PTO days. Unfortunately, being off the grid for that long isn't going to an option, so long as I opt to stay employed

Below are my options and I was hoping you all could provide feedback. It should be noted, I intend for this to be a spiritual and religious journey, similar to my Cursillo 5 years ago (Table of St. Ignatius). I can think of nothing better than attending mass and taking in the beauty around, while releasing all of those things that need to be released.

1. What are your thoughts on walking in stages? I imagine i would be able to take 15 days (10 "work" days) at a clip, but it would probably be a year between each 2 stage (can't afford to keep flying back and forth). I could start in SJPP and make it the full way, but it might take 3 years. Would I still be eligible for the Compostela?
2. I could start from Leon and finish in 17 days, with a single day of rest in Sarria but still being able to spent multiple days in Santiago. Depending on holidays, I'd be gone from work for 11 business days. the walk is ~300km, so it would allow for contemplation but do you all feel I would stil have enough time to benefit from the Camino.

Thanks ahead of time for your responses. I've enjoyed this forum and look forward to enjoying it even after my camino, hopefully in 2024.

Bob

 

[trecile]

age (can't afford to keep flying back and forth). I could start in SJPP and make it the full way, but it might take 3 years. Would I still be eligible for the Compostela?

Many people walk the Camino in stages over several years, and yes, you will be eligible for a Compostela. Use the same credential each time that you go.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hola @hokiebobwise :
Welcome to the forum. As Trecile advise waling the Camino - any of them - in stages is not new.
Its generally those who are retired, or come from far away who tend to walk those 30/33 days straight.
For me the meseta is a special place and I would not recommend missing it. So maybe start in Logrono as planed and maybe finish in Leon or Astorga and then come back next year to complete. Buen Camino.

 

[jcat]

I vote for option #2. 300Km is plenty of time for contemplation and getting the benefits of the Camino. Then you can decide to go back and do the first half in the future, do another route, or move onto other adventures. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[FireDragon]

I have planned to do the Camino Francès in two stages, one winter and one early Spring or early Autumn depending upon how my body adjusts to the initial hike on the Aragonese before starting on the Camino at Puente la Reina.

i would suggest Option 2.

 

[David Tallan]

Today, I informed my manager that I plan to walk the Camino within the next year, assuming all things hold. Here is my origional plan

• walk the Frances starting in Logrono
• extra day of rest in Burgo and Leon
• Spend a few additional days in Santiago (with a bus trip to Finisterre)

I would be back in the office on the 32nd day, having only had to burn 21 PTO days. Unfortunately, being off the grid for that long isn't going to an option, so long as I opt to stay employed

Below are my options and I was hoping you all could provide feedback. It should be noted, I intend for this to be a spiritual and religious journey, similar to my Cursillo 5 years ago (Table of St. Ignatius). I can think of nothing better than attending mass and taking in the beauty around, while releasing all of those things that need to be released.

1. What are your thoughts on walking in stages? I imagine i would be able to take 15 days (10 "work" days) at a clip, but it would probably be a year between each 2 stage (can't afford to keep flying back and forth). I could start in SJPP and make it the full way, but it might take 3 years. Would I still be eligible for the Compostela?
2. I could start from Leon and finish in 17 days, with a single day of rest in Sarria but still being able to spent multiple days in Santiago. Depending on holidays, I'd be gone from work for 11 business days. the walk is ~300km, so it would allow for contemplation but do you all feel I would stil have enough time to benefit from the Camino.

Thanks ahead of time for your responses. I've enjoyed this forum and look forward to enjoying it even after my camino, hopefully in 2024.

Bob

Lots of people walk in stages (especially from Europe where it is easier to get to and from the Camino). It is just as valid a Camino. You will be eligible for a Compostela but be sure to bring back your credencial when you start the next stage and get it stamped again where you left off. So, for example, lets say you walk to Burgos the first time. Make sure you get it stamped in Burgos when you stop your Camino. Next time, bring it back and get it stamped in Burgos a second time before you start walking. Let's say you walk from Burgos to Astorga for your second stage. Make sure you get it stamped in Astorga when you stop, and again when you return to restart. If you do this, you should have no issues getting a Compostela (as long as you get two stamps a day for the last 100 km) and/or a distance certificate.

Many people also start in Leon. It isn't a bad place to start. If you aren't going to feel that you are "missing out" by not experiencing what came before, it might be a good option. There is no official start to the Camino de Santiago. Leon is as valid as Logroño is as valid as Roncesvalles or St Jean Pied de Port is as valid as Le Puy is as valid as Geneva and so on. And that's just along one potential path.

The advantage of doing it in stages if you are tight on time, especially for a first Camino is that it builds in flexibility if it takes longer to get from point A to point B than you had anticipated, perhaps due to injury, perhaps because you find that you walk less distance each day than you had anticipated. When I walked in 2016 with my teenage sons we found partway through that we needed to cut our daily distances or he would keep getting terrible blisters. So it took us a week longer to get to Santiago than I thought it would. Fortunately, I had put a big cushion in our flights. If you do it in stages, you can just walk as far as you get and start again from there. If you are going to move up your starting point and walk al the way to Santiago, I would involve moving it a bit closer to Santiago than you think you will need to give yourself a bit of cushion.

 

[dick bird]

So long as you have two stamps a day for the last 100 km (from Sarria if you walk the Francés), then you qualify for a Compostela. Lots of pilgrims walk it in stages, this is particularly common for people who live in Europe so not a problem there. If you really do intend to walk the whole Spanish stretch of the Camino Francés from SJPdP to Santiago, I'd be inclined to start in SJPdP, and do your stages in order. It will be a long wait, but just imagine the sensation as you finally walk through that archway and into the Praça Obradoiro.