abzambroza
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Currently booked to start my first Camino Frances on 5th August 2016 starting from Pamplona.
I am starting on my very first camino at the beginning of August would appreciate some advice about how to make the most of the days I have available.
Basically, I am flying into Biarritz on the 4th, and will have to return, from the same airport on the 28th (and changing the flight is not really an option, for various reasons).
My current plan is to bus it over to Pamplona on the 4th and start from there on the 5th. Given the small amount of time available, and the fact that I will have to spend the whole of the 27th travelling back to Biarritz from wherever I end up, I’ve only really got 21 days (as I would have to stop walking on the 26th, really). So it’s obvious that I won’t be able to do the whole of the camino, even from Pamplona. I have no intention of doing a Randall St. Germain, though I do give him credit for doing the whole camino in 20 days, it’s just not what I want to do nor do I believe I would physically be able to.
I could of course only go as far as I can up to the 26th and then just travel back, to complete at a later date, but I actually really would like to make it to Santiago, even if I didn’t walk the whole route but skipped parts of it (and I suspect that later date is unlikely to come about for quite a few years to come). I’m also quite wary of the fact that it will be busy, probably very busy, and would ideally like to avoid the Sarria to Santiago route. So one idea I’ve been playing with is to walk the Frances up to a certain point, say Leon, and then travel up to Ferrol and walk the Camino Ingles to Santiago.
However, not having any real experience of the details of the route beyond the reading a few books, I’m wondering whether doing it this way I might be missing some especially worthwhile routes and places after Leon. Would it be better to cut out certain other sections (eg. the Meseta, which in August is likely to exceptionally blistering), but stay on the Frances until say Ponferrada rather than Leon?
Here’s where I’d appreciate some advice from some more experienced Peregrinos. If you only had 21 days (not counting travel to and from the airport), and wanted to make it to Santiago, but still have a significant and memorable walking experience, what route would you take? What sections would you definitely want to walk, and which ones do you think it might be ok to miss? I kind of like the idea of the swapping the Ingles for the Sarria route, so I’m mainly talking about cutting outs bits of the Frances up to that point.
I should perhaps also mention that I’m in my early 50s, not unfit, but not supersporty either. I’ve in the past lived in the Spain (in Granada) and hence know that I can tolerate the heat quite well. I’ve had the odd training day in preparation, but my walking is normally limited to taking the dog out for a couple of hours each day, which I now do with my full backpack
Basically, I am flying into Biarritz on the 4th, and will have to return, from the same airport on the 28th (and changing the flight is not really an option, for various reasons).
My current plan is to bus it over to Pamplona on the 4th and start from there on the 5th. Given the small amount of time available, and the fact that I will have to spend the whole of the 27th travelling back to Biarritz from wherever I end up, I’ve only really got 21 days (as I would have to stop walking on the 26th, really). So it’s obvious that I won’t be able to do the whole of the camino, even from Pamplona. I have no intention of doing a Randall St. Germain, though I do give him credit for doing the whole camino in 20 days, it’s just not what I want to do nor do I believe I would physically be able to.
I could of course only go as far as I can up to the 26th and then just travel back, to complete at a later date, but I actually really would like to make it to Santiago, even if I didn’t walk the whole route but skipped parts of it (and I suspect that later date is unlikely to come about for quite a few years to come). I’m also quite wary of the fact that it will be busy, probably very busy, and would ideally like to avoid the Sarria to Santiago route. So one idea I’ve been playing with is to walk the Frances up to a certain point, say Leon, and then travel up to Ferrol and walk the Camino Ingles to Santiago.
However, not having any real experience of the details of the route beyond the reading a few books, I’m wondering whether doing it this way I might be missing some especially worthwhile routes and places after Leon. Would it be better to cut out certain other sections (eg. the Meseta, which in August is likely to exceptionally blistering), but stay on the Frances until say Ponferrada rather than Leon?
Here’s where I’d appreciate some advice from some more experienced Peregrinos. If you only had 21 days (not counting travel to and from the airport), and wanted to make it to Santiago, but still have a significant and memorable walking experience, what route would you take? What sections would you definitely want to walk, and which ones do you think it might be ok to miss? I kind of like the idea of the swapping the Ingles for the Sarria route, so I’m mainly talking about cutting outs bits of the Frances up to that point.
I should perhaps also mention that I’m in my early 50s, not unfit, but not supersporty either. I’ve in the past lived in the Spain (in Granada) and hence know that I can tolerate the heat quite well. I’ve had the odd training day in preparation, but my walking is normally limited to taking the dog out for a couple of hours each day, which I now do with my full backpack