advice Via de la Plata vs the French Way for Newbie

[nathalie stephens]

Hi
I am from Vancouver BC, and am hoping to start my Camino in mid April. I was hoping to share this Journey with my husband for my 50th ( June 2015) but he unfortunately passed away after a battle with Pancreatic Cancer in Oct 2014...
I have it in my head to complete this before my 50th year is over.. for both of us I am in reasonable shape, have not been training ( hoping I will get stronger on the road ) also my time has now become limited to 30 days instead of the 60 I had hoped.
I keep being drawn to the Via Plata ,but thinking I may start 1/2 way in Salamanca with 25 days to Santiago and then hopefully off to the end of the world. My concern from reading this site is that it will be a very isolated journey as it appears no one is travelling this route ?? Is that correct?? and that there are such limited lodgings
My concern for the French way is really the weather and the mountains in April .. I am not a fan of the cold
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Nathalie Stephens

 

[alansykes]

The Vía de la Plata was my first camino (and my second) done just before my 50th birthday. It is almost certainly responsible for my having become dangerously infected with the camino bug. It was very solitary when I walked (in November), but is apparently very popular in the spring - most blogs etc I've read show people meeting other pilgrims every day. There is a very good infrastruture of pilgrim accommodation, especially from Salamanca onwards, and the towns and many of the villages mostly have casas rural, hostals, hotels (even a couple of paradors) etc as well as albergues, so I've never not found a bed for the night.

 

[AJ]

The Vía de la Plata was my first camino ... It is almost certainly responsible for my having become dangerously infected with the camino bug.

Same here. I did it in Spring. Apart from the first stages on the Mozarabe I met other pilgrims most days in the evenings and occasionally walked with others. This was 8 years ago and I understand that there are a lot more people and more accommodation now.

 

[camino07]

For a first Camino and especially if you are in a fragile state I vote for the Camino Frances. I have walked it 5 and a half times and love it .Lots of support if you want it . Mostly walked it in May so can't talk about April but I think April will be better nowadays due to crowds in May. I enjoyed the VDLP but it couldn't compare to the Frances in my opinion. Such sad news about your husband Natalie. I'm sure whatever you decide will be right for you.