An April start for us

[dlr47]

My wife and I are planning to walk from SJPP starting about the 15th to 25th of April.

It will be our first pilgrimage although we have done some long day walks in Spain and quite a lot of walking elsewhere. We are already making regular practice walks. In April, we will be 60 and 59 years old and reasonably fit (just a little too much good food and red wine to say "very fit"). We are from Victoria on the west coast of Canada.

Like many Canadians, we are not "churchy" but we will be very open to the spiritual component of the journey. We expect and hope that will be important for us.

I will be watching this forum regularly between now and our departure. I have already read some threads with very useful and interesting information.

I am already feeling wary of our first leg from SJPP to Roncesvalles. I know it is one of the more strenuous stages and it will be early in the year. I understand that snow, cold and rain are possible and have been in the mountains enough to know that the weather can change quickly. It might also be a glorious day! I have noted that there are alternative routes for this stage and I suppose we can make a decision about which route to follow at the last minute and based on the latest information about conditions. Advice about this first stage will be welcome.

- Derek

 

[Dale]

Good luck on your Camino from another Canuck. I will be starting my first Camino around April first. So we might meet on the, "Way". Not sure yet where I will be starting from I have a friend who lives in Paris and is doing her walk in stages. She started from Vezeley in south central France and I will join her where ever she stops at this fall. Have you joined the Canadian Company of Pilgrims?

 

[erinmarie]

Hi and good luck from me as well! Also, I didn't know there was a Canadian association of any sort... wonderful.

Where did you first hear about the camino? I think this is the question I ask most often now because I'm so curious, especially with North Americans. I know that I'd never heard a word about the camino before I was already in Europe; now there's an article in Maclean's and I can't escape; I can't stop thinking about it! Not that this is a bad thing... Anyway. I'd love to hear your stories.

Erin

 

[Dale]

Not really sure when I first learned about the Camino but I've been reading everything I can get my hands on for at least the last five years. I've always thought it would be something I would do once I retired and I retired in 2005. My friend from Paris summers in Maine just across the border from Campobello where I live and once I discovered this summer that she had already started and walk around 300 KM of her Camino this spring I got excited and started making plans for next spring. Being retired one thing I have lots of is time so I have the luxury of not having to rush my Camino I plan to be in Europe for two months and take somewhere between four and six weeks to walk the Camino, depending where we start from. My friend will probably only be with me for about two weeks then she will have to return to Paris and I will continue on my own. I don't plan to walk seven days a week every week so I've been looking for interesting places to stop for a rest along the, "Way". I discovered an interesting website, http://www.monasteriesofspain.com they publish a book on lodging in the Monasteries of Spain , I was able to find a used copy of the book on Amazon.ca for $12.00. So right now I'm busy selecting a few Monasteries along the route that I will stop to rest in for a day or two. The average cost to stay in the Monasteries is $30.00 a night.

I would encourage you to join the Canadian Company of Pilgrims they need all the support they can get and their website is a wealth of useful information. You can also acquire your Pilgrims Credential through the Company. As you can see I use the Company Badge as my logo this cost $4.00 and of course I have it sewn on my backpack. I made the logo by scanning the badge that I bought from the Company if you join and would like to use the logo I can email you my scan. How are you doing with equipment purchases? You are lucky there is a Mountain Equipment Co-op in Vancouver. http://www.mec.ca I have bought a lot of my requirements from them and I find the quality to be excellent.

Buen Camino

Dale

 

[brendan nolan]

Hi Derek,
Welcome to the Forum,
I'm always glad to hear from pilgrims like yourselves because I first walked some kilometres aged 50 and then later at 60, so having been there I feel free to encourage folks like yourselves to do crazy things like walking several hundred kilometres. And I also think that older pilgrims bring their own special gifts to the pilgrimage.
The 1st day from St. Jean PdeP can be strenuous if you're not very fit, but it is also possible to stop at a good private refugio/gite at Orisson approx half way - it's a good rest but also, if the weather is good, the views are wonderful. Yes, take note of the weather and local advice but don't get too fearful.
Buen Camino,
Brendan

 

[judyandbonnie]

Hi Derek,
My friend Bonnie and I are both West Coasters. We both live in White Rock. It's Bonnie's birthday this Saturday. I am 62 and she is slightly older. I have known about the Camino for years but actually got serious about it when an aquaintance who is my age and has my level of fitness told me she has done it 2.5 times, including last year.
So, once you buy the tickets, you're on your way. Bonnie has an a to z type of approach so she wants to do the whole thing. I don't have any problem taking a couple of days off and catching up by bus.
Hope to see you both on the Camino.
Judy

 

[dlr47]

Hi Judy (and Bonnie):

Thanks for the note.

So far, I haven't been comfortable sharing the muntutiae of our planning with the rest of the forum members. To date, we are just a couple of blowhards who claim we will be walking the Camino in the future and have no credentials as real follow-through types. I can tell you, however, that while we remain commited to the Camino, our plans have changed a little.

We now are now planning a mid-September start from SJPP and hoping to be finished by the latter part of October. I'm still pretty obsessed by the prospect and monitor this list (and another) every day. In the spring, we have the opportunity to do some other traveling in Europe and will be including the Thames Path (source of the Thames to London and beyond) as a practice/warm-up for the Camino. Just this afternoon, I was shopping for equipment at MEC (this will be code for Canadians: Mountain Equipment Co-op).

Bottom line: We probably won't see you on the Camino but we are keen to have your reports.

- Derek

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi - for walkers with some experience the crossing from St Jean to Roncesvalles is straightforward and in good weather a spectacular start. Others may decide to stay overnight half way at Orisson. It does require sustained effort but the best advice is to have plenty of time available and to go slowly with lots of stops - in fact the current (and invaluable) CSJ guide advises less fit walkers to leave up to 12 hours for this etapa!

Enjoy

 

[Fletcher]

Leave early and take it easy. I found it sustained hard work, but certainly do-able and I have a chest condition which makes climbing difficult for me. I still noticed that many people, including youngsters (I'm 58), took it even slower than me. Carry plenty of water and snacks, and stop often, especially if it's your first day. I met a few people who tackled it rather too aggressively and ended up with strains and aches that lasted for days afterwards. One actually had to go home - to Canada - a disaster!

Regarding route options, watch out as you begin the descent on the Spanish side. One path drops very steeply down through the woods, the more popular and safer alternative follows a minor road to Roncesvalles. I had been pressed into guiding an older Norwegian lady over as it was her first day and she was apprehensive about going alone. Sadly for her I didn't look at the guide book and just followed the most obvious waymarks from the top down into the steep woods. It was fine weather and no real danger, but she became very uneasy and tired, and I thought I was going to have to leave her to get help. I ended up carrying both rucksacks, but she got there and was prefectly fine after a glass of wine!

 

[Rae]

Hi Derek

Going slightly off topic, but I see you mention walking the Thames Path as training. Over the years we've walked the path twice and canoed the river once, and adore it - a great way to get a new take on a familiar place.

So if you want any tips about accommodation, get in touch (ideally before January, which is when we set out on our pilgrimage.

Rachel

 

[dlr47]

Hi Rae:

That is a very kind offer and I will take you up on it via a private message off the main board in the next day or so.

- Derek