An Opportunity = A Dilemma! Your thoughts please...

[julia-t]

Well, it's not really a dilemma as such, but the word got your attention, eh? No, it is a question about whether what I want to do will work, and if it is acceptable.

My original plan was to start my Camino at the end of April 2016 from Roncevalles and walk slowly and only 10-15km a day to at least Pamplona, but hopefully reaching Puente la Reina. I will have 6 days to walk. (I am fortunate in that from the UK I can fly to Spain pretty cheaply.)

I now find I have a week free in September- yay! I can get a flight Heathrow-Bilbao for £72 (rip-off airport parking will cost about 2/3 or that!) and I have some savings (yes, I know I should really keep them for a rainy day/Christmas/new boiler - but what the heck!).

The original plan still has to stand as a friend wants to join me then, but I thought with this spare time in September and nothing much else to do I could maybe jump off of the blocks and make a start from Pamplona and walk as far as I can in the 5 days I have available, reaching Los Arcos perhaps. I can get back to Bilbao fairly easily from there.

So, my 'dilemma' question is.... is it OK to walk part of the Camino now, then go back next year to walk an earlier part? Should I really start at the beginning (wherever that is)? Will I miss out if I don't? And when I finally get to Santiago (in about 8 years!) will it matter or make a difference?

 

[mspath]

It does not matter where you begin or how long you take for your camino. If you wish a Compostela arriving in Santiago you must have walked the last 100 kilometers.

Good luck and Buen camino!

 

[Kanga]

It is absolutely OK. Over the years I have met many pilgrims doing bits of the Camino every which where. They keep the same credentiale (pilgrim passport) and reuse it every year, gradually filling it up with stamps.

As Margaret says, the only requirement is that if you want a Compostela you must walk the last 100km.

 

[LauraK]

My first camino I walked from Leon to SdC because I had limited time and didn't think I would be back again so wanted to end in Santiago. I was one of those world travelers that only goes to a place once because there are so many sights to see in the world. Well....a year later I went back and walked from Pamplona to Leon. I loved my first camino and wanted to see what I had missed...and I just plain missed the camino. I have now walked caminos four times and each time has been different and unique. I never know what I am going to get on my camino but I always get exactly what I needed even if I wasn't aware that I needed it. Walk your own camino. You will find many others doing the same thing. How wonderful that you get to walk twice in a year. You will surely catch the camino bug on your first trip and will already have your next camino on the calendar! Buen Camino.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Go!
Do it!
Seize the day!

 

[julia-t]

Thank you!

One other question regarding the last 100km - can that be done in one or two sections over one or two years? Presumably it doesn't have to be walked all in one go?

 

[JuliusG]

Well, it's not really a dilemma as such, but the word got your attention, eh? No, it is a question about whether what I want to do will work, and if it is acceptable.

My original plan was to start my Camino at the end of April 2016 from Roncevalles and walk slowly and only 10-15km a day to at least Pamplona, but hopefully reaching Puente la Reina. I will have 6 days to walk. (I am fortunate in that from the UK I can fly to Spain pretty cheaply.)

I now find I have a week free in September- yay! I can get a flight Heathrow-Bilbao for £72 (rip-off airport parking will cost about 2/3 or that!) and I have some savings (yes, I know I should really keep them for a rainy day/Christmas/new boiler - but what the heck!).

The original plan still has to stand as a friend wants to join me then, but I thought with this spare time in September and nothing much else to do I could maybe jump off of the blocks and make a start from Pamplona and walk as far as I can in the 5 days I have available, reaching Los Arcos perhaps. I can get back to Bilbao fairly easily from there.

So, my 'dilemma' question is.... is it OK to walk part of the Camino now, then go back next year to walk an earlier part? Should I really start at the beginning (wherever that is)? Will I miss out if I don't? And when I finally get to Santiago (in about 8 years!) will it matter or make a difference?

Well, it's not really a dilemma as such, but the word got your attention, eh? No, it is a question about whether what I want to do will work, and if it is acceptable.

My original plan was to start my Camino at the end of April 2016 from Roncevalles and walk slowly and only 10-15km a day to at least Pamplona, but hopefully reaching Puente la Reina. I will have 6 days to walk. (I am fortunate in that from the UK I can fly to Spain pretty cheaply.)

I now find I have a week free in September- yay! I can get a flight Heathrow-Bilbao for £72 (rip-off airport parking will cost about 2/3 or that!) and I have some savings (yes, I know I should really keep them for a rainy day/Christmas/new boiler - but what the heck!).

The original plan still has to stand as a friend wants to join me then, but I thought with this spare time in September and nothing much else to do I could maybe jump off of the blocks and make a start from Pamplona and walk as far as I can in the 5 days I have available, reaching Los Arcos perhaps. I can get back to Bilbao fairly easily from there.

So, my 'dilemma' question is.... is it OK to walk part of the Camino now, then go back next year to walk an earlier part? Should I really start at the beginning (wherever that is)? Will I miss out if I don't? And when I finally get to Santiago (in about 8 years!) will it matter or make a difference?

Hi Julia:
I believe every person's motivation is different, subsequently, there is no right or wrong order of doing the Camino. Only thing that matters that the segment(s) and the order in which you are doing it, meets your own desires, be it a mental or a physical challenge, a spiritual answer to YOUR question or just even coming up with the right question. I personally think (and this is only MY opinion - nothing more) that the only useful purpose of this Camino is a spiritual one. I have hiked on four continents, in numerous countries; from the Alps to the Andes and the most challenging parts of the White Mountains and I believe there are far better places for fun, adventures, views, learning about new cultures, etc., yet there is something about this Camino that seems to attract over a quarter of a million people per year. DO NOT listen to any other advice other than listening to the calling of YOUR own soul. Since I have trouble to obeying my own calling (by spending far more time on physical preparations than on the spiritual), I shall refrain from giving advice to you. For myself, I am leaving from Saint Jean on August 30, 2015 with a stop at the Orisson, because my own order of calling is to start at the beginning and aim for the end; but you have to listen to your own heart to where YOU want to start and let your own soul guide you. Buen Camino, Julius

 

[LauraK]

Julia: I think your question regarding the last 100km is referring to obtaining the compostela. You can walk any distance you choose, but to obtain the compostela you do need to walk the last 100 km. I am not sure whether than needs to be in a spefic period of time...I don't think so. But, I am sure one of the more knowledgeable veterans will answer that question for you.

 

[GettingThere]

start at the beginning and aim for the end

As has been stated many, many times on this Forum, St Jean is really not the beginning of anything, just another very nice spot along the way and (these days) a popular place to start.

@julia-t your plan sounds GREAT! A September Camino starting in Pamplona sounds perfect, and then to return only next April and walk from Roncesvalles - how wonderful! I started from Roncesvalles in April this year, and for me it was a beautiful (and spiritual) place to begin a Camino. In April the trees were just starting to show faint signs of leaves opening, and the woods were full of primroses, violets and other spring flowers. On a still, misty morning the whole place had a very special atmosphere, rather mystical.

 

[tyrrek]

Hi Julia

I think you'll want to do the section after Pamplona more than once anyway, so just do it again after your Roncesvalles start! It's one of the best bits in my view.

On the last 100kms, apparently there was some confusion about whether or not you had to do it in one go. I found this post from Johnniewalker (from the Pilgrim Office) dating from 2011, which says you don't have to, so unless the rules have changed just follow the advice here;
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...o-walk-the-last-100-kms-in-one-stretch.11441/

Buen Camino!

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

Do a little bit whenever it suits you (vacation, money etc) sounds like a really nice way of doing it. I met a person who had done a week every year for 10 years. he planned to be in Santiago next year. I don't remember where he started. But he had that special week of his own once a year. Sometimes he brought a friend to walk with him sometimes not. The last week he would do with his daughter. She will be 20 yrs old then, she was just a little kid when he started.

Go for it!

Buen Camino!

 

[Anamya]

From the Pilgrims office in Santiago website (http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrimage/the-compostela/):

"You may walk the Camino in stages: however if you are walking the last 100kms, or cycling the last 200kms, in stages you must obtain a sello with the date in the place you stopped and obtain another sello with the date from the same place on the day you start again."

So, yes, you can break the last 100km in stages, but you have to restart exactly at the same point and get a repeated stamp.

But if you find another week-long break within your schedule, you can probably do all the 100km at once ^^
Buen Camino!

 

[julia-t]

From the Pilgrims office in Santiago website (http://peregrinossantiago.es/eng/pilgrimage/the-compostela/):

"You may walk the Camino in stages: however if you are walking the last 100kms, or cycling the last 200kms, in stages you must obtain a sello with the date in the place you stopped and obtain another sello with the date from the same place on the day you start again."

So, yes, you can break the last 100km in stages, but you have to restart exactly at the same point and get a repeated stamp.

But if you find another week-long break within your schedule, you can probably do all the 100km at once ^^
Buen Camino!

Thank you Anamya