Before or after Camino

[RobynA]

My husband and I are considering doing the Le Puy route later this year. We will be travelling from Australia, and it is highly unlikely we will be travelling to Europe again for at least several years. We would like to spend about a week in Turkey, and the initial plan was to visit on our way home. I have been reading quite a few blogs, and something that seems to be a common thread, is the dislike of crowds/?modern life post Camino. Are there any thoughts on whether we should see Turkey before our walk, or afterwards?

 

[tyrrek]

I agree that it can be difficult to adapt immediately - I spent a couple of days in Barcelona after my first Camino and couldn't really appreciate it. On the other hand, you may be tempted by the beautiful Turkish carpets, which you wouldn't want to carry across Spain!
If you're going to Istanbul, research your hotel carefully and find one with a roof terrace overlooking the Bosphorous. You can escape from the city up there, watch the ships and listen to the call to prayer. In Sultanahmet (check spelling!) area there are several such places, close to the main sights. Buen Camino!

 

[RobynA]

Thanks for your thoughts Tyrrek. Yes wouldn't want to carry any carpets lol.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Travelling elsewhere could be a way of easing back into 'normal life'. We actually plan taking time to return home as we did after our last Camino. Travel plans meant that we had a week between finishing in Santiago and returning home and it was really good.

 

[RobynA]

Thanks Tia - a good point.

 

[wayfarer]

Thanks for your thoughts Tyrrek. Yes wouldn't want to carry any carpets lol.

You might be lucky enough to get a flying carpet.
If this is a once off trip make the most of it and explore, Spain is particularly beautiful if you avoid the sun holiday areas, and of course there is always Ireland.
Buen Camino to you both.

 

[RobynA]

Thanks for your input Wayfarer. I realised I didn't explain quite properly, we will probably only go from Le Puy to SJPDP, maybe a little further. Fancy doing a slow camino. If we do get back we can continue on from where we left off.

 

[CMSMackie]

Thank you for asking the question Robyn. Because I'm in the initial stages of planning I hadn't considered the transition to a different pace. I was thinking of having my husband meet me at the end and then heading to the Azores for a week or so to enjoy his company and finish my journey with a good break. Any thoughts on the Azores and the pace of that place. My vision is that it is very much like Salt Spring Island off of the west coast of Canada. Relaxed and rejuvenating.

 

[RobynA]

Not a problem CMSMackie. Unfortunately I have no idea on what Azores is like, but hopefully someone else can fill you in.

 

[wayfarer]

Thank you for asking the question Robyn. Because I'm in the initial stages of planning I hadn't considered the transition to a different pace. I was thinking of having my husband meet me at the end and then heading to the Azores for a week or so to enjoy his company and finish my journey with a good break. Any thoughts on the Azores and the pace of that place. My vision is that it is very much like Salt Spring Island off of the west coast of Canada. Relaxed and rejuvenating.

I have never been but friends have and say it is very laid back. You can get flights from Lisbon. It would not be a major holiday destination so should be nice and quiet.

 

[MichaelC]

I've been pondering similar questions.

I think Turkey would be an excellent choice. There is a lot to do and see if you want to be active, but also a very relaxed cafe culture if you just want to sit outside and watch the world go by. People there are also pretty chill. There's a huge variety in Istanbul neighborhoods, though - from traditional to slightly scruffy and hip to rock&roll in the streets all night. Choose wisely! There are also a lot of quieter towns along the Aegean and Mediterranean that are easy to get to from Spain.

I think it would be nicer to go afterwards. I've thought about visiting places before my camino, but knowing myself, I think all my thoughts would be on the upcoming walk & I'd be impatient to start. I'll give myself enough time to get over the jet lag (five days?) and then head to Le Puy.

 

[CMSMackie]

I've been pondering similar questions.

I think Turkey would be an excellent choice. There is a lot to do and see if you want to be active, but also a very relaxed cafe culture if you just want to sit outside and watch the world go by. People there are also pretty chill. There's a huge variety in Istanbul neighborhoods, though - from traditional to slightly scruffy and hip to rock&roll in the streets all night. Choose wisely! There are also a lot of quieter towns along the Aegean and Mediterranean that are easy to get to from Spain.

I think it would be nicer to go afterwards. I've thought about visiting places before my camino, but knowing myself, I think all my thoughts would be on the upcoming walk & I'd be impatient to start. I'll give myself enough time to get over the jet lag (five days?) and then head to Le Puy.

Agreed. I think that I'll just want to get going on my walk.

Afterwards I'd like to wind down and be able to share my experience with my husband without too many distractions though. So thank you wayfarer for your comments.

 

[JohnMcM]

?....Are there any thoughts on whether we should see Turkey before our walk, or afterwards?

What a wonderful quandary to have

Personally, I would do that trip after a Camino and use some of the time to reflect and readjust post-Camino.

Buen Camino

 

[kellyz]

I've traveled both before and after (at different times). Neither was especially difficult--though when I traveled post Camino it did take me about two days to adjust to not walking.

 

[colinPeter]

I think you wont really know the best answer until you complete your Camino.
Our experience was:
A) First Camino, I guess we were so overwhelmed after arriving in SDC that when we tried to travel after we couldn't. Got as far as Avila began to look around and do tourist things and we couldn't. Checked out early made our way to Barcelona (via Madrid did perk up a bit for the Prado) and arranged for earlier flights home. Very strange for us as we generally do a longer is better when ever we travel.
B) Second Camino, thinking the same might happen we walked on to Finisterre & Muxia, then had the most wonderful time lounging at A Coruña, Tarragona, Barcelona, Singapore. Then reluctantly back home even considered extending. Completely different response to Camino 1.

I think I'd be doing the one which I felt put the least pressure on your walking schedule time wise, as the walk seems to be you main objective.
Buen Camino
Colin.

 

[RobynA]

Thanks MichaelC. In my initial plan I was only giving us 3 or 4 days to get over the jet lag, which I think will be fine. I think I will continue to think of it as a post camino adventure.

I've been pondering similar questions.

I think Turkey would be an excellent choice. There is a lot to do and see if you want to be active, but also a very relaxed cafe culture if you just want to sit outside and watch the world go by. People there are also pretty chill. There's a huge variety in Istanbul neighborhoods, though - from traditional to slightly scruffy and hip to rock&roll in the streets all night. Choose wisely! There are also a lot of quieter towns along the Aegean and Mediterranean that are easy to get to from Spain.

I think it would be nicer to go afterwards. I've thought about visiting places before my camino, but knowing myself, I think all my thoughts would be on the upcoming walk & I'd be impatient to start. I'll give myself enough time to get over the jet lag (five days?) and then head to Le Puy.

 

[RobynA]

Thanks John McM. I think I as I just written above we will do it post camino. Yours was one of the last blogs I read - enjoyed it

What a wonderful quandary to have

Personally, I would do that trip after a Camino and use some of the time to reflect and readjust post-Camino.

Buen Camino

 

[RobynA]

Thanks Kellyz and also colinPeter, as you can see I am leaning to post camino, as per the original plan. I can also see that for each camino there could be a different outcome - thanks.

 

[wawpdx]

I agree with the suggestions and your own comment that you will most likely start with the Camino. I have one comment to add. In my experience, starting with some added agenda can easily lead to justifying a few items as "worth it" to carry even though you wouldn't have included those same items when going directly from home to the Camino.

I went to a conference in Barcelona and a French language course on my way to starting my camino in Le Puy. Because I had already walked the Camino Frances over a couple of years, I had the benefit of knowing what I had mailed home the first year. I knew, I knew, I Knew, how little I needed. I mostly took multipurpose clothes and I live in Europe so I easily mailed home extra travel clothes/class notes/French wine. Compared it to the other "extra" things, my purple shirt didn't seem like much of an addition to my pack and the third pair of things in the trouser category seemed minimal.... Maybe you are a better packer than I am but I know that my final decisions were impacted by my pre-camino activities. Consequently, I had several walking days that were impacted by my quest to get rid of my extra material goods. If your inner priority is the Camino, any other days should be add ons after. IMHO

 

[jeffnd]

If you are going to Turkey, you could go see Santiago's little brother in Ephesus!

 

[colinPeter]

If you are going to Turkey, you could go see Santiago's little brother in Ephesus!

Efes (Ephesus) is a wonderful place to visit.

 

[Kerstinh47]

First of all, enjoy all of your planning and dreaming and scheming! I agree with MichaelC, my thoughts were so firmly planted on getting started ....and in hindsight, I would take a day or two to adjust to the time change if I'm fortunate enough to return to the camino. I took five days in Madrid at a friends home before returning to the states after I reached Santiago.
Burn Camino

 

[tploomis]

My husband and I are considering doing the Le Puy route later this year. We will be travelling from Australia, and it is highly unlikely we will be travelling to Europe again for at least several years. We would like to spend about a week in Turkey, and the initial plan was to visit on our way home. I have been reading quite a few blogs, and something that seems to be a common thread, is the dislike of crowds/?modern life post Camino. Are there any thoughts on whether we should see Turkey before our walk, or afterwards?

I know you have already decided to go to Turkey afterwards. I would like to add that an additional advantage to doing the Camino first, if you end up taking longer to do the Camino, you can take the time because the return flight is not a pressing deadline. We scheduled in two extra weeks at the end of the Camino in case of Camino delays, and we ended up using that time to travel through Portugal and other parts of Spain. It was a nice decompression before heading home.

 

[RobynA]

Sorry I missed coming back to this thread to respond, partly because I am unsure if our plans will come to fruition. Wawpdx I was hoping to find somewhere in Paris to hold our extra luggage whilst we did our walk. Jeffnd and colinPeter if we do get to go we certainly plan on visiting Ephesus. Kerstinh47 if the plans proceed we will have a few days respite before we start Thanks also tploomis for your thoughts about the tail end of the trip. Cheers

 

[peregrina2000]

Thank you for asking the question Robyn. Because I'm in the initial stages of planning I hadn't considered the transition to a different pace. I was thinking of having my husband meet me at the end and then heading to the Azores for a week or so to enjoy his company and finish my journey with a good break. Any thoughts on the Azores and the pace of that place. My vision is that it is very much like Salt Spring Island off of the west coast of Canada. Relaxed and rejuvenating.

Hi, CSMackie,
I will be spending five or six days in the Azores in late April and am happy to report back. From all that my Portuguese friends tell me, "laid back" is a very appropriate description. I've seen enough pictures to confirm its beauty, but finally I'll get a chance to see it myself. We are flying back and forth from Lisbon, it's about a 2 hour flight. Ryan Air and Easy Jet fly there and their prices are much cheaper, but we wimped out and booked on TAP.

There are 8 or 9 islands in the archipelago, as I'm sure you know, but we opted to spend the whole time on Sao Miguel, two nights on the north of the island near Maia, and three on the south. The island is small enough that we could have easily stayed in one place for the whole time but couldn't decide between two places highly recommended by our friends so we went with both! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[CMSMackie]

Hi, CSMackie,
I will be spending five or six days in the Azores in late April and am happy to report back. From all that my Portuguese friends tell me, "laid back" is a very appropriate description. I've seen enough pictures to confirm its beauty, but finally I'll get a chance to see it myself. We are flying back and forth from Lisbon, it's about a 2 hour flight. Ryan Air and Easy Jet fly there and their prices are much cheaper, but we wimped out and booked on TAP.

There are 8 or 9 islands in the archipelago, as I'm sure you know, but we opted to spend the whole time on Sao Miguel, two nights on the north of the island near Maia, and three on the south. The island is small enough that we could have easily stayed in one place for the whole time but couldn't decide between two places highly recommended by our friends so we went with both! Buen camino, Laurie

Laurie,

I can't wait to hear from you after your trip. Enjoy!!!

Catherine

 

[Dutch]

I would say, go after the camino, but that is all a matter of preference.

I think it is much more a cold shower to go directly home after the camino, back to normal life then it is to have just a little non-walking time after the camino, but still in a relaxed "holiday" atmosphere.

So far, after my walks i did not go directly home but went to london or barcelona, just to let the camino go slowly, instead of at once, which will happen if you go directly home. That idea just does not appeal to me.
I will continue doing it like this. It feels good for me, but like i said, it is a matter of preference.

 

[RobynA]

@Dutch thanks. Buen camino to you.

 

[peregrina2000]

Laurie,

I can't wait to hear from you after your trip. Enjoy!!!

Catherine

As promised, a few comments on the idea of spending some post-Camino time in the Azores. I just spent 5 nights on Sao Miguel (the biggest island) before my recent stay in Lisbon, and it was great. Highly recommended, tons of beautiful walks. Lots of well marked hikes, volcanic lakes, gorgeous shorelines. We stayed in fabulous places, two on the north of the island in Solar de Lalem, and three on the south in Quinta da Mar. The island is really small enough to just stay put for the whole time, but we liked the change. The recent arrival of cheap airlines (Ryan Air, I believe) means that tourism is starting to grow, so get there before it's overrun. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Are there any thoughts on whether we should see Turkey before our walk, or afterwards?

You know Robyn, I find this a very difficult question to answer. On both of my previous caminos, and indeed the one coming up soon, I have started my camino straight away. I think this is because my head is so full of preparations and anticipation, I can't put it off. But afterwards I have travelled elsewhere in Europe, and have found it incredibly difficult to make the transformation into tourist. Maybe it's just me, but that normal "holiday" state of mind completely eluded me. Mind you, I was alone, which makes a big difference.
I guess I'm afraid that if I did it the other way around, the camino experience might elude me, but from the comments of others expressed above. that seems unlikely.

 

[RobynA]

Thanks for your thoughts Peregrinopaul. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that we will be walking this year. Both my husband and I are suffering with "feet" problems. I couldn't even do a brisk 30 minute walk in my new worn-in runners without getting blisters!