Best starting point

[LotteJohanna]

Hi you all,

I'm new on the forum and been reading a few threads about the Camino Frances! Lots of useful information

I'm planning to start somewhere mid-september and wanted to start van saint Jean, now I already seen that a lot of women walk the Camino alone and that I don't need to worry because I'll probably meet loads of people when I start! So that's a real relieve to be honest. The plan is to walk for about 10 days, if I really like I will pick up where I left next year!

I would like to know if Saint Jean is a good starting point if I walk for about 10 days?

Hope to hear from you all soon!

 

[wayfarer]

Welcome LotteJohanna, yes you will have loads of company on the Camino Frances and mid September is a beautiful month to walk, it shouldn't be too hot and the crowds if any should have eased.
Wishing you happy planning and Buen Camino.

 

[tyrrek]

Great starting point, Johanna. Perhaps aim to get to Logrono, which is well connected for the end of this walk and the start of the next. Enjoy!

 

[MilenaS]

I fly out to Paris on Friday and start walking from SJPdP on Sunday. I also plan on walking for 10 days and take a bus from Logrono to Madrid and fly home.

 

[LotteJohanna]

I prefer not to walk alongside the road though.. is the route from St Jean to logroño a nature walk or at least a few parts of the route?

 

[mspath]

I prefer not to walk alongside the road though.. is the route from St Jean to logroño a nature walk or at least a few parts of the route?

LotteJohanna,

Most of the CF from SJPdP to Logrono is through woodland or across pastures and vineyards. Very little is next to roads. However when crossing villages and towns the camino path often is on sidewalk.

Enjoy your route and Buen camino!

 

[julia-t]

I've walked for 10 days from SJPdP - in two separate trips of 5 days each.

I stopped in Navarrete at the end of my last walk as not only is it a beautiful small town with some of the best tapas to be found at Bar Deportivo, but it is really easy to get a bus back to Logrono from there.

And that's where I'll be continuing on from when I walk again, hopefully in October for 10-12 days.

Oh, and I walk alone for the most part. If I meet others along the way, then that's great, but I find I like to walk in peace and silence, within myself and with my thoughts. I am able to marvel at the landscapes, the birds and flowers, the shapes of the trees and patterns on the bark, the wind and the sky. When I walk with others I miss so much of this through talking and listening! But then I meet some wonderful people at the end of each day in the albergues and/or at dinner.

Buen Camino!

 

[VNwalking]

LotteJohanna, the best starting point is where you start. They're all good.
Just pick a place more or less at random--St Jean, Roncesvalles, Pamplona--and begin. It's the going that's important, not where you start.
And on a purely practical level--yes, SJPP is a grand place to begin; the 3 days into Pamplona are especially lovely. Walk as far as you walk this year, and then pick the journey up later whenever you can.