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Camino for South Africans

Danie Penaar

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
2016
Hi guys n dolls, just completed the Camino. Walked from St Jean. What a great thing to do. I turned 66 on the day we walked into Santiago - a most emotional day for us. The walk was not without its normal pains and problems but we managed to keep going, completing the walk in 38 days. One can spend a long time telling stories about the Camino, but the experience is of such a nature that it is not easy to relate the story to people who have not done something similar. The big question is "what now?" The end of the Camino is the beginning of something new. There is something in my life that has changed. Small things that used to be important now seem so unimportant. Will I do it again? Yes, certainly. Did I and my life-long friend and wife bond? Oh yes, I love her more than ever. She walked every step with grace and courage - what a women! Did we like the auberges? Well, some were great, some were so-so. But I would not do without them. Was the food good? Nope! Spain does not make food with the heart. Yes we had great food, but only if we sought the odd place that provided good food without spending an arm and a leg. We pay R16-50 for one Euro in South Africa and the Camino is not cheap for us. The Spaniards are loud, sometimes noisy, but one got used to that. Many of the towns on the Camino would NEVER survive if it was not for the Perigrenos, so why do they not learn to speak English or have the menu's in English? Were there surprises for us? Yes, we did not expect to see so many hikers on the track. Nearing Santiago it was like walking to a soccer game at times. Were we fully prepared for the Camino before we left? I do not think it is possible to fully prepare for such a walk. We walked 1350km BEFORE we left for the Camino, half of it uphill. Walking up the many hills was probably the only thing we could do with ease. Crossing the mountain to Roncesvalles and walking up to O'Cebreiro was easy. One peace of advice : do NOT follow Breiry's book when it comes to distances! We started off with long distances and simmered them down to 15-25 km per day by not taking rest days. We always arrived at approx 13:00 at the next auberg which gave us a long afternoon to rest and clean up. Did we have foot problems? Only one small blister high up on the one foot. Threw my expensive shoes away and bough new Solomons in Viana. Great walk after that. Well were'e back. My mind is not in order yet. Lets see what happens. The way I feel at the moment is to leave my practice and set of the St Jean ASAP. Those of you who are not certain if you want to go : You'll never never know if you never never go.
 
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Many of the towns on the Camino would NEVER survive if it was not for the Perigrenos

That's your point of view. I don't agree with it. There are tons of small towns (less than 100 inhabitants) in Spain out of the Camino that survive and have been surviving for years.

why do they not learn to speak English or have the menu's in English?

Maybe for the same reason(s) some pilgrims don't learn basic Spanish.

BTW, before 2011 pilgrims from English speaking countries (USA, UK, Ireland...) were (way) less than pilgrims from Germany and other German speaking countries as well as they were less than those from Italy.
 
Hi Danie, when I read the title of this thread I thought it was going to be about the Tankwa Camino http://www.tankwacamino.com/ You could always try that one next! Jill (in Sabie).
 
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Gently pilgrims, gently. We may disagree with each other but on this forum we do not make personal criticisms.
Thank you Tincatinker for deleting the post between mine and yours.
 
Hi guys n dolls, just completed the Camino. Walked from St Jean. What a great thing to do. I turned 66 on the day we walked into Santiago - a most emotional day for us. The walk was not without its normal pains and problems but we managed to keep going, completing the walk in 38 days. One can spend a long time telling stories about the Camino, but the experience is of such a nature that it is not easy to relate the story to people who have not done something similar. The big question is "what now?" The end of the Camino is the beginning of something new. There is something in my life that has changed. Small things that used to be important now seem so unimportant. Will I do it again? Yes, certainly. Did I and my life-long friend and wife bond? Oh yes, I love her more than ever. She walked every step with grace and courage - what a women! Did we like the auberges? Well, some were great, some were so-so. But I would not do without them. Was the food good? Nope! Spain does not make food with the heart. Yes we had great food, but only if we sought the odd place that provided good food without spending an arm and a leg. We pay R16-50 for one Euro in South Africa and the Camino is not cheap for us. The Spaniards are loud, sometimes noisy, but one got used to that. Many of the towns on the Camino would NEVER survive if it was not for the Perigrenos, so why do they not learn to speak English or have the menu's in English? Were there surprises for us? Yes, we did not expect to see so many hikers on the track. Nearing Santiago it was like walking to a soccer game at times. Were we fully prepared for the Camino before we left? I do not think it is possible to fully prepare for such a walk. We walked 1350km BEFORE we left for the Camino, half of it uphill. Walking up the many hills was probably the only thing we could do with ease. Crossing the mountain to Roncesvalles and walking up to O'Cebreiro was easy. One peace of advice : do NOT follow Breiry's book when it comes to distances! We started off with long distances and simmered them down to 15-25 km per day by not taking rest days. We always arrived at approx 13:00 at the next auberg which gave us a long afternoon to rest and clean up. Did we have foot problems? Only one small blister high up on the one foot. Threw my expensive shoes away and bough new Solomons in Viana. Great walk after that. Well were'e back. My mind is not in order yet. Lets see what happens. The way I feel at the moment is to leave my practice and set of the St Jean ASAP. Those of you who are not certain if you want to go : You'll never never know if you never never go.

Agreed, it isn't cheap for us but I find the best thing to do is NOT convert to Rands all the time. Doing this can really spoil your time there. You buy Euros before you leave, and that is what you spend.
I returned just two days ago after having spent almost two months there. During that time I walked the Frances, the Ingles, and then on to Muxia. I took my time spending extra days in towns that I liked. I took €2000 with me to spend and still came home with more than €500 left, so it didn't really break the bank.
 
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