For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Hello Pilgrims, I will be traveling from U.S. (Colorado) and flying into Paris, Oct 5, there until Oct 24. I will be walking the Camino Primitivo and have a ton of questions. Appreciate any and all insight!
1) Suggestions for easy travel form Paris to Oveido?
2) Recommendations for max weight to carry?
3) it's 311 km from Oveido to Santiago.. Is it reasonable to do this in 17 days?
4) Money - how much money do you recommend per day, and is it best to just carry all cash? (are there ATM's at some places along the way)
5) Reservations required for lodging?
6) Essential items to bring?
Finally... does one just show up and start walking? Anything else I need to know?
Sarah
See you there. From San Antonio on my fourth caminio, I'll be starting from Oviedo on Sept 29th.Hello Pilgrims, I will be traveling from U.S. (Colorado) and flying into Paris, Oct 5, there until Oct 24. I will be walking the Camino Primitivo and have a ton of questions. Appreciate any and all insight!
1) Suggestions for easy travel form Paris to Oveido?
2) Recommendations for max weight to carry?
3) it's 311 km from Oveido to Santiago.. Is it reasonable to do this in 17 days?
4) Money - how much money do you recommend per day, and is it best to just carry all cash? (are there ATM's at some places along the way)
5) Reservations required for lodging?
6) Essential items to bring?
Finally... does one just show up and start walking? Anything else I need to know?
Sarah
I will be starting from Oviedo on Oct 9th on my first camino. I leave LAX (Los Angeles) Oct 7th, and get into Madrid on the afternoon of the 8th, then take a train up to Oviedo arriving very late that night. I'm staying at a hotel right next to the train station that night. The plan is to get up the next morning and head to Grado. Hope to see you on the route.
We did it in 14 days and wish we’d taken 17. I’d recommend stopping in Escamplero on day one so you start easy. No need to rush and do 20+ miles every day when you have so much time.
Yeup. We traveled from Alaska and it took us 2 days to get to Oviedo. We really benefited from sleeping in and getting a slow short day 1. I wouldn’t do more than 20 km days. It’s too beautiful to rush and with 17 days you don’t need long days. Buen Camino!Thanks to both Alaskadiver & Nick........something to seriously consider; slowing down at the beginning. The day before I start, I'll have flown for 11 hours and taken a train for 5 hours. On top of that, I won't get into Oviedo until almost midnight.
The day before I start, I'll have flown for 11 hours and taken a train for 5 hours. On top of that, I won't get into Oviedo until almost midnight.
If you already have the shoes you can mail them to Santiago to have them waiting for you.Thank you to both Alaskadiver & Nick again. I really appreciate your sage advice. I think you have convinced me to be fair to myself in not jumping in right away when I might be on low energy. I do have the time, as I am not flying back from Madrid until Oct 28th. The one thing I wanted to do was to give myself enough time to take in a milonga, (a tango dance event) in Madrid before I leave Spain. My only issue is the tango shoes.......I'm not going to carry a pair around on the camino, so I'll probably buy a pair in Madrid.
If you already have the shoes you can mail them to Santiago to have them waiting for you.
is it that difficult for a first timer. .
Thank you to both Alaskadiver & Nick again. I really appreciate your sage advice. I think you have convinced me to be fair to myself in not jumping in right away when I might be on low energy. I do have the time, as I am not flying back from Madrid until Oct 28th. The one thing I wanted to do was to give myself enough time to take in a milonga, (a tango dance event) in Madrid before I leave Spain. My only issue is the tango shoes.......I'm not going to carry a pair around on the camino, so I'll probably buy a pair in Madrid.
Hi Sarah,Hello Pilgrims, I will be traveling from U.S. (Colorado) and flying into Paris, Oct 5, there until Oct 24. I will be walking the Camino Primitivo and have a ton of questions. Appreciate any and all insight!
1) Suggestions for easy travel form Paris to Oveido?
2) Recommendations for max weight to carry?
3) it's 311 km from Oveido to Santiago.. Is it reasonable to do this in 17 days?
4) Money - how much money do you recommend per day, and is it best to just carry all cash? (are there ATM's at some places along the way)
5) Reservations required for lodging?
6) Essential items to bring?
Finally... does one just show up and start walking? Anything else I need to know?
Sarah
Hi Sarah,Hello Pilgrims, I will be traveling from U.S. (Colorado) and flying into Paris, Oct 5, there until Oct 24. I will be walking the Camino Primitivo and have a ton of questions. Appreciate any and all insight!
1) Suggestions for easy travel form Paris to Oveido?
2) Recommendations for max weight to carry?
3) it's 311 km from Oveido to Santiago.. Is it reasonable to do this in 17 days?
4) Money - how much money do you recommend per day, and is it best to just carry all cash? (are there ATM's at some places along the way)
5) Reservations required for lodging?
6) Essential items to bring?
Finally... does one just show up and start walking? Anything else I need to know?
Sarah
Just show up and start walking.1. Vueling fly direct from Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to Asturias airport, about twenty-five miles from Oviedo. The flight takes a little under two hours; if you departed on October 8, they're currently quoting EUR 55 (about USD 65) one way.
2. The standard rule of thumb is 10% of your body weight, your backpack included. I carry just a smidge more than that, being thin but tall and wiry. I weigh 67 kg (about 148 lb) and carry an 8 kg pack.
3. I did the Primitivo this May in eleven days, without killing myself. Seventeen is ample, and should afford you the opportunity for several rest-days and/or side trips en route.
4. If you're staying in albergues, you'll struggle to spend more than EUR 25 per day for everything, food included. Double that if you want private rented accommodation. There are sufficient ATMs on the way, though taking out EUR 300 as soon as you arrive in Europe and having that in your back pocket is a sensible thing.
5. Not in October. Yo're at no risk of losing the bed race then.
6. Prescription drugs (difficult to get a U.S. prescription filled in Europe, and some kinds of drugs may not be available), and a spare pair of glasses/contact lenses if you use them. I'm a man, so this information comes at second hand, but if you use sports bras, bringing one more than you need mightn't be a bad idea. They're apt to disappear from washing lines in albergues (it's not theft so much as others mistaking yours for theirs in the dark). It happened to my wife in Zariquiegui, on the third day of her only Camino; on that trip we must have heard the same story from half a dozen other peregrinas. Until you hit Lugo, getting a replacement might be difficult.
Don't worry about anything else. Whatever you may need and have forgotten to bring with you can easily be purchased in Spain, probably for much the same price.
Finally: get your credencial stamped at the Cathedral in Oviedo; swallow your last cafe con leche of the morning; and point yourself in the direction of Grado, 26 km away, which would make a logical first-day stopping point. No more formalities required than that.
Hello Pilgrims, I will be traveling from U.S. (Colorado) and flying into Paris, Oct 5, there until Oct 24. I will be walking the Camino Primitivo and have a ton of questions. Appreciate any and all insight!
1) Suggestions for easy travel form Paris to Oveido?
2) Recommendations for max weight to carry?
3) it's 311 km from Oveido to Santiago.. Is it reasonable to do this in 17 days?
4) Money - how much money do you recommend per day, and is it best to just carry all cash? (are there ATM's at some places along the way)
5) Reservations required for lodging?
6) Essential items to bring?
Finally... does one just show up and start walking? Anything else I need to know?
Sarah
Everyone seems to be leaving early October but has anyone out there walked the Primitivo starting late October? I am questioning the potential weather conditions therefore my question although I realize that one never knows, especially in the mountains.
I did the Norte and part of the Frances in October and the weather was fabulous. It didn't rain until I arrived in Santiage Oct 11 and it was a drizzle. I think September and October are the best months for doing the Camino and will do a Camino a again those months. Buen CaminoHello to all you lovely people who have hiked in October in the past. I know the weather is unreliable. But did you have rain most days? Did you need your sleeping bag afterall? Did you find the private albergues much warmer than the municipal albergues? ....Am I just better off going to Malaga for warm day hikes instead ;-)
Many thanks,
S
Thanks Dinah for reply. I've done 2 caminos, 1 in rain & 1 in sunshine. Coming from rainy Ireland I couldn't face into another rainy one...I'm waiting until next June (at least if it's raining I know I'll get some sunshine in the coming months). Very lucky to have this flexibility. I'll head to warmer climates in Oct instead to stretch out the summer. Thanks againI did the Norte and part of the Frances in October and the weather was fabulous. It didn't rain until I arrived in Santiage Oct 11 and it was a drizzle. I think September and October are the best months for doing the Camino and will do a Camino a again those months. Buen Camino
If you care coming from a rainy place, then planning for warmer weather makes sense. I love Sept and Oct but had major back surgery 3 weeks ago and had to cancel my fall Camino. I hesitate to go in the summer as the Caminos get crowded so I am aiming for April and May next year with Primitivo, San Salvador or more of Norte on my list. Enjoy your Camino whatever you choose.Thanks Dinah for reply. I've done 2 caminos, 1 in rain & 1 in sunshine. Coming from rainy Ireland I couldn't face into another rainy one...I'm waiting until next June (at least if it's raining I know I'll get some sunshine in the coming months). Very lucky to have this flexibility. I'll head to warmer climates in Oct instead to stretch out the summer. Thanks again
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?