First time solo travel

[california smith]

Hello CDS forum! My name is Eric and i'm 24 years old. I will be walking from SJPDP to Burgos in May this year and I'm excited because I booked with Orisson yesterday for the first sunday of May. I will be arriving in Toulouse, FR from San Francisco on May 3rd and sticking around there until May 5th. Should I reserve at SJP and Roncesvalles as well? Any tips and pointers on essentials and non essentials like the necessity of a sleeping bag? What kind of weather should I expect for the majority of May? So many questions.. All advice welcome

 

[Sailor]

Eric, welcome aboard, your first post! My recommendation is to make reservations for SJPP and Roncesvalles. Continue watching this thread for recommendations from our awesome forum members. Good luck with your planning and execution. Sigamos! La luz de Dios alumbra nuestro camino.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You need some sort of sleeping bag. A light bag liner is enough. Buen Camino.

 

[Kitsambler]

There are major holiday weekends in France on May 1 And May 8; you will get caught in the four-day weekend ending May 8. Be sure to reserve in advance in France over major holidays.

 

[california smith]

Thanks guys. Any recommendations on where to reserve in SJPDP?

 

[Sailor]

Here is a good one, Team Sailor [my wife and me] stayed there two nights in September, good place, in front of the pilgrim office, and Joseph the owner is an outstanding man.

http://www.beilari.info/en

Ánimo! La luz de Dios alumbra nuestro camino.

 

[Sailor]

Here is the information for Roncesvalles.

http://www.alberguederoncesvalles.com/

Ánimo! La luz de Dios alumbra nuestro camino.

 

[Maybee]

Also stayed at Beilari, which was excellent.

 

[Lance Chambers]

Here is a good one, Team Sailor [my wife and me] stayed there two nights in September, good place, in front of the pilgrim office, and Joseph the owner is an outstanding man.

http://www.beilari.info/en

Ánimo! La luz de Dios alumbra nuestro camino.

I also suggest Beilari. I stayed there and the staff were fantastic. The dinner is 'compulsory' but it was fantastic and I continued to meet people that were there the night I stayed all the way to Santiago.

Best thing I ever did was to go to Beilari for the first overnight stay on my journey across the top of Spain.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

I will be leaving May 6 or 7 from SJPdP but will be taking the Valcarlos route so I may meet up with you somewhere beyond Roncesvalles. No need for reservations in Roncesvalles. It is huge. And for the most part, peregrinos / peregrinas can but, do not make reservations. Tourists participate in a, "race," on a daily basis. For Pilgrims, "The Camino provides," iand s an experience unto itself. Preplanning makes it more difficult for this to happen.

Many stories can be told of how the Camino provides. Each of us has a wealth of them. Few are bad, many are good but most are wonderful. You are going to Orisson so, in my experience, you will be visiting Heaven and meet some of its Angels.

Careful Eric. you may have been bitten by the Camino Bug. You will find out after a few days of walking.

 

[Dave Adair]

Hello CDS forum! My name is Eric and i'm 24 years old. I will be walking from SJPDP to Burgos in May this year and I'm excited because I booked with Orisson yesterday for the first sunday of May. I will be arriving in Toulouse, FR from San Francisco on May 3rd and sticking around there until May 5th. Should I reserve at SJP and Roncesvalles as well? Any tips and pointers on essentials and non essentials like the necessity of a sleeping bag? What kind of weather should I expect for the majority of May? So many questions.. All advice welcome

Hi Eric yes one night in sjpdp but no need to book Roncesvalles, I walked from SJPDP to Santiago in 2016 took me 34 days with a 14 klg back pack at the age of 66 don't worry enjoy Buem Camino

 

[kdespot]

Another vote for Beilari. After dinner you'll truly feel like, and be, a pilgrim. And the angels will wake you up for a beautiful beginning of an amazing experience. (By the way, his name isn't really Joseph!)

 

[Sailor]

Concur. I know his name, and in his emails he signs his real name followed by "Joseph" . . . Buena suerte y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[VNwalking]

Welcome, Eric!
You're in for a treat. And a joy. And a challenge. And a pain in the you-know-what. And everything in between.
There's a lot of good advice on the Forum and everyone here has already offered excellent answers to your initial question.
I second Michelle's recommendation to just trust and let it unfold. It may not always be comfortable but that's where the camino gold is!
You have already begun...buen camino, peregrino!
(I stayed at the Gite Azkoria (as it was early in the year and the Beilari was not yet open) - and I liked it a lot, thanks to really interesting conversations with the owner. The Albergue Accueill Pelerin, near the Porte St. Jacques, is also a 'classic.')

 

[andywild]

Hi Eric. I start the Camino 2 weeks ahead of you. I am writing a blog about my journey and will be updating daily from the Camino. It might be a bit helpful with insights into weather, gear used, places to stay etc.

firstcamino.wordpress.com

Feel free to pop in and say hi

 

[Alastair Wilson]

Hello CDS forum! My name is Eric and i'm 24 years old. I will be walking from SJPDP to Burgos in May this year and I'm excited because I booked with Orisson yesterday for the first sunday of May. I will be arriving in Toulouse, FR from San Francisco on May 3rd and sticking around there until May 5th. Should I reserve at SJP and Roncesvalles as well? Any tips and pointers on essentials and non essentials like the necessity of a sleeping bag? What kind of weather should I expect for the majority of May? So many questions.. All advice welcome

Eric
I walked the whole Camino Frances in May/June 2015 and experienced fantastic weather all 32 consecutive walking days. My daily accommodation was all pre-booked in Bed & breakfast establishments. I managed the entire route injury and blister free. My book on my Camino experiences, walking tips the accommodations are all in my book recently published on Amazon called "TWO FEET ON THE CAMINO". Please have a look at my book and enjoy your Camino journey...which I am sure will be special for you. Alastair

 

[california smith]

Hey guys I figure I'll be using this thread as I near my departure on May 2nd since I've received good feedback. Regarding my gear, could an experienced pilgrim tell me if a rain jacket or poncho would be necessary during this month?

 

[Anamya]

Weather can change a lot along such a long journey, so I'd say it is good to have some protection for rainy days. If you have a rain jacket or poncho that can double as a normal jacket (to protect you from the cold), it would be great, as you can avoid extra weight

I'm small and with pityful weight-carrying capacity, so I took a plastic transparent ponchos (the cheapo one that you get for free in soccer games and fun runs). I took good care of it and it lasted the entire trip. My logic was that, if it ripped at some point, I'd stop and buy something new in Spain - at least I did not carry much weight on those days the rain cover was not needed.

But in terms of gear, the best thing is to make a list of what you intend to take (everything, to the detail), weight the total and post here in the forum, so people can give you tips on how to adjust

 

[scruffy1]

"A towel is the most massively useful thing and an interstellar hitchhiker can have." Also applies for Caminantes as well!

 

[JeanB]

Hi Eric. I start the Camino 2 weeks ahead of you. I am writing a blog about my journey and will be updating daily from the Camino. It might be a bit helpful with insights into weather, gear used, places to stay etc.

firstcamino.wordpress.com

Feel free to pop in and say hi

Hi andywild, I would love to keep a blog but am not sure how to do it. I started something on Travel Journal - it is free. I have also written updates on my JustGiving Page (for a charity) but it only allows 500 characters at a time. I didn't want to get into anything too expensive or complicated to set up. What do you suggest? I see you are using Word Press. Was that easy to get set up?

 

[andywild]

I don't think it was too bad.. I had never done one before and just wanted something simple.. probably took an hour or too fiddling around until I'd had enough and decided it was as good as it was going to get

 

[JeanB]

Is it free or not? I have looked at Word Press and there did seem to be costs associated with it? Possibly the domain number.

 

[andywild]

Yeah totally free.. obviously you can pay and get more options but considering I don't really know what I'm doing I decided taking the free option