(French) First timers : Easter 2010

[FrenchGwen]

My husband and I are now preparing for our Camino: our original plans where to walk it for our first anniversary (which was Summer 2009) but we finally couldn't. AND we realized that we'd better avoid the summer season anyway : said husband really can't cope with heat.
So we took the most days we could off from work and are now preparing to head towards Santiago, arrival there is planned on Easter Saturday.
We'll be walking from March 25th on. Starting point is not yet fixed, somewhere around O Cebreiro, I suppose.

I have LOADS of interrogations I hope to find answers here to :
- I expect the weather to be quite bad, so not sure what to pack
- for the same reason + the fact that we are average walkers (though being young might help) : I'm wondering how much km a day we'll manage (I'm planning for around 18/20 in order to be able to play tourists / go to the different Easter Masses at the end of our walking days)
- we're planning to sleep in private albergues / hotels in order to get double rooms: I'm wondering if we can simply go and find ourselves a place every evening (as the end of March is not supposed to be high season for the Camino), OR should book them ahead (since it's 2010 at the same time, so it may be crowded) - of course we're booking ahead for Santiago itself :wink:

I will be thankful for any piece of advice from you !
FrenchGwen

 

[frescotours]

In terms of what to pack, here is a look at the average temperatures / rainfall by month in Sarria and Santiago: http://www.frescotours.com/about_faqs.asp#02
Take note that it can be much cooler up in O'Cebreiro and snow is not uncommon at that time of year. Dress in layers!

Click on the following link for the elevation gain / loss and distance between villages from O'Cebriero to Santiago:http://www.frescotours.com/about_faqs.asp#09 20KM's a day will get you there in 8 days - very doable.

Easter can be extremely busy on the trail for hotels and restaurants - people who work in the hotels on the trail will tell you that it can be as busy as August. If you are sure that is what you are going to do, your best bet would be to make reservations beforehand.

Hope this helps - good luck and enjoy the Camino - an amazing experience!

Saludos,

Alex

 

[FrenchGwen]

Many thanks Fresco !Indeed the elevation link is very helpful !
So you think the trail will be very busy even though Easter is quite early this year ? :? Hmm. That's definitely what I want to do, but I had expected to be able to just "walk and see" where our feet would bring us. :roll:
Well, I guess I'll have even more planning to do

 

[frescotours]

Easter week traditionally has been considered the "start" of the season on the Camino. In one week, people have enough time to start from Sarria (115KM) and reach Santiago to receive the Compostelana Certificate. A little planning now and you'll be fine - enjoy it!

 

[FrenchGwen]

Well, it does make sense. :?
my "miam miam dodo" book (about hostels & restaurants) should have arrived from amazon by this evening ( I can't wait for it to be there !!!), I suppose I'll use this weekend for the whole planning & booking thing

 

[sulu]

Hi!
I'm aiming to arrive at O Cebreiro at the beginning of Holy Week, I hadn't really thought about hordes of Spanish just doing the last bit. I'm getting woried now. Is it worth maybe starting a few days earlier so as to be slightly ahead? :?
Where exactly is the 100km mark please?
Sue

 

[FrenchGwen]

Well, if you can, I suppose il would well be worth it :|
We have no other possibility, so...
The 100 km mark is around Sarria, So maybe the bit between O Cebreiro and Sarria at least will be less busy ?
But no idea what the Spanish really do. I got the impression (when seeking an hotel in Santiago) that they managed to arrive in Santiago for Easter Thursay, whereas, my husband and I will just aim at arriving there on Easter Saturday. So we may be preceded by hordes, without actually walking with them. No idea, though !

 

[annakappa]

Where exactly is the 100km mark please?

The 100 km marker is between Brea and Ferreiros.
Considering that Holy Week is a big thing, many people (including the Spaniards) take advantage of the weekend before (Palm Sunday weekend) plus Easter weekend, thereby getting at least 4 extra days walking, plus their paid holiday days in between. I would therefore expect that Pilgrim numbers start increasing on the Friday before Palm Sunday. I may be wrong? Anne

 

[sulu]

Thanks.
I still fancy going then so I suppose I will have to take the rough with the smooth!
Presumably the up side is there are more people to meet
Sue

 

[FrenchGwen]

Thanks.
I still fancy going then so I suppose I will have to take the rough with the smooth!
Presumably the up side is there are more people to meet
Sue

Well, so will we, so maybe we'll meet :wink:

 

[FrenchGwen]

so, we've got quite far with the planning now
- French train tickets are bought (from Paris to the Spanish border). Still missing: Spanish train tickets (my credit card somehow makes problems)
- Return Plane tickets are bought too
- All nights booked in hostals, private albergues, ... (booking on the phone in Spanish was a great experiment for somebody who's never spoken a word Spanish before :lol: ) except the first because I'm not sure how far we'll get on the first day, depending on how we have slept in the night train / how fast we'll walk / any delay there could be
- I've got an idea of where we'll be able to get the different Holy Week Masses
- the content of our bags is slowly being gathered around as the mail service keeps bringing stuff:
our Altuses came yesterday, as did the special anti-blisters socks my brother, who is in the military, warmly recommended 8)
we bought thermal underwear
we'll be buying my husband's shoes as well as rain pants tomorrow, and will take advantage of our Sunday afternoon to make a first walk with these new shoes.

Getting excited !!

 

[Arn]

FrenchGwen noted:we bought thermal underwear

I was following along with your planning and mentally ticking off the things you were buying and adding up the weight.

May I suggest you review some of the threads that speak to what to consider as far as what to take...or not. Pack weight is critical and, while hiking long distances in the wild might require carrying many things...the CF is a connection of towns and cities where you can purchase many of your expendables.

Most thermal underwear weren't designed for long hikes in relatively mild temperatures: 40 degrees F/4.4 degrees C and above. If you start your day wearing them, they will shortly begin heating up and, since you may just press on instead of taking them off...they become wet from sweat and once wet...they chaff and begin wicking away your body temp when you stop along the way. Then, unless you arrive at an albergue with a washer and dryer...they don't dry fully...and you begin the next day with wet clammy clothes.

Rather, consider a long sleeve, light weight poly-pro 80%/cotton mix 20% shirt, a fleece sleeveless vest and a wind breaker. Each of these can be added to or subtracted from in short order...as your body finds the comfortable temp it seeks. In rain, your Altus will serve you well.

Just a thought,

Buen Camino,

Arn

 

[FrenchGwen]

Thanks Arn for your input. Indeed I'm still wondering about the weight issue (will have a go at packing as soon as our gaiters and other missing items are here), yet I suppose the fact that we won't be taking any sleeping bags and the like (since we'll be sleeping in hostals) leads me to think we can take more other things...
Hm. I might be wrong.
As regards the thermal underwear, as anyone here experience with Thermolactyl ? (from the French brand Damart). They are said to be quite adapted to hiking, and that's what I picked for us.
Another possibility would be we wear them for our next "shoe breaking session" as a test, but well, these sessions do not last the whole day so... :?:

Anyway, our first shoe-breaking session on Saturday went well, grey weather so very few people in the Bois de Vincennes, and a foretaste of nature (well I suppose calling the Bois de Vincennes a "foretaste of nature" really shows how nature-starved we Parisians are)

Please keep the advice going, and thanks !

 

[sulu]

Can I add to the thermal bit. I know weather is unpredictable and one can never be certain but I live in the hills of Orense (Galicia) and it is some time since the weather here was really cold, (at least for a Brit!). Even with the storms this last week temperatures have been around the 10C mark. I walk everyday and find I'm very warm very shortly, I'm sometimes very wet as well and that is the bigger problem, and when the sun shines, which it does, there is a deal of heat in it!
Having said that it will probably snow from now on :roll:
Sue

 

[Deleted member 3000]

A set of silk long underwear is very light, an excellent first layer even as the day warms, and useful for sleeping in cold albergues. Something similar probably is available in France. Synthetic fibers are just as good, but may weigh a bit more. These are "2nds", but I cannot find the flaw in mine.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,130 ... r-Men.html

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,130 ... Women.html

 

[FrenchGwen]

just to say we're starting... TONIGHT !!!
(night train)

 

[Arn]

Hi,

I hope that you check in from time to time to let us know how it's going!

You're about two weeks in and should have some interesting observations by now. Let us in on those.

Buen "Wish I were there" Camino

Arn

 

[FrenchGwen]

Well, here we are... already back, as we only had planned on 180 km (since we were not able to take more days off work :cry: )
It was SUCH a splendid experience (although difficult)
I'll try to tell a bit as soon as I get time ! (surprinsigly, a huge workload was waiting for me today... :roll: :mrgreen: )

 

[nellpilgrim]

Welcome back Gwen,
Congratulations on completing your first segment of Camino... don't get too downhearted remember the rest is there waiting for you to return when you can. Writing up my journal/blog was enjoyable, brought back great memories and seems to fuel ones compulsion to 'do more'.
And of course there's so much 'more' to do! At the moment I feel a little like Balaam's donkey torn between all the alternative routes - each time I read someones blog I'm drawn to the Camino route they took ... which is distressingly fickle I know:?
Nell