From Missouri to St. Jean Pied de Port in September 2014

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Greetings one and all! Rafiki (Richard) and Travlr (Marla) here. We've been reading and learning from this forum for some time now and have finally decided to join in. We plan to begin our camino in St. Jean Pied de Port on September 18, 2014 and, if all goes reasonably well, hope to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on or around October 24th.

This all began innocently enough, as we're sure it did for a number of you, after watching the movie The Way*. Prior to that time we had not even heard of the Camino de Santiago. We walked out of the theater that evening both thinking that walking the camino would be something we'd like to do someday. The vague notion of "doing it someday" started to grow into more of a desire to do it sooner rather than later. Before long, we got to the point where we felt we simply had to go. And, now, here we are. Airline tickets have been purchased, gear is being accumulated, training walks are under way and we're going through the apparently normal vacillation between excitement and apprehension.

So here's to the journey. Not only ours, but all of yours. Buen camino!

(* Now, officially, the most "expensive" movie we've ever watched. )

 

[jumpingin2014]

That's exactly what happened to my wife and I. We went in May 2013 and enjoyed it. Now I am going back in the fall of 2016 possibly to do the Norte route. Best of luck to you both and have a great time. Start training if you can and enjoy!

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

That's exactly what happened to my wife and I. We went in May 2013 and enjoyed it. Now I am going back in the fall of 2016 possibly to do the Norte route. Best of luck to you both and have a great time. Start training if you can and enjoy!

Hello, jumpingin. Thanks for responding. As a couple who walked the camino together, are there any words of advice or bits of wisdom you care to pass along? So far, things have gone fairly well for us during our training walks, but we haven't really pushed it too hard. The longest single day we've done to date is 17 miles. However, we haven't gone that distance on back-to-back days as yet. While we both do a good job of supporting and encouraging one another on these walks, we're not quite sure what to expect when we put 30+ days of them together. I hope we're able to pass all the tests. ;-)

 

[Bill_R]

Where in Missouri? My sons and I are in St. Louis training for. July Camino


Buen Camino
Bill

 

[Stacey Wittig]

Greetings one and all! Rafiki (Richard) and Travlr (Marla) here. We've been reading and learning from this forum for some time now and have finally decided to join in. We plan to begin our camino in St. Jean Pied de Port on September 18, 2014 and, if all goes reasonably well, hope to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on or around October 24th.

This all began innocently enough, as we're sure it did for a number of you, after watching the movie The Way*. Prior to that time we had not even heard of the Camino de Santiago. We walked out of the theater that evening both thinking that walking the camino would be something we'd like to do someday. The vague notion of "doing it someday" started to grow into more of a desire to do it sooner rather than later. Before long, we got to the point where we felt we simply had to go. And, now, here we are. Airline tickets have been purchased, gear is being accumulated, training walks are under way and we're going through the apparently normal vacillation between excitement and apprehension.

So here's to the journey. Not only ours, but all of yours. Buen camino!

(* Now, officially, the most "expensive" movie we've ever watched. )

Buen Courage! What backpacks did you decide to take? I have been shopping. I'd like to get something smaller than the pack I carried in 2005.

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Where in Missouri? My sons and I are in St. Louis training for. July Camino


Buen Camino
Bill

We're in Springfield.

The father and sons trip sounds really great. How old are your sons?

How's the training going? Any tips or suggestions?

We've been walking off and on for the past year or so, but not as consistently, I'm afraid, as we ought to be. We are fortunate enough to have the trail-head to one of our greenways trails only a half-mile from our house. We sometimes do a comfortable six mile back-and-forth with a nice break at a coffeehouse at the mid-point and we've gone all the way to the end of the trail and back to make a 17 mile trip out of it. However, it's not too challenging (no hills to speak of) and it gets rather dull after awhile, so we've mixed that up with nearby trips to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Busiek State Park and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We're planning to walk from here to Bolivar along the Frisco Highline Trail soon. That's 30+ miles. We figure it'll be a decent test, both physically and mentally, to see how we do on a couple of longer (for us) days back-to-back.

Your trip is coming up soon and I'm sure the time seems to be accelerating. Here's hoping things go well for all of you. We're anxious to hear all about it.

Buen camino!

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Buen Courage! What backpacks did you decide to take? I have been shopping. I'd like to get something smaller than the pack I carried in 2005.

Hi, Stacey! I have an Osprey Atmos 50 and, probably of more interest to you, my wife has an Osprey Viva 50. From what I've read on this subject in these forums, this size pack may be a bit more than needed for walking The Camino. However, we figure one day we may do a walk that requires a bit more stuff be carried and, not being made of money, we wanted to get something that might accomodate that need. Right, wrong or in-between, that's what we did.

Happy hunting!

 

[Bill_R]

Good Morning!

My sons are 23, 21 and 20

As far as training, I am the one that is challenged, LOL. I'm 53 with arthritic knee, and diabetes (on insulin Pump). I have a park near my home that is 4 mi and I am training up to four trips round. The biggest challenge is carb load before exercise and during training so I don't get hypoglycemic.
On days they are available we will try some other parks in the area just to break the boredom.

Tips, Get yourself to desired distance and then do it with packs in the heat (good way to decide you really don't want to hump an Ipad across Spain)
Also, if you have a smart phone, the app Mapmyhike is fun way to track you progress

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Good Morning!

My sons are 23, 21 and 20

As far as training, I am the one that is challenged, LOL. I'm 53 with arthritic knee, and diabetes (on insulin Pump). I have a park near my home that is 4 mi and I am training up to four trips round. The biggest challenge is carb load before exercise and during training so I don't get hypoglycemic.
On days they are available we will try some other parks in the area just to break the boredom.

Tips, Get yourself to desired distance and then do it with packs in the heat (good way to decide you really don't want to hump an Ipad across Spain)
Also, if you have a smart phone, the app Mapmyhike is fun way to track you progress

It's wonderful that you and your sons are all going together. I'd be curious to know, if it isn't too personal, what drove you, and them, to this decision.

Good tip on walking in the heat with packs on. It's already getting quite warm, so our planned trek to Bolivar should be a good test. Call it "meseta practice".

 

[Bill_R]

My oldest son studied abroad in Netherlands and Belgium two years ago. That is where he first heard about The Camino. He showed me the movie, The Way, and I thought, what a wonderful way to bond with my sons as they are becoming adults themselves and will be starting families of their own in the not to distant future. It's a win win for all as it's an opportunity for me to drop some weight and get healthier, and spend some quality time with family. My only regret is that my wife won't be joining us as her 91 yr old mother lives with us and requires care.


Buen Camino
Bill

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

My oldest son studied abroad in Netherlands and Belgium two years ago. That is where he first heard about The Camino. He showed me the movie, The Way, and I thought, what a wonderful way to bond with my sons as they are becoming adults themselves and will be starting families of their own in the not to distant future. It's a win win for all as it's an opportunity for me to drop some weight and get healthier, and spend some quality time with family. My only regret is that my wife won't be joining us as her 91 yr old mother lives with us and requires care.


Buen Camino
Bill

Bill, Which route are you planning to walk and where will you be starting from? How long do you plan to be on the Camino?

 

[Bill_R]

We are planning the French route through Pamplona and taking an extra day to either (use good sense) and watch the running of the bulls, or (go for it all) and actually run.


Buen Camino
Bill

 

[Bill_R]

Oh and we fly to Paris then take train to St Jean to begin the walk.
We have 45 days allotted so when the boys get home they only have about a week before school resumes


Buen Camino
Bill

 

[Jabaldo]

Greetings one and all! Rafiki (Richard) and Travlr (Marla) here. We've been reading and learning from this forum for some time now and have finally decided to join in. We plan to begin our camino in St. Jean Pied de Port on September 18, 2014 and, if all goes reasonably well, hope to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on or around October 24th.

This all began innocently enough, as we're sure it did for a number of you, after watching the movie The Way*. Prior to that time we had not even heard of the Camino de Santiago. We walked out of the theater that evening both thinking that walking the camino would be something we'd like to do someday. The vague notion of "doing it someday" started to grow into more of a desire to do it sooner rather than later. Before long, we got to the point where we felt we simply had to go. And, now, here we are. Airline tickets have been purchased, gear is being accumulated, training walks are under way and we're going through the apparently normal vacillation between excitement and apprehension.

So here's to the journey. Not only ours, but all of yours. Buen camino!

(* Now, officially, the most "expensive" movie we've ever watched. )

My wife and I are also departing from SJPP on the 16th. We will be a few days ahead of you but I am sure not for long. We have all the time we need and plan on enjoying the Camino. See you along the way we will be the couple who look and act freakish or strange.
Buen Camino

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

We are planning the French route through Pamplona and taking an extra day to either (use good sense) and watch the running of the bulls, or (go for it all) and actually run.


Buen Camino
Bill

From The Way...
Joost: "I would like to propose a toast, 'cause we Dutch love to propose toasts, that we agree to meet here in July and run with the bulls, like real men!"
Tom: "Like real crazy men."

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Oh and we fly to Paris then take train to St Jean to begin the walk.
We have 45 days allotted so when the boys get home they only have about a week before school resumes


Buen Camino
Bill

Wow! Well, nothing like jumping right back in upon their return. Ah, but (ob la di, ob la da) life goes on, right? I'll be doing much the same myself. While my wife will officially be retiring from her job just prior to our trip, I will be returning to mine upon our return. My employer has VERY generously allowed me seven weeks off, but that still means we are under a bit of a time constraint. It'll be do-able I believe, and we've built in a little extra time for the occasional day off.

As far as getting there; We'll be flying from Springfield to Bayonne by way of Chicago, Trenton and Paris. Ideally our packs will arrive at the same place and at the same time we do (fingers tightly crossed). The next day we'll take the train to SJPdP and then we begin walking the day after that.

 

[Bill_R]

All of this talk has given me itchy feet I think I'll try to get a walk in early before the Mothers Day festivities begin
Cheers


Buen Camino
Bill

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

My wife and I are also departing from SJPP on the 16th. We will be a few days ahead of you but I am sure not for long. We have all the time we need and plan on enjoying the Camino. See you along the way we will be the couple who look and act freakish or strange.
Buen Camino

Rats! We were hoping to be the couple who looked or acted freakish or strange. ;-) Well, I would imagine there's plenty of room for all of us.

Perhaps our paths will cross. If so, we look forward to meeting you.

Buen camino!

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

All of this talk has given me itchy feet I think I'll try to get a walk in early before the Mothers Day festivities begin
Cheers


Buen Camino
Bill

Wish your wife a "Happy Mother's Day" for us. We're off to Joplin shortly to do Mother's Day with my wife parents (both in their 90's). They love to get out and go to the casinos just across the line in Oklahoma. Then, back home for Mother's Day with my parents.

Enjoy the walk!

 

[jumpingin2014]

Hello, jumpingin. Thanks for responding. As a couple who walked the camino together, are there any words of advice or bits of wisdom you care to pass along? So far, things have gone fairly well for us during our training walks, but we haven't really pushed it too hard. The longest single day we've done to date is 17 miles. However, we haven't gone that distance on back-to-back days as yet. While we both do a good job of supporting and encouraging one another on these walks, we're not quite sure what to expect when we put 30+ days of them together. I hope we're able to pass all the tests. ;-)

Yes .....glad you asked stranger. We left SJDPP with the agreement that if the journey became too hard for one they would take a bus/cab/train to the next destination and rest while the healthy one kept walking. The first part of the Camino my wife had blisters and knee problems and the end I was dealing with a sprained ankle. We settled for 20 km days we walked together and basically walked 700 of the 800 kms - her missing days at the beginning and me at the end. My advice is have a plan for dealing for one being injured and the other eager to keep moving. We also agreed to hotel/motel/private room every 3rd night. This made the journey much more comfortable but still not outrageously expensive. I would not trade the experience we had for anything as we will remember it for the rest of our lives.

 

[Rafiki & Travlr]

Yes .....glad you asked stranger. We left SJDPP with the agreement that if the journey became too hard for one they would take a bus/cab/train to the next destination and rest while the healthy one kept walking. The first part of the Camino my wife had blisters and knee problems and the end I was dealing with a sprained ankle. We settled for 20 km days we walked together and basically walked 700 of the 800 kms - her missing days at the beginning and me at the end. My advice is have a plan for dealing for one being injured and the other eager to keep moving. We also agreed to hotel/motel/private room every 3rd night. This made the journey much more comfortable but still not outrageously expensive. I would not trade the experience we had for anything as we will remember it for the rest of our lives.

Thanks for the excellent advice. We've planned for about three down days or zero days along the camino, but they were primarily with the idea of spending a little time exploring some of the historic sites, etcetera, around the bigger cities. However, we all know what can, and most likely will, happen to the best laid plans. Having a good talk and a good plan to deal with any number of contingencies prior to heading off is something we need to do.
Thanks again! We appreciate the feedback.

 

[MaxfromMO]

Greetings one and all! Rafiki (Richard) and Travlr (Marla) here. We've been reading and learning from this forum for some time now and have finally decided to join in. We plan to begin our camino in St. Jean Pied de Port on September 18, 2014 and, if all goes reasonably well, hope to arrive in Santiago de Compostela on or around October 24th.

This all began innocently enough, as we're sure it did for a number of you, after watching the movie The Way*. Prior to that time we had not even heard of the Camino de Santiago. We walked out of the theater that evening both thinking that walking the camino would be something we'd like to do someday. The vague notion of "doing it someday" started to grow into more of a desire to do it sooner rather than later. Before long, we got to the point where we felt we simply had to go. And, now, here we are. Airline tickets have been purchased, gear is being accumulated, training walks are under way and we're going through the apparently normal vacillation between excitement and apprehension.

So here's to the journey. Not only ours, but all of yours. Buen camino!

(* Now, officially, the most "expensive" movie we've ever watched. )

Hey guys, it's Karen from Ava. I just got around to looking up your posts, and saw the above quote about the movie. Boy is that the truth. It is, without a doubt the most expensive movie WE'VE ever watched as well. Bwahahaha!! But money well spent, as I'm sure you will agree. Here's to meeting up soon.