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Geneva to Santiago questions

Davey Boyd

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Again, soon as possible!
Hi everybody! Firstly thank you all for a great forum, it has been a goldmine of ideas and advice. I hope to bump into some of you lovely people soon!

Ok, I would like a little advice. My plan is to walk to Santiago (and Finisterre/Muxia) from Geneva via Le Puy and the CF. I will only be planning my arrival and stay in Geneva, the rest I will take as it comes day to day. I hope not to book ahead for accommodation so that I can walk as I feel each day (apart from maybe in Le Puy, SJPdP, and Orisson). and I’m happy to sleep outside if it comes to it.

I’m lucky that time is no constraint, but money is, so it’s cheap accommodation all the way. Due to money constraints I’ve budgeted for this:

France 40 Euros per day
Spain 30 Euros per day
(Got Geneva covered)
Plus a £200 get out quick/new boots fund

Timings I’ve over compensated a little I think to make sure:

Geneva to Le Puy 20 days
Le Puy to SJPdP 42 days
SJPdP to Santiago 43 days
Santiago – Muxia – Finisterre 14 days including chilling out.

Any leftover time budget wise I could either walk home via the Santander Ferry or stay in Spain doing some volunteering or WOOFing.

Ok, so firstly what do you think of my timings and costs? Doable?

But the main question is when to begin. I’ve ordered the Yellow Guide and the TOPO guide GR65 Chemins de St-Jacques: Geneva - Le Puy-en-Velay but they haven’t arrived yet, and I gather that these aren’t up to date. So I have no idea when the Gites etc start to open.

As far as I can gather, the earlier I start means I miss much of the French May holidays (I mean they would occur on the quieter GR65 before I get to Le Puy). Is it possible do you think to start in March? Or do most accommodations open in April/May?

Besides, I’m itching to get my travel to Geneva booked and get on my way!

Anything I have missed? Any other advice welcome

Davey
 
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Both your budget and time schedule looks fine to me. Gites typically start to open around Easter and Easter Sunday is this year 5th April. The one thing that is important to know about the Geneva-le Puy route is that you really need to read your guide well when it comes to shopping possibilities! I typically carried emergency food for two days with me as shops, especially at the beginning, are not very frequent and the opening hours sometimes didn't coincide with my walking schedule.
Buen Camino! SY
 
Greetings Davey!

Geneva - LePuy and Le Puy - SJPP are two rather different parts of the Chemin de St. Jacques.

Until LePuy you are unlikely to meet more than a handful of other pilgrims. You won't have to worry about places being fully booked if you stay at places the Yellow Guide book recommends. It will often direct you to farms and other private homes where they only take pilgrims as guests. I was charged 25 and sometimes 30 euros for dinner, night and breakfast. What they charge these days, I don't know. It is recommended to make the reservations no later than the evening before your stay.
If you start in March, you might well have to walk on snow in Haute-Savoie (just after Geneva). The footpaths on the hills don't get cleared, so in snow it'll either be a hard slog or you'll have to follow roads which in France can be positively dangerous. Starting in April sounds like a better idea to me.

This will mean that you'll cross the "Massiv Central" later too. There, you could also get into snowy conditions if you are too early. On the stretch from LePuy to Espalion you spend about two thirds of the time at an altitude of more than 1000 metres; the highest point is 1359 metres. If you want to know more, you should contact local French pilgrim offices. - From LePuy onward you will meet a lot more pilgrims. I mostly stayed at gîtes until the Spanish border; they all provided half-board. But do stop and stay with the monks in Conques! - Between LePuy and Figeac there are not a lot of ATMs, so don't wait until the last moment to get cash. Set your bank card so it withdraws money with a 4-digit code.

If you spend your nights indoor in France (I would at that time of year) expect to spend up to €50 in a day. €30 in Spain is fine; you might well manage with a bit less.
Your walking schedule is rather generous. Most people walk Geneva - Santiago in 75 to 80 days. Taking it easy is a good idea, but you might not keep up with a "Camino family". Walking all the way to Santander as well might be too far within your time frame (it's a bit more than 600km from Santiago via the Camino del Norte).

Buen Camino!
 
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Just to emphasize what Walter said. You do need to book Yellow guide accommodations a day in advance. These are beds and meals in private homes where you usually eat with the family. If they are going to have extra guests at the table, they need to have time to shop.
 
Thanks all for the good advice.

SY, thank you for the heads up on the food situation, I will make sure to carry food with me.

Walter, Yep, when I mentioned not booking accommodations I did however realise that the Acueille Jacquaire’s need to be booked at least a day in advance. Thanks backpack45 for pointing this out too! Also, thanks for the tip about staying with the Monks in Conques, I had read this before but forgot!

And yes my ATM card is sorted, and I’ve notified my bank. I spent six months in Spain/Portugal WOOFing a few years ago and my card worked fine.

I understand that my schedule is generous; I planned it that way as to make sure I had enough cash for that time frame. I do like to dawdle sometimes, but by the time I reach Le Puy I probably could do with some walking company! As for walking back to Santander, well, I may not be up for it by then! Though walking back via the del Norte sounds good. Maybe as I’m not that bothered about completing the walk home I could walk that way until the money runs out then get transport to the ferry. Besides, walking back to Brighton from Portsmouth would be expensive – unless I could pick up a tent when back in UK. But anyway the walk back is only an option.

So, Its looking like the second week in April to start then.

Excited and mildly terrified

Davey
 
Brilliant plan and time allocation generous. I have walked that entire route excluding Finesterre. My budget was 37 euros on Geneva route, 42 on le puy route and 35 on Frances. This included demi pension a lot of the time and one could easily do it for less with self catering. I slept in pilgrims lodgings most of the time. It is so straight forward as a route. Perfect. Make sure you get the yellow guide from the amis de St Jacques which has private pilgrim accommodations. I have had warm welcomes in many of these places. Gitti
 
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Your timetable will allow you to take rest days in some of these very interesting and fascinating towns. Le Puy, Conques, Moissac and SJPP for sure deserve their own days for exploration, restocking supplies, and investigating lodging for the next section. Recommended rest days on the CF are listed under the CF thread.
 
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What's WOOFing??
S ;-)
 
Workers on Organic Farms. You work 4 hours per day in return for accommodation and food. There is a website. It's an international thing.
 
Gitti and Suzanne thank you for the link to the blogs! I look foreword to reading them tonight. Looks like Pierre walked about the same time as I am planning to. And Gitti, interesting hearing of your budget for this route, seems I’m not too far off in my estimation. Though I am contemplating bringing a lightweight tent to cut down on costs a bit more. Weight of tent versus free accommodation occasionally Mmmm. And yes I have ordered the Yellow Guide.

Kitsambler, I do indeed intend to have days off in those towns, Le Puy and SJPP to rest and post home cold weather gear (hopefully) and Conques and Moissac look wonderful!

Suzanne, as Gitti sais, Woofing (WWOOF) means Willing Workers on Organic Farms. I spent a little over 6 months Woofing in Spain and Portugal a few years ago. Conditions vary but you may have to work 4-6 hours, but one place was two hours. Accommodation and food is provided so it is really cheap way of exploring a country. You also learn Organic farming. It is worldwide too. Most I stayed on were commune like, non-hierarchical based. And I took my dog, he loved it!

So I could stay in Spain a while and Woof if I feel like it!

See http://wwoofinternational.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOOF

Davey
 
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Hi Davey,
I would not be taking the tent , too cold early , too sparse in France and not required in Spain.
 
Hi Thornley, not decided on the tent yet, but I'm used to winter camping even without a tent (using a basha and good sleeping bag, I'm an ex infantryman). What do you mean too sparse in France? I would be using it free camping on the trails. Had no problem free camping in either Spain or France a few years back. Though I recall Spain having some rule about not camping withing a few km of a campsite, though nobody ever bothered us. I would probably not use it on the Frances though, so thought of sending it home or to Santiago with my cold weather gear probably from SJPP. Would be using a 1.2 kilo tent, but still not sure. Even if I used it once or twice a week it would save much needed cash and earn its cost within 4 nights or so. Though its still an added 1.2 kilo! Still not sure....

Thanks for the advice

Davey
 
Wow, you are so lucky to have all that time... you plan from SJPDP to Santiago in 43 days is like very generouns, so no problem there at all!! That' under 19km per day if you walk every day, which is a breeze. But it permits you to stop and enjoy some palces, as I would of liked too. But I bet you will probably go "faster" that the 43 day on this segment... ;o) I did it in 26 days (I know, that's quick, but had a time constraint. But did not feel rush though. Some friends I met and walked with came from Geneva and were taking their time, enjoying,... and they did the SJPDS to santiago in 36 days... But hey, better plan longer if you can afford it. That's the way to go. Enjoy!!!
 
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Is there an English guide book youpreferred or would recommend
 
dandagenais
Thank you I hope I do enjoy it! Time I have plenty of, its cash I’m short of! Luckily friends and family have all chipped in to make this happen for me. Yeah I’m being over cautious with my timings, because I do like to amble about sometimes, (though my usual speed averages 5km hour) and I would really not want to feel pressured by time, stop where I want etc. Also I’ve got an old knee injury, so its better to err on the safe side!

This way I know I have budgeted enough cash to complete the Way, hopefully with some left at the end to chill out (recover!) in Spain for a while.

Tom from Texas
for the Geneva – Le Puy route I’m using:

- the Yellow Guide by the Association des Amis de St-Jacques which is in French and German

- the TOPO Guide GR65 Chemins de St-Jacques: Geneva - Le Puy-en-Velay which is in French

- and I also have Alison Raju’s pamphlet Via Gebennensis: Geneva to Le Puy-en-Velay from the Confraternity of St James, In English (A brief introduction to the route, without route-finding or accommodation information, intended to accompany the existing French-language guides). Wont be carrying it with me though.

As far as I know there are no guides as such in English, but both the guides in French above are easy to decipher even for a non French speaker like me. The only bits I need are the Maps and accommodation lists.

And of course for Le Puy to SJPdP I’m using the excellent Miam Miam Dodo guide. Also in French but very easy to understand.

For the CF I will pick up the John Brierley guide, mainly for the accommodation lists and so I can do the opposite of what it recommends!

I can get you the links for the above if you want. Hope this helps

Davey
 
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