Giddy? Scared? Excited for sure.

[zenofmatthew]

The cheap flight fairy blessed my credit card and now I am headed to Spain. On the Camino 10 Sep-21 Sep. 11 days. Haven't decided which one to do. Original? Primitivo? Still looking.Frances is winning at the moment. Spur of the moment.

 

[zenofmatthew]

A little about myself. I live in Texas, speak French without confidence because the words take forever to get to my lips. I speak Spanish with confidence because of Dunning Kruger. Astorga seems like a good place to start things, but I could go to Ferrol and then go to Finisterra.

 

[jungleboy]

11 days. Haven't decided which one to do. Original? Primitivo? Still looking.Frances is winning at the moment. Spur of the moment.

Astorga seems like a good place to start things, but I could go to Ferrol and then go to Finisterra.

¡Buen camino! FYI, Original and Primitivo is the same route.

If you had just a day or two more, you could comfortably choose either the Primitivo or the Português from Porto (either central or coastal). You could still choose either with 11 days but 1-2 extra days could make a big difference.

If not, I like the Ferrol-Finisterre idea rather than a truncated Francés personally. I don't think doing the Francés from Astorga really gives you the best of the Francés (which, in my view, is in the length of it and the diversity within the different regions, plus the Meseta, Burgos, León etc).

 

[zenofmatthew]

Those extra days would be welcome. You may have brought me around. Fingers crossed it all goes off. Good news is, there's still time.

This opportunity fell in my lap. One of the cool things is I am flying into Madrid but out from Santiago. With a Ferrol start, I could maybe spend a day in Madrid. One of the things I want to do in life is see all the Caravaggio paintings, and Madrid has a few. As an aside, this has been an adventure.

 

[zenofmatthew]

Also, Oviedo was on my mind too, just not sure I could make it in time.

 

[Owensr23]

Astorga to Santiago would be perfect in my estimation. There are several wonderful stages up through the mountains. I walked Leon to Santiago in thirteen days with two days in Astorga. two of my favorite stages are on this route..Cruz de Ferro and O’Cebreiro. Check out the blog below.

https://2016jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

The Portuguese may work also, but you may have bus/train your first day out of Porto. I think this was 12 days with some short walks that could have been combined.

https://2018jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

I hope to be on the Primitivo starting in mid September, so we may cross paths.

Language is not a barrier as most Europeans speak great English. A little Spanish always helps when booking rooms, and French was handy on the Portuguese.

Don’t worry about trying to do a “compete” route. Where you start is a personal choice…there are no rules except for last 100km.

 

[CaptBuddy]

If you start, say the Camino Frances, from the Pyrenees, you can later pick up where you left off. A good reason to return. Many folks break up the Camino. Start on the Spanish side of the border and 11 days will get you a very good start. Maybe to Grañon or Villafranca Montes de Oca. From there you'd need a bus to get back to real transportation, I think.
Or, best to end in Santiago, the joy of walking into that place is magical. The last 100 km of the CF gets a bad rap. But it is beautiful country, friendly people, and an epic journey. Buen Camino

​

 

[Owensr23]

I think this year you can forget any stories about crowds on the Camino, however there could be issues with places not operating at full capacity.

 

[howardd5]

Astorga to Santiago would be perfect in my estimation. There are several wonderful stages up through the mountains. I walked Leon to Santiago in thirteen days with two days in Astorga. two of my favorite stages are on this route..Cruz de Ferro and O’Cebreiro. Check out the blog below.

https://2016jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

The Portuguese may work also, but you may have bus/train your first day out of Porto. I think this was 12 days with some short walks that could have been combined.

https://2018jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

I hope to be on the Primitivo starting in mid September, so we may cross paths.

Language is not a barrier as most Europeans speak great English. A little Spanish always helps when booking rooms, and French was handy on the Portuguese.

Don’t worry about trying to do a “compete” route. Where you start is a personal choice…there are no rules except for last 100km.

I would advise the same Leon to Santiago , good facilities and reasonable mix of trail . I’ve been on about a dozen Caminos and that was my first

 

[zenofmatthew]

Well gang, the Camino provides, as they say. My vacation was rejected for the first time in 12 years. Now it’s looking like arriving in X on 3-October, first full day of walking is the 4th. 10-4 good buddy. (I crack myself up ) Flight out of Santiago on the 16th. Solid 12 days. Thoughts are varied. The extra days help out. My art geek side is happy. Coin flip may decide between Astorga or Oviedo.

Oviedo is now possible. Plus: pretty stuff, heard it’s a jewel to behold. Minus: will there be services? I really want to see the Roman ruins and artifacts. There’s supposed to be a wonderful mosaic museum in Lugo.

Astorga’s plus is that I’m less worried about services, more worried about a level of overcrowding, maybe more precisely crowd under purposing. You know, like the difference between walking down the street in NYC after getting off the train: chaotic but everyone has a different purpose. Getting out of a pro baseball game: everyone has one purpose.

A Porto start would be amazing! I’m concerned here about the crossing of a border. Heck, I was so concerned about crossing a border, I turned down flight connections in other countries. Keeping it simple.

In a perfect world, I’d love to do the Norte out of Bayonne or the Frances from Le Puy. Here we are.

 

[howardd5]

The Primitivo that time of the year is awkward ,cold weather , even snow , plus limited services, and you do go high . The Camino Frances is a good choice for that time of the year , I have walked the whole way from aSJPP that time and not crowded and reasonable weather . Cool in the morning and mostly dry . You can start in Leon and finish in Santiago ,13 days are very good but 12 is ok.

 

[zenofmatthew]

Astorga to Santiago would be perfect in my estimation. There are several wonderful stages up through the mountains. I walked Leon to Santiago in thirteen days with two days in Astorga. two of my favorite stages are on this route..Cruz de Ferro and O’Cebreiro. Check out the blog below.

https://2016jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

The Portuguese may work also, but you may have bus/train your first day out of Porto. I think this was 12 days with some short walks that could have been combined.

https://2018jaxcamino.blogspot.com/

I hope to be on the Primitivo starting in mid September, so we may cross paths.

Language is not a barrier as most Europeans speak great English. A little Spanish always helps when booking rooms, and French was handy on the Portuguese.

Don’t worry about trying to do a “compete” route. Where you start is a personal choice…there are no rules except for last 100km.

Awesome page.

 

[zenofmatthew]

The Primitivo that time of the year is awkward ,cold weather , even snow , plus limited services, and you do go high . The Camino Frances is a good choice for that time of the year , I have walked the whole way from aSJPP that time and not crowded and reasonable weather . Cool in the morning and mostly dry . You can start in Leon and finish in Santiago ,13 days are very good but 12 is ok.

Leon seems to be easier to get to. That’s kind of I’m thinking this may be the way for me.

 

[vjpdx]

You might want to take a look at @wisepilgrim's site for which albergues and services are available where. Also, check out Gronze.com

Buen Camino!

 

[stinmd]

It's probably a bad idea to ask for the "best" route at this forum. You are not going to get a consensus since the Camino is a very personal choice. i suggest you go and discover for yourself. Have a good one!