Hello from California

[Rita]

Greetings,
My name is Rita. I have recently become aware of and interested in doing the pilgrimage starting from Vezelay. I became aware of the pilgrimage by reading a book by Virginia Sease,"The Paths of the Christian Mysteries". It is about the ancient mystery schools and esoteric Christianity. I imagine I will do the walk alone, and I wonder about the route though Northern Spain. I would like to hear from someone who has walked that way. This is a wonderful site--I appreciate the time and effort everyone puts into it--Thank You!
Rita

 

[Sinenomene]

hi rita,

I have not finished the camino yet but i have been doing quite a lot of research. Although i have not walked the way, i have walked for long distances over many many days. I will be leaving on august 1st and start in Geneva. I offer preparation advice: Fear is inevitable and the first step out of your doorway takes the most courage. Enjoy curiosity and listen to yourself. When on your journey pay attention to your feet, take off your boots, wade in a river, be aware of hotspots. Its part physical challenge and mostly mental. Take your time and enjoy. There is no cookie for being the fastest walker and it isnt a race, dont fall into the fast trap, its easy to do so but experience will make you immune. Go Slow Go Far.

buen camino!
chris

 

[leslie]

hey rita
i'm a jin shin jyutsu practitioner from richmond
i've done the camino frances twice and plan to it again in september
i want to do vezelay too
here's my number if you want to talk: 510 215-2155

 

[Sinenomene]

hi rita and lelsie,

what makes you want to make a pilgrimage from Vezeley over the other starting points? Curious because ive been thinking of starting in Le Puy, Arles, and Geneva. Though im pretty set on geneva. The french guidebooks are absoutely the best guidebooks out there. Far superior to the csj books. Although they are in french and german it is not to difficult to understand and if you dont understand you can translate the entire book on your own through wordreference.com etc. Hm, so many routes to take!

bon chemin,
chris

 

[leslie]

the le puy route is said to be both the most beautiful and the most difficult

supposedly the ascent out of le puy is so steep that a lot of people turn around, go back into town, and hire a cab

vezelay is an easy place to start cuz it's convenient to paris

don't worry about guidebooks, you won't need a guidebook on the camino

some things i've heard about walking in france as compared to spain:
1) in france, you're not a pilgrim, you're just another randonneur
2) you can make reservations at the gites
3) gites cost two or three times more than albergues
4) the food is much much much better

 

[Rita]

starting in Vezelay

Hi Leslie and Chris,
The reason I would like to start in Vezelay, is because one of the original ideas behind doing the pilgrimage way back when---is that Mary Magdelene is buried in Vezelay, and St. James in Santiago. There is an esoteric spiritual connection between the two if them having to do with the stages if spiritual initiation that occured along the path, culminating with an experience of the threshold between the physical and spiritual worlds at Finesterre.
That is one reason....there are others----I love French culture,language,food, countryside---ummmmmmmm a certain,je ne sais quoi !!!
Leslie--thank you for your phone #.
Chris--are you traveling now????
Ciao!
Rita

 

[Barbara]

the le puy route is said to be both the most beautiful and the most difficult

supposedly the ascent out of le puy is so steep that a lot of people turn around, go back into town, and hire a cab

vezelay is an easy place to start cuz it's convenient to paris

don't worry about guidebooks, you won't need a guidebook on the camino

some things i've heard about walking in france as compared to spain:
1) in france, you're not a pilgrim, you're just another randonneur
2) you can make reservations at the gites
3) gites cost two or three times more than albergues
4) the food is much much much better

In france you can be a pilgrim, too. There are some refuges. Yes, you can reserve at gites, yes, they cost more and are more comfortable (usually) You _WILL_ need a guidebook and/or maps in france unless you enjoy sleeping out or take a tent. Accomodation is much more sparse geographically.....I walked from Le Puy, then Camino del Norte/Camino Primitivo. Both fairly hard physically but it isn't a race. Food is good in spain if you don't automatically ask for the pilgrim menu.
Row your own boat, go the way you want.