hi, i am planning to walk the camino

[sicada123]

I guess there are people out there who started from where I am now? I plan to walk Comino Frances may/june 2016. It would be great to talk/meet someone who has walked the Comino recently, or is perhaps about to walk it again! I am fit and recently retired, residing in south Yorkshire. Thank you in anticipation of anyone out there that might respond. Regards.... Peter

 

[james walter purdum iv]

I guess there are people out there who started from where I am now? I plan to walk Comino Frances may/june 2016. It would be great to talk/meet someone who has walked the Comino recently, or is perhaps about to walk it again! I am fit and recently retired, residing in south Yorkshire. Thank you in anticipation of anyone out there that might respond. Regards.... Peter

i started sept 1st and arrived in santiago oct 7th....peter its just about putting one foot in front of the other...i weigh 295 and after the initial 5 days...cruised that trail like i owned it...

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I guess there are people out there who started from where I am now? I plan to walk Comino Frances may/june 2016. It would be great to talk/meet someone who has walked the Comino recently, or is perhaps about to walk it again! I am fit and recently retired, residing in south Yorkshire. Thank you in anticipation of anyone out there that might respond. Regards.... Peter

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum. In time this will be your family.
You will do just fine, after a few days you get in rhythm of walking day in day out.
Wish you well and a Buen Camino, Peter.

 

[Michael Caleigh]

Hello and Welcome. This year will be my first Camino and I am very excited.
This forum is an amazing place and so much to read and learn. It gets me in the right kind of mood for my plans.

Buen Camino from East Sussex

 

[Devon Mike]

I guess there are people out there who started from where I am now? I plan to walk Comino Frances may/june 2016. It would be great to talk/meet someone who has walked the Comino recently, or is perhaps about to walk it again! I am fit and recently retired, residing in south Yorkshire. Thank you in anticipation of anyone out there that might respond. Regards.... Peter

Hi Peter,

At age 66 I walked the Camino Frances in 2014, and then again last year. I will be back this year in May/June for the third time. I will be starting in SJPP on May 18th and plan to walk to Santiago, Muxia, Finisterre then walk back to Santiago for my journey home on the 29th of June.

Buen Camino,

Mike

 

[sicada123]

Thanks for you response James Walter, You made a real effort getting from Maryland. I will be setting out from United Kingdom landing in Biarritz, then bus to St Jean pied de Port. 35 days later, I hope to be in Santiago De Compostela? (might be wishful thinking?) I think I have all the bases covered, the unknown element relates to accommodation and getting a good nights sleep..........Peter

 

[sicada123]

Hi Peter, welcome to the forum. In time this will be your family.
You will do just fine, after a few days you get in rhythm of walking day in day out.
Wish you well and a Buen Camino, Peter.

Hi Peter.
Thank you for your response, all information at this time helps to build the picture and remove some of the doubts.
Regards

Peter

 

[sicada123]

Hi Peter,

At age 66 I walked the Camino Frances in 2014, and then again last year. I will be back this year in May/June for the third time. I will be starting in SJPP on May 18th and plan to walk to Santiago, Muxia, Finisterre then walk back to Santiago for my journey home on the 29th of June.

Buen Camino,

Mike

Hi Mike

Thanks for your reply.....your schedule looks like you are a serial Comino walker. It must be good to draw you back covering alternative routes. The more I read from respondents, the more intrigued I become to experience what lay ahead.

Regards

Peter

 

[Introibo]

"The hardest part is getting to the start line. After that it's just a question of putting one foot in front of the other"
There's all sorts of accommodation on the Frances route. Some nights you'll sleep well, some nights
you won't. No different from "normal" life.

Buen Camino

 

[sicada123]

"The hardest part is getting to the start line. After that it's just a question of putting one foot in front of the other"
There's all sorts of accommodation on the Frances route. Some nights you'll sleep well, some nights
you won't. No different from "normal" life.

Buen Camino

Hi Introibo
(you must have been an altar boy? Another consistent comment, I guess walking 20 miles per day helps to get you started. Thank you.

peter

 

[sicada123]

Hello and Welcome. This year will be my first Camino and I am very excited.
This forum is an amazing place and so much to read and learn. It gets me in the right kind of mood for my plans.

Buen Camino from East Sussex

Hello and Welcome. This year will be my first Camino and I am very excited.
This forum is an amazing place and so much to read and learn. It gets me in the right kind of mood for my plans.

Buen Camino from East Sussex[/QUOTE

Hi Mike

My first one too. The notion is nearing reality and it is time to get down to hard nosed planning. There is a risk of overthinking the whole deal. At some point you have to walk out the door and the journey starts.

Good luck

Peter

 

[Introibo]

Hi Introibo
(you must have been an altar boy?

peter

Less of the past tense ! I can still walk backwards whilst swinging a thurible Just.

One aspect I haven't seen mentioned for a while is that the Camino is a game of 3 halves.

Firstly the physical, when you're wondering if you can manage to walk each day for 30 plus
days. At some point you suddenly realise you can. Ankle deep in snow on the day we walked
out of Belorado was probably that point for me.

Then the mental. Why oh why am I doing this. An exceptionally long walk into Sahagun on my
own on a red hot day was probably a low point for myself. Bath, beers and bed got myself sorted.

Then the spiritual. It was never totally absent, but sometimes crowded out by the first two emotions.
The day I walked with Peter and Mira from Triacastela to Sarria via Samos is as fresh in my mind
now as it was almost 12 months ago. I cast off the old man and put on the new.

Pax et bonum

 

[sicada123]

Less of the past tense ! I can still walk backwards whilst swinging a thurible Just.

One aspect I haven't seen mentioned for a while is that the Camino is a game of 3 halves.

Firstly the physical, when you're wondering if you can manage to walk each day for 30 plus
days. At some point you suddenly realise you can. Ankle deep in snow on the day we walked
out of Belorado was probably that point for me.

The the mental. Why oh why am I doing this. An exceptionally long walk into Sahagun on my
own on a red hot day was probably a low point for myself. Bath, beers and bed got myself sorted.

Then the spiritual. It was never totally absent, but sometimes crowded out by the first two emotions.
The day I walked with Peter and Mira from Triacastela to Sarria via Samos is as fresh in my mind
now as it was almost 12 months ago. I cast off the old man and put on the new.

Pax et bonum

Hi Introibo

(You were an Altar boy)
Thank you for your beefed up summary providing further realistic insight into what lay ahead.

Question = did you have a fixed start and finish date? I read that some flexibility is advisable and accordingly I am planning on say 35 to 40 days. Do you have any tips how best to handle the "return"

As you are listed as being in Cumbria, I hope you were lucky enough to be out of harms way when the floods hit.

Introibo ad Altare Dei

Congratulations on the Camino's completed to date. Are you going for the Trinity at any time?

Peter

 

[Introibo]

Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam

I had a fixed start date but rather than flying out I went by train to London, Paris, Irun and then Pamplona.
The three days to get to the start settled my nerves somewhat.

I was fortunate enough to be able to book 7 weeks off work, so essentially I didn't have a finish date. I hadn't
booked a return ticket of any description. What did happen though was that I started to walk with a group of
people and wanted to keep with my new family. So I went at a fast pace and finished in about 29 days of walking.
Other people had a tighter schedule and were left with covering big distances to finish in time for pre arranged
flights. It was a new experience for me to have a holiday that didn't feel time bound.

I spent 4 days Santiago at the end of the walk, one day of which we hired a mini bus and drove out to
Muxia and Finisterre. One benefit of having extra days in Santiago is that you get to greet pilgrims you met who
were a little slower paced than yourself. It was nice to meet them again, take pictures for them, take them to the
pilgrims office etc. Giving something back, albeit in a small way.

A flight got me home with two weeks to spare. I spent a week back down in Lancashire having a few walks and then
went back into work early to "reclaim" 5 days of leave. It was a nice way to ease myself back into the routine.

You seem to have lots of time to walk. I'd suggest looking at possible ways of getting back without getting into
specific dates. I know there's a direct flight to Edinburgh on Friday and a direct flight to London on Saturday from
Santiago. Try and get a feel for the options without committing. Three days of train travel might be a nice wind down

As to the Trinity. If I can manage it I'm going to walk from Assisi to Rome, starting on the 18th March.
But I also want to go back to Spain and do either the Ingles or the Primativo so I can walk through the
Holy Door in Santiago.

I wasn't affected directly by the floods but it is still having a big impact on the local community. The road
between Keswick and Grasmere is still out which is having a big impact.

Buen Camino

 

[Devon Mike]

Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam

I had a fixed start date but rather than flying out I went by train to London, Paris, Irun and then Pamplona.
The three days to get to the start settled my nerves somewhat.

Buen Camino

I also do not fly out, as living in Devon I use the Brittany Ferries service from Plymouth to Santander, then buses and trains to SJPP. It takes 2 days to get there.

 

[Introibo]

Hi Mike

I do like slow starts. I'm taking 4 slow days to get to Assisi before I start walking, taking in the Gotthard pass.
It's all about the journey !

 

[Devon Mike]

Hi Mike

I do like slow starts. I'm taking 4 slow days to get to Assisi before I start walking, taking in the Gotthard pass.
It's all about the journey !

Me too. The ferry is a 20 hours overnight sailing and it is a very relaxing time.

 

[sicada123]

Me too. The ferry is a 20 hours overnight sailing and it is a very relaxing time.

Hi Mike.
Being a newcomer, I guess I plan on just getting there and started. Might not be the best plan but I guess I will find out. Stansted to Biarritz, bus to SSJP, overnight and go....You and Introibo both have a lot of miles covered and still going strong.

Maybe if I get to 'another one'. I will be able to put into good use the experience from my first trip and be a little more relaxed about the whole thing?

Good luck and safe travelling

Peter

 

[sicada123]

Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam

I had a fixed start date but rather than flying out I went by train to London, Paris, Irun and then Pamplona.
The three days to get to the start settled my nerves somewhat.

I was fortunate enough to be able to book 7 weeks off work, so essentially I didn't have a finish date. I hadn't
booked a return ticket of any description. What did happen though was that I started to walk with a group of
people and wanted to keep with my new family. So I went at a fast pace and finished in about 29 days of walking.
Other people had a tighter schedule and were left with covering big distances to finish in time for pre arranged
flights. It was a new experience for me to have a holiday that didn't feel time bound.

I spent 4 days Santiago at the end of the walk, one day of which we hired a mini bus and drove out to
Muxia and Finisterre. One benefit of having extra days in Santiago is that you get to greet pilgrims you met who
were a little slower paced than yourself. It was nice to meet them again, take pictures for them, take them to the
pilgrims office etc. Giving something back, albeit in a small way.

A flight got me home with two weeks to spare. I spent a week back down in Lancashire having a few walks and then
went back into work early to "reclaim" 5 days of leave. It was a nice way to ease myself back into the routine.

You seem to have lots of time to walk. I'd suggest looking at possible ways of getting back without getting into
specific dates. I know there's a direct flight to Edinburgh on Friday and a direct flight to London on Saturday from
Santiago. Try and get a feel for the options without committing. Three days of train travel might be a nice wind down

As to the Trinity. If I can manage it I'm going to walk from Assisi to Rome, starting on the 18th March.
But I also want to go back to Spain and do either the Ingles or the Primativo so I can walk through the
Holy Door in Santiago.

I wasn't affected directly by the floods but it is still having a big impact on the local community. The road
between Keswick and Grasmere is still out which is having a big impact.

Buen Camino

Hi Introibo

(well, you got the responses right!)

Great run down, thank you for feedback. It seems to me there is so much that can be taken on board and planning is important. However, the 'alternatives' are mind blowing. Hard part, 'leaving the house' and setting out, a lot of the pre planning might be put to one side and we're left with going with the flow. The most common comment from research boils down to 'putting one foot in front of the other'.

Good luck with your planned travels for 2016. Safe travelling.

Peter

 

[Joodle]

Hi Peter,

At age 66 I walked the Camino Frances in 2014, and then again last year. I will be back this year in May/June for the third time. I will be starting in SJPP on May 18th and plan to walk to Santiago, Muxia, Finisterre then walk back to Santiago for my journey home on the 29th of June.

Buen Camino,

Mike

How many days walk is it to get to Finisterre? I have 41 days, including travel time for my trip. I was wondering if I had time to make it to the coast? I will start out from SJPP on May 12th and stay in Orisson that night, then it's all up in the air. I have to be in Madrid and on a plane on June 21st in the morning.

 

[Devon Mike]

How many days walk is it to get to Finisterre? I have 41 days, including travel time for my trip. I was wondering if I had time to make it to the coast? I will start out from SJPP on May 12th and stay in Orisson that night, then it's all up in the air. I have to be in Madrid and on a plane on June 21st in the morning.

It seems that if you start on May 12th, you need to be back in Santiago on June 19th so you can travel to Madrid on June 20th to be ready for your morning flight on June 21st. That means you have 39 walking days starting from SJPP, so just find your own pace and go with the flow. The walk from Santiago to Finisterre can be done in 3 or 4 days, then to Muxia in one day. There are daily buses available back to Santiago from both Finisterre and Muxia, so everything will depend on how long it takes you to get from SJPP to Santiago.