Meeting Pilgrims who live in Portland, Oregon

[Katkando]

Hi, I've just been bitten by the bug to walk the Santiago de Campostela. Two months ago I'd never heard of it, but all of a sudden, from out of nowhere, it started ringing my bell. OK, here I am.

I live in Portland, Oregon and would like to meet others who have walked this road. My thought is to fly into Paris, spend a few days there and maybe a couple of weeks in Chartres, then train down to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and walk from there. I will likely be traveling on a very limited budget so am looking for ways to do all of this as cheaply as possible.
Kathleen

 

[grayland]

Welcome to the forum.

The good news is that there is a local Portland group that is very active.
Contact Heather through the website. http://americanpilgrims.com/about/local_portlandia.html
And she will get you on their email list for activity notices. A great way to get started.

 

[newfydog]

Just curious, why so long in Chartres?

Newf,
Bend , Oregon

 

[Katkando]

Welcome to the forum.

The good news is that there is a local Portland group that is very active.
Contact Heather through the website. http://americanpilgrims.com/about/local_portlandia.html
And she will get you on their email list for activity notices. A great way to get started.

Thank you so much, I'll do that!

 

[Katkando]

Just curious, why so long in Chartres?

Newf,
Bend , Oregon

Because I've heard that the art and the architecture of the cathedral there contains the Gospel according to Jesus, and I want to spend some time there to see what I think.

 

[Green Tortuga]

I will likely be traveling on a very limited budget so am looking for ways to do all of this as cheaply as possible.

One thing that can save you a lot of money... camping! The vast majority of pilgrims aren't going to do that, and a lot of them will tell you that you're missing the "experience" of alburgues by doing so, but in my opinion, they're just trying to justify why they don't camp outdoors. I walked from Le Puy to Muxia last year and camped out about 50% of the time.

It has several advantages besides being FREE. Since you aren't in town, you can't spend money eating or drinking all night long. And there are some places I camped that are absolutely magical. Beautiful nighttime skies so clear that the Milky Way just seems to pop out of the sky. Camping on top of a hill was always nice because you could see the lights from villages twinkling all around down below. Those who never camp are missing out on a wonderful experience.

And--I know a LOT of pilgrims when I was hiking who'd complain bitterly about waking up at 4:00 in the morning to race into the next town in an attempt to ensure they got a bed, then be bored to tears for the rest of the day without anything else to do. A lot of alburgues would fill up when I did my walk, but I never had to get into that rat race. I could take my time, stop whenever I felt like it, and sometimes keep hiking late in the afternoon after the heat of the day died down.

And if there's a chance of rain, get into an alburgue. It's really no fun camping in the rain! And you'll still want an occasional shower just to clean up every few days. =)

-- Ryan

 

[Deleted member 3000]

they're just trying to justify why they don't camp outdoors

My justification:

if there's a chance of rain, get into an albergue

 

[Green Tortuga]

they're just trying to justify why they don't camp outdoors

My justification:

if there's a chance of rain, get into an albergue

But there's no a chance of rain EVERY night, so that's not a good excuse for *never* camping outside. =)

And, to be perfectly fair, I still camped outside even if it was supposed to rain. I carried a tarp that I could set up, but it's not a bad option to go lightweight and not carry any type of shelter at all and just go indoors if there's a chance of rain.

I made a point of going indoors when it was actually raining during the day so the ground (and myself) were already soaking wet. I hate setting up camp in the rain. Once I'm under a tarp, the rain doesn't bother me at all, though! So as long as it was dry when I set up camp, no problem. Otherwise, I headed indoors. Which was convenient since I did need to take showers and did want to have that "alburgue experience."

All-in-all, it worked out really well. I'm kind of surprised that more people don't do this!

-- Ryan