My perception of the Camino De Saint Jacques,

[Deleted member 75649]

Hi everyone,
Just finished walking from Le Puy to Pamplona in 35 days
I found walking in France different than Spain. The terrain was more undulating so I did less KMs per day which was kinder to my feet. It only rained for about one hour the entire walk. It did rain one evening when I had already arrived. My limited French helped and I enjoyed having simple conversations. I found 90 percent of the French really friendly especially the retired ones. I found some to be downright rude bit they were in the minority. There were a lots of paths covered by forest canopies so soft on my feet
i didn't find the Camino Saint Jacques well signposted. Sometimes there were KMs between the red and white signs. I was lost multiple times however even the French got lost. I found getting lost to be part of the adventure. I felt very safe on this walk. I was never worried about myself or my possessions. This walk doesn't have the infrastructure of the Camino Frances however it doesn't have the crowds. Sometimes I would only meet 2 people all day. I walked from Saint Jean Pied de Port with 400 people. I found this overwhelming with a race for the bed, food and toilet. I was pleased I was stopping in Pamplona. There were so many more people than August last year. Overall a great experience. Thanks to Joan, Sally and Tim for giving me a bit of Australia and to Darko (Croatian/German,)
NO (French) and the infamous Frenchman Luc for teaching me about France. Until the next one

 

[TaraWalks]

Hi Helen, thanks for your post. My sister and I are planning to do the Le Puy route to Pamplona sometime in the future. Thanks for your insight

 

[jeannick]

.If you do the Vezelay it's the same but even more so , the marking is OK but one has to keep a sharp eye out for it , there are enough auberges or equivalent , the guide "miam miam dodo " is definitely a big help .

 

[AJGuillaume]

Hi everyone,
Just finished walking from Le Puy to Pamplona in 35 days
I found walking in France different than Spain. The terrain was more undulating so I did less KMs per day which was kinder to my feet. It only rained for about one hour the entire walk. It did rain one evening when I had already arrived. My limited French helped and I enjoyed having simple conversations. I found 90 percent of the French really friendly especially the retired ones. I found some to be downright rude bit they were in the minority. There were a lots of paths covered by forest canopies so soft on my feet
i didn't find the Camino Saint Jacques well signposted. Sometimes there were KMs between the red and white signs. I was lost multiple times however even the French got lost. I found getting lost to be part of the adventure. I felt very safe on this walk. I was never worried about myself or my possessions. This walk doesn't have the infrastructure of the Camino Frances however it doesn't have the crowds. Sometimes I would only meet 2 people all day. I walked from Saint Jean Pied de Port with 400 people. I found this overwhelming with a race for the bed, food and toilet. I was pleased I was stopping in Pamplona. There were so many more people than August last year. Overall a great experience. Thanks to Joan, Sally and Tim for giving me a bit of Australia and to Darko (Croatian/German,)
NO (French) and the infamous Frenchman Luc for teaching me about France. Until the next one

Hello @Helen Aussie , my wife and I also enjoyed the Via Podiensis (June/July 2018), and like you, we loved the fact that there weren't any crowds.
It's precisely for that reason that after SJPDP, we followed the Voie Nive Bidassoa to Hendaye and started the Camino del Norte from Irun.
If you liked the Via Podiensis, try the Via Gebennensis, from Geneva to Le Puy-en-Velay.

Buen Camino !

 

[Solitaire]

A friend and I walked from Le Puy to Figeac over a couple of weeks in late August/September 2016.
Found the first few days physically more challenging than the Camino Frances although I am also 10 years older! Recommend it to anybody, beautiful scenery and food and not overrun.
Neither of us spoke French and relied on Miam Miam Dodo and the Tourism Office staff. They would book a couple of nights ahead for us and there were always people willing to help

 

[Kanga]

It is indeed all those things you describe. And worth walking from Figeac to SJPDP if you have the opportunity of doing that in the future. It is all lovely.