Newbies Travel Time Question

[LakaPaka]

We are a retired couple in the throes of preparing for our first Camino Frances. So many questions are floating through our heads. This amazingly helpful site has answered many of them. One is still puzzling us...... What is a realistic number of days from start in SJPP, including a couple of days (enough?) in Finisterre and Muxia (via transportation) at the conclusion?
Some friends have suggested planning an average of 10 miles/16 kilometers per day which translates to 50 walking days for the 500 miles. We plan to factor in about 8-10 rest days which will allow us to spend a couple of days in some cities/towns. In many of the discussions on this forum, people have indicated that 40ish days of walking is plenty. We well know that everyone walks his or her own Camino, but are trying to get a better fix on this before we book our flight. We're reasonably fit at ages 68 and 72, but don't want to push beyond a reasonable limit. We plan to begin our pilgrimage on September 11 and hope to fly home on Nov. 2.
Thanks for any insight.

 

[Thomas Sheldon]

Welcome to the Forum. Your plan is very much like mine, early in September to late October (2015 for me), maybe 36-38 days walking with 5-7 rest days.

Just keep watching the forum and you will get a lot of good advice as to pacing.

Picking flight reservations is a big issue, but it's good you are retired like me and may have the time. I do note that discount airline Norwegian Air is starting USA-Europe air service
this summer with new Boeing 787's and appears to have decent one way fares you could get on short notice.

I have pretty much decded to pick a return date that I feel comfortable with and if I finish early will simply find a nice Spanish beach town for a bit before flying out.

Enjoy your planning.

 

[mspath]

LakaPaka,

Welcome to the Forum!

These Forum threads hold a wealth of information; you will find so much to help you plan your future Camino. Past pilgrims love to share their advice and experiences. Such sharing is a large part of the Camino spirit; besides being informative for future pilgrims it help keeps memories current for experienced pilgrims as we recall our journeys anew.

I too am in my mid 70s. Usually I average 20 km per day and thus walking from SJPdP to Santiago and on to Finisterra usually takes me about 50 days . Nevertheless your path will be made by your feet; there is no single way. Every day is a new juggle of topography and the weather plus your health and pack weight as well as personal strength and ability to endure. What a mix !!

We pilgrims may share our journeys, hopes and fears, but in no sense do we move as a single force! Each of us creates a particular pattern moving along. Thus the Camino is composed of all these pilgrims' patterns; the multitude of these individual units across time and space together form the whole.

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[scruffy1]

Shalom and Greetings from Jerusalem!
Plan also to be surprised! You may meet some wonderful people who walk at a similar pace or slower; you may fall in love with Pamplona, Estella, Logroño, Burgos, Carrión de los Condes, Leon, Astorga, Vilafranca del Bierzo, or Santiago and take additional unplanned rest days in some enchanting town or village; you may decide to skip parts say the Meseta (opinions differ wildly as to why, how, and if enjoyed-me? Go for it!), you may-God Forfend-be plagued with blisters, Al-Mansur's revenge due to bad food, aches pains, even illness or injury which will slow your pace; you may take some off-Camino detour(s) for marvelous sites of which you never dreamed -Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey or the Monastery of SanMillán de Yuso or Suso monasteries easily come to mind; you may find that 15-20 kilometers a day is too much and so decide to perambulate at your most comfortable pace and then hop a bus; you may find that while Martin Sheen and many of us truly enjoy this, your own experience may not justify the effort. The permutations are endless in both positive and negative directions, so the solution? Don't take the absolute cheapest flight you can find remembering that airlines no longer offer open ended tickets. Should you find yourself desiring/required by circumstances to return at an earlier date, the flight change penalty fees on more expensive tickets are usually much less-check with a good travel agent. Do prepare yourselves for a wonderful moving experience, something which you will cherish. Margaret^ see above, and I are both in and beyond your age span and we both are totally obsessed with Saint James, the Camino, and pilgrimage, walking year after year - you have been warned.
מיכאל

 

[LakaPaka]

I LOVE this site. After reading so many helpful posts for months, I (we....as my husband and I are Laka and Paka) finally ventured joining last night and already have responses from Thomas, Margaret, and Scruffy1! Thanks so much for your input. The anticipation of our upcoming journey is both exciting and overwhelming at times. I know, what will be will be......just need to keep reminding myself to let go and not try to dot all the i's and cross all the t's!
Our need to leave no earlier than September 7th makes the timeline of particular interest as we want to be back to vote in our local/State elections on Nov. 4th. If we need the extra days, absentee voting is an option, but more cumbersome. Not voting is not an option. (Hopefully this doesn't fall under Ivar's penalty points for discussing politics!) If anyone has successfully voted from the Camino, I'd appreciate hearing how it went.
On another note, does replying to the thread automatically give a reply to T, M, and S1 or do I have to reply to each separately? Thank you all for welcoming us.
Laka

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I received my ballot twice in Spain over the internet. The paper ballot had to be mailed back, so the biggest obstruction turned out to be finding an open post office in Spain! Correos are everywhere, but usually closed except in the large cities.

You will need to find a computer with a printer, which I did at a library once and a hotel the second time. Check with you election board for details. Before leaving home on the second election, I did a round with the Board of Elections. The state Attorney General, without being asked by anyone, decided that the state law did not permit receiving a ballot over the internet except if you were an ex-patriot or in the military. They finally ruled that a month overseas counted as being an ex-pat. Even as government gets bigger, it does not get smarter.

 

[petitewalker]

LalaPaka,
My husband and I are 63 and 65 and also reasonably fit for our age. We are also doing a Sept/Oct Camino/F and have booked our flights for a 50 day trip (Sept. 9th thru October 28th) which includes 4 travel days(2 each way) and one day rest in SJPP before we start. We are leaving New York on Sept 9th to begin our walk on th 12th and are spending the first night in Orisson. After much reading of this blog and memoirs from older pilgrims, we are giving ourselves 45 days to walk including Muxia/Finisterre (most likely by bus). I'm hoping to be able to get to Santiago in 40 days or less, if not we have extra days built in and can do a two day turnaround trip to Muxia. Keep this forum advised of your dates, so DeadFred can get you on our Sept. 2014 Forum calendar (we are quite a bunch ). Your dates sound similar to ours, so we may meet up in SJPP or somewhere on "the way".

 

[dougfitz]

On another note, does replying to the thread automatically give a reply to T, M, and S1 or do I have to reply to each separately? Thank you all for welcoming us.
Laka

@LakaPaka There are a number of different ways of responding to other's posts.

1. simply entering a response into the edit box at the end of the threads is the simplest, and if any references to earlier posts are obvious, probably easiest. When finished, select the 'Post Reply' button.
2. if you want to include a single specific post as a reference to a point you wish to make, the 'Reply' button below that post will insert it into the edit box.
3. to include several posts, select the '+Quote'. A new function button will appear below the edit box. When you have finished selecting the posts you wish to quote, select the 'Insert Quotes...' button.
4. Any of the text inserted by 'Reply' or '+Quote' can be edited, as I have done to the text inserted from your earlier post so that it just quoted your specific question. When you do this, it is important to keep the HTML tags, the text in square brackets at the start and end of the quoted text that will then present the quoted text differently from your response. It will also create a link back to the original posts that can be clicked on to see all the earlier post.
5. by typing the ampersand symbol (@) and a user name, a hyperlink will automatically be created to that user's details.
6. If you want to reply just to a specific user privately, click on their user name under the avatar box, and a pop-up box will appear, and you can use the 'Start a Conversation' function.

Getting back to your specific question, replying to a thread does not automatically send that reply to the previous participants. That will depend on their settings for watching the thread. If you choose to create several replies, I think that can be quite disruptive to the smooth flow of the thread, and you will find that it is rare for experienced forum users to take this approach. Worse is quoting the earlier post in its entirety and then saying something like 'thank you for responding' to each of the posts. If you are tempted to do that, consider selecting 'Like' below the specific posts you wish to acknowledge. This will create an alert to the person whose post you have 'liked' that you have done that.

Enjoy your time on the forum, and all the best preparing for your camino.

 

[journeycakes]

Wish I'd had 60 days last fall. I'd allotted myself 40 which wasn't enough. It took awhile for me to realize that my best pace was 12-15 km per day. I like scruffy1's perspective.

 

[Jabaldo]

We are a retired couple in the throes of preparing for our first Camino Frances. So many questions are floating through our heads. This amazingly helpful site has answered many of them. One is still puzzling us...... What is a realistic number of days from start in SJPP, including a couple of days (enough?) in Finisterre and Muxia (via transportation) at the conclusion?
Some friends have suggested planning an average of 10 miles/16 kilometers per day which translates to 50 walking days for the 500 miles. We plan to factor in about 8-10 rest days which will allow us to spend a couple of days in some cities/towns. In many of the discussions on this forum, people have indicated that 40ish days of walking is plenty. We well know that everyone walks his or her own Camino, but are trying to get a better fix on this before we book our flight. We're reasonably fit at ages 68 and 72, but don't want to push beyond a reasonable limit. We plan to begin our pilgrimage on September 11 and hope to fly home on Nov. 2.
Thanks for any insight.

we are on the same time table. My wife and I also retired and loving every minute of it are departing SJPP on 9/16/2014 and planning on returning to the states on 11/02/2014. as you have pointed out it is our Camino. We will walk to the point that enough is enough stop enjoy the country side, the people and let the Camino come over us. Like you I have read this forum daily for the past year and can not wait to start. I do have a plan B that is if it takes longer to complete or if it is to difficult to complete the what will be will be. I am only wanting to experience the Camino, hopefully to completion but what will be will be.
Buen Camino to you and your bride.
Jim
just maybe we will see eachother along the way.

 

[AnnieY]

Shalom and Greetings from Jerusalem!
Plan also to be surprised! You may meet some wonderful people who walk at a similar pace or slower; you may fall in love with Pamplona, Estella, Logroño, Burgos, Carrión de los Condes, Leon, Astorga, Vilafranca del Bierzo, or Santiago and take additional unplanned rest days in some enchanting town or village; you may decide to skip parts say the Meseta (opinions differ wildly as to why, how, and if enjoyed-me? Go for it!), you may-God Forfend-be plagued with blisters, Al-Mansur's revenge due to bad food, aches pains, even illness or injury which will slow your pace; you may take some off-Camino detour(s) for marvelous sites of which you never dreamed -Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey or the Monastery of SanMillán de Yuso or Suso monasteries easily come to mind; you may find that 15-20 kilometers a day is too much and so decide to perambulate at your most comfortable pace and then hop a bus; you may find that while Martin Sheen and many of us truly enjoy this, your own experience may not justify the effort. The permutations are endless in both positive and negative directions, so the solution? Don't take the absolute cheapest flight you can find remembering that airlines no longer offer open ended tickets. Should you find yourself desiring/required by circumstances to return at an earlier date, the flight change penalty fees on more expensive tickets are usually much less-check with a good travel agent. Do prepare yourselves for a wonderful moving experience, something which you will cherish. Margaret^ see above, and I are both in and beyond your age span and we both are totally obsessed with Saint James, the Camino, and pilgrimage, walking year after year - you have been warned.
מיכאל

I too have decided not to buy a ticket back, so many variables as you say - 'play it by ear' comes to mind - Shalom

 

[petitewalker]

I too have decided not to buy a ticket back, so many variables as you say - 'play it by ear' comes to mind - Shalom

Sounds like great idea. Unfotunatally to do that from the states would cost us more than the whole trip together.

 

[Nancy P.]

We are a retired couple in the throes of preparing for our first Camino Frances. So many questions are floating through our heads. This amazingly helpful site has answered many of them. One is still puzzling us...... What is a realistic number of days from start in SJPP, including a couple of days (enough?) in Finisterre and Muxia (via transportation) at the conclusion?
Some friends have suggested planning an average of 10 miles/16 kilometers per day which translates to 50 walking days for the 500 miles. We plan to factor in about 8-10 rest days which will allow us to spend a couple of days in some cities/towns. In many of the discussions on this forum, people have indicated that 40ish days of walking is plenty. We well know that everyone walks his or her own Camino, but are trying to get a better fix on this before we book our flight. We're reasonably fit at ages 68 and 72, but don't want to push beyond a reasonable limit. We plan to begin our pilgrimage on September 11 and hope to fly home on Nov. 2.
Thanks for any insight.

I am 71. I want to really enjoy my first Camino which I will begin on August 26th. My return flight is booked for October 30th so I have more than 60 days to complete the Camino and get to Finisterre and Muxia. Reading all the other posts about time lets me know I should have plenty of time for hiking, rest days, and enjoying the surroundings. I want to enjoy the Pyrenees so I am actually stopping in Hunto and then just going to Orisson (only about 2 km) the next day. That will give me time to just hang out in the Pyrenees before doing the trek from Orisson to Roscesvalles. From all the posts I have read, I am probably the only person to ever do this. Averaging 10k per day plus rest/explore days sounds great to me.

 

[gerardcarey]

I want to enjoy the Pyrenees so I am actually stopping in Hunto and then just going to Orisson (only about 2 km) the next day. That will give me time to just hang out in the Pyrenees before doing the trek from Orisson to Roscesvalles.

What a good idea that is Nancy!
Regds
Gerard

 

[Nancy P.]

What a good idea that is Nancy!
Regds
Gerard

I actually made reservations in both places and in St. Jean and Roscesvalles. I will take it by steps after that depending on how far I go each day.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I actually made reservations in both places and in St. Jean and Roncesvalles.

It is polite to cancel reservations that you will not be using. French hosts are particularly irked by unused, uncancelled reservations. They hold a bed for reservations, so a no-show costs revenue and prevents another pilgrim from having a bed. A couple of hours notice of cancellation is acceptable. Hosts know that pilgrims cannot always reach a destination, so they are very understanding of cancellations. Because of no-shows, Orisson now gets payment ahead of time to hold a bed! No show, no refund.

 

[indyinmaine]

Sounds like great idea. Unfotunatally to do that from the states would cost us more than the whole trip together.

It's not quite that bad. Remember, once you have done the "outbound" leg you CAN change the return date. That usually requires three things: that you buy it directly from the airline, pay the exchange fee ($250-$300), plus the difference in fares if any. And after about October 15 the fares go down anyway.

 

[Nancy P.]

It is polite to cancel reservations that you will not be using. French hosts are particularly irked by unused, uncancelled reservations. They hold a bed for reservations, so a no-show costs revenue and prevents another pilgrim from having a bed. A couple of hours notice of cancellation is acceptable. Hosts know that pilgrims cannot always reach a destination, so they are very understanding of cancellations. Because of no-shows, Orisson now gets payment ahead of time to hold a bed! No show, no refund.

I have paid for my reservations in advance and would not consider cancelling.