If we were to walk the stretch from Pamplona to Logroño and then want to finish that last 10km before Santiago? Is that something folks do? The train and bus routes seem to take quite a while for the transport… is there another approach folks take?
Like another thread it’s a combination of time and physical ability that will limit us… based on the earlier responses we’re working out a plan to fly into Madrid, go straight to the train up to Pamplona and take 2 or 3 days for jet leg before heading out. I’m in my 50s and work a sedentary job and am not in the best of shape so I’m aiming for a 15km a day with some shorter and longer days but I think 20km would be a stretch.., so with two down days it’s tight for us to finish in 12 days.
Like another poster mentioned, I’m not sure what I can manage yet…
Hi, Isabeau
I'm assuming you meant to say 10km and not 100km. In which case:
If you want to get a Compostela to hang on your wall then you MUST walk at least
100km finishing in Santiago without any bus/train or taxi-rides in that last 100k. So if you were to walk from Pamplona to Logroño and then jump to walking the last
10k into Santiago you would NOT qualify for a Compostela.
If you actually meant to write "that last
100km before Santiago" then you would definitely qualify and you can ignore what I just wrote.
I believe those are the the rules.
Then it comes down to personal goals and preferences. And I can only offer my experience when I walked with Mrs H last year.
We had decided that the Compostela was not important to us. We had decided that the joy would be in the journey and not in the destination. And if we needed to take a bus or a taxi then so be it. After all, the Compostela is just a piece of paper. What are we? School kids?
And so we began walking our last 100km towards Santiago and something strange began to happen. As the 100km ticked down and as the number of stamps we collected in our Credencials grew we became more determine to make it to Santiago by walking every damn kilometre. Entering Santiago was a complete joy and when we collected our Compostelas we beamed from ear to ear and hugged one another in the square like, like, well like school kids.
That was my experience and may well not mean a thing to you. As many will tell you on this forum there is no one way to walk your Camino and whatever you decide to do will be YOUR way.
Good luck and buen camino!