Plan to go in September 2011

[PadreQ]

Just saying hola,

I am an Anglican priest (PadreQ in this forum), planning on making the camino in September from SJPDP to Santiago. Through an amazing series of events, my parish is allowing me to take a sabbatical this year (I have never had one!). So of all of the possibilities of what I might go and do with sabbatical time - the Camino calls!

I am 51, last spring I got into active cycling, and have enjoyed getting back into shape. I had ridden quite a bit in high school but not in between. I backpacked quite a bit in my high school and college days, but have never done any long-distance walking. I have a good friend who walked the camino about 5 years ago in June and blogged his experience. I was captivated by his walk and have long thought that I would like to do the same. I never expected that I might have the opportunity. But, lo and behold, here I am planning to set my foot on the path. Amazing!

I have been reading in this forum constantly for the past week, soaking it in and trying to make some sense of my own preparations. I appreciate what a rich treasury of experience and camino wisdom is here. So, I look forward to being with you all.

So far I am looking at an Osprey Atmos 50L pack, and at Asolo boots with smartwool socks and an Altus poncho looks like it ought to be in my pack as well. I have taken to heart that less is more - but what will be essential in September = sleeping bag? or liner?

I'll take all of the input you can give me.

Gracias!

 

[skilsaw]

PadreQ,
The forum is full of suggestions and ideas on how to travel the camino successfully. There are lots of stories of pilgrims that have had to make changes along the way to aleviate discomfort.

I want to tell you about a resource I found in the choir loft of the church in Granon this past April.
It is a short, light weight book of 32 meditations by a Catholic priest, James Hurlbert. He wrote it after his Camino in the Holy Year, 2004. Goodness knows how a copy made its way to Granon.

The book called "A Page a Day for the Way of Saint James", subtitled, "Inhabiting the Signs and Totems of the Camino" nourished me during my term as a voluntary hospitalero.

I left the book in Granon, and emailed James and asked him mail a copy to my home.
His email is : JHurlbert@aol.com

Perhaps you too will be stirred by the little book, either in preparation for the camino, during the camino, or in reflections on going home.

Buen Camino,
David, Victoria, Canada

 

[PadreQ]

David,

Thanks! I will contact him for a copy as well. You never know why things appear where they do sometimes. I'll check it out.

PadreQ

 

[kaylfrazer]

Hi PadreQ.. re sleeping bags you will find people who will argue either way.. it depends on you really. I have twice taken very light sleeping bags (a down filled liner really, weighing between about 400 and 600 gms) in September and been glad of it. Last time we were so hot in our first weeks (late August) that we considered posting them on to ourselves, but luckily procrastinated and were very glad when the weather became suddenly colder in September . You will generally find that the refugios have blankets but can't depend on it. Buen camino!
Kay (NZ)

 

[gregpickworth]

Hi

I am taking a 35L bag with less than one would consider reasonable ..... I have done the Camino twice French way and de Plata ...... I have found spiritually and physically less is a true blessing ...... i see opportunities to take less and less .... and less
I find the "in case" approach doesn't come up so much ...... things seem to work out.

greg

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Hi PadreQ
Welcome to the forum. Aren't you blessed by both God and your parishioners to be able to take a sabbatical. Your parishioners in turn will be blessed when you return home.

re size of rucksack. I carried a 35 litre and found it ample. The wise thing is to make sure it has a frame preferably plastic to keep it away from your back to allow air to circulate.

re sleeping bag. Kay from NZ is correct. take a light one. Whilst sometimes you may be hot you could run into some cold weather on the high mountains. I ran into a snowstorm in the middle of may !!

My bit of wisdom to people preparing for the camino is to learn spanish. Being able to speak to local people will so enrich your whole journey. As Christians we find our God in other people. Get some tapes or CD's and listen listen listen as you are doing mundane tasks like washing dressing preparing food etc etc. Afteer all you learnt your first language by just listening

Stay in as many Parochial albergues as possible. Granon and Tosantos are wonderful experiences

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Hi PadrQ
I went on too long and never got to sign my name
I suggested that the parochial albergues are lovely experiences with a shared meal and usually a prayer time together afterwards for those who want it.

May the good Lord bless all your preparations
Buen Camino
Lydia

 

[lindamac]

PadreQ, I walked at the end of Sept. 2010, and found it cool enough that a sleeping bag was necessary most nights, you will know what you need to take, allowing for some wet days, and also warmer weather sometimes. I went with no expectations and had the experience of a lifetime, so much so that I will be walking again this year! It is wonderful that you have the blessing of the chance to walk the path, best of luck and perhaps we will meet along the way.

 

[Caminando]

Hi PQ

As you've said, the forum contains just about all you need for tech. info. Even then, keep in mind the idea of carrying around 10% of your body weight - and that will determine the capacity of your rucsac. I'd say that around 20-25 litres will do it. If you take a 50 litre sac, I assure you you'll fill it.

Boots? just remember that the camino is a pathway, and not arduous.

I'd also suggest only taking a sleeping bag liner and depend on usually finding blankets in the albs. On the CP in Nov I did this, tho in two albs there were no blankets - so you improvise, in my case using my survival blanket (those silvery things). Worth the minor inconvenience, to save a lot of carrying.

If you've never done it before, why not go with no books at all? That turns one outwards and not inwards. Or take a book which seriously challenges your beliefs, whatever they may be. My point being, it's good for all of us to avoid our habitual patterns and ruts.

Ultreia!

 

[PadreQ]

Gracias to everyone for the responses.

This opportunity is indeed a great blessing.

One of the reasons that I am looking at the Osprey Atmos 50L pack is that it does have the ability to be compressed. I understand that the load might tend to grow with the volume available - I really am committed to only carrying 10% of my body weight. I intend to be pretty ruthless about what I bring with me. And I like very much the Atmos ventilation and the suspension system. So should I collect all that I plan on taking and THEN go buy a pack?

My Spanish has a long way to go too. I grew up in Southern Arizona and I live in Texas now so I live in a part of the world where Spanish is commonly spoken - plenty of opportunity to practice habling a little Espanol - I do have some Spanish vocabulary and I have heard it spoken all my life. And part of my motivation in this enterprise is to gain the facility to use it AFTER I walk the Camino. So I do need to dig in and try to put it all together. Any opinions on the Rosetta Stone Spanish course? Or other language suggestions?

 

[Anna-Marie]

Hi PadreQ,

I've used the Rosetta Stone and really like it. If you're primarily interested in speaking the language as quickly as possible, though, I'd recommend a Pimsleur course. It really drills the structure of the language, and the basic phrases, into your head--with the added benefit that you can do it while washing dishes. You do have to talk, though (to the CD) for maximum effectiveness, so you can get strange looks if you're in a common space.

Although if you know a lot of basic phrases, Pimsleur might be too simple for you. Some libraries have the first eight Pimsleur lessons in a sample pack, so you can try it out before buying.

Something I've just started using is LoMasTv. Basically, you pay a monthly subscription, and watch short videos in Spanish and can choose to see subtitles in English and/or Spanish. It's really helpful, at least for me, because while I have a reasonable vocabulary, understanding people who are speaking at a normal to fast pace is horrifically difficult.

I hope this helps. Buen Camino!

Anna-Marie

 

[kaylfrazer]

I am going to be walking the Le Puy route through France in June so am using Coffee Break French podcasts. I am really enjoying it as I have been able to download the first 80 free podcasts onto an old iPod of my daughter's and listen to them as I walk.. it certainly makes the time pass! I know that there is also a Coffee Break Spanish http://radiolingua.com/shows/spanish/coffee-break-spanish/ that sounds very similar. While you can buy premium content, the free content is great and will keep me going for some time.

 

[keithashaw]

Hi PadreQ, I'm walking the Camino Frances too in September from SJPdP. I'm busy learning Spanish and the best teach yourself resource I've found is by Michel Thomas (Spanish Foundation Course). There are lots of references to this on the Internet and it's available from Amazon. He includes differences between American Spanish and European Spanish which are quite useful. It's also cheaper than Rosetta Stone.

I'm also using two really good books: "Spanish Verb Tenses" and "Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions", both by Dorothy Richmond and available from Amazon.

Best wishes for a good Camino.

Keith

 

[catherinemccoy]

Hola Padre;
I'm Catherine and flying out from Toronto Airport on the evening of Sept 4th. destined for Charles de Gaulle. What I'm doing after that has not been sorted out yet, but headed somehow to St Jean Pied de Port. I have just started using this Spanish course and finding it pretty good http://www.learnspanishtoday.com/online_store.htm
Nos vemos en el camino!

 

[Anniesantiago]

The Atmos is a great pack. Joe took one, but a 35L, and it was more than sufficient. I'd pass on the 50L and use the extra weight allowance for things I needed, in my opinion. I carried an even smaller pack and did fine, and I also walked in September both times.

Regarding Spanish, I LOVE Rosetta Stone and practice every morning.
There are also FREE podcasts available online from "Real Spanish" and it's EXCELLENT to listen to and to download. VERY helpful. For $45 or so, you can get the hard copies, but they are certainly not necessary.

There are huge long discussions on here about foot wear.

Sounds like you already have the boots. I still maintain that there is literally NO place on the Camino that warrants boots, especially in September. A good pair of lightweight trail shoes or walking shoes with gel inserts (buy them a size larger than you usually wear) will do fine. Just be sure you have an extra large toebox so the toes can spread. I swear by New Balance shoes. I usually have a hard time fitting shoes because i have a wide little foot. But I can put on New Balance shoes in the store and walk straight out on the trail with no breaking in.. they're that good.

The added benefit from trail shoes or walking shoes is that they DRY OUT overnight, unlike boots! For me, that's all she wrote. I can't think about putting wet shoes on my weary feet in the cold mornings.

Anyway.. you'll learn.
You'll be dumping things into the Free Boxes by the 3d day!
Just go and have fun!
Buen Camino, Father!

PS: You're going to LOVE that ALTUS!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi - Funnily enough I've been using an Atmos 50 for a couple of years now and it has seen me through a number of Caminos - with never more than 6 or 7 kgs in summer and a little more in winter. It is a light and comfortable pack. I don't particularly hold with the 10% body weight "rule" but as a guide it may be useful - in my experience the key thing is the weight of the stuff you put in your rucksack and for me less is always best. I confess to using kitchen scales when deciding what to to take! Also there are many different opinions on footwear; some people prefer the secure feeling that boots give them (and nowadays boots can be very light) whereas others prefer walking in hiking sandals. You will decide for yourself what is right for you.

Best wishes for your preparations.

John

 

[Xavante69]

Hi, Im a girl on 41 years old from Malmö and Sweden that plans to walk from SJPDP to SDC, with a start around 25´th of August this year.
I´ll think that I go by fly from Copenhagen to Paris and then, take the TLV-train to Biarritz.

If someone has a better suggestion, please let me know

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There cannot be a suggestion better than doing what you want to do! There is plenty of advice on equipment, weather, etc. on this Forum, so read, learn, and enjoy. Congratulations on going.

 

[aodashima]

Hi, Im a girl on 41 years old from Malmö and Sweden that plans to walk from SJPDP to SDC, with a start around 25´th of August this year.
I´ll think that I go by fly from Copenhagen to Paris and then, take the TLV-train to Biarritz.

If someone has a better suggestion, please let me know

Hi, I'm planning to walk el camino del norte this spring. I live in Copenhagen, and I plan to take Easyjet (http://www.easyjet.com) to London Standsted, then Ryan Air (http://www.ryanair.com) to Biarritz, France. I walked in 2007 from SJPP to SdC, and I also flew into Biarritz by Ryan Air, then took a bus to Bayonne (25 minutes), then took a train to SJPP.

Buen Camino!