Ponferrada to Santiago in about 8 days?

[sarahdaisy82]

Hi pilgrims!

I'm making my first camino in Sept/Oct 2014, and I'm trying to decide on a starting point. I think I will have about 8-9 days walking, and I want to see as much of the trail as I can. I'm 32 and reasonably fit, and will have a few kms in the legs by then!

Would Ponferrada be a good place to start, or perhaps unrealistic? Should I just stick with Sarria?

 

[KiwiNomad06]

It took me ten days from Molinaseca (slightly before Ponferrada)- but I am older and almost certainly slower, though my body was well walked-in by that stage. You might well manage that distance in 8-9 days- though if you can get a bit closer to the base of O'Cebreiro, you should have time to climb and descend that quite readily within your timeframe, without putting so much time pressure on yourself.
Margaret

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I think I will have about 8-9 days walking, and I want to see as much of the trail as I can. I'm 32 and reasonably fit, and will have a few kms in the legs by then!

Would Ponferrada be a good place to start, or perhaps unrealistic? Should I just stick with Sarria?

My guess is that you can do it. Nine days would be pretty standard for Ponferrada to Santiago, so eight days would only be a small push. Only you know for sure, though!

 

[tictoc]

Hi pilgrims!

I'm making my first camino in Sept/Oct 2014, and I'm trying to decide on a starting point. I think I will have about 8-9 days walking, and I want to see as much of the trail as I can. I'm 32 and reasonably fit, and will have a few kms in the legs by then!

Would Ponferrada be a good place to start, or perhaps unrealistic? Should I just stick with Sarria?

You should do it easily from there.
It took me 6 days, but by that time from sjpp I was really cracking on doing 40 kms sometimes 50 kms a day, but then I'm slow compared with some of them, but you're only 32 so yes it'll be a piece of cake

 

[nreyn12]

Ponferrada is approximately 216 kms from Santiago. Nine days means you will have to walk approximately 24 kms a day. Eight days would mean 27 kms a day. Sounds doable!

 

[whariwharangi]

Hi pilgrims!

I'm making my first camino in Sept/Oct 2014, and I'm trying to decide on a starting point. I think I will have about 8-9 days walking, and I want to see as much of the trail as I can. I'm 32 and reasonably fit, and will have a few kms in the legs by then!

Would Ponferrada be a good place to start, or perhaps unrealistic? Should I just stick with Sarria?

I'd like some clarification: Are you walking on the camino to see as much of the camino or to walk along as much of it as physically possible in as short a time as possible? The two are not mutually exclusive I suppose ... but ...

If you don't already know what it means to walk 27 km per day for 8 days in a row ... you might want to make a more modest plan. Just saying.

 

[Camino Ellie]

Walking is what you will do most certainly... Stopping to experience some sights or languish over a wonder meal, nap beside the trail, well you might not have the time for that. Each town has something to offer as a site. Try not to rush past it all. You can always walk at home, but Spain and the Camino is to be experienced. And then there are the daily rituals of laundry, finding a place to stay, reorganizing for the following day. City life is about city rush, Camino begs you to slow down the pace, as it is not a race.

 

[indyinmaine]

The"slow" day is the one up to O Cebreiro from wherever you start that day. Other than that a 25k.day pace was even doable for a 80+ peregrino.

 

[StuartM]

I did Astorga to SdC in a comfortable 10 days. Day 2 was from Molinaseca and hit Ponferada mid morning so 8 days should be doable. I never felt like I was pushing myself. If you can get to Ponferada for a morning start then go for it.

My route was Astorga, Rabanal, Molinaseca, Villafranca, O Cebreiro, Triacastela, Sarria, Portomarin, San Xulian, Salceda, Santiago. I had planned on stopping at Monte de Gozo and entering Santiago in the morning (11 days) but it was such a dump I kept on going and made it to the cathedral at 9pm at night under a full moon.

 

[walking-miss-daisy]

I walked from Ponferrada in April and it took me 9 days, although I arrived early in Santiago on the ninth day (which I recommend given the queues I saw to get the compostela later on in the day) so eight days is certainly do-able.

The only thing I might add is that I had given myself longer to complete it than was actually necessary, but I'm pleased I did this because I can't think of anything worse than being conscious that you've got to get to a certain point every day. Also, even with very good fitness, the camino can throw at us all sorts of obstacles which become paramount to it's charm. Nonetheless, eight days is certainly enough time and the weather should be fairer by then.

 

[GerryDel]

I am planning on walking from O'Cebriero to Santiago in 6 days, and it is about 2 days from Ponferrada. I looked at the Brierley guide, and here's what I see. Some of these days are short. I think the O'Cebriero - Triacastela could be extended to about 30k (we will have rested an entire day before on the train and had two nights in Pamplona for San Fermin). And from where we pick up past Triacastala we could make it to Portomarin the next day. We're thinking of staying in Samos too and just walking through Sarria.

O'Cebriero - Triacastela 21.3 km
Triacastela - Sarria 18.7 km
Sarria - Portomarin 22.4 km
Portomarin -> Palas de Rei 24.8 km
Palas de Rei -> Rabadiso 25.8 km
Rabadiso -> O Pedrouzo 22.1 km
O Pedrouzo -> Santiago 20.1

 

[sarahdaisy82]

Thankyou so much everyone for taking the time to reply - I am beginning to think that I might start at Sarria after all - my enthusiasm to see as much as possible might get in the way of achieving everything I want to. If only I could do the whole Camino Frances this time - I'll just have to go back again!!

 

[hotelmedicis]

Ah, at the risk of sounding like a total nutjob, I just wanted to share with you that I walked from Ponferrada to Santiago in 5 days. In fact, I walked to Monte de Gozo in 4 days and decided to spend the night instead of walking the extra 4 kilometers to Santiago de Compostella.

Day 18 - Ponferrada - O'Cerbreiro
Day 19 - O'Cerbreiro - Sarria
Day 20 - Sarria - Palas del Rey
Day 21 - Palas del Rey - Monte de Gozo
Day 22 - Monte de Gozo - Santiago de Compostella.

I'm not sure how many kilometers that is but it was a massive amount and I loved it. No, I was not in a hurry nor was I rushing, just high on walking.
So, if you have 8 or 9 days, and you're in great condition, you could start from Ponferrada and make it in 9 days. The walking is glorious. I had an amazing experience in Sarria where the woman at the refuge said all the beds were full and I said that's fine, could I sleep on the floor? She asked to see my credential, stamped it and then led me upstairs to a bed upon which she had left a stick and a backpack probably stuffed with paper bags. "I always save one place for someone who arrives late and has walked far." What a sweetheart.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Jenny Anderson made it from outside Ponferrada to Sarria in one day, then another day and one-half into Santiago:

Saturday – 3/5 – Camponaraya to Sarría – 53.7 miles

I took a cab back from my hotel to Camponaraya in the very early morning hours of Saturday. Off, I went into the dark once again. This was my last day of big climbs and descents. My first mountain ascended 2,000 feet and came right back down again only for me to begin my biggest climb of the day – up to the snow covered O’Cebreiro. The 3,000+ ft of ascent took me high above the valley into a small snow storm. As I approached La Faba (still six miles from t he summit) the snow on the ground was over a half of a foot and it was coming down hard. The wind blew sideways and the snow made visibility very difficult. Surprisingly, throughout this entire storm, I was the most at peace and happy than any other time on my entire journey. The beauty around me, the trails without a trace of footprints, the snow and ice gathering on the evergreens enveloped my small self. It was calming, serene, and too pretty for words. At the same time, I couldn’t see more than twenty feet in front of me but I knew well enough that I was walking along a cliff with a good 200 foot drop to my left.

O’Cebreiro was an adorable village at the top of the mountain. Children were outside having snowball fights and parents were in the one and only local café drinking lattes. I refueled with some hot tea and toast and began my nine mile jog along the ridge of the mountain. Eventually, I began to descend again, followed by some boulder hopping. Twenty miles later I hit my ending destination for the day in the city of Sarria. Sarria is seventy-two miles from Santiago de Compostela. This is where most people begin the trail to Santiago. Funny enough, this was the city that signified that I was almost finished. I was 9/10 done with my journey and I was ready for the home stretch.

 

[hotelmedicis]

For those who don't know about Jenny Biondi Anderson in the comment above, she is an "ultra runner" and her Camino was a world-record attempt at running from SJPP to Santiago as fast as she could. She wanted to establish a "fastest running time." You can read more about her here: http://jennyjourney.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-way/

How long did it take Jenny to run 800 kms? 9 days, 5 hours and 29 minutes.

Thank you for posting this Ivar.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

How long did it take Jenny to run 800 kms? 9 days, 5 hours and 29 minutes.

You are no slacker yourself thirteen years ago!

"Just a note: regarding average kilometers per day, each person has his or her own comfortable speed and distance. In 2001, without even trying, I finished the Camino Frances in 20 days for an average of 40 kms/day. Some days I walked 60 ms, others only 20. My longest day was from Palas de Rei to Monte de Gozo, about 63 kilometers.
hotelmedicis, Jan 15, 2013"

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Don' forget to consider, that there is some rough terrain in between. Might be better of starting in Sarria and enjoying yourself, instead of rushing. I started in Ponferrada and have been taking my time. I'm enjoying it tremendously. I only wish, I weren't lugging this CPAP machine along.

 

[hotelmedicis]

You are no slacker yourself thirteen years ago!

Not too shabby, I agree. But 15 years ago I could run up the six flights of stairs of Johnson Tower in under 1 minute!

 

[7wood]

For those who don't know about Jenny Biondi Anderson in the comment above, she is an "ultra runner" and her Camino was a world-record attempt at running from SJPP to Santiago as fast as she could. She wanted to establish a "fastest running time." You can read more about her here: http://jennyjourney.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-way/

How long did it take Jenny to run 800 kms? 9 days, 5 hours and 29 minutes.

Thank you for posting this Ivar.

When did the Camino become a race to see who can do it the quickest,"I did it in 22 days"," I did it in 20 days". Who cares ?Its not a race

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

very doable, but you may want to consider Villafranca and slow down a bit.

 

[7wood]

When did the Camino become a race to see who can do it the quickest,"I did it in 22 days"," I did it in 20 days". Who cares ?Its not a race

The next thing you know Red Bull will be sponsoring the Camino as an endurance race if these "pilgrims" keep posting their times.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

When did the Camino become a race to see who can do it the quickest,"I did it in 22 days," " I did it in 20 days." Who cares ? Its not a race.

A person has two reasons for everything he does -- a good reason and the real reason. My guess is that ego is way ahead of religion/spirituality as a TRUE motivation for walking the Camino. Bragging rights bring real comfort to some, so don't take it away. Help them by reminding them that they can get a certificate of distance to go with the Compostela, and cover both bases.