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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Skip 2 days of walking, where is the best place to do it?

Marjorie Qc

New Member
If i want to avoid asphalt routes, highways...
I will walk only 20 km per day and i really need to skip at least 2 days of walking to catch my plane on time.
Of course, it has to be 100 km before arriving to St-Jacques to be able to get my compostela.
Does it make sense?
Thank you in advance!
 
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Anniesantiago said:
Places I would skip include the walk through the dump into Burgos and the walk into and out of the city in Leon.

If that meens skipping Burgos and Leon...
You'll mis two of the mayor cathedrals.
I'd prefer taking a bus from Castrojeriz to Sahagun. You'll miss the most "boring" part of the meseta.

Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo.
 
:shock: Boring??? Ouch!! Its only boring if you have no interest in the history of the Camino or of art and architecture of the pilgrimage road.
The meseta only starts after Castrojeriz and from there on you have the most amazing little villages and places to stay.
Who would want to miss staying at Hospital San Nicolas, having a comunal meal by lamplight cooked by the monks who wash your feet at the pilgrim blessing!
And how about that wonderful oasis with a swimming pool and green lawns hidden behind high straw and mud walls at Boadilla. (You would be missing the Don Juan of el Camino!)
If you miss Fromista you also miss the beautiful church of San Martin, one of the most perfect Romanesque churches in all of Spain.
A visit to the important historic San Zoilo monastery outside Carrion de los Condes is an experience not to be missed.
Just utside Calzadilla is the half-way mark of the Camino Frances - great photo opportunity.
And, you'll miss out on visiting the Peaceable Kingdom at Moratinos! Now a modern attraction for all Forum members walking el Camino.
 
That's exactly why I placed it between quotes.
There is so much on every part of the camino,
and be honest, the stretch between Carrion de Los Condes and Calzadilla de la Cueza is _very_ empty.
If you want to visit every special place, you can't skip two days.
Yes, you'll miss some respectable albergues, but there are more of them on the Camino. But missing a "half-way point"? Which half way? From where on? Missing a swimming-pool?
For me: rather that than missing the cathedrals of Burgos and Leon, especially in Leon, from which is said: "This church has more glass than stone, more light than glass, and more faith than light"

Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo.

P.S. The monks in San Nicolas aren't monks, but volunteers.
 
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Thank you for your answers, but now i feel a little bad, i know that i'll miss a few things along this 2 days but i plan on walking only 20 km a day. I'll be on the Camino from may 7 throught june 15. I don't want to put pressure on myself thinking that i need to walk all the km to Santiago. It's not going to be a defeat if i don't walk every step of the Camino. Trust me, just flying to France it's gonna be a huge accomplishement for me. Please don't judge me if i need to do a shortcut along the way...I'm sure that it will be the best experience of my life. I'm in peace with the way i organise this trip. :)
 
Annie didn't suggest missing Burgos or Leon - she suggested getting a bus in and out of those two wonderful towns so that you don't have to walk through kms of city dumps, panel beating shops and outer-city developments.

"Just outside Calzadilla is the half-way mark of the Camino Frances

The half-way point of the Camino Frances from St Jean to Santiago is just outside Calzadilla.
 
sillydoll said:
Annie didn't suggest missing Burgos or Leon
Than what is the point for Marjorie?
She asked for advise how to skip two days. Skipping only those dreadful kilometers won't help her in that way.
(And even over there I enjoyed the Camino. Walking into Burgos, in peace with myself, my tranquility versus the madness of "the real world", and walking out of Leon the little Ermita de Santiago Apóstol touched my heart.)

sillydoll said:
The half-way point of the Camino Frances from St Jean to Santiago is just outside Calzadilla.
Of course I knew that, but which Camino Frances? The one beginning in St. Jean Pied the Port or the one beginning in Valcarlos or Roncesvalles? And which of the alternatives:
- Calzadilla de los Hermanillos/Bercianos del Real Camino
- Villar de Mazarife/Villadangos del Páramo
- after Villafranca del Bierzo el Camino Duro or the N-VI
- Samos/San Xil
to name some?
And what is the use of it for all those pilgrims starting in Pamplona, Peunte la Reina, Burgos...
I always thought of it as a pointless way-mark.

Ultreya,
Carli Di Bortolo.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Ik geef het op! Je hebt gelijk!
What do I know?
Jammer!!!
 
Hi, I really agree with busing through the industrial parts of the CF. First of all it is a blow to the mind after all the beautiful trails, second of all, you will avoid a great deal of aspalt. It wll take a little planning to arrange this approach to saving time, but I agree with the others, you really will want to see the City's of Burgos and Leon. You can make up time avoiding aspalt by busing or taxi into Santiago. I say this because my least favorite day was from Arzua into Santi. So I could even do without the last 2 days walking into Santiago but please everyone reading this, this is just my personal opinion :roll:
...or start in Pamploma!
Bottom line is, you will have to decide and it won't be an easy decision if you want it all but don't have all the time.

All the best,
 
Anniesantiago said:
walk through the dump into Burgos and the walk into and out of the city in Leon.
If you choose to take the alternate route into Burgos, going along the river, there is no "dump". In fact the last 8 kms or so are lovely and relaxing. I do agree with taking the bus into Leon (either from Mansilla de la Mulas or Puente de Villarente) and the after visiting this beautiful city take the bus out of the suburbs at least until La Virgen del Camino. With that, you should have save about 30 kms. You could also try and get a ride from Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza 17 kms of (for me) very booring walking. With that you have recuperated 2 days! Also, if I was really pushed for time, I would consider taking a local bus from Ponferrada (booring walk out of town) to say Villafranca del Bierzo (one day's walk). One thing that I would hate to miss would be the first 7/8 days walking over the Meseta, once leaving Burgos. Anne
 
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dutchpilgrim said:
P.S. The monks in San Nicolas aren't monks, but volunteers.

Not only that, but in good christian spirit, they may wash your feet but won't let you use their washrooms unless you stay there.

Marjorie,

As suggested by Dutchpilgrim, if you're going to skip, do it on the Meseta. His suggestion may have been shot down in flames, but it's not a bad idea.

Once you've reached Sahagun, you'll certainly have enough of the meseta and won't miss much by taking a bus to Leon. This option would also encompass Annie's suggestion to skip the dreadful entrance to Leon and at the same time give you the opportunity to see the ''swimming pool'' and not miss on the ''modern attraction'' at Moratinos.
Faire d'une pierre deux(trois) coups!

Bon voyage,
Jean-Marc
 
Well, here's where I'd skip from my perspective:

The walk into Burgos--You can catch a bus at Belorado or Villafranca Montes de Oca, although you'll miss San Juan de Ortega (very nice quiet little church), & Ages & Atapuerca. That will shave a day off your journey.

Then you can take the bus or train from Sahagun to Leon, which will cut out about 2 more days of walking.

Given my choice of Burgos or Leon, I pick Leon. For whatever reason, I didn't care much for Burgos both times I was there (except there's a good donar kebob really close to the albergue). Leon, otoh, felt like "my" city.

As for the 17km March from Hell between Carrion & Calzadilla---if you're going after they've already plowed everything under, you're not going to be missing very much, except for the feeling you're on a forced march.
 
Marjorie - where are you starting from?
St Jean to Santiago is about 775km. With 5.5 weeks or 39 days (7 May to 15 June) at 20km per day you don't have to miss out on any part of the camino. Its not possible to miss out on all the road walking. Most of it is in and out of the villages and towns. You might also find that some days you'll walk less than 20km (no place to stay at the 20km mark) and other days you'll have to walk further.
John Brierley's guide gives this breakdown for the paths, tracks and roads:
Paths/Tracks 505km 63.3%
Quiet roads 202km 25.4%
Main Roads 70km 11.3%
I would'nt decide now on which places to leave out. Wait until you are on the road and see how you feel each day. At least now you know that you can skip a few unpleasant entries and exits to towns and save a few km that way. But, you never know, you might just keep going and walk the whole route!
 
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I did skip (for time and health purposes) the area from Logrono to Burgos and elected to stay in Burgos to rest for 2 days. From what I've heard, I didn't miss anything with the trek into Burgos.

Maybe I missed this but, where's the starting point? knowing what I know now, I would have skipped starting at St Jean Pied de port and just started in Roncesvalles.
 
It is all good advice. It shows the variety of path that pilgrims do not like. If you stay flexible, you can skip parts a little at a time. There are lots of buses along the way, so you can extend the distance you cover by taking a bus a few kilometers. For example, if you take an early bus from Ponferrada to Villafranca del Bierzo, you can still walk to Ruitelan. You will have covered an enormous distance! Such opportunities abound. After Leon, the bus parallels the path, so you can skip 10 km or 40 km.

You have allowed plenty of time. See how it goes, then make your decision.
 
Thank you for all your advices, i think that i'll let the Camino decide for me when i'll get there. For your information, i'll stay in SJPP may 7, sleep in Orisson on the 8 and Roncevalles on the 9. I need to catch a plane in Santiago on june 15 and my flight back to Québec is june 16 from Charles de Gaulle. I know it's gonna be a hard route starting in SJPP, but maybe because of my french roots i feel the need to start there...
 
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Majorie!
I agree about the into town buses before Burgos and Leon even if you have a lot of time, last 10km into Burgos(busstop outside the first bar when you reach the highway into town) and from Mansilla into Leon. The mountain area before St. Juan de Ortega is beautiful in springtime, don't miss it!
Might be seeing you. Walking from Sevilla via Astorga and have my returnflight fram Santiago 15.06 like you. Buen camino! Enjoy your time on the camino.
ranthr
 
Hi Marjorie,
I think Sil is right ... you should have plenty of time to walk the whole way to Santiago without missing anything! You probably even have time to walk to Finisterre and Muxia before catching your flight on June 15. You will probably find that you might not adhere to your 20 km/day goal every day. Some days you'll do more and others less. Either way, let the camino sort it out for you when you get there. Maybe you'll meet some incredible pilgrim's who you won't want to part with... or maybe the opposite and you'll want to jump ahead of them a couple days :wink:
 
You might also surprise yourself by how far you feel capable of walking every day. After a few days walking, 20km might not seem like that far.
 
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I agree with Whalley. If you limit yourself to 20km per day after you have been walking for a week or so you will find yourself arriving at your next stop before noon with nothing to do for the rest of the day.
 
FWIW, I took a bus from Tosantos to Burgos. I hadn't planned on it, but I didn't get good sleep the night before and decided it would be better for me to do the bus. Otherwise I would have been walking while sleeping! :) I also took the train from Sahagun to Leon, which was due to my foot problems (which I battled the whole Camino). I managed to shave off a few days that way, and by the time I reached Astorga, I was averaging 20km/day, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the location of the Albergues. I liked that pace much better because it allowed me to actually stop and see things along the way and not feel like I was in a rush. You can always ask the hospitaleros at the albergues. They often will have bus schedules or know when they are due or where to catch them.

Good luck!
 
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Renegade brings up a good point: having time to play tourist, or stop & see things that interest you along the way. When I first started in May 2007, I was on a "set" schedule, making myself walk 25k or more. I felt rushed, exhausted when I got to where ever I ended up, & felt that I didn't have enough time to take care of business (shower, wash, food) AND be able to do things I wanted to do or check out things I was interested in. By slowing down to 20k per day, I had some flexibility to do all that & never felt rushed.

Kelly
 
The walk from Burgos to Leon is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful parts of the camino (in addition to the first few days after SJPP). If I had to miss something, to be honest, it would be the last 100 km going into Santiago! It's crowded and ugly. But most folks want the Compostella, so if that is important to you, a couple of days after Leon could probably be missed. However, If I were you, I'd start walking, see how much I end up doing (I ended up walking more per day than I initially imagined), and then if you find yourself in a time crunch, take a bus when needed. While on the trail, you'll be able to figure it out when the time comes.
 
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If you choose to take the alternate route into Burgos, going along the river, there is no "dump". In fact the last 8 kms or so are lovely and relaxing. I do agree with taking the bus into Leon (either from Mansilla de la Mulas or Puente de Villarente) and the after visiting this beautiful city take the bus out of the suburbs at least until La Virgen del Camino. With that, you should have save about 30 kms. You could also try and get a ride from Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza 17 kms of (for me) very booring walking. With that you have recuperated 2 days! Also, if I was really pushed for time, I would consider taking a local bus from Ponferrada (booring walk out of town) to say Villafranca del Bierzo (one day's walk). One thing that I would hate to miss would be the first 7/8 days walking over the Meseta, once leaving Burgos. Anne
Thank you for this. I only have 28 days to cover the entire Camino Frances from StPdP, and am also looking for some parts to skip. Your suggestions are great, thank you.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
One place I 'skipped' was from Molinaseca to Pieros - after that tricky descent to Molinaseca I was exhausted. So I took a taxi to Ponferrada. After touring the castle, I started to walk out of the city, but was feeling really lacklustre so cut up from the park to the bus station and took a bus to Pieros. I stayed at Albergue el Serbal y Luna, and the next day walked the alternative route through vineyards to Villafranca, then on to Trabadelo.

I was only walking for 8 days this time, I did need to skip a few km somewhere , and felt this was a fairly good compromise.

Earlier, I'd not want to miss the river walk into Burgos, but golly, it is a long way! I think in future I might bus or taxi from Atapuerca (or maybe Cardenuela Riopico) to that place beyond the airport where you cross the road to reach the park.

Personally I probably wouldn't skip an entire stage, but would shave off a few km here and there more often by using buses and taxis to save time and reach a further destination some days.
 

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