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I walked both the Tours and Le Puy routes last year. The Le Puy route was spectacular and I look forward to walking it again some day. One of my favorite things about that route is that every single little village seems to have a tourist office with an English speaker. They're really helpful. The people who live along the route are extremely kind. I think I heard more "bonjour"s on the Le Puy route than "buen camino"s on the Frances.So as many of you have probably noticed, over the past couple of days I have been considering walking the Camino 'Tours' route or the Camino 'Le Puy' route in a couple of years. At this time I am heavily leaning towards the Camino ' Le Puy' because of time constraints, lack of a proper trail. and also because it sounds that you all consider that route to be a more enjoyable experience than the route from Paris. With all this said I (and my parents) have some questions. Firstly, I have done some research on the overall weather in Le Puy from April-June but haven't been able to decide what would be an ideal month to walk. I am hoping to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and wouldn't like to pack a ton of extra clothes and equipment for extremely cold weather for 'Le Puy' when most of it will be extremely unnecessary for Spain in June and July (thus a lot of it would become dead weight. I am wondering if you all think it would be better for me to start walking in Le Puy in early May, mid May or late May so as to avoid as much of the extreme cold as possible? Also, from your personal experiences was much of the 'Le Puy' route considerably cold even into May?
My parents were also wondering how safe the route from Le Puy to St Jean, they seem to think the route is rather unsafe and at this time are uncomfortable with me going without a person who has experienced the Camino before. From what I have read so far I never received the impression that the route was unsafe and that many people walk it alone, obviously one shouldn't leave their money and important documents out in plain site, but I figure you all would be more knowledgeable in this area and can tell me the truth about whether the route is 'safe' enough for a 19 year old American to traverse without much danger. Lastly, I was wondering how important it would be to learn French before one embarks on this route? Is it very important to have a general overview of the language or could one get buy without learning much of the language? Also if you do suggest to have a basic knowledge in French is there any programs you think might be useful to learn French with? Thanks for the help!
So as many of you have probably noticed, over the past couple of days I have been considering walking the Camino 'Tours' route or the Camino 'Le Puy' route in a couple of years. At this time I am heavily leaning towards the Camino ' Le Puy' because of time constraints, lack of a proper trail. and also because it sounds that you all consider that route to be a more enjoyable experience than the route from Paris. With all this said I (and my parents) have some questions. Firstly, I have done some research on the overall weather in Le Puy from April-June but haven't been able to decide what would be an ideal month to walk. I am hoping to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and wouldn't like to pack a ton of extra clothes and equipment for extremely cold weather for 'Le Puy' when most of it will be extremely unnecessary for Spain in June and July (thus a lot of it would become dead weight. I am wondering if you all think it would be better for me to start walking in Le Puy in early May, mid May or late May so as to avoid as much of the extreme cold as possible? Also, from your personal experiences was much of the 'Le Puy' route considerably cold even into May?
My parents were also wondering how safe the route from Le Puy to St Jean, they seem to think the route is rather unsafe and at this time are uncomfortable with me going without a person who has experienced the Camino before. From what I have read so far I never received the impression that the route was unsafe and that many people walk it alone, obviously one shouldn't leave their money and important documents out in plain site, but I figure you all would be more knowledgeable in this area and can tell me the truth about whether the route is 'safe' enough for a 19 year old American to traverse without much danger. Lastly, I was wondering how important it would be to learn French before one embarks on this route? Is it very important to have a general overview of the language or could one get buy without learning much of the language? Also if you do suggest to have a basic knowledge in French is there any programs you think might be useful to learn French with? Thanks for the help!
So as many of you have probably noticed, over the past couple of days I have been considering walking the Camino 'Tours' route or the Camino 'Le Puy' route in a couple of years. At this time I am heavily leaning towards the Camino ' Le Puy' because of time constraints, lack of a proper trail. and also because it sounds that you all consider that route to be a more enjoyable experience than the route from Paris. With all this said I (and my parents) have some questions. Firstly, I have done some research on the overall weather in Le Puy from April-June but haven't been able to decide what would be an ideal month to walk. I am hoping to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and wouldn't like to pack a ton of extra clothes and equipment for extremely cold weather for 'Le Puy' when most of it will be extremely unnecessary for Spain in June and July (thus a lot of it would become dead weight. I am wondering if you all think it would be better for me to start walking in Le Puy in early May, mid May or late May so as to avoid as much of the extreme cold as possible? Also, from your personal experiences was much of the 'Le Puy' route considerably cold even into May?
My parents were also wondering how safe the route from Le Puy to St Jean, they seem to think the route is rather unsafe and at this time are uncomfortable with me going without a person who has experienced the Camino before. From what I have read so far I never received the impression that the route was unsafe and that many people walk it alone, obviously one shouldn't leave their money and important documents out in plain site, but I figure you all would be more knowledgeable in this area and can tell me the truth about whether the route is 'safe' enough for a 19 year old American to traverse without much danger. Lastly, I was wondering how important it would be to learn French before one embarks on this route? Is it very important to have a general overview of the language or could one get buy without learning much of the language? Also if you do suggest to have a basic knowledge in French is there any programs you think might be useful to learn French with? Thanks for the help!
About the weather: we just returned from hiking Le Puy to Conques. Started May 29 and finished 10 days later. Weather was better than we expected, with mostly sunny days and highs in the low 60s to start with the low to mid-70s by the end. One day it rained on and off, and another day we had mist and some rain for an hour or so. We did fine in the Aubrac Hills - highs around 58 - but we felt fortunate to leave them when we did: the day after we left the Aubrac it was supposed to get to 49 degrees, with light rain (that's pretty chilly in my book). I think one forum said there was some snow in the Aubrac the end of May last year. Based only on this year's experience, I would say late May to early June was just about right for hiking weather for Le Puy to Conques.
Hi There I like your entries and had a question, being my first Camino I wa wondering if the Lu Puy route in July would be good? I speak french so want to start there will it be terribly hot ?Early May is plagued with several long holiday weekends in France, which makes the lodging hunt a challenge. On the other hand, August is very hot and dry, so you'd want to wrap up your trip by the end of July. It is possible to mail home unneeded gear (not cheap, but possible). From a safety and security standpoint, I suspect you are at greater risk in the cities and airports you will be transiting on the way in and the way out. In Spain, where there are more people about, and you spend more time in larger towns, there may be a few more risks. But if you are careful about your cash, credit/ATM cards and travel documents, you should be fine. I like the suggestion to have a parent walk some of the first week with you; they may also enjoy reading the blogs of our various Le Puy walkers.
Thank you all so much for the help, really appreciate it! I thought the trail was safe enough, encouraging to know I wasn't to off base. Although I hope I don't run into the ghost of Bete of the Gevaudan, doesn't sound like a pleasant character at all. I've decided that I'm going to be taking a French course in the fall with school as a way to introduce myself to the language. I definitely like the idea of looking at some Pimsleur CDs in addition to taking the course with school. I'll have to try and find a copy of Miam Miam Dodo soon. I'm actually looking at new phone plans now so I will have to keep a temporary upgrade to an international plan or something similar in mind with the carrier I choose. So it sounds like I will be walking on the Le Puy route in a couple of years because it clearly has become the obvious choice for myself and my comrades to take. I was thinking May would be a good month to start in... do you think it would make any difference to start walking in the beginning of May versus the middle of May? Thanks for the help!
So I leave for the walk tomorrow!You will be able to find a 2015 edition of the Miam-miam dodo book in LePuy. Even at some of the small tobacco and news shops.
So as many of you have probably noticed, over the past couple of days I have been considering walking the Camino 'Tours' route or the Camino 'Le Puy' route in a couple of years. At this time I am heavily leaning towards the Camino ' Le Puy' because of time constraints, lack of a proper trail. and also because it sounds that you all consider that route to be a more enjoyable experience than the route from Paris. With all this said I (and my parents) have some questions. Firstly, I have done some research on the overall weather in Le Puy from April-June but haven't been able to decide what would be an ideal month to walk. I am hoping to walk from Le Puy to Santiago and wouldn't like to pack a ton of extra clothes and equipment for extremely cold weather for 'Le Puy' when most of it will be extremely unnecessary for Spain in June and July (thus a lot of it would become dead weight. I am wondering if you all think it would be better for me to start walking in Le Puy in early May, mid May or late May so as to avoid as much of the extreme cold as possible? Also, from your personal experiences was much of the 'Le Puy' route considerably cold even into May?
My parents were also wondering how safe the route from Le Puy to St Jean, they seem to think the route is rather unsafe and at this time are uncomfortable with me going without a person who has experienced the Camino before. From what I have read so far I never received the impression that the route was unsafe and that many people walk it alone, obviously one shouldn't leave their money and important documents out in plain site, but I figure you all would be more knowledgeable in this area and can tell me the truth about whether the route is 'safe' enough for a 19 year old American to traverse without much danger. Lastly, I was wondering how important it would be to learn French before one embarks on this route? Is it very important to have a general overview of the language or could one get buy without learning much of the language? Also if you do suggest to have a basic knowledge in French is there any programs you think might be useful to learn French with? Thanks for the help!
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