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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

To all those starting in May

revrenjen

Member
I begin my first Camino May 11 from SJPP, solo walking, in part to celebrate my 60th birthday. Part of me feels like a new kid on her first day of school. Will I make any new friends? Will any one sit with me at lunch? Will anyone play with me at recess? (This is what I worry about when I'm not obsessing about blisters,bedbugs, and pack weight, but those are for other posts.)

I keep reading of folks who are starting in May, around the time I am. Hopefully some of you are having some of the same feelings. I thought I might relieve my new-kid-on-the-first-day of school anxiety by having one thread where we can all start to connect.

Buen Camino--
Rene
Omaha, NE
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Welcome Rene, :D

I have walked the Camino Francés twice in May on both occasions starting in SJPP.

You will have a wonderful time and meet lots of people though the nearer you get to Santiago the numbers will increase.

The pilgrim way turns us into one big, gossiping family and lunch can be quite noisy with no monitors telling us to shut up.

Watch how people will pop in and out of your days as you travel along.

Buen Camino.

philip
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I'll sit with you if I can catch-up to you. I'll be staying at Orisson on the May 14. Keep an eye out for me: I'm a 35 year-old French speaking wearing an orange Osprey backpack and a Camino buff made by Beverley.
 
Rene, you defenitly will have a good time on the camino.
I am your age and your feelings seems known to me from my first camino.
Let me tell you a memory from my second camino in 2007.
I stayed at the youth hostel in Estella. No other pilgrims there, but I went to the restaurant near the refugio to have a pilgrimdinner. Was placed alone at my own table. To young women asked the waiter to invite me to their table, and we had a nice meal together. That is a bit of the camino. Somebody cares for you. I very much liked the first stages in Navarra, where there were special pilgrimsmeals in the evenings. Then you got to know other peregrinos.
Have a nice camino. I will be starting from Sevilla end of April and if you walk all the way we might dump into eachother after Astorga.
Randi
 
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Will some one sit with you?

Well that depends on whether you are willing to share your sandwiches ... and whats on them .. :D

Don't worry about the anxiety, by the time you are one hour out of SJPDP you will be too tired to be anxious ..... Only joking.

I felt the same way the first time I walked out of SJPDP and was so pumped that I was just flying up the hill. That was a mistake. Take a slow but steady approach and you will be fine.


I met a Canadian guy on a hairpin bend just out of SJPDP about an hour after starting and we still correspond close to 4 year later.

I will be starting my 3rd Camino from Pau on 21 April so we will won't be meeting up but I hope you have a great time. Just savor every moment.

Pablo
 
I celebrated my 60th in 2007 with 13 friends in Rabanal. One of the women had an amazing voice and sang songs that brought tears to my eyes. She also sang a German classic and German pilgrims dining at other tables joined in . It was such an uplifting experience and my best ever birthday.
Work out where you will be on your birthday and as you make friends along the way ,as you will. Let them know to join you for dinner on that night. I don't think one should be alone on their 60th birthday but that is just my opinion.
I start my 3rd CF on 2nd May so probably won't bump into you but you will have an unforgettable experience.
Bed bugs are not really a problem in Spring. Everything is clean and fresh.
Blisters! I always get but just take dressings and pain killers and even though I was shocked at the thought of using a needle and thread on my blisters I succumbed last September on the Portuguese and they definitely healed much quicker that on previous Caminos .
Also my friend and I have always walked with a 10kl pack(including small ziplock with makeup) and once it is on your back you don't feel it. OK! I can hear everyone saying that is why you get blisters but no it must just be my circulation as my friends got none.
Sorry i have rabitted on a bit.
Buen Camino
Heather
 
I am 55 a woman and going alone and have all the same worries! I am starting May 10 from SJPP but have decided to take the first day easy so I am stopping at the Refuge Orisson the first night. Maybe we will cross paths.
Jane Bruner
Texas
write if you care to
jlauree@aol.com
 
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I did the Camino Frances starting in Roncevalles in 2008. I was 61 & went alone...very out of the box for me. I was so anxious the first morning. The entire experience has to be in the top 5 of my life. I can't wait to do it all alone again, but will be doing Leon to Santiago (200 miles) beginning April 28, 2011 with my son. If you have time, read Walk in a Relaxed Manner. It exposed me to what ended up being my experience. I loved it & hope you do too.
 
My teenage daughter and I will be starting on May 28 from SJPP. She is 16 and I am 57 - we are so jazzed about this trip, like no other we have taken. Looking forward to meeting everyone along the way.
Anyone else starting at this time?
Linda and Emily
 
Hi Rene,

My circumstances are similar to yours having just turned 60 and wanting this iconic year to be memorable with new adventures, friends, and renewed passion for life and all it offers. I will be travelling with two friends and will keep my eyes and ears open to meeting up with you along the way. The three of us are from Vancouver and Montreal and will be arriving in SJPP on May 8th with plans to be underway with our trek no later than May 10th. Cheers, Susan
 
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I start my first Camino from SJPDP on May 18th. I am 58 years old and celebrating retirement. I am so excited about this pilgrimage it does remind me of being a kid again and along with the excitement, the anxieties echoed in the earlier posts. In my case the excitement far outweighs my anxieties.
 
I start my first Camino from SJPDP on May 18th. I am 58 years old and celebrating retirement. I am so excited about this pilgrimage it does remind me of being a kid again and along with the excitement, the anxieties echoed in the earlier posts. In my case the excitement far outweighs my anxieties.
 
I start my camino around 29 may from roncessvalles or Pamplona. My memories of my first Camino day one SJPP to Roncesvalles is still to fresh in my memory, it almost ended on my camino on the first day, this time I will do it the Spanish way and not go to France. If you have not done SJPP B4 it is still a must do! Just take it easy and start early it will be a long hard day, probably the hardest of the camino frances,
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Look out for the amaWalkers group that are starting from Roncesvalles on 29th May. We are staying at La Posada.
The 29th May is a special day for Santiago pilgrims as it is the Feast Day of St Bona of Pisa - the patron saint of travellers, specifically pilgrims, couriers, guides, flight attendants, and the city of Pisa.
She was made an official guide by the Knights of Santiago and led 10 groups from her home town Pisa to Santiago in the late 12th century.
 
Dear new friends--

What fun to read your posts, and somehow very moving as well (so many of your stories are also my story). I look forward to meeting many of you along the way, and the others God will send to cross my path.

Rene
Omaha
 
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Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
There are 15 people and we are going all the way to Santiago but not walking the whole way. I've had great fun planning the trip, and the extra excursions. We’ll be doing things that most pilgrims don’t get to do if they are on their own or walking with just one or two people.
We'll walk three sections - from Roncesvalles to Logroño, Astorga to Villafranca del Bierzo and from Sarria to Santiago.
Before we start walking we are being taken from Pamplona to St Jean for lunch at a typical Basque restaurant. In the afternoon we'll be driven back over the mountain to Roncesvalles where we start walking the following day.
From Logroño we're going to see the castle at Clavijo. We spend a night at Burgos and Leon. From Ponferrada we spend a half day at the Las Medulas World Heritage Site.
A mini-bus taxi is going to collect us from Villafranca del Bierzo and take us to O Cebreiro for breakfast (a one hour stop) and then he will take us to Sarria.
In Santiago I've booked a nocturnal walking tour of the city (with a quiemada at midnight) and a mini-bus will take us to Finisterre at night to watch the sunset over the Atlantic - 10:17pm on the 16th June. And, I've ordered a basket of tapas and Galician wine!
Unless one is very wealthy, you can't do these excursions as an individual but with 15 people sharing we are able to visit places and do these things as a group.
And in case anyone is concerned about us taking all the beds, I've booked us into 22 hotels, pensions, fondas, inns, casa rurals, apartments and a monastery.
This is real touro-grino stuff and I'm really looking forward to it!!
 
sillydoll said:
There are 15 people and we are going all the way to Santiago but not walking the whole way. I've had great fun planning the trip, and the extra excursions. We’ll be doing things that most pilgrims don’t get to do if they are on their own or walking with just one or two people.
We'll walk three sections - from Roncesvalles to Logroño, Astorga to Villafranca del Bierzo and from Sarria to Santiago.
Before we start walking we are being taken from Pamplona to St Jean for lunch at a typical Basque restaurant. In the afternoon we'll be driven back over the mountain to Roncesvalles where we start walking the following day.
From Logroño we're going to see the castle at Clavijo. We spend a night at Burgos and Leon. From Ponferrada we spend a half day at the Las Medulas World Heritage Site.
A mini-bus taxi is going to collect us from Villafranca del Bierzo and take us to O Cebreiro for breakfast (a one hour stop) and then he will take us to Sarria.
In Santiago I've booked a nocturnal walking tour of the city (with a quiemada at midnight) and a mini-bus will take us to Finisterre at night to watch the sunset over the Atlantic - 10:17pm on the 16th June. And, I've ordered a basket of tapas and Galician wine!
Unless one is very wealthy, you can't do these excursions as an individual but with 15 people sharing we are able to visit places and do these things as a group.
And in case anyone is concerned about us taking all the beds, I've booked us into 22 hotels, pensions, fondas, inns, casa rurals, apartments and a monastery.
This is real touro-grino stuff and I'm really looking forward to it!!

I guess I'll be seeing you during my Camino (your last leg) as I plan to be in Santigo around June 16. Have a nice trip!
 
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I will be leading the amaWalkers trip Sil describes above in May/June if anyone's interested.
I can't wait! :::packing her bags already:::
 
I'll be 60 this December. Retired in June of this year.

Am currently waiting for the snow to come and go before embarking on my journey in the Spring.

Looking forward to it.
 
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Hello!

I will be 63 on May 7 and I am starting from SJPdP around May 15. I am from Connecticut USA.

I am eagerly anticipating that first day. I'm sure that , like me, your friends are all asking why. I don't have an answer except to say that for some reason I want to.

Hope to see you a all then..

Buen Camino

Alan
 
I started my Camino from SJPDP on 25 May last year . It was one of the best days of my life. Much like you, I was terrified of the unknown ahead. I have never done any serious hiking and was a lone walker. I made friends very quickly although walked many kms by myself. My best advice is that if you can, wait for a fair weather day to make the trek SJPDP-Roncesvalles. The scenery is spectacular and walking the distance on a clear day will take the experience from amazing to sublime.

I am going back in late May 2012. This time I will do the section Pamplona-Burgos.

Buen Camino!
 
Too bad, looks like I won't meet you, Sil, on the way this time. I'll be walking with a small group starting May 20 in Ponferrada. I so look forward to meeting other pilgrims along the way. We never know who the Camino will send us. Wish everyone a Buen Camino.
Sue
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
make the trek SJPDP-Roncesvalles
Thousands do it every year, so it can be done. It is my observation, though, that many walkers are so driven by the destination, the distance, and the difficulty, that they do not take care of their feet. They then suffer for up to five more weeks.

Since there is nothing magical in doing the stage in one day, I suggest that you do so only if you know your boots fit, you know you can walk for ten hours without getting blisters, and you walk quickly enough that you can take the breaks necessary to treat hot spots and changed walking mechanics as you tire.

Roncesvalles is a universal stopping point. It has lots of accommodations, but they fill in the busy months. If you have stopped in Hounto or Orisson, you will arrive early enough to get a bed. If you want a private accommodation, make a reservation. The two hotels are normally full for drop-ins. Burguete can stay in business only because of the overflow from Roncesvalles and the nearly-dead pilgrims that have to continue the 3 km (and Hemingway's piano).

You will enjoy the scenery so much more if you are not thinking constantly about how much your feet hurt, a thought that will occupy you for quite some time if you get to Roncesvalles too fast at the expense of your feet!
 

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