Walking from St. Jean de Pied next week hopefully!

[lairdanne]

Myself and a friend are hoping to start our Camino from St. Jean de Pied on Tuesday of next week. We are concerned about the weather and what conditions are like at this moment.Are there any photos of that part of the Camino available to view which would give us an idea of the terrain. Would appreciate all views, Thank you, Anne.

 

[Mysticl]

I have "virtually" walked almost every step of the first couple days using Google Maps "Street View" The views are specially nice on the SJPP/Roncesvalles route. I almost feel like I've been there already! It is going to be so cool to be there in person having *seen* it all in the virtual world.

There are a few sections that are unavailable as they are off road but you can still get a VERY good idea of what's in store. The slope (angle) is a little harder to determine using "Street View" but you can still sort of tell how steep the hill is at various points along the way if you pan around. You can even zoom in on the signs to figure out where you are and which way to go ... hehe ... almost as good as being there ... almost ...

 

[lairdanne]

I did view it on google maps but I thought the track might be different to the road and removed from it. Struggling to make a decision on footware /mountain bootsor good walking runners.

 

[Mysticl]

I'm waffling too. I have trail boots and they are very comfortable for the most part but after about 8 km I must admit I start to feel the balls of my feet getting tenderish and I *MIGHT* be able to feel my toes hitting the front (although that's still too early to tell) ... that said I have walked the same trail in my old really comfortable (around the house and town) running shoes and my feet are a MESS after .. even the TOP of my foot hurts. I am going to try my husbands walking shoes next time (Keens) .. oddly enough they fit really well despite being at least a size to long ... the rest of the shoe fits like a glove however which is odd because all his other shoes actually fall off my feet. That could work for me especially if swelling becomes an issue. I guess the thing is to try and walk a fairly long way in both and try to compare your feet after ... just walking a km or two won't address the problems that come up after walking 10+ ...

If you want an even better feel for what the Camino is (and isn't) try watching Radio Buen Camino ... here ---> ( http://vimeo.com/34380639 ) it is really good. The actual walking part of the video starts at about the 4 minute mark so you can scroll forward to that point. It shows the off road portions that Google street view can't and the terrain can be kind of rough. Part one covers the SJPP portion. These videos have more or less convinced me to take my boots provided they will be comfortable enough for long walking but I might swap out my sandals for a nice pair of light trail walkers or maybe even trail sandals like Keen's for example, that could be used for walking in a pinch ... on the flat parts anyway ... that way I can swap mid day if I like ... The other videos showing the Camino on subsequent days are worth watching as well and you'll soon see the terrain can get kind of rough in spots ... those portions may not be long but it was enough to convince me that boots could be an asset for me even though I was hoping shoes would be enough.