Walking my second Camino frances

[cloud86]

Bonjour, Hola and Buen Camino I'm CJ from Cheshire England.

I first hiked the camino de Santiago in summer 2013 from St Jean to Santiago before finishing in Finsiterra. I generally love the great outdoors and travelling. I've done a few backpacking trips since but not a day goes by where I don't think about my time on the way. The experience, the people I met - a great bunch of who I'm still in contact with, and what the Camino did for me afterwards.

So would it be crazy to do it for a second time this summer? I know you can never replicate your first time, everything will be different. But I have an itch to do another hike and another chance to milk some time off work in in order to go. It took me 31 days to reach Santiago and another 3 to finisterra last time. I would do it a little differently this time around, I'd stay in different places and end it in Muxia, plus I'd stay in the parador at the end in santiago.

What is the average price of the Albergues in 2017 and daily budget for the way? I think I did 30 euros a day last time around and Albergues varied between 5 - 10 some 15 euros a night? I'd drink more water and start the days earlier this time around too. I'm looking to go at the end of August to early October.

Cheers CJ.

 

[mspath]

cloud86,

As you ponder walking once again you might find some helpful tips/considerations in this earlier forum thread.--
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...frances-a-second-time-good-or-bad-idea.23580/

Whatever route or stops you do choose good luck and Buen camino!

 

[SYates]

The prices haven't much changed in my experience since 2013 ;-) Albergue beds: Donativo (which doesn't mean free!) to 15 Euro for some private ones, the municipal/parish albergues somewhere in between. So an average 10 Euro/day for a bed.

If you, mostly, cook in the albergues, perhaps even with others and limit the Cafe con Leches, a daily budget of 30 Euro should be fine. Buen Camino, SY

 

[trecile]

If it is crazy there are a lot of lunatics here on the forum.

 

[Felice]

May I make a suggestion?

Why not walk a different route? I've just walked the Primitivo from Oviedo as my second Camino to Santiago. Different scenery but still very nice, nothing like so busy, at least in May, no tour groups, hardly any cyclists. Fewer albergues and hostels, but that worked out better as I walked alone during the day and then found the same or similar group of people in the evening.

I think you might be shocked as to how busy the Frances is now.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I walked the Frances in three sections. The first was what I needed, so I went back 5 years later (what I did during those 5 years without a C. is a mystery to me ) and had a wonderful time.

So I went back the year after, and it was rainy, cold, mud everywhere, noone that I really connected with beyond your typical polite conversation. Hated it. I had expectations, and they were not met. I hated that C.

Since then I have walked other routes, never expecting anything but km of walking. I have enjoyed some very much, another one I did not. I guess I had started expecting more than just km ahead of me.

It got to the point that after that Portuguese Camino I wondered if I would ever enjoy any more Caminos. Happy to report that the answer is yes.

So, go, just be careful with those expectations.

As for budget: 10 € for a bed, 10€ for a menu del dia or pilgrim menu, 3€ for two cafe con leche and another 5€-8€ for breakfast, second brekafast, a midday snack, etc. Ball park, as you well know, you can find albergues for less, and more, forgo the large meal out and open a can of tuna to enjoy on bread, etc.

Have fun!

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

Hey, welcome back CJ. I also walked in 2013 and you had run into our mutual friends, Pat and John from California I also want to go back and was planning for this year, but unfortunately it will have to be postponed until later Anyway, I want to walk the CF again and also know it will be different than the first, but that is OK with me. Like you, I will stay in different places (with the exception of a couple that I might want to visit again). I know they say it is so much busier than before, but I can live with that. Hope you have a great time the second time around, and I say Go For It!! I know I will, just not yet

 

[cloud86]

Hola everyone,

Cheers for your replies, I heard even when I was there the first time that it was becoming more commercial and something I saw for myself during the last 200km. I guess September will be a little quieter than the months of May - August. I plan to book a head at the beginning and the end for sure but I'm an early bird so that will help too.
I walked the tour du mont blanc last year and as fun as it was it just didn't match up.

I'm just buying new equipment and already have my boots! And bonjour Many-miles2go yeah I haven't been on the site in nearly 4 years. How are Pat and John are you still in touch with them?

 

[owms2323]

Bonjour, Hola and Buen Camino I'm CJ from Cheshire England.

I first hiked the camino de Santiago in summer 2013 from St Jean to Santiago before finishing in Finsiterra. I generally love the great outdoors and travelling. I've done a few backpacking trips since but not a day goes by where I don't think about my time on the way. The experience, the people I met - a great bunch of who I'm still in contact with, and what the Camino did for me afterwards.

So would it be crazy to do it for a second time this summer? I know you can never replicate your first time, everything will be different. But I have an itch to do another hike and another chance to milk some time off work in in order to go. It took me 31 days to reach Santiago and another 3 to finisterra last time. I would do it a little differently this time around, I'd stay in different places and end it in Muxia, plus I'd stay in the parador at the end in santiago.

What is the average price of the Albergues in 2017 and daily budget for the way? I think I did 30 euros a day last time around and Albergues varied between 5 - 10 some 15 euros a night? I'd drink more water and start the days earlier this time around too. I'm looking to go at the end of August to early October.

Cheers CJ.

Hi, I did the CF in Sept/Oct 2014 and again in April/May 2016. I actually really enjoyed the 2nd one even more. The scenery was prettier and I think I was more open to meeting people. I am going back thieSept just to walk from Santiago to Finisterre/Muxia as the other 2 times, I stopped in Santiago. Each Camino is a little different. Enjoy.

 

[Jay Campbell]

I just finished my second Camino Frances two days ago ( I am still in Santiago), having done my first in September - October 2015. Your Camino will in no way be the same if you walk the CF again. Different companions, different you.... my only advice is do what you are called to do...

 

[domigee]

Bonjour, Hola and Buen Camino I'm CJ from Cheshire England.

(...) So would it be crazy to do it for a second time this summer? I know you can never replicate your first time, everything will be different. But I have an itch to do another hike and another chance to milk some time off work in in order to go.
(...)
Cheers CJ.

Hi cloud86! No of course it isn't crazy, but ...you're talking to the converted, here! multi-recidivists for the most part so maybe we are a bit biased
Everyone's different but here's my experience of walking the Camino francés 3 times:
First time was wonderful, I met lovely people (both pilgrims and locals) and most importantly, I discovered that I could do it!
It was even better the second time, I was less like a rabbit in headlights! and I (sort of) knew what I was doing and where I was going It was different of course but good, different! Except I was bitten by bedbugs, something that hadn't even crossed my mind the first time round.
Third time was heavenly, especially as I had been worried about what I had read: "the crowds", "the camino isn't was it used to be", bla bla.
All 3 Caminos in the Summer, btw (I'm a teacher )

So there you have it, I left my heart on the Camino francés and would do it again and again I never expect it to be the same though, how could it be?
All the best whatever you choose.

 

[NicP]

Hey CJ. Great question. In my opinion, you aren't crazy. I've asked the same question myself (maybe I'm crazy?). Before my first camino, I thought it would be a once in a lifetime experience. Now, I spend a lot of time thinking about doing it again, and just how I might be able to fit that in with the rest of my life...

Several people have mentioned that not having expectations is the key to a great second camino. Personally, I'm not sure that I could go without any expectations - its a bit like telling yourself not to think about white bears... all you can do once somebody tells you that, is think about white bears... Maybe the key is to expect something different, and possibly do something different too. For me, it will be to walk a different route, and also to probably walk at a different time of year, maybe winter. Who knows? At the end of the day, the less concrete your expectations are for a second camino, the less likely you are to feel let down that it didn't work out the way you expected it too!

Good luck, buen camino!

 

[MartinZ]

Prices haven't changed much, 30 euro's a day sounds reasonable. I've walked from SJPDP to Finesterre and Muxia five times now and they were all very different!
For my second Camino I was a bit nervous; Will I meet nice people again? Will I get the pilgrim experience again, or just feel like a tourist taking a long walk?
I got the full experience again, just as exhilarating as the first time. And again, and again...

I do have some expectations of what I will find every time:
* Sore feet, like they've been tenderised by a meat hammer, shin pain, sore knees maybe even some blisters
* Bad weather be it ridiculous hot (I'm a summertime walker) or drenching wet
* Some miserable lonely time or disappointment in one form or the other.
On a 30 days 800km cross-country hike I'm bound to run into some of it and just have to suck it up, knowing tomorrow all might be totally different.
That all might sound not all too appealing but since you've walked it before I think you know it's actually a small price to pay for what you get in return.
On every camino I've found myself skip-hopping for pleasure, singing aloud be it alone or with friends, and crying, for joy or old hidden pain I could finally set free.

I must say that the second time is easier than the first; You already know the drill of everyday life on the camino, "let's not sit down on this rock, if I remember correctly there's a bar coming up soon", and maybe most of all; You know what you're getting yourself into (be kind to your body, it's a LONG way!)

The CF and it's constant changing landscape, the stretches with bars every few kilometres and the stretches where there are few and far between and of course the social aspect... No, I find walking the CF has not become a routine. It's action packed in it's small subtleties and still takes me by total surprise time and time again.

Should you walk a second time? You know what you're getting yourself into, and believe me, at the same time you don't!

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

Hola everyone,

Cheers for your replies, I heard even when I was there the first time that it was becoming more commercial and something I saw for myself during the last 200km. I guess September will be a little quieter than the months of May - August. I plan to book a head at the beginning and the end for sure but I'm an early bird so that will help too.
I walked the tour du mont blanc last year and as fun as it was it just didn't match up.

I'm just buying new equipment and already have my boots! And bonjour Many-miles2go yeah I haven't been on the site in nearly 4 years. How are Pat and John are you still in touch with them?

No, unfortunately I somehow lost their contact information before we got home. If you happen to have it, could you PM me their info? I have a picture of John with my wife and I holding a "Terrible Towel" in one of the homes we stayed at (We are all Steeler fans ). I would like to send that to him (along with some other pictures of us). That home was also used by Martin Sheen and Emilio Esteves while they were filming "The Way". There was a signed poster on the wall Great memories. Good luck on CF #2 !!

 

[terryenroute]

Hola everyone,

Cheers for your replies, I heard even when I was there the first time that it was becoming more commercial and something I saw for myself during the last 200km. I guess September will be a little quieter than the months of May - August. I plan to book a head at the beginning and the end for sure but I'm an early bird so that will help too.
I walked the tour du mont blanc last year and as fun as it was it just didn't match up.

I'm just buying new equipment and already have my boots! And bonjour Many-miles2go yeah I haven't been on the site in nearly 4 years. How are Pat and John are you still in touch with them?

I craved a second camino as well, and was very happy on the via de la plata. A very long route, but you could start anywhere along it. Some fantastic cities and villages. Just enough people on the camino at the time, to establish a great "camino family". I highly recommend it.

 

[John Finn]

.... I've walked from SJPDP to Finesterre and Muxia five times now ....

That is an astonishing achievement. Well done, sir!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

If it is crazy there are a lot of lunatics here on the forum.

Amen to that, sister.

 

[cloud86]

Hola everybody,

Thanks for all your replies, depending how my application for my dream job as a firefighter goes next month I will walk the camino one more time and leave from St Jean pied de port on 28th August!

And Manymiles2go sorry I never kept in touch with Pat and John sadly. I met those guys on the very first day in the Pyrenees and they sped on a head after a while, the next time I saw them funny enough was on my last day in Santiago. Another friend I walked with was in touch with them, but I will email him and see if I can get any contacts details for you. I did an amateur documentary video I put on YouTube of my first time on the way.

Buen Camino CJ.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

My wife and I plan to walk the Camino Frances route again, possibly next year, but maybe only a section for a couple of weeks.
We have done the Sarria to Santiago section a couple of times, but with different start and end points each day to make it fresh.
In the guide book there are optional trails or routes on many of the sections, so we plan to walk these versus trying to duplicate our first Camino.
As far as cost, we find Spain and Portugal to be very inexpensive to travel in compared to the rest of Europe.
Since our first year in 2014, we have not seen a huge escalation in costs at all.

 

[ManyMiles2Go]

Hola everybody,

Thanks for all your replies, depending how my application for my dream job as a firefighter goes next month I will walk the camino one more time and leave from St Jean pied de port on 28th August!

And Manymiles2go sorry I never kept in touch with Pat and John sadly. I met those guys on the very first day in the Pyrenees and they sped on a head after a while, the next time I saw them funny enough was on my last day in Santiago. Another friend I walked with was in touch with them, but I will email him and see if I can get any contacts details for you. I did an amateur documentary video I put on YouTube of my first time on the way.

Buen Camino CJ.

LOL, I can believe that!! Pat passed me twice in one day!! He had dropped his credentials and was going back to the last town for them. About an hour later, I heard the tic, tic, tic and thought, "no way did he get back to that town and caught up to me already!!" . Well, someone picked them up for him and met him part way. Wasn't long, he was gone again Anyway, if you get them from your friend, that would be great. If not, no big deal. Have a great trip in August!!!

 

[RachelNZ]

I just finished my second Camino Frances two days ago ( I am still in Santiago), having done my first in September - October 2015. Your Camino will in no way be the same if you walk the CF again. Different companions, different you.... my only advice is do what you are called to do...

Hi Jay, I met you in this Camino. I don’t know if you remember two kiwi girls who you walked with from alto de perdon through to viana I think? I did wonder how you got on and if you finished. Hannah and I finished on the 29th may in Santiago so not long before you. I hope it was amazing for you. It was life changing for me. I see you want to walk again! That’s fantastic. I want to walk again too but this time it’s in Portugal next April.
Best of luck, burn Camino Jay

 

[Jay Campbell]

Hi Rachel... I am booked to go on my 3rd Camino in October, first time non solo as I am going with my girlfriend. Several weeks ago , my girlfriend introduced me to a friend of hers who has also walked the Camino. We chatted a bit , soon to discover we walked approximately the same time period . We chatted a bit more and I mentioned that I walked a few days towards the beginning with woman from NZ who had joined up early on, and it turns out that Khristeena walked quite a bit with you , and into Santiago...just thought I would mention this as it sorta blew me away...

 

[RachelNZ]

Hi Jay,
Yes I had a message from Khristeena about your meeting. I was astounded. The Camino is amazing. What else is there to say.!
Good for you walking again! I was thinking of staying off the Brierley guide stops next time and seeing some different albergues etc. Is this what you think you will do? And.. are you walking the whole way again?

 

[Jay Campbell]

Hi Rachel... Time is limited so we are starting in Burgos and not allowing more than a day or two for down days/injury days etc. We were thinking of doing the Portugese from Porto & then bussing to Lugo, walking back and cashing in on 2 compostelas in 25 days but it seemed a bit complicated....I agree on the strategy to be off the Brierley stops and stopping at new different albergues, but there are a few favorites that I would love to revisit ( albergue Leo in Villafranca, En El Camino in Boadilla del camino, the Muni in Burgos ) I am only one of the decision makers along the way and I would hate to deprive Barbara of great spots just because I had been there before ( sometimes twice ) ... I do remember that it was yours & Hannahs strategy to stop at the alburgue/town before the stopping point. I cannot remember exactly where it was but i recall that we did that once @ a donativo & you guys had to stay in a back shed with plywood walls and I was allowed to stay in the main building with a private room and shower because I needed electricity for my cpap machine (the camino provides).... You said earlier that you were planning the Portuguese in April... from where ?