What if you weren't a Camino purist and...

[Kbierstube]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

 

[C clearly]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

I am not sure why you have posed your questions in this way.

I think you have some misconceptions about how most of us approach our Caminos. Most of us are not Camino purists (whatever that means) and we all make variations on the experience.

 

[nycwalking]

Um! 38 days light packing, hostals, albergues, hotels, casa rurals, paradors, having fun: sounds like an everyday camino to me.

 

[Tui]

Why would you not want to? WIND, RAIN, SHINE..... you have the greatest soul searching, life changing, best food, wine and company as you walk.
If your heart is truely into the Camino, just do it.
I can only dream of the next time.

 

[trecile]

That sounds about how my Camino went last August/September.
Mostly stayed albergues, with some hostales and casa rurales now and then - with private bathrooms. Usually hand washed my clothes, but occasionally split a machine wash with other pilgrims. Tinto de verano on hot afternoons, and vino tinto with dinner. No real "rough" terrain.
Every day was an adventure, with new scenery and new people to meet.

 

[cher99840]

I think that you would be more likely to find answers to the questions that you have on a travel site rather than a Camino site.

 

[SabsP]

I don't understand the OP 's question but why would you not " veering off course ". In that view a Camino is not unlike daily life : for both occasions it is sometimes necessary to change your ideas / options of what to do, how to act.

Walking a Camino is not blindly following a guide but listen to your own pace and act accordingly to that.

The outside signs does not make someone a pilgrim but the character and acting do.
It is not the gear you wear or the shell you have on your backpack but your friendliness and gratitude that will be remembered by your fellow pilgrims.

And like already dicussed on many other threads : by all means , when you have the budget for it, you can use private accomodations leaving the albergues ( donativos ) for those who really need it.

Ultreïa!

 

[HighlandsHiker]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

No rebel here, and no purist either, but all of those things you mention are ON camino, and much much more. The larger towns and the cities have opportunities for culture and excellent food. I liked having dinner at Cafe Iruna in Pamplona, detouring to Canas to see the monastery, seeing the Cartuja de Miraflores and Las Huelgas and the cathedral museum in Burgos, touring Samos' monastery, staying in a few upscale places here and there, touring the museum in Leon's cathedral, and seeing every museum in Santiago.....all of them first-rate. Santiago has every kind of food you possibly want - the best gazpacho at Bierzo Enxebre and a wonderful menu at Damajuana, etc. etc. Maybe veering off course like that?

 

[Donna Sch]

38 days...you could do the VDLP in that!
And all those things I did as a pilgrim. Slept in everything from donativos to refugios to monasteries to hostals to pensions. Drank wine and orujo. Ate so much good food. And the weather was fantastic.

 

[Robo]

Um! 38 days light packing, hostals, albergues, hotels, casa rurals, paradors, having fun: sounds like an everyday camino to me.

Yep. Sounds like a regular Camino to me! Although there was no mention of massages and days off for sight seeing

38 days? Walking a bit fast for me..........

 

[Kitsambler]

...you have 38 days to enjoy ...

So walk the Le Puy route, starting in Le Puy. After you reach SJPP, you'll have a couple days to enjoy Paris.

 

[John Sikora]

Like others have said, you shouldn't worry one bit. There is no such thing as a "pure" Camino. There are a lot of people who believe that the only way to do a Camino is their way but they aren't true pilgrims in my view. I did my first Camino in 50 days. Took my time. Enjoyed the sights, people, food, and wine. Had a place to stay each night. That let me think and contemplate a bit more than worrying about where I was going to stay. I'd actually love to just pack it all but my health, age, and not great back limit my choices somewhat. Do whatever works for you. If you meet someone who disapproves of how you're doing your walk, pleasantly wish them a good journey, sit down for 10 minutes and wait until someone else comes by.

 

[MichaelB10398]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

I think if you took some time to review some of the great tourist attractions in Spain you could easily design a passage that stays along the Camino Frances, but with excursions to additional sights. Granted, many of them will be right on the Frances, but there are others.

I suspect your question was tongue-in-cheek. There is a high degree of respect for individual choice among the Forum's members. We reject the idea that the Camino can only be done in a strict manner. That is not to say that some of us don't have things we dislike - me personally, I dislike bikes, but that is only because they tend to scare the crap out of walking pilgrims when they whiz by - but almost all of us feel good about "you" doing your own thing and allowing us to do ours.

Forget about what others think, plan your time wisely, and you will have the time of your life.

Buen Camino

 

[JabbaPapa]

Well, just saying, but if I were a Camino "purist" , and you were looking for a bit of a more relaxed and enjoyable experience within that time frame, I might suggest estimating how far you might get in 28 days if that's all you did, start at that approximate distance from Santiago, and then give yourself the 38 days to do it in a more relaxed manner ...

 

[DLJ]

I don't understand the OP 's question but why would you not " veering off course ". In that view a Camino is not unlike daily life : for both occasions it is sometimes necessary to change your ideas / options of what to do, how to act.

Walking a Camino is not blindly following a guide but listen to your own pace and act accordingly to that.

The outside signs does not make someone a pilgrim but the character and acting do.
It is not the gear you wear or the shell you have on your backpack but your friendliness and gratitude that will be remembered by your fellow pilgrims.

And like already dicussed on many other threads : by all means , when you have the budget for it, you can use private accomodations leaving the albergues ( donativos ) for those who really need it.

Ultreïa!

Well said, it is not about wearing hair shirts and self-flagellation. Aside from some tour groups or those who want to set an Olympic record for speed, ourselves and the many we have met along the way are open to the whims and ways of the Camino with no concrete plan. It is daily practice of the Spirit of the Camino - simplicity, equality, respect, compassion, that identifies the Pilgrim.

 

[Mark Lee]

Hmmm....my post keeps getting deleted from this thread.
This is what get's deleted:
????

Somebody got a beef with me?

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Hmmm....my post keeps getting deleted from this thread.
This is what get's deleted:
????

Somebody got a beef with me?

@Mark Lee suggest you PM the moderators to ask them why.

 

[Mark Lee]

@Mark Lee suggest you PM the moderators to ask them why.

honestly, I ain't that worried about it ha ha

 

[Coleen Clark]

Oh Man! Now you're talking!
Yes! I was a Camino Rebel!
Please don't tell anyone, but going thru this small town I saw a park with a swing set and see-saw and monkey bars. And I threw down my pack and raced over (ok hobbled...blisters...) and jumped on the swing and honey I went at it like no body's business.
I can hear the horrified gasps now.
Then after about 10 minutes of dizzying heights and loud giggles from the kids watching, I strapped on my pack and continued down the trail.
Yep. I'm an animal. Roar!

 

[Mike Savage]

Oh Man! Now you're talking!
Yes! I was a Camino Rebel!
Please don't tell anyone, but going thru this small town I saw a park with a swing set and see-saw and monkey bars. And I threw down my pack and raced over (ok hobbled...blisters...) and jumped on the swing and honey I went at it like no body's business.
I can hear the horrified gasps now.
Then after about 10 minutes of dizzying heights and loud giggles from the kids watching, I strapped on my pack and continued down the trail.
Yep. I'm an animal. Roar!

Oh great now I missed the swings too? I really have to slow down.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Oh great now I missed the swings too? I really have to slow down.

Or walk with kids - they find all the swings! And have energy to use exercise equipment after 35km too;-)
Picture added to make @Rebekah Scott smile.

 

[natefaith]

Or walk with kids - they find all the swings! And have energy to use exercise equipment after 35km too;-)
Picture added to make @Rebekah Scott smile.

The playground is where we first met you guys!!

 

[Irish Bernie]

My first Camino was one long pub crawl,i had a great time and met friends for life,except one american lady who told me i was going to hell,i said i'd call in when i passed through )

 

[Patrice Reed]

I stay in hotels or private rooms, only stayed in communal rooms a couple times just for the experience. When I get in too much pain I get on a bus, train or taxi. I skipped most of the Meseta because its boring and I have time limitations. It is your Camino, do it your way. Nobody is monitoring your walk.

 

[Coleen Clark]

My first Camino was one long pub crawl,i had a great time and met friends for life,except one american lady who told me i was going to hell,i said i'd call in when i passed through )

I think I know her. Yes. I do. We keep sending her to Spain, and she keeps coming back. Next time we will send her to Ireland and see if she returns.

 

[Dave2525]

Oh Man! Now you're talking!
Yes! I was a Camino Rebel!
Please don't tell anyone, but going thru this small town I saw a park with a swing set and see-saw and monkey bars.

My playground also had a slide which I took full advantage of. There was also singing Christmas songs along the Meseta. Rebels all

 

[JabbaPapa]

I stay in hotels or private rooms, only stayed in communal rooms a couple times just for the experience. When I get in too much pain I get on a bus, train or taxi. I skipped most of the Meseta because its boring and I have time limitations. It is your Camino, do it your way. Nobody is monitoring your walk.

Well that's a bit of a shame ... (not the hotels or private rooms ; if I could afford them, I'd likely sleep in them too)

Pushing past pain is part of what defines a foot pilgrimage, and the Meseta, just as far as just the walking goes, is the beating heart of the Camino Francès. Far from being "boring", it's magical, particularly as it resides in one's memory afterwards. The starkness (and hopefully isolation) of the Meseta can be life-changing, particularly of one's perceptions of space and time. Buses and taxis will ruin this possibility.

The better way to manage time limitations is quite simply to start closer to Santiago. There's no requirement whatsoever concerning the overly crowded SJPP & Roncesvalles ; and whilst nobody's "monitoring" your walk, at the end of the day if you end up with no experience of walking all the Way between <wherever> and Santiago, then it's your memories, your experience, your understanding that will be the only "losers" here, nobody else.

This is not to "blame" you -- you're quite right anyway that it's your Camino to do as you please. It's only to suggest that if you're contemplating another, then you might wish to seriously consider doing it differently than last time.

 

[Irish Bernie]

I think I know her. Yes. I do. We keep sending her to Spain, and she keeps coming back. Next time we will send her to Ireland and see if she returns.

She will defo return,with a new sense of wonder,dodgy liver AND a sense of life,laughter,love,and humour

 

[Coleen Clark]

She will defo return,with a new sense of wonder,dodgy liver AND a sense of life,laughter,love,and humour

I knew I could count on the Irish to do an attitude adjustment. Thanks dear.

 

[Thornley]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

Have not got too much advice here but as you have already asked about taxi's previously your path is obviously determined.

Meseta because its boring

We once stopped on a hot day , paid an albergue for a shower , had lunch and a sleep and that night with a full moon walked to Sahagan
It was bliss and we were not alone , maybe 20 pilgrims had this wonderful experience.

 

[M. Oliver]

Imagine that you're not a Camino Purist and you have 38 days to enjoy Spain along the Camino Frances route; Sept 2017.... You intend to pack and live, mostly, like a pilgrim and want to also enjoy some comforts like laundry, food and wine, culture, and limit rough terrain and bad weather. (I can already hear some of you telling me to stay home...)

How/when do you recommend veering off course?

Were you a Camino rebel? If so, I wanna hear about it!

I wasn't a rebel perse but along the vein of "doing your thing," here's my story. I hiked the Camino Frances last summer from June 1 to about July 17, starting in SJPD and ending in Santiago. At times, it seemed like a death march! I hadn't slept well many nights (being a light sleeper), I hadn't had a decent meal, I was sick of walking -- not to mention being sore. Feeling sad, lonely and tired one night, I came upon a couple from San Francisco who I had chatted with before at other albergues and cafes along The Way. At this point I was about halfway through the Camino. I told them how I was feeling about my Camino experience. They could tell I was despondent. They gave me the best advice that night! They said, 'people call it The Way but it's really Your Way, how ever you want to hike the Camino is the way you should do it.' In other words, if you are fed up with walking, treat yourself to a taxi or bus. If you haven't slept well, indulge in a private room. If your back hurts, have your backpack transported to your next stop. Their advice was emotionally freeing. Though I never saw them again after that night, I have never forgotten what they said to me and how it helped me. I finished the Camino, got my Compestella and I did it My Way.

Don't let others shame you for experiencing the Camino on your own terms.

 

[JabbaPapa]

They could tell I was despondent. They gave me the best advice that night! They said, 'people call it The Way but it's really Your Way, how ever you want to hike the Camino is the way you should do it.' In other words, if you are fed up with walking, treat yourself to a taxi or bus. If you haven't slept well, indulge in a private room. If your back hurts, have your backpack transported to your next stop.

My own advice about fatigue, physical and/or emotional, is always : grab a rest day, 2 if you need them. Stop ; until the fed-up-with-walking feeling that EVERY pilgrim will face eventually, goes away. You don't need a taxi for a rest. The private room advice is good, though.