What route to take??

[Luisa]

Dear friends and peace walkers,

I am looking to undertake the pilgrimage in April 2007 and originally I had intended on the Camino Frances but I feel some hesitation upon reading the reports of large numbers of people who do this and the 'touristifcation' of what I had intended to be a more spiritual journey.

In saying that, I am 22 years old and female and so at the same time do not want to be entirely alone in the wilderness without some company or assistance should I need it.

If four weeks is the maximum time I can take - what are your recommendations? Is the Camino Frances still a viable option? I also looked at the Madrid route on the CSJ website but it seemed that that would be a more difficult journey???

Your advice is appreciated.

Luisa

 

[Wannes]

In my opinion the middle ground between crowds (frances) and solitude (Norte) is the Via De La Plata...I did it this year in April/May and while there were some days that u either meet too many (20+) or too little (none) pilgrims, i found that most of the time I was walking with around 10-15 ppl spread out over 20+km... You can walk alone most of the time (if you choose too) but if you sit down for an hour somebody is bound to pass you by...a And in the refugios there usually are between 5 and 15 ppl.

Also, not unimportant , it is an absolutely beautifuul and varied route...especially in springtime...i have never seen so many flowers in my life. And you pass by some very nice cities..Salamanca(!) being the highlight of the trip (in my opinion)

But if you want to do the whole thing in one sitting then 4 weeks is a bit short...it's 1000km after all.

 

[frescotours]

Hello Luisa,

Keep in mind that the first week of April in 2007 is Semana Santa (Easter Week) in Spain. So you're more likely to see more people on the Camino those days than the rest of the month.

Good luck and buen camino!

 

[N11284]

Luisa,

I walked part of the Camino Frances this September and while there were many people about this did not detract from a lovely experience. While I met many people in the evenings , most days I walked alone just passing others , or being passed in turn. The only problem , which was not very important to me, was that most albergues were very full, although I never had any difficulty in getting a bed. Logrono , if i remember correctly was very noisy, but no problems any where else.

Another thing to remember is that there are many many albergues and it is very easy to find a quite one. Lots of people walk using differnt guides and stay where the guides recommend. I found that if you walked an extra 5 kilometers (or 5 kilometers less) than the guide suggested, you could be almost alone. Actually in Lorca I stayed in a lovely private albergue ( cost €8) with only 4 other people.