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I agree with everything that @Vacajoe said. To me, one continuous walk really is more meaningful.I think uninterrupted walking is the best, so IF you insist in starting at SJPdP and ending in SdC, then I’d advocate two long walking sections rather than multiple jumps in your itinerary. Only you can judge your walking speed and daily desired distance, so you’ll need to think about those factors when deciding your route. So SJPdP to Burgos (2 weeks) and then Sarria to SdC (1 week) MAY work if your walking allows that.
As for the Pyrenees? Nice, but I think overrated (start the avalanche of criticism!!!) for the effort folks go through to get to SJPdP. It’s a nice 1 or 2 day walk, but so are other spectacular portions of the CF! I think starting three weeks out from SdC and walking continuously is still the best way.
What is it about this experience that makes you want to plan your Camino around it? Maybe it is the idea of starting the journey with a somewhat iconic day. I can understand that, but you will be wasting a couple of extra days in traveling (from your 3 weeks), to accomplish this. If you really want to do it, I'd agree with @trecile - SJPP to Pamplona, and then Leon to Santiago.Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes.
I agree with everything that @Vacajoe said. To me, one continuous walk really is more meaningful.
If you must "cross the Pyrenees" then perhaps just walk from St Jean to Pamplona, then take a train to León and walk to Santiago and perhaps Finisterre and/or Muxía.
You are right - it's so hard to explain to those who haven't done the Camino yet.I wouldnt skip around - it takes you out of the walking every day cycle which is a key part of a Camino.
Its hard to explain to someone else - but the repetitive walking every day - is really important.
@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.My dos centavos, skip Sarria to SdC. Do that part in the winter at a later date when there aren’t the multitudes of humanity. I don’t say this lightly because it is gorgeous and the villages are lovely. While I respect all manners of walkers, the pious, the tourigrinos, the tweeners, and even self-absorbed social media folk. But it‘s a little bit of culture shock as there is no escaping it. I’m relatively certain that the desire for a Compostela for me has passed unless I detour to another less traveled camino to finish
T@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.
The trick is to be prepared to meet more pilgrims after Sarria and embrace it!
Thank you! Good question to ask myselfWhat is it about this experience that makes you want to plan your Camino around it? Maybe it is the idea of starting the journey with a somewhat iconic day. I can understand that, but you will be wasting a couple of extra days in traveling (from your 3 weeks), to accomplish this. If you really want to do it, I'd agree with @trecile - SJPP to Pamplona, and then Leon to Santiago.
I suppose it’s all relative. It’s even more barren in February and March, but arriving in Sarria seems to be at least a logarithmic increase in folks even in the quiet times.@Arenita is planning for September/October - Sarria to Santiago is much quieter then than in the summer months.
The trick is to be prepared to meet more pilgrims after Sarria and embrace it!
Another thing to add - for a lot of people, the talking to and befriending other pilgrims is often a highlight of their walk.T
Thank you! Good question to ask myself
Thanks, this is a quite interesting tipI think uninterrupted walking is the best, so IF you insist in starting at SJPdP and ending in SdC, then I’d advocate two long walking sections rather than multiple jumps in your itinerary. Only you can judge your walking speed and daily desired distance, so you’ll need to think about those factors when deciding your route. So SJPdP to Burgos (2 weeks) and then Sarria to SdC (1 week) MAY work if your walking allows that.
As for the Pyrenees? Nice, but I think overrated (start the avalanche of criticism!!!) for the effort folks go through to get to SJPdP. It’s a nice 1 or 2 day walk, but so are other spectacular portions of the CF! I think starting three weeks out from SdC and walking continuously is still the best way.
I walked the Mesata in driving rain carrying kilos of mud on each boot and hated it.
Two opposing opinions here for @Arenita to consider.I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Long after you return from the Camino Francés, it’s often those long days on the plains of Castile and León that stand out the most in your memory. It is the pilgrimage in its most basic yet fundamental form: nothing more than you, the trail and the deep blue sky.
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Upon reaching León with the Meseta behind you, there’ll be a sense of relief. But weeks later, when you’re shivering in the rain while squelching through mud in the forests of Galicia, you’ll think back to the heat of the Meseta, and you might even long for it.
Many people on the forum say how much they love the meseta. I do!I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me
I've only wked the CF once, and loved it, despite wind rain and blazing sun. For me, a main part of the challenge is to accept what the camino offers and just keep going.I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Yes, I walked it in early October and the weather was perfect; no rain, no mud, no snow.
But it is the section of the CF where you encounter the vastness of the land and sky, and empty your mind of everything outside your immediate experience, and break the Camino down to its most basic.
I might feel different if I had made that journey in August.
I also love the last 100 plus miles through Galicia. Even after doing it twice in the rain and cold.
So I am probably an outlier here.
Good luck, and Buen Camino.
Buen Camino Arenita, If I were you, I'd wait till I was on the Camino and let your experiences guide you (of course, you will have to decide where to start). Everyone has different tastes and experiences and it seems to me that those experiences are often circumstantial (more related to the people you meet, weather, etc.) and not necessarily places/terrain. That said, I love starting at SJPP and crossing the Pyrenees - it's so darned gorgeous. But, there are interesting and beautiful things and places and people all along the Camino. And, whatever you miss will likely be there the next time you get the bug to Camino. Yep, I'm from the "whatever is, is right" school - today at least.We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
Totally agrereBuen Camino Arenita, If I were you, I'd wait till I was on the Camino and let your experiences guide you (of course, you will have to decide where to start). Everyone has different tastes and experiences and it seems to me that those experiences are often circumstantial (more related to the people you meet, weather, etc.) and not necessarily places/terrain. That said, I love starting at SJPP and crossing the Pyrenees - it's so darned gorgeous. But, there are interesting and beautiful things and places and people all along the Camino. And, whatever you miss will likely be there the next time you get the bug to Camino. Yep, I'm from the "whatever is, is right" school - today at least.
I did exactly that back in August 2018. I walked from SJPP to Logroño, then from Ocebreiro to Santiago. I stopped at Burgos and Leon to visit. First, I agree with the Pyrennes crossing, if I had to do it again and only had three weeks I would start at SJPP, but continue walking until I could, I don't mind not getting to Santiago because of the experience of walking with the people you meet in the first few days is the best.We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
I loved the Meseta too, even though it was raining heavily and very muddy when we walked in the spring... the cookoos, the old men gathering snails under dripping trees, the green of it splashed with red poppies, the vastness of it all made it so very special. I would not have missed it.I know I'm alone in this, but the Meseta is the best part of the CF, for me.
Yes, I walked it in early October and the weather was perfect; no rain, no mud, no snow.
But it is the section of the CF where you encounter the vastness of the land and sky, and empty your mind of everything outside your immediate experience, and break the Camino down to its most basic.
I might feel different if I had made that journey in August.
I also love the last 100 plus miles through Galicia. Even after doing it twice in the rain and cold.
So I am probably an outlier here.
Good luck, and Buen Camino.
Turn at Ponferrada and take the Invierno route. Escape hatch found.My dos centavos, skip Sarria to SdC. Do that part in the winter at a later date when there aren’t the multitudes of humanity. I don’t say this lightly because it is gorgeous and the villages are lovely. While I respect all manners of walkers, the pious, the tourigrinos, the tweeners, and even self-absorbed social media folk. But it‘s a little bit of culture shock as there is no escaping it. I’m relatively certain that the desire for a Compostela for me has passed unless I detour to another less traveled camino to finish
Hello Arenita, I would start at SJPP take my time and take it all in. Return another time conclude from where you finished the previous time.We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
I think it depends on what you are lookingfor from a camino experience. If it is to see stuff - leave out what you are not interested in. If it has a large inner journey compnent then different parts of the journey will likely provoke different internal awareness. Maybe the principle is "what is left out is missed out." I find it helpful to also remember that each Camino regardless of length or method of engagement is a full Camino and if I am open to "whatever" then it will be rewarding. YES, a bit contradictory I know.We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
Nice idea!! Thank youI loved Pyrenees from SJPdP, wouldn't want to skip that. Skip the industrial areas of all bigger cities, take a bus or share taxi. Meseta is very good for cycling, you can rent a bicycle from Burgos to Leon.
I stood at the top of the pass wondering where the Pyrenees where, certainly not how I had imagined.The Pyrenees of the imagination this is not.
May/June 2016 perhapsBefore my first Camino a Spaniard told me the Camino was like an inverted sandwich, the good stuff was at either end and the boring bit in the middle that can be left out.
I should have listened.
I walked the Mesata in driving rain carrying kilos of mud on each boot and hated it.
On the second Camino I caught the bus from Fromista to Palencia and the train to Leon, blazing hot weather, loved it.
Some people absolutely love the Mesata but it's not for me. If I were ever to do anothe CF it would probably be Pamplona to Burgos then Leon to SdC.
First time? September 2001.May/June 2016 perhaps
We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
We are planning to walk in Sept/Oct of this year. We have approx. 3 weeks and would like to begin in SJPP. Very much want to experience crossing the Pyrennes. Would like input on what part of the Camino Frances to leave out and be able to finish in Santiago.
I think this advice is fine in a very general sense, but I remain aware that many many people are not fortunate enough to be able to plan for a return. Some people — especially in N. America — simply don’t have the time-freedom; many do not have the economic means; others may be caring for someone dependent whose long-term illness may make a return trip very very unlikely. Assuming that one can alway return later to arrive at the Cathedral or at Fisterra or Muxia (whatever it is that the person sees as the conclusion) is not a safe bet for many, many, many of us.Hello Arenita, I would start at SJPP take my time and take it all in. Return another time conclude from where you finished the previous time.
I loved every part of the Camino, all the best and Buen Camino
I agree. Not always possible to return or not fast enough. I live relatively not too far from Spain (in EU) and even so last time I was there was already 7 years ago. What I feel sorry for now is the speed I walked the Camino. Yes, it's possible to cover 20-30 km a day but should you? Unfortunately it comes for the price not seeing so much of very interesting, important places. I rushed through historical cities and wonderful villages. Now I wish I could return and go slow. Not just sniff roses but make all necessary detours too. Maybe in a few more years.I think this advice is fine in a very general sense, but I remain aware that many many people are not fortunate enough to be able to plan for a return. Some people — especially in N. America — simply don’t have the time-freedom; many do not have the economic means; others may be caring for someone dependent whose long-term illness may make a return trip very very unlikely. Assuming that one can alway return later to arrive at the Cathedral or at Fisterra or Muxia (whatever it is that the person sees as the conclusion) is not a safe bet for many, many, many of us.
Perhaps the OP cannot see a time when they could return.
Were I in this situation, with only 3 weeks, and a certitude that I wanted to start from SJPdP and end in Santiago, I would walk as far as Logroño, grab a train for Astorga, continue to Ponferrada and then swing onto the Invierno for a more peaceful walk into Santiago.
One would experience something of the Basque region, of the great culinary cultures of Navarre and Rioja, a chunk of Castile-León, and a pretty complete filling of Galicia.
I just checked out your web site - so wonderful - I wish I could join you.I take groups on a 3 week (23 days with extra days in front and back) Camino.
Feel free to check out our itinerary for 2022 (which is FULL by the way so this isn't a cry for clients)
If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you can see it day by day.
This has worked well for me for many years:
http://www.anniewalkers.com/itinerary.html
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