JohanNilsenNagel
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- March, 2017
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Awesome! Yeah, I paid homage to Father Elias' bust up in O Cebreiro. From what I've read, the earliest "starting point" of the Camino was originally Oviedo. Then when most pilgrims were coming from France, St. Jean was the point where the various European footpaths converged, if not mistaken. Or is that Roncevalles? Anyway, Pamplona worked out great, but because I've heard such wonderful things about the French Camino I'd like to "complement" my Camino one day by hiking from somewhere deep in France to Pamplona, and then when I get there deciding whether or not to continue on again. Of course, by that time I may be an old man and age will make the decision for meI started my first pilgrimage in St Jean because my mother-in-law had walked from there 5 years earlier. She was very enthusiastic about her experience and so I wanted to walk the same route. Also her guide book which I borrowed was the one written by Don Elias Valina in the mid-1980s and his route started in St Jean. Don Elias was a serious scholar and researcher of the history of pilgrimage: the man who created the system of yellow arrow markers, essentially inventing the concept of a specific waymarked pilgrim trail, and inspired the modern revival of pilgrimage to Santiago. If he thought that St Jean was a good place to begin then that was good enough for me.
Ha, you got me on the "life lessons" thing -- that's exactly what I was feeling on the trail. The guy I met who'd started in Carcassone really irked me because he was also hiking marathon days (25+ miles) on some stretches and my perception was that he was bragging and I started feeling "slowed down" by my partner, which was utter nonsense. The slower I went the more I enjoyed myself, but that was a real battle just to get there. That said, when my partner's knee gave out and she had to take taxis later on I ended up going for a couple marathon stretches just to prove I could do it. Some people seemed to take offense that I was passing them up and going too fast or something, it was weird. But just like the "where to start" conundrum, it's all in our heads and what other people think of us and our choices is mostly irrelevant. I got some real clarity towards the end of my Camino when I met a Spaniard and I asked him where he started. He replied, "Home," which for him was just outside Leon. There would be as much reason for him to start in St. Jean as there was for me, from California, to start in Leon -- it depends on how much free time you've got, and St. James (if he's there) couldn't care less either -- just honored, if I may dare to speak for him, that we've come to visit.Maybe it's because it's called the French Way?
There is also the theory that to break a habit you need 28 days. So if your purpose for doing the Camino is for change then you may NEED to start in St Jean.
We are starting in Sarria which suits us.
I was reluctant to state that on this board because of so many derogatory comments by some.
But, you know, there are others on here and out in the world who truely don't care where you start. If you can only manage, or only have time for, a few days on the Camino you are ahead of millions of others. It's something I had to work out and come to terms with for myself.
I think, from research, the two most asked questions when you meet someone on the Camino are 1) why are you doing it? and 2) where did you start.
It's curiosity. If there is a hint of condescension from someone is it from them (their need to feel superior) or something you are reflecting on to them (your feeling of inadequacy)? If it's the latter maybe that's one of those Camino life lessons you might want to think about.
I will be 'dragging' my wife Pat up the hill from St Jean next yearWhy? Because although tough, I know she will love the views. And if we are sensible, walk slow and break the journey, she will be fine.
BUT you can get certification to show the distance walked.Because its there.
Some people prefer to start there while others, such as you, start somewhere else. Its all good.
Real Pilgrims walk to Santiago from Sarria. You don't get points for starting from further away.
Start in LePuy.
Then...when some tells you they started in SJPP and asks where you started...you can modestly tell them..."800 km before St. Jean".
I didn't really like the look I got, like I was an interesting specimen from another planet, or the ruckus that ensued in larger groups: "Hey, Bob, guess where this guy started!" It felt very uncomfortable. It felt like bragging.
(...) or even after the meseta.
When I got the question, I sometimes pretended not to understand and answered by giving the name of the place where I had started in the morning. It was, after all, where I had come from on that day.
YES to all of the above !!!For me it's because if I'm gonna spend a crapload of money flying all the way to Europe to walk the Camino, I want to make the most of it and see as much of it as I can. So I start in SJPdP because for me it's the longest route, with the most logistics.
Noooo! Don't skip the Meseta! It's my favorite bit on the Frances...
It was ....different ...lol but we still enjoyed it...sort of ...lolI just knew some-one would say that. Great if it your place to walk, but not mine, .
I had something of the same experience walking the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. A lot of people were very surprised when learning what my starting point was. I was occasionally led over to meet friends and talk some more about the walk. As a quite shy and introverted person that sort of attention is not always welcome. There was sometimes a wholly unexpected reaction: a small number of other walkers immediately became quite hostile and defensive - rushing to justify their own chosen stages as if my choice to walk the whole route implied a criticism or dismissal of their journey as something less "worthy". Certainly not something I had said or implied.
Why do so many people insist on starting in St. Jean? I recently completed my first Camino with my wife in March and for various reasons chose to start in Pamplona. For one, the chance of heavy snow and the potential closure of the Napoleon Route out of St. Jean was likely in late February, early March. Secondly, I didn't want to start my wife, who's not an experienced hiker like me, on such a difficult and potentially dangerous hike (even the Valcarlos Route is not without its difficulties as I heard from other pilgrims who did it in late February) and discourage her from the get-go. Thirdly, and perhaps more to my point here, is that it's my understanding that St. Jean is as random a starting point for the Camino as any other, so why not go with an easily accessible, almost as distant starting point that's also a fun, enjoyable city to hang out in for a couple days beforehand? Okay, maybe this was all just my rationalization to get my wife to come with me (and it was successful!), but seriously, along the way, all the "I started in St. Jean, and I'm a bad-ass" crowd started to annoy me when I'd say I started in Pamplona. As though I, and everyone else who didn't start in France were somehow slightly less pure than the Holy Hikers from SJPP. Anyone else get this atttidude? Ultimately, I didn't care, nor did most people I met along the way, especially after Leon where I met lots of people who were just starting out. Suddenly we who'd started "way back" in Pamplona felt a little more respected. I met a guy who'd started as far back as Carcasonne, who made the SJPPers seem like ninnies anyhow -- he told me "it's not a competition" and he's right. It doesn't matter where one starts. Still, I'd like to know why, despite the inconvenience and arbitrariness of starting points so many still insist on starting in St. Jean?
Thanks!
Johann
Why do so many people insist on starting in St. Jean? I recently completed my first Camino with my wife in March and for various reasons chose to start in Pamplona. For one, the chance of heavy snow and the potential closure of the Napoleon Route out of St. Jean was likely in late February, early March. Secondly, I didn't want to start my wife, who's not an experienced hiker like me, on such a difficult and potentially dangerous hike (even the Valcarlos Route is not without its difficulties as I heard from other pilgrims who did it in late February) and discourage her from the get-go. Thirdly, and perhaps more to my point here, is that it's my understanding that St. Jean is as random a starting point for the Camino as any other, so why not go with an easily accessible, almost as distant starting point that's also a fun, enjoyable city to hang out in for a couple days beforehand? Okay, maybe this was all just my rationalization to get my wife to come with me (and it was successful!), but seriously, along the way, all the "I started in St. Jean, and I'm a bad-ass" crowd started to annoy me when I'd say I started in Pamplona. As though I, and everyone else who didn't start in France were somehow slightly less pure than the Holy Hikers from SJPP. Anyone else get this atttidude? Ultimately, I didn't care, nor did most people I met along the way, especially after Leon where I met lots of people who were just starting out. Suddenly we who'd started "way back" in Pamplona felt a little more respected. I met a guy who'd started as far back as Carcasonne, who made the SJPPers seem like ninnies anyhow -- he told me "it's not a competition" and he's right. It doesn't matter where one starts. Still, I'd like to know why, despite the inconvenience and arbitrariness of starting points so many still insist on starting in St. Jean?
Thanks!
Johann
I had something of the same experience walking the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome. A lot of people were very surprised when learning what my starting point was. I was occasionally led over to meet friends and talk some more about the walk. As a quite shy and introverted person that sort of attention is not always welcome. There was sometimes a wholly unexpected reaction: a small number of other walkers immediately became quite hostile and defensive - rushing to justify their own chosen stages as if my choice to walk the whole route implied a criticism or dismissal of their journey as something less "worthy". Certainly not something I had said or implied.
Thank you Irene for your lovely photo.
It reminds me why I love to, and will always, start in St Jean.
Regards
Gerard
There is always someone who has walked further or harder, or walked more Caminos... and I have met a few of them!
He reckoned that by the time he reached Strasbourg he would have been walking for six months and would be about ready to stop and return to Canada...
On the Voie de Vezelay I met a Belgian man who was on his way home having walked for 11 months. He had been bitten by a snake, had no money and was not entirely of this world.
Why do so many people insist on starting in St. Jean? I recently completed my first Camino with my wife in March and for various reasons chose to start in Pamplona. For one, the chance of heavy snow and the potential closure of the Napoleon Route out of St. Jean was likely in late February, early March. Secondly, I didn't want to start my wife, who's not an experienced hiker like me, on such a difficult and potentially dangerous hike (even the Valcarlos Route is not without its difficulties as I heard from other pilgrims who did it in late February) and discourage her from the get-go. Thirdly, and perhaps more to my point here, is that it's my understanding that St. Jean is as random a starting point for the Camino as any other, so why not go with an easily accessible, almost as distant starting point that's also a fun, enjoyable city to hang out in for a couple days beforehand? Okay, maybe this was all just my rationalization to get my wife to come with me (and it was successful!), but seriously, along the way, all the "I started in St. Jean, and I'm a bad-ass" crowd started to annoy me when I'd say I started in Pamplona. As though I, and everyone else who didn't start in France were somehow slightly less pure than the Holy Hikers from SJPP. Anyone else get this atttidude? Ultimately, I didn't care, nor did most people I met along the way, especially after Leon where I met lots of people who were just starting out. Suddenly we who'd started "way back" in Pamplona felt a little more respected. I met a guy who'd started as far back as Carcasonne, who made the SJPPers seem like ninnies anyhow -- he told me "it's not a competition" and he's right. It doesn't matter where one starts. Still, I'd like to know why, despite the inconvenience and arbitrariness of starting points so many still insist on starting in St. Jean?
Thanks!
Johann
Why do so many people insist on starting in St. Jean? I recently completed my first Camino with my wife in March and for various reasons chose to start in Pamplona. For one, the chance of heavy snow and the potential closure of the Napoleon Route out of St. Jean was likely in late February, early March. Secondly, I didn't want to start my wife, who's not an experienced hiker like me, on such a difficult and potentially dangerous hike (even the Valcarlos Route is not without its difficulties as I heard from other pilgrims who did it in late February) and discourage her from the get-go. Thirdly, and perhaps more to my point here, is that it's my understanding that St. Jean is as random a starting point for the Camino as any other, so why not go with an easily accessible, almost as distant starting point that's also a fun, enjoyable city to hang out in for a couple days beforehand? Okay, maybe this was all just my rationalization to get my wife to come with me (and it was successful!), but seriously, along the way, all the "I started in St. Jean, and I'm a bad-ass" crowd started to annoy me when I'd say I started in Pamplona. As though I, and everyone else who didn't start in France were somehow slightly less pure than the Holy Hikers from SJPP. Anyone else get this atttidude? Ultimately, I didn't care, nor did most people I met along the way, especially after Leon where I met lots of people who were just starting out. Suddenly we who'd started "way back" in Pamplona felt a little more respected. I met a guy who'd started as far back as Carcasonne, who made the SJPPers seem like ninnies anyhow -- he told me "it's not a competition" and he's right. It doesn't matter where one starts. Still, I'd like to know why, despite the inconvenience and arbitrariness of starting points so many still insist on starting in St. Jean?
Thanks!
Johann
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?