Camino de Santiago

[spud_23]

Has anyone here made the pilgrimage to santiago de compostella? Something im thinking of doing next year...
Have become very disillusioned and confused about myself and my faith recently and think that doing th camino would give me time to think about things.

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

 

[The Cumbrian]

A friend of mine has walked all of the sections, but not at the same time. He fitted it in around his annual leave. He had a great time, saying that the walking was great and very varied, with a good mix of remote, countryside sections ( everything from mountains to pastureland and arable ) and villages, towns and cities to relax, eat and socialise.

If nobody else on here has any information, I'll have a chat with him and get some details for you.

Cheers, Michael.

 

[sandbender]

Has anyone here made the pilgrimage to santiago de compostella? Something im thinking of doing next year...
Have become very disillusioned and confused about myself and my faith recently and think that doing th camino would give me time to think about things.

I have walked to Santiago twice, yes the walk provides a lot of time to "think about things", you should go.

Don't just start from the Spanish border, you should walk in France too, starting from Le Puy-en-Velay or one of the other routes and choose a good time of year to walk, many people try to time their journey so they arrive in July for the feast day of St. James which makes the things a little crowded near the end which isn't good.

 

[Qwerty]

If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend watching The Way. Made me want to do the walk.

 

[spud_23]

planning on taking a month to do it in 2013 some time. Its something i have wanted to do for a while, more as an experience than anything. But things have changed recently and it has become a more realistic dream but for different reasons, more spiritual than anything.

Havent seen the way but it looks pretty good!
Im also planning on doing the camino frances for the first time, starting from st jean pied de port

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

 

[Stringmaker]

For a bit of extra perspective why not read "Clear Waters Rising" by Nicholas Crane.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clear-Water...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316608124&sr=1-3

He actually began at Santiago and walked right across the mountain ranges of Europe; not exactly what you are planning but a good story nonetheless.

 

[TeeDee]

Fascinating Stuff! Thanks for posting.

 

[Badger74]

Just watched the trialer of The Way. Looks good and the last line 'You can do this on a bicycle; why are we walking' made me laugh.

It's something I've always wanted to do as well.

 

[spud_23]

That actually looks like a good book, gonna take about 2 years to plan it though lol

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

 

[Stringmaker]

That actually looks like a good book, gonna take about 2 years to plan it though lol

It is a very good book; it took him over a year to walk it.

 

[sandbender]

"...on taking a month to do it...starting from st jean pied de port..."

A month should be long enough, some take a little longer, if your time is your own try to be more flexible and give yourself a little longer.

Many people start at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port but I don't see why, it isn't that easy a place to get to (even if you fly to Biarritz), it is pretty enough but quite touristy and more importantly your first day on the walk has you climbing a very steep route over the mountains. Much better (I would suggest) to fly to Barcelona or Pamplona and then by train or bus to the monastery at Roncesvalles which is where the Spanish walkers generally begin.

If you can find the time and you want to see some of Camino route in France consider taking a train from Paris to Moissac, that'll give you ten to twelve days in France and will take you into the French Basque country, probably one of the most beautiful parts of France and certainly home to one of the most generous and friendly people in Europe.

If you are Catholic then the arrival at Santiago may provide a 'good end' to your camino, however many people like to walk for a few more days and end their journey at Cabo Fisterra on the Atlantic coast, this is definitly something that I'd recommend whatever your faith.

Buen Camino.

Edited to add:

Here is a link for a PDF of a topographic map dividing the way in Spain in to 27 sections.

LINK

 

[polish pete]

try to avoid summer season- hot and busy. it might be worth taking a tent, i had few nice nights away from crowds waking up with the sun and having a time to think and look at things. it's worth getting "pilgrim's passport" at the begining of your walk, you might be asked to show it in albergues (pilgrims hostels) and also they will ask for it in santiago de compostela before giving you your "pilgrim's certificate" (if you need/want one).
first few weeks i camped and tried to stay away from crowds but then i realised that it's about people as well and stayed in albergues meeting lots of interesting and inspirational people. cicerone has a guide book dividing the walk into day sections where you finish in town/village with official albergue. there's lots of other accomodation as well but they are more money orientated. my best memory is from a tiny village where we had to find an old man to unlock the room to let us in, then he stayed with us for few hours although none of us spoke spanish and he didn't speak english. spain is still a catholic country and i often was stoped by people on streets to ask about where i was from and wishing me a "buen camino".
i was inspired by paolo coelho's book and later after reading it few people i'd met in different parts of the world.
it's worth trying to learn few spanish words, it was nice to see a smile on grumpy shop assistant's face when i tried to do my shopping in spanish.
i wanted to take coelho's book with me to follow his stages but then i realised i want to make it my camino and it was, different from the book but real and inspiring.
in galicia albergues are free or whatever you're ready to donate. it took me 24 days but i had to do few long days to stick to schedule, better to have few extra days and do it in your pace without worrying about missing dates.
my impression after finishing was that camino is like life: you walk and you meet people on your way, you slow down or speed up to walk with them for a while and then if it's time you part to get on with your journey. you meet other people and you make it your own or you share the camino with others. i enjoyed moments on my own camping on fields and spending evenings in busy albergues sharing stories with other pilgrims.
worth doing, if possible in one walk to get a full experience

 

[spud_23]

I think il probably be taking hammock/tarp as its lightweight and staying in the albergues otherwise.. all about meeting people along the way!

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk