Resting before the adventure begins

[going walkabout]

Firstly THANK YOU to all who so generously give to this forum. I have spent the last three days reading everything, well almost everything on this site - making notes, making plans - feels like I've been sitting around a dinner party with friends (minus the red wine) sharing and learning from their experiences. What a wonderful tool these forums are.

Anyhow, booked my flights yesterday, very excitingment! as my grandson would say. My question is about where to rest and then start after a long haul flight.

I arrive in Madrid from Australia on June 1 at 11.35, after 30 hours in the air or in airports. My ongoing flight leaves Madrid on July 18, that gives me 46 days to walk to Finisterre and enjoy. My question - I'm going to be pretty exhausted when I arrive in Madrid but don't think I would like to stay there, would prefer to stay somewhere nice (comfortable, not too expensive, interesting) for a couple of nights and recoup/get over jetlag before I start. Is that SJPP, Roncesvalles, Pamplona? I think this will be the determining factor of where I begin. Thanks.

At the moment everything feels like an adventure.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Walkabout and welcome to the Forum. I can sense your excitingment to start your adventure! Each of the options you mention for rest prior to the walk should be great. Here are my thoughts and I'm sure others will have great ideas, too:

1) Consider Madrid: I spent two lovely days in Madrid after my last camino and had a great time visiting museums and dining outdoors. The Reina Sofia museum has extraordinary pieces by Picasso and Dali and many others. The Prado has important classic and medieval works. Together it's quite a pair of museums. Both are in the Atocha neighborhood of Madrid, which is a fairly easy subway ride from the airport. I stayed at the chic & basic Atocha Madrid, HOTEL en MADRID centro ciudad and found it to be exactly as advertised, which was great. Two nights in Madrid with one full day for restaurants and museums would be a great cultural experience, as well as being restful and fun before popping on a train to Pamplona or SJPP.

2) Roncesvalles -- This is not really a town, more of a pilgrim hideout/monastery, with an albergue, two restaurants and two small hotels. If you get a room here you'd definitely get rest, but other than the monastery there's really not much to do. The pilgrim tide washes in people from all over who are starting their caminos here and the "town" is definitely about the camino, but it's hard to imagine spending 2 nights here unless you had a good book to read. I like walking the stretch between Roncesvalles and Pamplona. This is 2 days through rolling Basque countryside. Very green with walks along streams and over medieval stone bridges.

3) Pamplona -- It's certainly a famous town (for getting chased by bulls), but other than a great church or two I don't find Pamplona to be that awesome. Still, there's no good reason not to start here, except that you'd miss the great parts of the camino that are prior to Pamplona. Plus pilgrims are a very small part of Pamplona, which means that unlike Roncesvalles and SJPP you're just a face in the crowd.

4) SJPP -- To me this is a great choice. St Jean has a pilgrim vibe, but also is a tourist destination in its own right as a scenic mountain town in French Basque country. Much quieter than Pamplona, but lots of outdoor restaurants, a nice, old walled city, plus the French pilgrim office (Les Amis de St Jacques) which gives you a place to get a credentiale and a scallop shell, as well as lots of shops to buy camino trinkets. It's a gentle start to the camino, though Day 1 afterward is the march over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles. If the weather is right, though, the mountain views make up for the climb. SJPP is definitely my choice for a start, and I'll be there on May 12 to begin this year's camino.

Hope that helps. Buen camino!

[grayland]

I agree that St. Jean is the best choice.....for all of the reasons stated....and it is the place that most people start or wish they could start the Camino. If you get there early and take in the atmosphere and excitement of the Camino to come, you will be really ready to start your adventure. You may even find that your rest period will narrow down to a day or so as you will want to get started. You will meet fellow Pilgrims who you will see again and again over the next 800 km. Strongly suggest SJPP as the starting point if possible.
Buen Camino!

[going walkabout]

Thank you for your timely and considered response HuskyNerd.

Since posting my question last night I realised that I would by necessity have to stay in Madrid for at least one night otherwise I may well find myself in the south instead of the north of Spain. This afternoon I'm thinking that after a good nights sleep I could tackle the challenge of getting to SJPP and maybe stay a day or two there.

Thanks again, you really did help.

[drsalome]

Thank you for your comments. I was considering doing the northern route however the SJPP comments sound exciting. What is the credential and the scallop mentioned? three questions: do you have any comments on northern route? Can a single, 54 year old, unaccompanied female do this on her own without becoming part of a touring company? I plan to walk beginning july 4 from SJPP to santiago. Where would I have a friend meet me to walk the last leg and still get a certificate?
thank you
salome

[HuskyNerd]

Hi DrSalome ~
Absolutely! A 54-year old woman will be fine on her own. While there are formal touring companies with which you can walk, there are informal pilgrim families that people inevitably join up with. One important part of the pilgrim experience is making new walking friends, and you'll have ample opportunities in early July.

The credential is a "passport" that you carry with you through your Camino that allows you to stay in albergues (hostels) and confirms your completion of the Camino once you arrive at Santiago. You present your credentiale at each albergue or hotel in your journey (and you can present it at bars and cafes, too) and it is stamped with the location and date. As the stamps add up you gain a sense of pride and accomplishment for your walk. When you arrive at Santiago you bring your credentiale to the Cathedral Office (a couple of blocks from the cathedral itself) where it is inspected and you are granted (for a small fee) a "compostela" which is your official (in Latin) certificate of completion of your pilgrimage.

The scallop shell is a symbol used by pilgrims to Santiago to show their participation in the Camino. A person acquires a scallop shell and fastens it to the back of their backpack. This identifies for fellow pilgrims and others that you are a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago.

It depends on how much time your friend has as to where he/she would best meet you. In general, with 10-14 days Leon is a good choice because of its accessibility through trains and buses. With 5-7 days Sarria is the best choice, since it's just beyond the minimum 100 kms necessary to be granted a compostela (the last 100 kms on foot or 200 kms by bike are the minimum distances).

Buen camino!