Anyone going in September?

[kirstin]

Hey everyone!

I've been preparing for my journey and get more excited everyday. I land in Paris on September 3 and with trains and jetlag I hope to be walking out of SJPP the morning of the 5th. Just wondering if I will see any of you out there then?


Buen Camino!

-Kirstin

[millerjmc]

Kirsten
I'm doing the same thing-train out of Paris, but on Aug 16

I'll pave the way for you!

happy trekking

Joan

[Joni]

I want to do this so badly, but all my friends say no. Is this a journey a female can do alone?

[ckaiserfl]

Hi Kirstin,
Yes, my partner and I are flying into Barcelona on Sept 4th. We will start the Camino in St. Jean de Pied on Sept 5th or 6th or 7th...

Where are you from? We are from FL in the winter and MI in the summer.

Cathy and Dawn

[jscho111]

Hey Cathy and Dawn. We hope to be walking out of SJPP Sunday 7th, so might see u on the track. My cousin and I have a Camino video on youtube to help you recognise us...http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbbsetjg_Q

[ckaiserfl]

Great video on YouTube! Maybe we'll see you there. Dawn and I will have the smallest packs you have ever seen. That will be your clue! :-)

Buen Camino,
Cathy

[Michael Casey]

Hi Kirsten,
All things going well I hope to arrive in St.Jean Pied Do Port from Ireland on the 4th Sept and start walking on the 5th. My plan for the fitst stage is to walk to Roncesvalles, its looks a bit daunting for an initial stage but I'll give it a go. Hope to meet you along the way.
Buen Camino
Michael

[Lis]

Joni,
I'm a female planning to walk the Camino by myself starting Oct.1st if travel plans via train and busses pan out. I arrive in Paris from Canada.
Of course a female can walk it alone. You always meet other pilgrims at Albergues or on the way, and apparently the route is well marked.
Just make your plans and walk. Buen Camino
Lis

[Joni]

Thanks Lis. I am coming from California. Why did you choose Paris? Will you take a train to Bayonne, then begin at St. Jean?

[jscho111]

I have walked the camino frances once before and my small contribution to this forum is - consider breaking up the walk from SJPP to Roncesvalles into two days.

It's a few hours' walk from SJPP to Orisson and then a longer but very picturesque one the following day along the Route Napoleon to Roncesvalles.

People I spoke to who did the whole thing in one day emphasised how arduous it was especially the steep downhill into Roncesvalles. Over two days, I found it to be merely a pleasant tramp through the Pyrenees, not difficult at all.

You have the luxury of a relatively late start from SJPP if you wish. The Refuge Orisson is very comfortable and enjoys great views.

My subjective view only, but I felt I should mention it.

[Stephen_Belfast]

I've a ticket booked from Dublin to Biarritz on the 2nd Sept. I'll start walking the following day. My peregrination will be more in the style of a tortoise rather than a hare, so you may pass me on the way.
Buen Camino, everybody.

[maggee]

Hi, I am planning to leave from St Jean on Aug 29, have been packed and ready to go for weeks now and cannot wait to just get at it. I have set up a blog site to communicate my progress with family and friends. It is caminomaggee.blogspot.com.

Anyone else travelling around then! Maggee

[stony17]

well I've ben planning my journey and I'd like to start in beginning of September.Just trying to get some ticket to get there but It's not so easy as I'm going from Prague.
Can anyone give me a bit of advise please?

[kirvam]

Hi Kristen,

I be starting in St Jean Pied de Port on 9/4. This will be my first time as well. I too am looking forward to it.

Later,

-paul

[Blistress]

I plan on arriving the evening of the 3rd and start moving the 4th.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to secure a bed in St Jean. Hopefully that won't be a problem.

[kirvam]

yeah, i am staying in pamplona the night of 9/3. then somehow getting to St Jean. do you have any recommendation on how to get to St Jean from Pamplona? how are you getting there? i am sure there is a bus?

-paul

[karenleeg]

Hi Kirstin,
I am hoping to start on September 4 via London from Pieds de Port. Hope to see you en route!

Karen-Lee

[Covey]

This Camino Grandfather will be on Easyjet from Gatwick at dawn on the 3rd Sept10 and will be contemplating that ever steepening hill to Roncesvalles on the 4th Sept, at which point I shall take up smoking again for the duration of the Camino. I tend to gauge the steepness of the hills by the number of ciggies I will consume to get me to the top. Roncesvalles is chain smoking time!!!!

The Easyjet flight leaves at some ungodly hour before the little hand on my watch points to 7 and a decent breakfast, but does have the advantage of arriving at Bairritz at 0900 which means that I should be in SJPDP by 1pm. Many pilgrims do not get to SJPDP until 5pm(ish) and by the time you have joined the queue at the pilgrim office, sorted out a bed and bought some food items for the following day, it is all a bit of a late scrum, which means you are late to bed (not withstanding the possible change in timezones!), and will have a sleepless night before rising to greet another dawn and that bloody great hill!

I do not wish to sound too dramatic, but the uphill bit is 20kms, followed by a 8km down hill bit. It is in my book, the hardest day of the Camino Frances and it is just as well most of us are doing it on Day 1. However, if you start at first light, walk at a nice steady pace, take plenty of rests along the way, you should be joining the queue at the Roncesvalles Pilgrim Office around 3pm. Do not be tempted to push the pace because you are fresh and enjoying your first day. The constant uphill walking until you reach the top of the Pyrenees saps the strength out of your legs after a few hours, so nice and steady it is!!

The Pilgrim Office at Roncesvalles closes for siesta and opens again around 4pm. Most important thing is to book a seat for dinner. There are two bar / restaurants within 100m of the accommodation barn and you need to book a place for dinner at one of them. By this stage people have started to find like minded souls, so make up a table and enjoy the potato soup, grilled trout and ice cream (the menu is the same every day cos nobody stays two nights!!)

There are no shops at Roncesvalles so everything you need either comes with you from home or is bought in SJPDP. There is a bar which opens early (7am) in the next village where most stop for breakfast the following morning. There is a pharmacy there but it does not open till 9am

[karenleeg]

Hi Camino Grandfather! This is a great reply, very helpful and good advice on pacing oneself! Gatwick to Biarritz rather than Stansted to Pul? Better choice or is it 6 of one etc.? Flying in from Canada on August 29 and am going to book flight to France soon. Is one route better than the other?
Thanks
Karen-Lee

[mosesmew]

Hi! I too will be coming from Canada, Nova Scotia, August 29th! I still have not booked anything, unsure about where to book flights to & from. As I will be driving to Halifax,(4hrs),then trying to find a flight that will get me as close as possible to starting point. Wondering if a Train or Bus would be easier to take from Paris Airport? Any thoughts? Thanks! Nancy

[Covey]

The road and rail links to SJPDP all go through Bayonne and the airport at Bairritz is a 35 minute bus ride from just outside the airport terminal door to Bayonne train station..

Easyjet fly from London Gatwick and Ryanair fly from Stansted to Bairritz every day in early September. The trick is to get to SJPDP as early as possible so as to avoid the queues at the Pilgrim Office in the early evening just after the last train of the day has arrived in SJPDP.

I live in South London so Gatwick is more convenient for me and it gets me in to Bairritz at 0905 local. A lot of Pilgrims travelling from Scandinavia, Latvia, N Germany etc fly in to London to get to Bairritz.

If you managed to get a seat on Easyjet Flt No 5041 on Friday 03 Sept 2010 departing at 0620 local from Gatwick South Terminal, the local Representative of Camino Grandfathers International (South London Branch) would be pleased to ply you with strong coffee and tell you tales of mountains conquered and maidens rescued on the Camino Frances.

[Covey]

I did not realise there are two of you from Canada!! Suppose this is not a good time to mention that half my family are Newfies from St Johns. Ah well, we all have Black Sheep in the family!!

Maybe I should run a conducted tour from Gatwick to Pamplona.

[karenleeg]

Hi Nancy,

The train does go to a town very close to the start point however, the schedule has not yet been posted! Not unusual for the TVR or France's bureaucracy! I will look it up again and send you the exact station. Flying to the start point is a good option too. Biarritz or Pul are the closest airports. Taxis from either train or airports are expensive but necessary evil! Good luck!
Karen-Lee

[karenleeg]

Fantastic!!! Thanks to you, Covey, for this advice. As for Black Sheep, they are always the best! More fun and interesting than the white ones!
Karen-Lee

[Covey]

Nancy.

There is an overnight TGV (French Hi Speed train service) from Paris to Bayonne every night which gets in to Bayonne at dawn in time to catch the first train of the day to St Jean. The on line train timetable for Bayonne to St Jean only runs up to 3 months in advance at the moment which might be due to the fact that the train service is reported to be suspended and replaced by a bus from Bayonne Station. The train should be running again by Sept but I cannot find times at present.

On the other hand, you could fly to London, and join the Black Sheep Excursion to St Jean!!

[mosesmew]

Ha! The "Black Sheep",excursion, sounds like my bag of goodies! I come from a "mixture" of Irish/French Celt & a few VERY BOSTERIOUS Drinkers!! I will start looking into the travel arrangements.Hoping to celebrate my 56th on "The Path"! Talk again soon! Nancy

[karenleeg]

I have been able to book my flight with the Black Sheep flock and look forward to seeing you at Gatwick at 0420am!
Karen-Lee

[karenleeg]

OK - accomodation for September 3? I would honestly love my own hotel room as I am unlikely to have much privacy for the next 35-40 nights! Suggestions are welcome! Do we need to prebook a taxi from the airport, etc.? I'd love to share a cab with someone or a group, go shopping for essentials after getting passports, etc. - whichever works best! Counting down the days and weeks! Hope my left knee stops giving me grief!
Karen-Lee

[Covey]

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port - Amis du chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle P-A

The link above has a list of places to stay. I always stay at the same albergue type place which is 100m from the Pilgrim Office and is quiet and has a nice kitchen to prepare food for the next day.

From Bairritz Airport you catch the bus from just outside the terminal building to Bayonne Station and from there catch the TER train to SJPdP. From the St Jean railway stop (the word station is a little too grand!) it is a 10 minute walk up the road to the main street and the Pilgrim Office. You can cut out the excitement of the train ride and pay €100 for a taxi from the airport to St Jean if you wish, but the Bayonne Station/train ride is where you start making your Camino Buddies!!

[mosesmew]

Hi Karen, were you able to book the flight to Bairritz,from Gatwick? I have been trying to find that destination,on ryanair,but cannot. Thanks! Nancy