Hello,I plan on leaving from Pamplona March 30, 2011

[Trombananda]

Hello,
This is my first time making this journey and I would greatly appreciate any advice and guidance that you may offer.

I will start from Pamplona on the 30th of March with the intention of completing my journey by
May 3,2011........................I am built for comfort not for speed!

I am interested in what the weather may be like and what I should bring as far as clothes go.
I wish to stay in hotels all the way ,am I being realistic?

I too am called to do this but I feel blessed to be called and I go with peace and love in my heart.I am a ISA ceritifed arborist and would love to see and photograph some trees that I have not seen before.I also write so I hope to have enough time and energy to keep a journal which I can use later to inspire some new work.

Thank you for any help that you can give me.
Peace,Love&Happiness,
Frank

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Frank and welcome to the Forum. Congratulations on your upcoming Camino! Your goal of 700 kms in 35 days gives you a nice, leisurely pace and you should be able to absorb the many charms of the Camino with ample time for photography and journaling.

You should plan on rainy, cool weather. The best clothing is always layers, so you'll want "technical" t-shirts (3), a long-sleeve heavier fleece jacket for your warmth layer, and a waterproof rain jacket and/or parka for wind and rain.

Hotel stays are no problem -- I did that with my wife in 2008 without missing albergue life too much. I've used the Brierley guidebook to plan my daily itinerary, choose my next hotel, and make my hotel reservation for the upcoming day. When I arrived at the day's lodging I would ask the desk to call ahead for me to my next hotel and make my reservation. This gave me a sense of confidence that I'd actually have a place to stay the next night. Since most fellow peregrinos/as will be in albergues you can't really rely on following the crowd as most pilgrims do to lead you to the next place to stay. Brierley includes info such as phone number and sometimes website which is pretty handy.

Hope this helps. Buen camino!

[Trombananda]

Hi Frank and welcome to the Forum. Congratulations on your upcoming Camino! Your goal of 700 kms in 35 days gives you a nice, leisurely pace and you should be able to absorb the many charms of the Camino with ample time for photography and journaling.

You should plan on rainy, cool weather. The best clothing is always layers, so you'll want "technical" t-shirts (3), a long-sleeve heavier fleece jacket for your warmth layer, and a waterproof rain jacket and/or parka for wind and rain.

Hotel stays are no problem -- I did that with my wife in 2008 without missing albergue life too much. I've used the Brierley guidebook to plan my daily itinerary, choose my next hotel, and make my hotel reservation for the upcoming day. When I arrived at the day's lodging I would ask the desk to call ahead for me to my next hotel and make my reservation. This gave me a sense of confidence that I'd actually have a place to stay the next night. Since most fellow peregrinos/as will be in albergues you can't really rely on following the crowd as most pilgrims do to lead you to the next place to stay. Brierley includes info such as phone number and sometimes website which is pretty handy.

Hope this helps. Buen camino!

Thank you for your reply and info,you are appreciated!
Frank