First timer with 3 weeks available

[Larry22]

I hope to do my first Camino commencing early June 2012. I will have about 18 days of walking available. Any idea where I should start. I'm thinking Camino Frances. Would Burgo be to far to start from.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Larry22 ~
Congratulations! Burgos to Santiago is 489 kms, which in 18 days would require 27 kms/day. A daily pace of 20-25 is considered normal, so 27 kms/day will be pushing it. Another choice would be to start at someplace like Sahagun at 367 kms or 20 kms/day. Another other great choice would be to start in Leon (312 kms) and then go past Santiago to Finisterre, which is a pretty delightful 3 day, 90 km jaunt. You can find all these distances yourself at www.godesalco.com/plan/frances. If the link doesn't work, just type the text in directly to your browser, or go to godesalco.com and go down to "planificador" which includes the helpful link with distances.
Buen camino!
-- Sandy

[Larry22]

Thanks Sandy,

thats really helpful. I'm very attracted by the Leon option as the more I read about the Camino and the history of it the more I see that Finisterre is as important as Santiago. It certainly has a longer history as a place of . Finisterre was seen, in pre-christian times, as the edge of the world and beyond that was where the spirits dwelt. People had been walking to Finisterre for thousands of years as it was thought to be the closest you could get to the spirit world.

I'll go do some more homework. Thanks for your help.

Larry