Say Hello

[Beatrix]

Welcome Theresa! I think my wise thought would be
Take it easy, and do not worry about anything, just trust in the Camino.

[Covey]

I would suggest that you do not over plan your trip. Concentrate on what you need to carry, your training before you start, and how you are getting to St Jean, and then empty your mind of clutter and take each day on the trail as it comes.

Every year that I have walked the Camino Frances, it has been very different. The weather changes, the people are different, the mix of nationalities is different and every year I see things I missed on previous occasions.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself.

[Theresa]

Thank you, that is great advise!

[cairde]

wow, this is a great forum. It is actually the first forum I've ever written on. So I hope it works out ok!

The more I read of everyone elses experiences on the Camino the more intrigued I am and the more I want to go. I think the challenge is what makes it exciting! I will be going this fall, walking from St. Jean to Santiago! Super pumped.

I have a general question for any experienced Camino walkers... if you had one piece of wisdom that you found more important than anything else that I should know about walking at that time of year or in general, what would it be?

Drink small amouts of water very often, especially when walking

[Jan Thathiah]

Hello Leslie,
I begin my walk on 17th April 2010. I am sure I will be browsing your site for as much help as possible.
We are neither Indian , African nor American. We are all souls of the world

[orlanemo]

Arriving in Biarritz Monday night, Starting my camino after deciding to do it 9 years ago. Well better late than never. Have UC so Leslie's site has been both an inspiration and encouragement. Thanks for the hard work that goes into this and I will report back. Nervous and excited

Orla

[Covey]

Buen Camino, and enjoy the experience.

Covey

[Earthfire]

Hi, I found this forum a few weeks after discovering the existence of the Camino. It has been a delight to read and consider the information provided here. I am a culinary/ family and consumer science teacher in a high school and very interested in history, migration patterns, food production/selection, etc. I want to step out of my world for awhile and in to a different experience. I am prepared for physical challenges and the mental challenge of being in a different culture. I am a very reserved person and I realize that I may have to move beyond my comfort zone in order to achieve this goal. I turned 50 this year and my husband passed away four years ago. Learning about the Camino, the routes, and the journey has played a huge part in my healing. Thank you, Leslie, for beginning this forum. I plan to go in 2011 or 2012 but my journey has already begun.

[Covey]

Earthfire, most who walk the Camino are outside their comfort zone to some degree. The youngsters who are off to university feel at home because they are probably used to hostels and a little rough living, and even sleeping on the odd floor after a party.

My generation probably cannot remember when they last slept in any form of hostel, let alone undressed in a room full of strangers, or slept very close to someone they had never been introduced to! The first couple of nights in an albergue might seem a bit strange, but after that your only worry will be "is there hot water for a shower"

When you check in for the flight to Bairritz you notice passengers dressed like you and carrying packs and guess what? They are all nervous as well! When you are standing in the queue for the bus outside Bairritz airport terminal, everybody starts talking to each other and when you reach Bayonne station you discover that there are lots more people dressed in baggy trousers and walking boots, and you start talking amongst yourselves and on the train up to St Jean, so by the time you get to St Jean people are arranging to meet for a beer and something to eat, and your Camino has started.

[viclindal]

I am just back from a near completion. 113 K to go and had strain on my hamstring that stopped me.
during the hike we met Rory and Patsy Buckley Rory gave me his mail rorybuckley@eric.net the only problem is that is does not work.
They are from Ireland and have been on the Camino 3 times.
we lost track of them and I was wondering how they made out.
Rory had bad feet so I was not sure if he was going to make it.
If any one has a way to let them know to send an email to viclindal@gmail.com I would appreciate it very much.
Vic

[Covey]

Try rory.buckley@ the domain name eric.net. I tried it and it has not bounced back (yet).

The home page for eric.net is about VW cars and has a Trojan virus package buried in it, so best not to try opening it!!

[maireadsmith]

Hi and Welcome,

I am Leslie and I built this website after walking the Camino. Now I live in Ireland and spend quite a lot of time building other website, walking - still, and doing my best to enjoy life - one step at a time - slowly.

These boards are intended to help anyone intending to travel along the Camino by any method, and for others to share their experience on the various Caminos. I get many questions every day mailed to me asking questions and I find that as time goes on the volume has become to much for me to reply to all - so the board is my solution - to bring everyone together.

I hope it works.

Hi Leslie,
Just a quick question with regards to where to leave a motorcycle. Is there any special places to leave it safely @ the beginning of the walk? Cheers Mairead

[Leslie]

Afraid I don't know. It is maybe a bit more difficult than leaving a car.

I just left my car in the car park in Roncesvalles, but it is not secure parking. Though there are trees that you could chain it too, don't know how happy you would be with that idea.

[D-Note]

Hi, Leslie. Many thanks for setting up this forum.

I've been living in Valencia now for two years and have been meaning to do the Camino since hearing about it when I arrived in Spain. I'm currently back visiting family in England and have been thinking more and more about it, chatting to others who have done it etc. Anyway, to cut a long story short, today I went out and bought some comfy new Merrells (which I'm wearing in as I type), a couple of pairs of 1000 mile socks (one of which is also being worn) and I plan to start on the 6th of September.

I've only got a couple of weeks spare so will be starting just outside Leon (many thanks to the folks on the Camino Frances threads for planning everything for me!) and can't believe it's actually going to happen. It seems like a snap decision that has taken years to make; I really can't wait.

A thousand thank yous to yourself and all the other contributers to this site for making my life a million times easier.

To anyone else caminando at that time: see you on the road (I'll be the one looking knackered and happy in equal measures).

[Oak Hill Walkers]

I have told some that we were to start a 60-day Camino Frances on 31/8/10. Well, due to a family illness, we had to postpone until next year. We're giving some thought to doing it in May-June 2011 instead of September-October 2011. I've read that the weather is 'more settled' in September-October. I'm a little worried about starting too early in May and getting snow/ice in the Pyrenees and finishing up in the heat in late June. At least we won't have to sweat the Holy Year crowds (which I have not heard too much complaints of this summer)

So, if you guys had the opportunity to choose May-June or September-October, which time would you choose?

[Covey]

This time next Friday I will be walking out of St Jean on my way to Roncesvalles. This is my third September start and the weather in the past has always been good, with very little rain . The schools and universities have gone back, so the trail takes on a somewhat less frenetic atmosphere, and the average age goes up a few notches. There is never a bed problem at this time of the year!!

There was snow on the ground in many places this year in May especially in the earlier stages and the snow covers up the yellow arrows!! Also, the clothing you have to carry needs to cope with below freezing to warm, so is harder to predict.

I would suggest you aim for September.

[Nanonano]

Hi all,
I've been reading of and on for over a year now and the forum is great. Truly a wealth of information. Thank you. I finally registered because I'm leaving Sep 14 till Sep 21 from Dublin to Satiago and hope to give something back when I actually do it, although I doubt it as everything seems to be covered.

I would have loved to start from St. Jean but 5 weeks is a bit long to leave my family. Probably more so for me then for them so I figured if I can be on my own for a week without the kids, I can aim for longer next year.

All the best,
Nathalie

[Micheal Delving]

HelloI I am new to the forum and have been looking to walk the camino for a bit. thought I would start here for information. Also looking to chat with people locally (minneapolis Mn) to learn more. Thaks!

[HuskyNerd]

Wecome to the forum, Micheal. Good luck in thinking and planning your Camino!
--Sandy

[Dmitry]

Hello all,
I recently converted to Catholicism, and I want to honour all those who came before me by making the pilgrimage. I've read a bit about it so far, and I have a few questions;
- Since the pilgrimage starts on your doorstep, and I live in India, where do I actually start the trek?
- I have a distinct lack of religious friends but I don't want to go on this trek alone, so are there any issues with non believers coming along? I plan on doing
this during my gap year, and I wanted to have a few mates along.
Cheers all, and hope to see you on the trail next year.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Dmitry ~
Congratulations on your conversion to Catholicism. That's a very big step, one that will make a huge difference in your life and that connects you to a community of millions of people in hundreds of thousands of congregations around the world.

Yes, the Camino starts at your doorstep and if it were to be done in the ancient way you would walk across mountain ranges and deserts to arrive at Santiago. Like you I have several geographical hurdles to cross that make the ancient way difficult -- it would take many weeks to walk the 5,000 kms across my country, then sail or row across the ocean in order to arrive at Santiago. I opted instead to begin my first Camino at the confluence of several European trails, in the tiny French town of St. Jean Pied-de-Port. This is "at the foot" of one of three ancient passes over the Pyrenees Mountains and three of the main European Camino routes pass through this town. For this reason it has become a popular starting place for pilgrims who choose the convenience of air and rail travel to begin their pilgrimage. From India you can fly to Paris, then take another jet to Biarritz/Bayonne (or a train to Bayonne), and then catch a train up to St. Jean.

From St. Jean the walk to Santiago is 800 kms, usually completed in 30-35 days. If you want to lengthen your pilgrimage you could start at any other of the traditional starting places in France (Paris, Vezelay, Le Puy, Arles), or in any major European city. The farther from Santiago, though, these ancient routes are less well-remembered and well-used.

Catholics and others feel a sense of accomplishment when they apply for and receive a formal document at the conclusion of their pilgrimage in the cathedral office at Santiago. To receive the "Compostela" a person must either have walked the last 100 kms or biked the last 200 kms of their pilgrimage and must present a "credentiale" which was stamped each day at stops on their pilgrimage route. As a Catholic, you will also qualify for a plenary indulgence (with certain stipulations) if you conduct your pilgrimage in a Holy Year (the next one after this year is 2021) or if you arrive on a special feast day (such as July 25, the feast of Santiago himself). You'll also have the satisfaction of having mass along the way. I encourage you to have your local priest write you a letter of introduction so you can show it to priests at churches along the way. They will greet you with amazement, since Catholic pilgrims from India are a rarity.

There are many excellent websites that will help you plan your trip. A good starting-place (in addition to this Forum) is Home page - The Confraternity of St James which is the Confraternity of St. James (British), as you're a English speaker. From that site you can secure a credentiale, guidebooks as needed, etc.

I hope that some of this information has been useful to you. I'll be walking the Camino again next year, starting from St. Jean, and I would consider it a blessing to meet you. I wish you the best in your planning and in your journey.

[Dmitry]

Well, thank you for the welcome. It really was a big step for me, since I was basically agnostic before that.
The information you've provided has been extremely useful, so again a hearty thanks. I think I'll take one of the three well used trails you mentioned, since this is my first time. I've read about the Compostela and look forward to getting my pilgrim's passport. It's a shame I couldn't make it in this holy year. Ha, strictly speaking I'm not Indian, though I did grow up here. My father is a Zoroastrian Iranian and my mother an Orthodox Christian Ukrainian. It really is amazing how people from every conceivable background and ethnicity find Catholicism.

The sources you've provided seem very useful, and I'll be sure to go through them thoroughly. It really would be a pleasure to meet you on the trail.
However, I really would appreciate an answer to my second query. Would it be against the spirit of the pilgrimage?
I've also thought of a couple of other questions -
- What month would you recommend for the pilgrimage? I'd like to avoid especially crowded months, but at the same time it would be nice to meet fellow pilgrims.
- Related to my previous question, what kind of clothes would be suitable? As you might have guessed it's pretty hot in India year round so shorts and a t shirt are generally all that are taken for treks here.

[HuskyNerd]

Hey Dmitri ~
A Russian/Indian/Iranian/Ukrainian Catholic is even more rare! I know your presence on the Camino will be prized by many.

I'm not sure I understand your "second query," exactly. Are you asking whether flying to someplace near Santiago, like France, is against the spirit of the pilgrimage (as opposed to walking there from your doorstep)? If that's your question I'm afraid only you, God, and Santiago himself can answer. This might be a good place to approach your priest for his opinion. Most people would respond by saying that a) whatever mode of transportation you use doesn't particularly matter, but that b) there should be some effort involved -- walking or biking or riding -- so that you don't just write a check and appear in Santiago to be awarded your Compostela. Obviously that's the reason for the 100/200 km minimum requirement. I'd personally doubt that God would reward you more for walking all the way from Mumbai or Delhi or Bangalore. In fact, God might be scratching his head, wondering what could possess a person to cross war zones and face dangers to pray in Spain when your prayers are heard just as well from Mumbai. I think your priest would advise you to fly safely to a common starting point and then pick up the trail without fear of offending the spirit of the Camino.

I prefer May for the Camino as I enjoy the beautiful green colors of the Spanish grainfields over the hot golds of summer and desolate plowed fields of September. Others disagree and insist that gold is the most beautiful color and the crowds of summer are no bother. Still others suggest September because the plowed fields are many shades of red and pink and have their own beauty. Crowds are largest in July/August, but there are plenty of pilgrim friends to be made in May/June or Sept/Oct.

Clothes depend on your choice of season. For my May/June pilgrimage I'll have 2 pair lightweight hiking shorts, 1 pair long pants for dinners, 3 technical t-shirts, 1 long-sleeve lightweight fleece, and an excellent Gore-Tex jacket for rainstorms. Most important is an excellent pair of hiking boots and a pack that fits you well in a 40-literish size.

Hope this helps. Buen camino.

[Anna-Marie]

Hi Dmitry, and welcome!

I have a distinct lack of religious friends but I don't want to go on this trek alone, so are there any issues with non believers coming along?

You'll actually find that the majority of pilgrims aren't Catholic, and many of the non-Catholics don't belong to any particular religion, though they might say they're walking for spiritual reasons. Some are agnostic or even atheists. People do the pilgrimage for all kinds of reasons--in the form you fill out at Roncesvalles, I think the options are "religious," "spiritual," "cultural," "sport," and "other." Something like that, anyway. So there's really no problem with your friends coming along.

Buen Camino!
Anna-Marie

[HuskyNerd]

Ahhh, that's the "second query." I agree with your conclusion, that there's no problem with non-religious pilgrims on the Camino. I would point out that the cathedral's statistics tell a somewhat different story about the supposed secular nature of pilgrims. As I mentioned in a previous post:

Through October of this year 258,091 pilgrims received their compostelas in Santiago, of which 108,214 identified "religion" as their sole motivation. Those who identified "Religion and Culture" as their motivation are another approximately 40% of the total.

My own experience suggests that English-speaking pilgrims who start in France are primarily after the generalized spiritual benefits or the health benefits or the fun of good camaraderie of a good hike. Spaniards, who make up the bulk of pilgrims, begin closer to or in Sarria and have strong religious motivations. This year, for instance, on the Via de la Plata I was part of a "wave" of about 16 long-distance pilgrims, many of whom had started as early as Seville. When we came to Ourense (the Sarria of the Via de la Plata) we were joined by throngs of church youth group kids with small packs. We long-distance pilgrims tend to look askance at these local, shorter distance folk, but in reality they are the heart of the Camino -- it's their country that hosts and maintains this blessed walk. My theory is supported by the statistics at the Santiago Cathedral site, which records info about who actually receives their compostelas: Pilgrims to Santiago

Anyway, just a quibble about how the Camino may not be all it appears to many of us.

[Anna-Marie]

HuskyNerd,

You're completely right, of course. I guess it's just that if you start before Sarria or so, the bulk of people you tend to meet aren't walking for religious reasons. I met an Australian priest in Logrono who lamented the fact that he'd met so few pilgrims with Catholic motivations. Of course, I also met two women, both of whom started well before Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, who were (separately) trying to decide if they had vocations to be nuns.

But don't you have to identify "religion" as one of your motivations in order to receive the compostela? I was under the impression that if you're walking for purely secular reasons there's no point applying.

Anna-Marie

[Covey]

If you are Catholic you get a different Compostella than us poor sinners who ticked the "Cultural" and "Other" boxes!! The Catholic Compostella was a multi-colored document, but the rest of us got a plain brown Compostella.

[Dmitry]

Well, now that I've made the decision to do the pilgrimage and the initial buzz is fading I have to face the hard part - planning
I've decided to travel for three weeks, so taking 25km a day as average I'll be able to cover 525km. The best starting point would then be Burgos. Now that my parents have decreed that this trip shall be self funded I'll have to start saving up. I'm leaning towards walking in June, and if I time it right I can convince my parents to fund this as my birthday gift.

I'm having second thoughts about having any of my friends along, as this is meant to be a spiritual trip for me and it would be nice not to have many distractions along. Ha, I gave my priest quite a shock when I asked for a letter, as per your recommendation Huskynerd, this is undoubtedly the first time anyone has ever asked him for one. Though unless the priests in Spain have a good grasp of english I'm afraid the effect will be rather lost on them. Your description of me crossing Asia to get to Spain really had me laughing.
Thank you all for your help and I hope to see you on the trail next year.

[HuskyNerd]

I'm reading and laughing. Your letter and your planning are hilarious and fun, Dmitri. Your plan to start at Burgos in June makes sense as an itinerary and as an inspired financial decision.

One of the great things about the Catholic Church is that all priests are supposed to study Latin. Your priest would impress the Spanish priests (and get his point across) with a letter in that fine language. You and your letter will be a conversation-starter and it might make for a few special experiences along the way.

All the best ~
Sanford "Sandy" Brown (HuskyNerd)

[Dmitry]

I sense a great deal of frantic googling in my priest's immediate future.