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[Jukka-]

Hey all

Just wanted to praise these forums, I have found answer to most of my questions without the need to even post them myself. So thanks to all the people here, especially to the one who put up these forums.

I am planning on walking alone the Camino Frances route sometime soon, probably on may 2011.

[HuskyNerd]

Thanks should go to Leslie, Jukka. He's the mastermind. Perhaps I'll see you in May. Am leaving May 12 from SJPP and just counting the days now.

[Sparkly]

Hi,

Huge thanks to everyone who running and contributing to these forums, it's a great resource.

Thanks to being made redundant in my late 40's, I'm planning to walk the Camino Frances SJPP to Finisterre, starting early May (possibly late April). Including travel from NW England, I'm planning on allowing 42 days.

I first heard about the Camino some 25 or so years ago whilst on a long and very wet walk in the Peak District, and every few years thought about going, but couldn't commit to the time off. I decided early this year to go, and seem to have thought of little else since then!

[Gazza]

Couldn't agree more, when i went last year this forum became my bible & my obsession. People who post & help on this forum are identical to the type of help & friendship that lives on the Camino

[Covey]

Welcome Sparkly.......

You might think that being made redundant is a major calamity, but it can also be a gateway to the future. When you hit the Camino trail you will rapidly find that things you thought were important, are really not so and that we can survive a life without phones and meetings and stress and all that really concerns you is what is over the next hill.

When I stick my nose outside the Albergue door at 7am, I rarely know where I am going to sleep that night. It depends on how I feel, the weather, and the company you meet along the trail. My mobile sits in my pocket powered off (I switch it on every other day in the evening to pick up any text messages from my family), I never look at a newspaper or TV and my evenings entertainment is sitting around a table with pilgrims from all over the world, having a meal and sharing a bottle of wine.

Nobody tells you what you must do or when, you walk as far as you want each day, stay where you want, eat when you want and just enjoy the total freedom of having no external influences, except the little yellow arrows that guide your footsteps.

Then, when your mind is empty of clutter, you can think of the future and where you want to be in life.

Have fun.

[Ange]

Hi Sparkly
I'm in a similar situation to you, made redundant a few months ago, mid 40's, have been doing some contract work but no real idea what i want to do with this rest of my life and just seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do something like this. I'm leaving Manchester on the 12th March and am giving myself about six weeks so I can dawdle a bit and take the odd day off here and there (and stop off in paris on the way down!), am also planning to go from SJPP to Finisterre. I'm now getting slightly panicky about what I've let myself in for but i know it'll be amazing and possibly life changing - good to get out of your comfort zone sometimes!
Enjoy your walk and here's to being made redundant and the possibilities and adventures it opens up!!

[Covey]

My favorite saying in life is "One door closes, another one opens" and for many, the time they spend walking the Camino is a door opening.

A great many walk the Camino seeking the answers to their trials and tribulations, and for most, there is no burning bush at the side of the trail with a Charlton Heston voice telling you what to do next to solve your problems.

What you do get is space and time to think, far away from friends, family and the normal daily influences which run your life at present. Your fellow Pilgrims are never judgmental, but listen if you talk to them, and maybe give you a different perspective on life.

Your life for 6 weeks will be what you have on your back. Before you leave for the Camino you will ask yourself how you are going to manage with so little in your pack, yet after a week, you will realise that you can really manage with half of that!!

The yellow arrows will guide your feet for the six weeks so you can empty your mind, look up at the horizon, put a huge smile on your face, and set off on a great adventure. You will meet the most incredible people along the way, see incredible sights and countryside, and maybe somewhere along the Way you will find the answers to the questions you have yet to ask yourself.

Buen Camino.

[Ange]

Thank you for those kind words, if it's anywhere near as you describe I'll be very happy indeed. Just about to set off with a full pack on a 4 hour walk as a bit of a dummy run so hopefully might not go overboard and do the shedding pre setting off! Thanks for this fab forum again, always puts a huge smile on my face and a buzz of excitement every time I come here :O)
Angela

[katkin]

Hello All, thought it was about time i introduced myself. i've been reading through posts on here for the past few months. Wow what alot of very useful and helpful advice. so firstly, thank you all. I decided to to the Camino after my mother and aunt did part of it last year and gave me the bug! This year, the three of us will be arriving in Biaritz on May 11th and all going well, manage to walk the whole thing. I'm not due to fly back to the uk until June 24th so plenty of time.
I am so looking forward to it, my pack is loaded, shoes bought and doing as much walking with my pack as i can to prepare myself. I haven't actually told my youngest child (5yrs) that I'm disappearing for 6 weeks as i'll never hear the end of it once she realises she has to endure Daddy's cooking for that long! think i'd best make sure the freezer's well stocked before i go!
Hope to meet a few of you on the trail.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Katkin and thanks for introducing yourself. Welcome to the Forum and congrats on your upcoming Camino. I'm amazed that your camino dates are almost identical to mine! I'll be on The Way with my sister and son this year, arriving in Biarritz on May 11 (late in the day) and leaving Spain on June 24 also! We anticipate arriving in Santiago about a week prior to June 24, then we'll head to Barcelona and a little town near Sevilla where we believe our family may have come from. I imagine we'll see you somewhere along the way. Here's a YouTube video of my 2008 camino YouTube - Camino de Santiago 2008 that has some photos of me so you'll recognize me in case we run into each other. FYI I'll be the guy who has a chocolate croissant for breakfast each day, walks slowly, and takes a nap on the trail every afternoon. :-)

Only two months left! Buen camino ~
Sandy

[Nik Spin]

Hi all,
Great to see such a community out there!
I travelled from Oz in January and am almost finished a gig near Chamonix France (& learnt to ski!)... so soon I will have some 'me' time again.
Have decided to walk the big camino, woohoo!
For those of you in the know about oz, i've done a bit of the Bibbulmun Track, the Jatbula Trail in the NT, and hiked a little around Tasmania. Most of my 'walks' have been self-sufficient (ie/ taking all food, and sometimes all water for the few days/week).
Having refuges sounds like heaven! And somewhere to get food!
Have yet to get some gear together as i'm in Alpine mode, but starting to get itchy feet already. Over a month of solitude; amazing.
Well, maybe not so much solitude from what I hear.
Looking at starting end of April... who knows. Somewhere round then when I end up down that way!
I very much look forward to meeting some other adventurous & possibly like-minded people along the way.
Good luck to you all in your endeavours, wherever and however long they may be! xo

[JoPerreault]

HI! My name is Jordyn and I'm considering doing the Camino in mid-May this year. What are people's thoughts on a woman doing it solo?

[Covey]

A single woman starting on her own will be fine and come to no harm what so ever. About 40% of the pilgrims who start will be female and virtually all are starting off alone, but, unless you want to be, you are rarely ever alone along the Way. There are very few places along the Camino Frances where you are totally out of sight of other pilgrims, and if you ever feel uncomfortable about walking through a section on your own, just sit by the side of the track for 15 minutes and attach yourself to the next bunch of Pilgrims who pass by.

Human beings are mostly pack animals and enjoy being with other like minded souls, so Pilgrims often stick with those who speak their language, and those who walk at a similar pace, and look as they might be fun to be with. The English speaking "families" tend to be very international and are usually great fun.

By the end of your first couple of days, you will probably have found a group you like, and if you decide they are not for you, then slow down or speed up and join another group.

One of the really nice things about the Camino is that we all share the same dream and goal of getting to Santiago and at least 80% of all Pilgrims are Solo's, but they rarely end up on their own walking in to Santiago, and the friends you make on the Way are true friends.

[katrine]

hi all , i am hoping to do the walk this summer solo - - any advise would be great . thanks

[Covey]

Hi Katrine

If you are walking in the summer months, then "start early and finish early". By that I mean start walking at first light and aim to find an albergue no later than 2pm. That way you do most of your days walk in the cooler hours and will always find a bed!!

Having found a bed, do the dhobi and hang it out to dry, put on your sun hat and shades and wander off with your friends to find a cool drink. Such is the life of a modern Pilgrim.

Your pack should weigh no more than 10kgs and if you can make it lighter, so much the better. Don't bother about carrying loads of guide books or maps. On the Camino Frances, you don't even need a guide book. Just follow the yellow arrows and they will guide your feet.

I always describe the first couple of days of the Camino as Speed Dating without the sex. Humans are mostly pack animals and we all look around for like minded souls. On the Camino, that usually means those who speak your language (important) those who walk at a pace you are comfortable with (very important) and those who have a sense of humor and enjoy life (if you have neither, stay at home and spare the rest of us the agony!).

Don't try and walk faster than you are comfortable with as that is a sure fire route to blisters and pain. As your body gets used to walking 20+kms a day you will find the going easier and will cope with walking a little longer, but whatever you do, stick to "Dawn to 2pm"

[Geoff S.]

Hello from California. I am very interested in walking the Camino in August and September. I look foward to reading all the information this wonderful forum has to offer.

[Covey]

Welcome Geoff S.

You will find (hopefully!) that we are all a pretty friendly bunch whose sole aim is to help those who are contemplating setting out on their Great Adventure.

We concentrate on the "how" and leave the "why" to you to find out somewhere along the Way.

[erilong]

hi. I.ve done the camino Frances twice, the first time I went on my own, the first day I was a little bit afraid, (coming from America you are always aprehensive)

[erilong]

I.ve walked the Camino Frances twice. The first time , It was the year I turned 50 and I wanted and needed to do something special to mark such an important date in my life, so I decided to go by myself and see what was all about, after the first 30Km I had already met several poeple, different nationalites and age groups, as a woman traveling solo,I thought, it was a great experience... But then something wonderful happened. I started to enjoy solitude, to be with myself. for the first time in my life I heard a Cu Cu bird, i always thougt they were caractes in a cartoon, I saw Storks and their nest( I como from America, you don't see this ever)
I talked to poeple if I wanted to, i sang , I cried, I thought about my life and all those you normally not think about, I had for the first time ever made peace with myself.. I was liberating. The most wonderful experience.
So if you are a woman thinking of doing the Camino on your own,,,get yourself a good pair of boots pack a small backpack no more than 6 kg and BUEN CAMINO...
Last year we Walked from Porto to Finisterra by the coast. recomended..
O!! did I mention that I met my husband on the first Camino? 4 years married now and walk every year some new route, it is addictive

[dutchee]

Hi, I'm Esme, and beginning to plan do the Camino this summer, probably July.

[Covey]

Welcome to the Forum Esme.

We are all here to give you whatever help and advice you need so don't worry about asking what you might think is a trivial matter, because at some time or another, we have all asked the same questions, and someone else was kind enough to shine their light on our path.

[Brad]

Hello! I walked from Sarria to Santiago last Fall with my wife. I feel that was but the appetizer, and do not consider myself a "real" Peregrino just yet. I retire in October 2012, and will do the Via Podiensis and on to the Camino Frances starting 1 April 2013. I am soaking up all the advice on what to pack. My wife and I used a luggage transfer service last time, but this time not. As I will be starting off alone, I can set my own pace and distance. In a world of science and technology, there seems to be little room for mystical experiences. This is one. I am pleased to be allowed to be a memeber here.
Brad, AKA, Don Braulio.

[Covey]

Welcome Brad.

I too walked the Sarria to Santiago stage with my eldest son who had walked from Roncesvalles. When we arrived in Santiago he asked me how I had enjoyed my "Camino Lite". That did it!! There and then I decided to come back the following year and start at St Jean and have been doing that each year since.

I have often met people walking as couples or in a group who had decided to come back and walk the Camino solo. There is something about the complete freedom of just looking after yourself for a change.

[Brad]

Smile

I have already warned my wife that I may make this a recurring event in my life. It was good to do it with her, but yes, I believe that by doing it solo I will be more open to experience what the Camino has to offer.

I have been asked what I am hoping to find on this journey. I reply that if I knew the answer, I would not have to go. I think the answer is a part of myself I misplaced while growing up, and being traumatized by the process. My father was an alcoholic, and my childhood was filled with fear. My grandfather was also an alcoholic, and deserted the family during the Depression. I vowed to do better, and I have two wonderful grown daughters who actually enjoy my company, as I theirs.

My happiest days were going fishing with my other grandfather, who just loved me as I was. I want to be a little boy again, sitting beneath the shade tree besides someone who loves me unconditionally. Fishing is just the excuse.

Shedding the years of strife as I walk, as we pare down the weight within our pack, I hope to be able to lighten that emotional load I carry with me, down to only what really matters. And somewhere along the way, find that lost child, full of wonder at the world around him, and a joy in seeing each new day.

I am a physician in the Army, now caring for wounded warriors. Next year when I retire, I will have been in the Army 39 years, as an Infantry Officer, then Transport Officer, and finally as a physician. Being in the Army is the only work I have done since college. I will need to redefine myself once the uniform is off for the final time. You might say this journey will be introduction to this new phase of my life.

I am sorry this is so long, but something you said opened me up. It occurs to me that I chose to be a healer, as I was in such need of healing myself, so long ago. Now I get to play the grandfather. at least to my young and damaged soldiers.

Thank you,

Buen Camino

[Dawn]

I am a 60yr old fairly fit South African and plan to walk from St.Jean Pied de Port early in summer 2012. I need a schegen visa to move around europe, and will have one from the Greek embassy, so will travel to France from Athens. Will there be a problem crossing into Spain? I have so many questions but this seems a good one to start with. XDawn

[Covey]

Brad, what is done, is done, and when you stand in the cool of the dawn and are about to take your first step of the next Camino, then a whole new adventure opens up.

I have walked the Camino each year for the past five years, and each year it is different. The path is the same (although in places they alter it a little each year) but the people are always very different.

I regard myself as a Camino Grandfather and each year the Camino Grandfathers from various nationalities put a little back into the Camino by helping those who are finding the reality of the trail a little different from their hopes and dreams.

We gather up those who are hurting, those who are doubting they will make it to Santiago, those who are looking for the burning bush and the Charlton Heston voice telling them what to do in their life, but who have yet seen or heard nothing, and we walk and talk, laugh and on occasions cry with them as they put one foot in front of another on the Way.

Like you, I have a store of outrageous tales from my Army days and such tales have frequently taken peoples minds off their blisters and pain and problems whilst they laugh at something different and stop thinking of the disaster zone below their knees!

Welcome to the Club!

[Brad]

I like that, the Camino Grandfathers,

Thank you.

My feet itch, to begin.

Brad

[Barbara Er]

Hello "Here".

My name is Barbara and I have just committed myself to walking the Camino Frances (Stage 8) starting 9th June 2011. Have to finish it and make it to Ireland for work by the 15th. Am anxious. Am excited. But most of all, I am uplifted! This has been something I "talked" about but never committed too. Seeing how I have just made my first major commitment (buying a house!), I am hoping this will seal the commitment-phobia for good. Have started a blog (Countdown to El Camino) to track the countdown to it cos I do not intend to go into it blind. Hope to learn more from the experiences you have all had.

Please keep me in your prayers until I cross into the Cathedral!

Barbs

[Covey]

Welcome Barbara. I am not sure what is the more adventurous at present, walking the Camino or buying a house. Lets hope both work out well for you.

We cannot help you much on the house buying front, but on walking the Camino, we are in firmer ground (very droll). Don't hold back on any questions you might have cos we were all newbies once wondering what it would be like, what to take and where to go.

Those who found this Forum before they went had a great advantage over those of us who found out the hard way!

[Covey]

Dawn, I missed your question on the visa requirements.

Within the Schengen area, there are no borders to cross! You need a Schengen wide visa when you arrive in the EC (excluding the UK)but once "in" you can go wherever you like.

When you walk from St Jean (France) to Roncesvalles (Spain) which is the first day for many on the Camino Frances and take the "Route Napoleon" which is the over the top route, the border is marked by just a simple road sign. On the winter route through Valcarlos all the old border post buildings went long ago and there is just a simple road sign.