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[marinam]

Hello! I plan to walk part of the Camino the last coupe of days in May and two weeks in June. I hope to combine the Finsterre part too!!! May I ask for some advice? Where would you suggest that I begin? thank you marina

[soul surfer]

Howza goin' folks...
I have been browsing your great forum the past couple of nights and I gotta commend ye all on having a lovely community here.
Not at all like other forums where too many people can become "keyboard warriors" hiding behind online screen names. I myself am a moderator on a surfing forum and know only too well that it's the community and spirit that makes a forum worth coming back to each time. No disrespect to the mods and admin here, I'm sure they know what I mean.

I only learned about the Camino last week when a friend and I were compiling a list of friends to contact when one of our dear friend's passed away. I dunno how it exactly came up but it had nothing to do with the Martin Sheen movie The Way. That I know for sure. Anyway, he had told me of two guys we both know who did a 120km job of it purely because that was all the time they could put into it. He said they loved it. I said, write down Camino de Santagio on the back of my list of friends that I call tomorrow cause I will surely forget it. I came home and did my google/youtube search and within twenty mins of reading testimonials and viewing diary's (Nice one wilbox !) I knew I had to do the Camino Frances. The thing is, is that I only wish I had learned of it last April therefore I would be gone like a shot !
I suppose this way I have something really special to look forward to. I was a lapsed Catholic for a number of years but thank God I found my way back to the love of Jesus last year. That I am forever grateful.
With your great forum here I now know what make and model of backpack I will be sporting along with the correct weight of rain jacket etc. etc.
Okay... introduction made.. talk soon..

[unadara]

Hiya Kerry
I spent 42days away from home (Wicklow) not one drop of rain or a cloud-walked Camino Frances from St Jean to Santiago 31 days. 13th Sept to 14th Oct, do include Finisterre and Muxia in your plans, you will love the wild Muxia coast. Check out the thread on Spirituality, good way to prepare the "mind", not one of us can tell you what you will feel, just be excited in anticipation, I can also advise to try and take your time, many athletes want to do it as quickly as they can. I am now looking at the places we did not stay in and wonder will I do Camino Frances again, Before I tackle one of the other routes.

[Lipka149]

Howza goin' folks...
I have been browsing your great forum the past couple of nights and I gotta commend ye all on having a lovely community here.

Thank you, soul surfer !

I'm sure you will have a lot of fun preparing. It's great to hear from those that return about what worked and what didn't. Most of all, though, it's hearing about how we are different from walking the Way and how we are making a difference in the world we return to. Your own voice will be much appreciated !

I was a lapsed Catholic for a number of years but thank God I found my way back to the love of Jesus last year. That I am forever grateful.

Isn't renewal wonderful ???

Welcome to our community, soul man !

[rowsusan]

Hi Leslie

Just discovered your Camino site and I think it's a great idea. I walked the Chemin de Saint Jacques from Le Puy then the Camino from Roncesvalles over 60 days between mid-October and mid-December lat year. Every night before I go to sleep I think about it. It really gets under your skin. Take a look at my blog about it at www.solitary-walker.blogspot.com

Till later

Robert

Please can you tell me what the weather was like over the last 120k which you would have been doing in mid Dec - this time is an option for us - but we need to be informed!!!

[Seán McKenna]

Hi all,

I'm Seán from Ireland. Planning to walk the camino in the summer of 2012. Starting my training for it in a week or two.

Looking forward to get some good advice from other members!

[SandyGale]

Just saying hello - I am hoping to walk part of the Camino in May and am very excited about it. This looks such a helpful site I am busy reading as much as I can

[Lipka149]

Just saying hello - I am hoping to walk part of the Camino in May and am very excited about it. This looks such a helpful site I am busy reading as much as I can

Hi SandyGale !

Welcome to our little online community ! I think you will find a lot of helpful advice (and more than a few funny stories) as you look over past threads. Which part of the Camino are you thinking of walking ?

[SandyGale]

I am going to walk from St Jean pied-de-port as far as I can in 2 or 3 weeks and then go back and finish it another time. I am so looking forward to it. I am planning, walking a bit and dreaming of it!

For there are still so many things
that I have never seen:
In every wood, in every spring
there is a different green!

[SandyGale]

Dear Alan
Thanks - I am going from St Jean pied-de-port and just walking as far as I can with my husband Paul in 2 or three weeks (love the Rings quote)

[Lipka149]

Dear Alan
Thanks - I am going from St Jean pied-de-port and just walking as far as I can with my husband Paul in 2 or three weeks (love the Rings quote)

Hi Girl Sandy -

Would not want to confuse you with Boy Sandy, our esteemed Moderator. I'm sensitive to this, as my son Aaron was sometimes confused with a neighbor, Girl Erin. I do reflect on that ... and smile ...

Ok then ! You have 14 to 21 days of walking with a man whose namesake was quite the traveler ! I suspect you will go more towards 21 days, as it will become increasingly difficult to give up the experience as you get deeper into it. If so, and you start from St. Jean, shoot for Leon. The general tide of walkers will lead you there as long as you do not succumb to injury. It is also a great place to start from in the future. When you return, roll in for a day or two early and get lost. Enjoy ! Pick up the trail at your convenience and be on your Way !

Understand, however, that what you experience on your Way to Leon may not be what you experience afterwards. From what I have heard from others, it really is different when you stop short of Santiago and start again. Not that this is bad, but ... it is not the same.

So ... maybe start in Leon and take it into Santiago ? Having "been there" carries with it a certain credencial that might make your desire to walk from the "beginning" more ... influential to others. Oh ... we SAY we are doing it for ourselves ... but when we go ... back ... it is to share what we know. To share !!!

So .. I say start from Leon and trek in to Santiago ! That is 13 days of walking. A day or two in Leon to enjoy the wonderful city and a day or two in Santiago to enjoy the same. That works into the 14-21 day time frame. Come back to St. Jean next year as veterans and encourage those just beginning while you backtrack. This way you can experience the sense of adventure for doing something new while giving witness to having made it to the end.

Your choice, of course ... can't tell you what to do here ... but suspect that if you want to pay it forward, your best bet is to grab the golden ring. Gotta admit to a bias for paying it forward ...

Please do let us know what you decide, how it works out, and what the result is years from now. Maybe we will even meet on the Way !

All the best !

[la sainte terre]

Any one from or near texas that has made or wants to do ii...am lonly older man looking for a walking partner

[KatieBug]

Just wanted to say hello. I'm from Oregon and my son graduates from high school in 2 1/2 years. It may seem a bit long to plan, but I plan to walk the Camino from St Jean when he is in college so I am reading all I can. Cheers!

[HuskyNerd]

Welcome, all!

[invincible]

Hello everyone. My name is Ian and I am a retired engineer from the UK.
I am planning for my first Camino in May or June 2012. Seems like a long time to wait (especially as it is dark for two thirds of the day at this time of year!) I plan to go from SJPP to The End of the World.
The biggest problem I have at present is waiting for 8 months before I go. I may do a shorter camino in the meantime but don't want to spoil the main pilgrimage.
I look forward to making some new friends and contributing to the site.

Ian.

[Lipka149]

The biggest problem I have at present is waiting for 8 months before I go. I may do a shorter camino in the meantime but don't want to spoil the main pilgrimage.

I look forward to making some new friends and contributing to the site.

Hi Ian !

Welcome to the forum ! We are looking forward to sharing your experience and by all means write, write, write !!!

I suspect that doing a shorter Camino would only enrich your pilgrimage. The weather right now might be challenging, but if you are up to it, I say GO ! Just be careful ...

[Heliman1965]

Hi,

My name is Bryan, I'm the Training Officer for Hampshire Search & Rescue(WWW.Hantsar.org) we are a non-fundedVolunteer unit work with the Police searching for Vulnerable Missing People inthe Hampshire and surrounding areas...

I will be walking the Camino de Santiago in May of 2012 for personal reasonwhile raising much needed funds to help keep HANTSAR running...

My biggest inspiration for attempting the Camino was the film "TheWAY" and what a fabulous film it is...

I’m making the trip solo in the hope that I’ll meet other Pilgrims along theway, I will be starting at St Jean Pied de Port and hoping to arrive there onthe 20th May. I’m very excited about making this trip of a lifetimeand I can only thank the wife for this as she has granted me a travel pass for6 weeks so I can take in the whole experience at my own pace with a view totake the odd day off to see some of the historical sites…

My fitness level needs to be addressed; yes I can walk 20km but every day? Ithink I’ll need to start training hard for this, I gave up smoking this pastMay in preparation for the trip.

This trip has taken over my every thought and is at the top of my must dobefore I’m 50 list, I just hope and pray that my body allows me to fulfil thisawe inspiring pilgrimage…

I look forward to hearing some of your tips and experiences..

[razzaefc]

hi all.first day on this forum.I have not long returned from my 12 month round the world travels,and flying from sydney to africa i watched a film about the american guy who walked the camino.I think its a new film,having watched it i was intrigued to find out more about it and now im here.I dont know much about the caminos but when the weather improves i will be looking to attemp my first walk,in the film the guy walks from spain to france?is this a set camino walk,no doubt this site can tell me this but thought i would ask.Look forward to speaking to people on here and geting myself ready for my walk.ryan uk liverpool

[razzaefc]

hi.im 25 m uk liverpool.i have not long been back from my round the world travels,while flying from Sydney to Cape Town i watched 'The Way' and was intrigued to find out more,im looking to do my first camino next summer with the help of this forum.Is there a camino that takes you from France to Spain?look forward to speaking you all and gathering some useful in formation

[netia]

Hi Ryan, yes the walk featured in the movie 'The Way' is the Camino Frances and it starts officially.... in St Jean Pied de Port, in France and ends in Santiago....800 kms down the track near the NW coast of Spain. It's a pilgrims walk, dating back to the Middle Ages....is steeped in history and spirituality and to add to that, amazing comradeship : ) I walked it in August- September this year and i can honestly say, it was the most amazing thing i have ever done! As a result...I'm planning to walk La Via Francigena, another pilgrims walk....2000 kms, from Canterbury to Rome, in May next year. If you have a niggling interest in the Camino Frances, you MUST walk it! Sometimes, you don't have a choice : ) Buen camino and please ask as many questions as you need. We all have lots of advice! Netia

[pompey]

Hello this is my first message on this or any other web site/ chat room . im doing the camino in may ( there Ive said it) having negoatiated six weeks off work , not sure whether its on on my own or with friends yet but i know im doing it!

[heyjude]

Hi, everybody - Judy here. My husband and I will be walking the Camino Frances in May 2012. We're on Vancouver Island, Canada. Can't wait. Hope to meet some of you there.

[kym]

Hi Judy, my name is Kym and I am also walkiing the camino this spring. My plan is to start in SJPP and since I live in Vancouver, I was wondering what sort of flight plans you have made. Will you fly to CDG and then on to Biarritz? What about your return flight back home? I am just beginning to plan the flights and could use any info you might have.
Much appreciated
Kym

[Bevalden]

Hi Judy, I am from White Rock, BC and will also be walking the Camino in May. Starting in SJPP around the 7th. Have a great Camino! Like you, I am very excited.

[Heliman1965]

Hi Pompey,

I'm also doing my first Camino in May (Solo) and am also from Hampshire... I've booked off six weeks and am traveling to St Jean Pied-de-Port on the 19th and will be starting the Camino on the 21st of May...

We could well meet along the Way...

Good luck on the planning of your trip..

Bryan

[Texa]

Hello! I am thinking about walking the Camino this year, and I found out much about it, but still I have a few questions I need answered before I take the road. So... I would very much appreciate a little help from some experienced hikers. If anyone is willing to help me, please contact me.... ;-)

[clearer_skies]

Hi
David from Ireland here!
Have just signed up today but I have been a frequent visitor.
I have walked Sarria to Santiago in June and heading back in April from Leon to Santiago

Talk soon!

[Pharaildis]

Hello fellow pilgrims!

Two years ago, whilst studying in Rome, I decided I would do the Camino by bike whenever I graduated. Whoahoahaaa, july is the time, people, july 2012 is the time! I'm leaving with my bike at my doorstep here in rainy and windy belgium and i will do the entire 2400 km trip. I can't wait, really.
I really feel the need to do it, after all those years of studying, I need to do something to clean the mess in my head. All my memories are like one big messy pile of junk on the attic. You know that, right? It's that kind of junk you can't throw away because you are for one reason or another still attached to it. However, it is now time to sort all my memories and thougts, organize them and put them in boxes and on shelves so my attic becomes a neat clean space again...

After that, I'll come and live in England, and drink tea.

There is one issue though, I haven't got any company yet. I don't want to go on my own, because I can't stand being alone too long, but mostly because my mum would be terrified for weeks knowing that I was completely on my own and I don't want to put her through that. Problem is also that I am quite picky, I don't want to go with one of my friend or anyone else I know.... for several reasons. So I thought, maybe on the other side of the channel there is someone who would like to join a 24year old girl on her cycling trip? no? yes? please?

Anyway, I need to get back to the books, january is exam period (hopefully the very very last),
for anyone leaving soon: buen camino
and for anyone else: greetings from Belgium!

[heyjude]

Hi Judy, my name is Kym and I am also walkiing the camino this spring. My plan is to start in SJPP and since I live in Vancouver, I was wondering what sort of flight plans you have made. Will you fly to CDG and then on to Biarritz? What about your return flight back home? I am just beginning to plan the flights and could use any info you might have.
Much appreciated
Kym

Hi, Kym: I haven't made flight reservations yet. Looks like going to London is cheapest, then on to Biarritz by Ryan Air, bus to Bayonne and train to SJPP. The cost of flight to London is higher than I expected - about $900 each, but even higher to Paris. I'm guessing 40 days total, from door to door. Just getting on and off the island here takes a day at either end.
If we do go through Ldn, the flights home would be: Santiago to London on Ryan Air, then London to Vcr.
Love it if you could keep me posted. If you are able to find cheaper fares, pls. do pass the info on. When are you going?

[heyjude]

Hi, Bev:
We're hoping to start a bit earlier than you - about the 1st of May or so. I am so excited. Starting to put together a kit. Hope yours is a great trip! (And mine, too!)