Camino for the first time - help needed please

[NikosP]

I am doing the Leon to Santiago walk in June for the charity so any help that you can provide would be much appreciated. For example,

1. What is the weather like in the first 2 weeks of June

2. Do I need to book accomodation in advance?

3. What gear should I have with me?

4. Would I be right in assuming that I can get some sort of confirmation at various locations to prove that I have completed that part of the walk?

5. Is internet available? Need to record my progress for the people that are sponsoring me

Thank you in advance

[Covey]

The official albergue in Leon will issue with a Pilgrim Passport if you have not previously got one from one of the external issuers such as the Confraternity of St James in London or Dublin.

http://www.stjamesirl.com/?page_id=34

http://www.csj.org.uk/

The Pilgrim Passport is your record of where you have stayed and is stamped every time you check in to an albergue, and when you get to Santiago the Pilgrim Office will check it to see if you meet their criteria for issuing a Compostella.

You do not need to pre book staying in an albergue. It is first come, first served!!

You will find an internet connection at a cyber cafe or albergue at most places you stop.

The kit list is on this Forum.

The weather varies!! It might be sunny every day or it might rain every day. That is up to the Big Man in the Sky, and irrespective of what the weather is, you walk!

Buen Camino

[NikosP]

You have made my life a lot easier and I can now plan accordingly. I'll use the itenary that you have provided and use Autoroute to produce a graphical view of the walk. This is really exciting and i have to ensure that I have a well prepared plan before I get there.

I have already started training so hopefully I'll be fit enough by end of May.

Once again, thank you very much and any additional information that you can provide will be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Nikos

[Covey]

There is an old Army saying: "No plan survives the first shots of battle"

Don't worry about plans too much. Work out where you need to get to as a start point and when you need to finish to fly home. In between those two fixed points, just go with the flow!!

[NikosP]

I am doing the walk with my son who is autistic and is very important that he is aware in advance of the difficulties we'll be facing.

In addition, our charity walk is for a centre that looks after autistic people and they are desperate for some help as the governemnt has reduced their grant by about 90% and I am desperate not to let them down.

By the way, this may sound an obvious or even a stupid question, but what is the route like? Is it normal walking paths or is there any climbing to be done as well? These are the sort of things that I need to ensure my sons is aware of in advance.

Once again, thank you for the info.
Nikos

[Leslie]

Hi Nikosp welcome to the forum.

Walking out of Leon is not great, it is along side roads and through a bit of an industrial area.

There is no climbing anywhere along the route it is all paths and tracks, sometimes along side roads, mostly in the countryside.

Perhaps the biggest problem you may have is staying in a different place every night, different room, different bed, etc - new people each day and evening.

I wrote a very simple kit list here http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/packing.html - packing should be as light as possible.

Which charity are you walking for?

All the best.

[NikosP]

Its a local centre that looks after people with special needs, mainly autistic people. I should have all their details in the next few days. Its a shame that they have been put in to such a difficult position as they do a fantastic job. For example, about 1 year ago they had a new woman in her mid-thirties who couldn't talk at all and just communicated with sign language. Now you can't stop her from talking, absolutely brilliant.

We'll be over in the first 2 weeks of June - Change isn't something that autistic people like but it won't be a problem (I hope) as I am already preparing my son for that - he'll be ok as long as I am with him.

This is something he is really looking forward to as he'll be able to use his mutli-lingual skills (speaks fluent English, Greek and Spanish) but he was a bit worried in case we have to do much climbing among big rocks

Thank you for the information,
Nikos

[Covey]

You need not worry too much about the track from Leon to Santiago.

The most difficult bit is the stretch up to El Cebreiro. It is about 4kms of a fairly steep (1:6) path with a very uneven rocky surface which when wet is very tedious to go up.

The main hazard is the cows!! In the afternoon the farmer drives the cows down the track, and as it is downhill, they stop for very little. Pilgrims have to head for the hedge!!! The cows have horns and last year a girl I was walking with got a horn caught in her pack and was upended into the oncoming cows. Not nice and she was a little battered and bruised.

However if you are worried, then the village at the base of Cebriero where the track starts is where the road up to Cerbriero passes through, so just walk gently up the road.

The rest of the route is a mixture of paths on the edge of the roads, tracks through woods and nothing is too difficult. There are plenty of places to stay in albergues (official and private) and on average you will find an albergue/inn every 10kms or so.

From Leon the trail tracks roads for most of the way and you can always hop on a bus to get to the next watering hole if you need to.

[NikosP]

hopefully finish our walk by lunch / early afternoon

Is this what most people do and if so, what is the best time to start? I guess it may be hot after mid-day from early June and that is why I thought the earlier we start the better.

I am from a hot country but when you are walking long distances its best to avoid it.

BTW, do you know the contact office in England for getting a passport before I get there - I was told that would be best

Cheers,
Nikos

[Covey]

The sensible pilgrims start walking at first light (7 - 7.30am) when you can see the arrows which point the way, however there are those who start thrashing around at 5am and who start walking in the dark. You usually pass them by at lunchtime!!

The Confraternity office in the UK is:

http://www.csj.org.uk/

but you can get your pilgrim passport at the official albergue in Leon. A lot of people start off from there!!

Have fun.

[NikosP]

Really looking forward to it

I am buying a new digital camera to make sure that I take as many photos and videos as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to find internet cafes to upload my files on a regular basis and also keep the family / friends updated with progress