April 1 start date SJDP

[MaryPWF]

My husband Roland and I are planning to begin from SJDP the ValCarlos route on April 1st. We're in our 70th year, and plan to take 2 days to reach Roncesvalles. We're travelling from Seattle, Washington, USA.

 

[JodienBlue]

My husband Roland and I are planning to begin from SJDP the ValCarlos route on April 1st. We're in our 70th year, and plan to take 2 days to reach Roncesvalles. We're travelling from Seattle, Washington, USA.

Hi Mary, we are two Australians of the same vintage starting on the same day. We have Borda booked for the 1st April so fingers crossed the route will be open. We may cross paths along the way.

 

[MaryPWF]

Ooh. I hope so!

Where is the Borda you booked? I looked it up. It sounds wonderful, but the address listed is Mt. St. Michel. That must be the central office for that hostel network.

We booked a room in a hotel in VanCarlos... the "Hostal del Camino de Santiago."

My husband has a number of health challenges, but he REALLY wants to do this. We plan to take two days to cross the Pyrannees from SJDP, going via the ValCarlos, to Roncesvalles. (He wanted to do the ValCarlos route because, well, his name is "Roland."). I liked his preference also because it's apparently slightly less strenuous than the other route, and the elevation gain is lower, so it's less likely to be socked in by snow.

Then we're meeting up with a group through "Unicorn Trails" to horseback ride the Camino for six days. I had originally hoped to find an outfit which would allow us to ride over the Pyrannees, as I know that's a tough stretch. (One of his health challenges regards his heart.). His physician has cleared him, and we are training. So far, so good.

Is this your first Camino? If I may ask, why are you doing this trek? We are Protestant Christians, and we are doing it for spiritual growth, for the physical challenge, to connect more deeply with each other, to connect with other people and nature along the way.

Warmly, Mary

 

[trecile]

Where is the Borda you booked? I looked it up. It sounds wonderful, but the address listed is Mt. St. Michel. That must be the central office for that hostel network.

Borda is in the countryside - it's not in a town, but carries the address of the nearest town.
You can see on this map that I marked up. The solid red line is the Napoleon route. As you can see, there are no towns between St Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles. Only some farmhouses.



There are a couple of towns on the Valcarlos route (dotted line) but only Valcarlos has accommodation.

 

[MaryPWF]

Ah.

 

[trecile]

We booked a room in a hotel in VanCarlos... the "Hostal del Camino de Santiago."

I think that for an April 1st start date that is a safe choice. Plus the options on the Napoleon route of Refuge Orisson or Auberge Borda are all dormitories, except for one private room at Borda.