Get to SJPDP turn west

[William Garza]

Its probably been done a million times
Someone arrives at the port..turns west and go as the birds do

No maps
No clues
No expectations
Its..over there and away we go!

What an adventure vlog that would be no?
Probably like what the elder statespeople of the forum did back in the day...

What an adventure you must have had!
Just go all in and blind to the paths..

 

[Rita Flower]

Well in 2007 I barely knew what the Camino was - I had no map - a list of towns, distances and Albergues from the Pilgrim Office at SJPP - three photocopied pages from the Lonely Planet Guide to Great Walks of the World.
Oh and I did know there were yellow arrows to show me the way. And my first mobile phone with talk and text only.
I had read one Camino blog on the computer at the local library and by Camino good fortune a week before I left met someone who had just completed Camino Francés.
Yes, an absolute adventure!
I rang my Mum (in Australia) on a public phone about half way to Santiago.
“And if you told the young people of today they wouldn’t believe you”.

 

[Walkalong]

No plans, no guide, no phone, no reservations, no experience and no expectations - well perhaps Murphy's Law. Earlier this evening my wife said that it was the most relaxing thing she'd done in many, many years.

A map on the back page of a credential I'd been gifted was our only guide.

At MAD we took a bus as far north/west as we could get that night. The security guard at the Logrono bus station pointed us to Calle Laurel to find a Pension.

We started in Pamplona a few days later. Sorry, but walking a 1400 elevation hill seemed more irrational than walking across northern Spain. Perhaps next time.

We always try to be kind, but it took until Estella to realize that I'd have to think of others first for this to work. The rest just fell into place.

 

[LesR]

walking a 1400 elevation hill seemed more irrational than walking across northern Spai

Irrational maybe, but also one of the very best days of 7 weeks on the Camino (but then the weather did come to the party with brilliant sunshine...

 

[mspath]

Seventeen years ago on September 27, 2004, I began my first Camino.

Fulfilling a dream held since university I set out alone at 65 to walk where so many had through time and to see what had been built along the way.

Arriving by train at SJPdP I walked to the office of the welcoming Amis du Chemin de St Jacques to apply for a pilgrim pass.
There were no maps just a paper list, and telephones were still land liné.

In their municipal albergue I spent my first night with 7 men. Six who had hiked for two weeks from Puy would continue their pilgrimages in future years; the other fellow from Amsterdam had also arrived by train. He and I nervously discussed the path ahead wondering about the days to come. ...

450 camino nights later I finished my 10th complete CF in 2014 when 76. For personal commentary regarding all those wonder-filled days and nights see my Camino Gazetteer.