My First Camino....

[Chris B.]

I'm planning my Camino to start the end of August, SJPP to Santiago with hopes of continuing on to Fisterra.
I have several questions....I know everyone is different but I am worried that I after I get to Santiago I may not be mentally or physically up to walking another 4 or 5 days. I do plan to go to Fisterra, even by bus if I decide, but did anyone else decide to go or not go once they got to Santiago? And what were the factors that went into your decision.

Secondly, I have walking poles but I really would prefer to buy a wooden walking stick once I get there. If I walk all the way across Spain with my wooden stick that by the end I anticipate having an emotional attachment to, I will really, really want to bring it home with me. Will I be able to fly back to the USA with it??? Will the airlines allow it, I assume it goes on with me as carry on.

And lastly, I am having a hard time figuring out a return date. I don't want to to have too little time and yet I don't want too much time either. I know this is personal but if I have 40 days walking (24K / 15m a day average), how many days should I figure for rest days and how added days for sightseeing? A day in Pamplona? A day in Leon? I know I want to go the monasteries of Suso and Yuso. An extra day in Santiago?
Any and all advise from those who have walk the Camino would be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you soon, I really need to book my reservations. I have been stalling since I can't figure out a return date.

Happy walking, Happy feet!!!!

 

[dougfitz]

I'm planning my Camino to start the end of August, SJPP to Santiago with hopes of continuing on to Fisterra.
I have several questions....I know everyone is different but I am worried that I after I get to Santiago I may not be mentally or physically up to walking another 4 or 5 days. I do plan to go to Fisterra, even by bus if I decide, but did anyone else decide to go or not go once they got to Santiago? And what were the factors that went into your decision.

Secondly, I have walking poles but I really would prefer to buy a wooden walking stick once I get there. If I walk all the way across Spain with my wooden stick that by the end I anticipate having an emotional attachment to, I will really, really want to bring it home with me. Will I be able to fly back to the USA with it??? Will the airlines allow it, I assume it goes on with me as carry on.

And lastly, I am having a hard time figuring out a return date. I don't want to to have too little time and yet I don't want too much time either. I know this is personal but if I have 40 days walking (24K / 15m a day average), how many days should I figure for rest days and how added days for sightseeing? A day in Pamplona? A day in Leon? I know I want to go the monasteries of Suso and Yuso. An extra day in Santiago?
Any and all advise from those who have walk the Camino would be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you soon, I really need to book my reservations. I have been stalling since I can't figure out a return date.

Happy walking, Happy feet!!!!

Some points:

• (Comment removed by dougfitz)
• unless you sustain an injury, when you arrive in Santiago, you are going to be as well prepared physically to do an extra few days as you ever will be. You mental preparedness is more likely to be limiting than your physical capacity.
• it would be sad to think that you might develop an emotional attachment to an inanimate wooden object that will be unable to respond to your affections. But I guess worse things might happen - you could form an emotional attachment to real people, like the other pilgrims you meet. Nonetheless, if you can get your stick back to the US, it might be a wonderful piece of memorabilia and a great talking point when you can find a sympathetic audience.
  
• Planning for rest days and sightseeing is really up to you. My basic pattern for my longer walks was to plan for:

1. a rest day for every 10 days of walking that are also for sightseeing (I have seen groups plan for a rest day for every six days of walking)
2. a spare day in case of illness or injury
3. a short day before and after any place that I wanted to spend a bit longer in for sightseeing that didn't align with a rest day, alternatively, plan for an extra day
   
4. a day (at least) after arrival, but for my last three pilgrimages I have stayed two or three days

• after that, it is just arithmetic

 

[trecile]

I'm planning my Camino to start the end of August, SJPP to Santiago with hopes of continuing on to Fisterra.
I have several questions....I know everyone is different but I am worried that I after I get to Santiago I may not be mentally or physically up to walking another 4 or 5 days. I do plan to go to Fisterra, even by bus if I decide, but did anyone else decide to go or not go once they got to Santiago? And what were the factors that went into your decision.

Secondly, I have walking poles but I really would prefer to buy a wooden walking stick once I get there. If I walk all the way across Spain with my wooden stick that by the end I anticipate having an emotional attachment to, I will really, really want to bring it home with me. Will I be able to fly back to the USA with it??? Will the airlines allow it, I assume it goes on with me as carry on.

And lastly, I am having a hard time figuring out a return date. I don't want to to have too little time and yet I don't want too much time either. I know this is personal but if I have 40 days walking (24K / 15m a day average), how many days should I figure for rest days and how added days for sightseeing? A day in Pamplona? A day in Leon? I know I want to go the monasteries of Suso and Yuso. An extra day in Santiago?
Any and all advise from those who have walk the Camino would be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you soon, I really need to book my reservations. I have been stalling since I can't figure out a return date.

Happy walking, Happy feet!!!!

Sounds like you will be there about the same time as me. I'll start from SJPDP on August 21, I'm hoping to arrive in Santiago 36 days later on my birthday.
Then, I'd like to continue on to Fisterra, but I'll see how it goes.
When I was booking my tickets I figured ~35 days to walk the Camino Frances, 3 more to Fisterra, plus travel days to/from Madrid, plus a couple of days to recover from jet lag. I ended up booking flights 7 weeks apart.
Sorry, but I've got no advice on your walking stick. Just be prepared to send it as checked baggage.

 

[Chris B.]

Some points:

• tagging this as Live from the Camino gives the impression you are already on the Camino - clearly you are not.
• unless you sustain an injury, when you arrive in Santiago, you are going to be as well prepared physically to do an extra few days as you ever will be. You mental preparedness is more likely to be limiting than your physical capacity.
• it would be sad to think that you might develop an emotional attachment to an inanimate wooden object that will be unable to respond to your affections. But I guess worse things might happen - you could form an emotional attachment to real people, like the other pilgrims you meet. Nonetheless, if you can get your stick back to the US, it might be a wonderful piece of memorabilia and a great talking point when you can find a sympathetic audience.
  
• Planning for rest days and sightseeing is really up to you. My basic pattern for my longer walks was to plan for:

1. a rest day for every 10 days of walking that are also for sightseeing (I have seen groups plan for a rest day for every six days of walking)
2. a spare day in case of illness or injury
3. a short day before and after any place that I wanted to spend a bit longer in for sightseeing that didn't align with a rest day, alternatively, plan for an extra day
   
4. a day (at least) after arrival, but for my last three pilgrimages I have stayed two or three days

• after that, it is just arithmetic

Thank you for your input, it is helpful! I need to make my best guess estimate on how many days, add a day or two and then trust it will all work out from there.
What happens, happens and it will be 'my camino experience'.

Sorry for posting in the wrong place. It was my first posting and had trouble understanding how to post.

As far as the walking stick is concerned, I should of said it would be an important memento to remember the trip by and would be nice to return home with it. I do look forward to meeting many wonderful people on the camino, enjoying their company, sharing a meal and getting to know them and sharing a part of myself with them. We are all blessed by the individuals that cross our paths each and everyday.

 

[SYates]

I could get my wooden walking stick back home (which is inside Europe), but not as a carry-on, I needed to check it in.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Deleted member 43985]

Secondly, I have walking poles but I really would prefer to buy a wooden walking stick once I get there. If I walk all the way across Spain with my wooden stick that by the end I anticipate having an emotional attachment to, I will really, really want to bring it home with me. Will I be able to fly back to the USA with it??? Will the airlines allow it, I assume it goes on with me as carry on.

Hi Chris - it is easy to take your wooden stick back on the plane, just wrap it and check it as over-sized item (similar to skis for example). Highly unlikely any airline would allow it as carry-on however but can't hurt to try when you check in. Second thought is about why you'd pick a single wooden stick over your walking poles? I know a wooden stick is a historical, and perhaps romantic notion, but two walking poles gives balance, stability and a nice rhythm (IMO). Good luck either way! Burn Camino. Jordon

 

[Albertagirl]

I took my wooden walking stick back with me as a walking aid, without even asking to do so. But then, I am 68 and arthritic, so the staff at Terminal 4 at Madrid was reasonable in looking at me and concluding that I should be referred to the handicapped line for check in. Now that I have it, I am afraid to use it as I keep putting it down and forgetting it while shopping, and it is an old friend, having assisted my mobility from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago. If you get one, I would probably check it in, unless you really need it for mobility, and certainly check it in if you fly out of Santiago itself, as I understand that all poles which are not checked in there are confiscated.

 

[Tincatinker]

I am worried that I after I get to Santiago I may not be mentally or physically up to walking another 4 or 5 days.

Welcome to the Forum Chris. Don't worry too much. There are quite a few of us who, by the time we get to Santiago, become walking machines. I've walked straight through Santiago twice now on my way to Fisterra / Muxia. I tend to spend time in that lovely city when my journey is completed.

And don't worry about mis-postings either. Moderators will sort that sort of stuff.

Buen camino

 

[Camino2010]

Welcome to the Forum Chris. Don't worry too much. There are quite a few of us who, by the time we get to Santiago, become walking machines. I've walked straight through Santiago twice now on my way to Fisterra / Muxia. I tend to spend time in that lovely city when my journey is completed.

And don't worry about mis-postings either. Moderators will sort that sort of stuff.

Buen camino

Last year (my fourth Camino) I walked straight through León for the first time. It felt a little strange since I've had such strong experiences and connection to the city on my other Camino walks. But it was also interesting to change it up (and I plan to stay there again this year, I do love it there). Maybe this will be the first time I walk on through Santiago on my way to the coast! Didn't it make for a long day of walking for you though, to get to Negreira? Or did you stay relatively close to Santiago the night before?

Rachel

 

[Tincatinker]

Or did you stay relatively close to Santiago the night before?

From the Frances I'd stopped at Arca and walked through to the delightful private Albergue / Casa Rural Casa Raimonte at Augapesada. From the Ingles did something similar, walking from the Hotel San Vincente at Torre de Marantes. As I said I was a walking machine by then.

 

[Olivares]

I bought a wooden stick 5 minutes before getting on the Camino at SJPDP. There is a pilgrim's store across the office of the Pilgrim that has many types. I paid 5 Euro and was probably the best 5 Euros I have ever spent, specially the last 5 Kms walk into Zubiri. I did get attached to it. To this day i still think on ways I could had brought it with me. That said, to learn how to let go of things is perhaps one of the best things you can acquire at the Camino, isn't it?

One of thing that took me by surprise when I got to the Cathedral in Santiago was that, while it was a very special moment, it was not meant to be the end of my Camino. I did ended up going to Finisterre, a no brainer. Estimate time walking into Finisterre-- whether you do it or not you WILL need time to decompress and taking a bus to Finisterre and staying at a seaside B&B is a very popular post-Camino plan. I walked with many folks who did NOT take in plans for Finisterre into consideration, realizing they really wanted to get to Finisterre and incurring in very costly flight changes, etc....

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I do plan to go to Fisterra, even by bus if I decide, but did anyone else decide to go or not go once they got to Santiago? And what were the factors that went into your decision.

I always planned to continue to Finesterre (and did) but Peg could only do about 15 km a day due to tendonitis. The trek to Finesterre had some long stages in it so she decided to take a couple rest/sightseeing days in Santiago and then bussed to Finesterre. After a full sightseeing day there we walked together to Muxia over two days.

 

[Mike Savage]

Last year 40 days was plenty of time for me to enjoy my Camino from SJPdP to Santiago de Compostela, Camino Inglés, Camino Fisterra, and a few days exploring Santiago de Compostela. YMMV.

P.S.
I still would have enjoyed more time in Spain.

 

[Albertagirl]

I did not want to walk to Finisterre, as my camino was for me a pilgrimage to Santiago, which I had begun in St Jean Pied de Port. When I got to Santiago, I was finished walking. But I had extra time before my flight home, so after a few days in Santiago I took a bus to Muxia, then three days later to Finisterre. I was aware of being a tourist rather than a pilgrim at that point. I stayed in hostals rather than in albergues, although some albergues were open to those who were not walking. The big difference was the lack of direction. I was just filling in time.Too much time can be just as unsettling as too little.

 

[purplesage]

I'm planning my Camino to start the end of August, SJPP to Santiago with hopes of continuing on to Fisterra.
I have several questions....I know everyone is different but I am worried that I after I get to Santiago I may not be mentally or physically up to walking another 4 or 5 days. I do plan to go to Fisterra, even by bus if I decide, but did anyone else decide to go or not go once they got to Santiago? And what were the factors that went into your decision.

Secondly, I have walking poles but I really would prefer to buy a wooden walking stick once I get there. If I walk all the way across Spain with my wooden stick that by the end I anticipate having an emotional attachment to, I will really, really want to bring it home with me. Will I be able to fly back to the USA with it??? Will the airlines allow it, I assume it goes on with me as carry on.

And lastly, I am having a hard time figuring out a return date. I don't want to to have too little time and yet I don't want too much time either. I know this is personal but if I have 40 days walking (24K / 15m a day average), how many days should I figure for rest days and how added days for sightseeing? A day in Pamplona? A day in Leon? I know I want to go the monasteries of Suso and Yuso. An extra day in Santiago?
Any and all advise from those who have walk the Camino would be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you soon, I really need to book my reservations. I have been stalling since I can't figure out a return date.

Happy walking, Happy feet!!!!

You're in a great space now !!! I remember the days before my first Camino. You'll have lots of fun. Buen Camino Caesar

 

[Malabar Circle AS]

I would consider very well the fact of wanting to use a single wooden walking stick for over 800km, possibly holding it 95% of the time with your right hand. it may contribute to form an uncorrect posture in your body which could give you problems in the months following the Way. I do understand though, your reasons behind using it

 

[Lonie Foote]

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to venture on the Camino walk next April 2017 and maybe start at St Jean (SJPP). I'm travelling from Sydney Australia but not sure which airport is best to get to, Paris and train south or Madrid and train north or Pamploma and bus up to St Jean?

 

[Chris B.]

Hi Everyone,
I'm looking to venture on the Camino walk next April 2017 and maybe start at St Jean (SJPP). I'm travelling from Sydney Australia but not sure which airport is best to get to, Paris and train south or Madrid and train north or Pamploma and bus up to St Jean?

Here is what I decided that works for me coming from the USA. I am starting my first Camino at the end of August. I booked a flight to Paris that arrives in the morning and the following morning I am catching a train (8am) to St Jean Pied de Port arriving about 4pm. I'm looking forward to an afternoon in Paris and I thought the 8 hour train ride would be a good way to sit back, enjoy the french countryside and reflect before I start walking. I figure I will meet other hikers on the train as it gets closer to St Jean. Somewhere I read "the buzz of excitement and anticipation starts" as you meet people with their backpacks and hiking shoes.

I saw it as the easiest way to get to SJPP without adding another means of transportation....the bus or taxi.....and wondering about timing and connections.
It gives me two days to adjust although I usually don't have an issue with jet lag.

Best of luck deciding!

 

[Lonie Foote]

Here is what I decided that works for me coming from the USA. I am starting my first Camino at the end of August. I booked a flight to Paris that arrives in the morning and the following morning I am catching a train (8am) to St Jean Pied de Port arriving about 4pm. I'm looking forward to an afternoon in Paris and I thought the 8 hour train ride would be a good way to sit back, enjoy the french countryside and reflect before I start walking. I figure I will meet other hikers on the train as it gets closer to St Jean. Somewhere I read "the buzz of excitement and anticipation starts" as you meet people with their backpacks and hiking shoes.

I saw it as the easiest way to get to SJPP without adding another means of transportation....the bus or taxi.....and wondering about timing and connections.
It gives me two days to adjust although I usually don't have an issue with jet lag.

Best of luck deciding!

Thanks Chris. I love the idea about the train ride.
I have another question to ask the more experienced Camino walkers.... Along the French walk to Santiago how convenient are the toilets... or am I to dig the odd hole????

 

[Albertagirl]

Thanks Chris. I love the idea about the train ride.
I have another question to ask the more experienced Camino walkers.... Along the French walk to Santiago how convenient are the toilets... or am I to dig the odd hole????

@Lonie Foote
"Dig the odd hole": this is easiest to do if you bring a trowel. Toilets are available to the patrons of bars/restaurants. There are very few public toilets.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

Thanks Chris. I love the idea about the train ride.
I have another question to ask the more experienced Camino walkers.... Along the French walk to Santiago how convenient are the toilets... or am I to dig the odd hole????

I agree with the 'dig the hole' thing but might also add that during my caminos my body adapted very quickly to the new daily schedule. While this was not foolproof it wasn't too much to get worried over either. Sorry, not sure if this qualifies as TMI???

 

[Lonie Foote]

Here is what I decided that works for me coming from the USA. I am starting my first Camino at the end of August. I booked a flight to Paris that arrives in the morning and the following morning I am catching a train (8am) to St Jean Pied de Port arriving about 4pm. I'm looking forward to an afternoon in Paris and I thought the 8 hour train ride would be a good way to sit back, enjoy the french countryside and reflect before I start walking. I figure I will meet other hikers on the train as it gets closer to St Jean. Somewhere I read "the buzz of excitement and anticipation starts" as you meet people with their backpacks and hiking shoes.

I saw it as the easiest way to get to SJPP without adding another means of transportation....the bus or taxi.....and wondering about timing and connections.
It gives me two days to adjust although I usually don't have an issue with jet lag.

Best of luck deciding!

Hi Chris
Which station in Paris do you catch the train to St Jean Pied de Port . I ask as all I could find from my research is that the trains goes to another station called... not sure how to spell it, but something like Bayonne and you need to bus from there to St Jean Pied de Port?? Is there a station or direct train to St Jean Pied de Port? have you booked your hotel/hostel to stay in Paris near the station?

 

[mspath]

Hi Chris
Which station in Paris do you catch the train to St Jean Pied de Port . I ask as all I could find from my research is that the trains goes to another station called... not sure how to spell it, but something like Bayonne and you need to bus from there to St Jean Pied de Port?? Is there a station or direct train to St Jean Pied de Port? have you booked your hotel/hostel to stay in Paris near the station?

Paris Montparnase is the rr station generally used for getting to the Camino Frances.
At Montparnasse obtain a ticket to Bayonne on the fast TGV train.

At Bayonne get the local TER train, line 62 for SJPdP. Buses may be provided when the TER is out of service.

Find more info in this Forum topic
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/forums/how-to-travel-from-paris-to-sjpp.113/