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Planning a 10-Day Walk on the French Way: Sights, Towns, and Food for Four Senior Ladies

S

sunwanderer

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
SJPdP to Santiago
Sep/Oct 2015
A search brought up a few threads, but I decided to post a question to see if I could get some more opinions.

Four senior ladies are hoping to walk the French Way in September. They will be limited to about 8 km (5 miles) per day for 10 days, and a no-rush vibe. No Compostela necessary.

Their primary interest is in pretty views, interesting towns and good food.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks
 
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I think the critical issue from your proposal is the “5 miles a day”. From that I’d infer you’re looking for a very low element of physicality. So in my opinion that means avoiding all mountainous sections. It may even mean avoiding the Meseta as there are fewer facilities.

So you’re left with Sarria to Santiago or Pamplona to Logroño. However with such severe constraints you’re unlikely to find facilities as frequent as every 5 miles except from Sarria on.

So if the 5 mile rule is a firm rule and pretty towns are of lesser importance I’d say plan backwards from Santiago for 10 stages.
 
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I’m of similar mind here as @BombayBill. The Pamplona to Logroño would be an excellent walk for your timeframe. But, as Bill points out, you won’t get stopping points as easily every 5 miles. With stopping and accommodations in mind, the Sarria to SdC might be a better choice although it’s my least favorite stretch of the CF as it can get pretty crowded. However, many more stopping points around five mile intervals on the last stages heading into Santiago. And, although you’re not interested now in a Compostela, you would qualify by starting in Sarria. More importantly, after walking for 10 days, you get to celebrate your achievement in Santiago and experience the feeling one gets upon arrival in this great city.
 
sunwanderer said:
What if you remove the 5 mile limitation?
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The problem is that any 10-day stretch of any Camino route will have pretty views, interesting towns and good food, but they will be mixed with ugly views, boring towns, and awful food. The uniqueness of the Caminos is in the continuity, history, pilgrim community, and the experience of being "on the ground" moving toward a destination - through the good, the bad and the ugly.

Maybe your group would be better to find a lovely town from which day trips could be planned. Perhaps a town along one of the Caminos would be a good choice - that way you could get a glimpse of the Camino experience as well as meeting the other interests.
 
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The above reminds me that moving every day for only 5 miles may introduce another issue. Many pilgrim establishments will push you out the door at 8, hotels by 11 and certainly no check in until 3 pm or later. So if you use 2 hours to walk you’re left with a long lunch to fill in the afternoon. Not a bad thing but not always available. So picking 1 or 2 towns and doing excursions out may be the best idea.
 
sunwanderer said:
OK. Another adjustment:

Use taxis / buses as needed to focus on particular parts of the Camino.

Which sections would you recommend?
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What aspects of "the Camino" does your group want? Would they be staying in albergues? Do they want to walk/eat with other pilgrims?

I suspect that they want to "do" the Camino without really doing the Camino. That is completely understandable and I don't criticize it, but it certainly affects the type of advice I might have. For pretty views and good food, I suggested a home base with day walks. For the "Camino" experience, I think the walk from Sarria would make the most sense unless you want to arrange (with a tour company) a custom sampling of highlights over a greater distance. From Sarria, there is very extensive infrastructure, transportation services, accommodation, catering to inexperienced walkers, lodging and restaurants every few km. You could walk about 10 km per day for 10 days and arrive in Santiago, so your group would get to experience the full deal, without risk, since taxis and food are ubiquitous. Or you could add some distance to some or all days, and have some time in Santiago and take a bus to Muxia for a day.
 
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C clearly said:
The uniqueness of the Caminos is in the continuity, history, pilgrim community, and the experience of being "on the ground" moving toward a destination - through the good, the bad and the ugly.
Click to expand...

Exactly. There's something very special about a continuous walk with the mass of humanity (past, present, and future) on the Camino walking towards a common goal. For me, that's what makes it a Camino, and not a hike.
 
One point, Pamplona to Logrono, there is a terribly steep climb, (that I thought would never end), just before arriving at Maneru, West of Punta la Reina. That climb contributed to the damage to my left leg quads that stopped my walking in 2018. I was 65 at the time.
 
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Good point. I hadn't thought of that.
 
C clearly said:
What aspects of "the Camino" does your group want? Would they be staying in albergues? Do they want to walk/eat with other pilgrims?
Click to expand...
This group is interested in walking, rather than a pilgrimage. They have picked the French Way as their route, and asked me to help them with their planning.

They will not be staying in albergues, and while interested in meeting others, they are not especially focused on meeting Pilgrims. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that these ladies are not Christian (I'm not comfortable asking).
 
Thanks for reminding me - I'd forgotten about it. They will want to skip that climb.
 
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trecile said:
Exactly. There's something very special about a continuous walk with the mass of humanity (past, present, and future) on the Camino walking towards a common goal. For me, that's what makes it a Camino, and not a hike.
Click to expand...
I love the sense of continuity with centuries of past pilgrims. One of the reasons I specifically choose to walk historic pilgrim routes. It's the present generation of pilgrims that I struggle to rub along with. Fortunately I'll be well past before the future ones arrive!
 
sunwanderer said:
They will not be staying in albergues, and while interested in meeting others, they are not especially focused on meeting Pilgrims. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that these ladies are not Christian (I'm not comfortable asking).
Click to expand...
It's not necessary to be a Christian to appreciate walking a continuous Camino path and getting to know the other pilgrims on the trail. I speak from experience.
 
trecile said:
It's not necessary to be a Christian to appreciate walking a continuous Camino path and getting to know the other pilgrims on the trail. I speak from experience.
Click to expand...
I agree. Though without a little background knowledge of Christian history, architecture and art there are so many things that might slip by unnoticed or misinterpreted. I thoroughly enjoyed walking the Shikoku 88 temple circuit and felt generously welcomed there as a European of Christian background but I never for a moment felt I had a complete handle on what was going on around me!
 
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As said earlier, hiking five miles leaves a lot of time to do other things along the way and explore an area. Have you considered staying in the medium to larger cities along the way -- St. Jean, Pamplona, Puente de Reina, Logrono, Burgos, Leon, Astorga, Ponferrada, etc. so there will be alternatives to walking -- visiting museums, visiting shops, walking the streets of the city, etc.? It won't be a pilgrimage, but you will see pilgrims on their way.
 
sunwanderer said:
Thanks @BombayBill. I agree with your assessment.

My thought would be: When the destination is more than 5 miles away, take a taxi to a point 5 miles from the destination, then walk from there.

This should open up the possibilities a bit.
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A taxi camino is in order for sure. That makes distance a nonissue. Leon, and Burgos were my two favourite cities. Leon to O Cebreiro was a beautiful walk with an amazing view at the end but definitely a taxi up the mountain
 
JMac TO said:
A taxi camino is in order for sure. That makes distance a nonissue. Leon, and Burgos were my two favourite cities. Leon to O Cebreiro was a beautiful walk with an amazing view at the end but definitely a taxi up the mountain
Click to expand...
I forgot to say leave a day to explore Santiago
 
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Alta de Perdon? The iron pilgrims are nice, but I think the descent on the other side was worse than the climb up.
 
Lurch said:
Alta de Perdon? The iron pilgrims are nice, but I think the descent on the other side was worse than the climb up.
Click to expand...
@MichelleElynHogan is referring to a short sharp climb a few km beyond Puente la Reina. One which takes you from river level up to the plateau on which Mañeru and Cirauqui sit. A long way beyond the Alto del Perdon. It is very fresh in my memory as I walked it yesterday morning.
 
My bad..I didn’t remember that as especially difficult.
 
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