BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey...maybe this has allready been discussed, if so just a link would be great! but im wondering if anyone has ever walked the el camino in northern Spain? i'm thinking of doing it next year, just wondering how much i should bugdet to spend per day and what to expect really.....any advice would be great!!!

as it is a spiritual trek...good for you posting here...but for better odds on getting even more replies also ask someone on the insiders list for España.

I bet once there, you would need a minimum of funds...say $25 a day averaged.

Via con dios!

I am also planning on undertaking this adventure.

Does anyone have any links or experience that they would like to share with me?

Om

I, too, want to do the pilgrimmage. There's a society here in Canada (Little Company of Pilgrims) that has a great website which you can visit at http://www.santiago.ca/ with excellent resources.
They also sell a fabulous book (available on Amazon too) called "Walking the Camino de Santiago" .. most practical book I've ever seen on the subject. Have you read Tim Moore's recent "Spanish Steps" - great fun if you want to go by donkey!

I was planning on doing this trek this summer, but my brother's wedding put an end to that... Here are some of the links I've bookmarked over the months, and I also recommend the Walking the Camino de Santiago book that Urban Kitten mentioned.

http://www.backpack45.com/camino2p2.html

http://www.santiago-compostela.net/

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

http://www.caminolinks.co.uk/index2.html

http://www.caminosantiago.com/web_ingles/index.htm

Nick, there is a wonderful BnA blog, How Conor is spending all his money, that is fun reading on the Chemin de St. Jacques, as it is known in France. Santiago de Compostela = St. James of the Field of the Star. Also, another good link.

I have always longed to do this pilgrimage too. I am jealous.

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I have always longed to do this pilgrimage too. I am jealous.

Don't be jealous...the day will come when this will become reality for many..there will be an overwhelming desire to do something like this and you will do it.

I really don't believe in religious callings but I think you do get a feeling to do something and when its strong one does it.

Pepdrug wait for the time to be right and u shall be there.

Madhu, that was so sweeeet!

With that encouragement, I guess I'll just have to mosey on over to Members Forum and follow in Rogerio's footsteps (no pun intended for my upcoming pilgrimage with my footsteps ) and start my own Just do it! thread, titled "Not the First Just do it!".

great! thanks for the help and links everyone. very helpful and inspiring

Never heard of this trail until I read this thread. Sounds very intriguing, good links all around.

Hey Taylor: check out Tim Moore's "Spanish Steps" for a (finally!) humourous account of the trail.

Shirley McLaine also wrote about her experience and its a good read.. I think its called "Camino" a little over the top sometimes and seems unreal sometimes as to what she experienced but hey strange things happen!

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Originally posted by Madhu:
Shirley McLaine also wrote about her experience and its a good read..

A good read? - science fiction maybe but she spills precious little ink about the camino itself. I would go to great pains not to recommend it unless you really care that Shirley came to the realization that she's the Primordial Eve in the creation myth. blechhhh

they call me zopa.
(well, actually, i call myself zopa).

in 2002, i walked from leon to santiago to compostela with my companion, matthew.

i have a few stories to share with you.
i HIGHLY recommend the experience. though it is physically demanding (mostly flat land but it can be hard to wake up every day and walk 13 miles), if you allow yourself to be OPEN to the experience and really trust Saint James (aka Saintiago) to make your trip special, cool things do happen.

cost: hostels (called refugios) are for pilgrims only (your stamped pilgrims passport will serve as your identity card as a pilgrim) they are mosty sparsely apportioned. you can easily eat along the way in cafes. refugios are around 3-7 us dollars per night. meals are around 10-15 dollars per day depending on how you do it, naturally. the path is clearly marked.

the best thing is knowing you are part of something that MILLIONS have walked before you. a million people in 2000 alone...and for the past 1000 years.

don't read shirley mcclain's book.

read up on what a medieval pilgrimage was about.
read up on the geography of nw spain.
read up on the celtic people in nw spain (fascinating and you see bits of that influence everywhere)
prepare yourself by learning about saint james and his importance in history. think about what your "intention" (some may say "wish") could be. the walk is a tangible way you are making known your intention and gives you an extra impetus for doing it each day. ask saint james to help you starting at this moment and you will be amazed at what can fall into place.

Excellent advice Zopa. I admire you.

Zopa, if I may call you that ,

Ditto from me too on Urban Kitty's post.

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Originally posted by Urban Kitten:

quote:

Originally posted by Madhu:
Shirley McLaine also wrote about her experience and its a good read..

A good read? - science fiction maybe but she spills precious little ink about the camino itself. I would go to great pains not to recommend it unless you really care that Shirley came to the realization that she's the Primordial Eve in the creation myth. blechhhh

I should explain more i guess..i think u should read it for the exact reasons that u listed one should not. It makes you think about the Camino in the other aspects and not just the mimbo jumbo sh wrote about...sometimes badly written books have a good effect. ANYWAY....just my opinion. I read it nearly 5 years ago but it made me more curious and then I read other practical stuff about the Camino. It was not a guide book by any means.

hey, i was considering walking the Camino next year as well. I was thinking of doing it alone, but im not sure if i should or not. I think it would be a great experiance, but i don't know if it would be dangerous or not. Has anyone been there before that would have any input for me?

What sort of danger are you concerned of, like bandits or spraining an ankle alone in a field? If the former, I haven't heard anything, and it'd be pretty low to mug some pilgrims...

i too am thinking of going this summer solo, though i am guessing i'll meet a lot of people along the way. i'm concerned as well about being a woman traveling alone. i'm mostly scared of "bad guys." you know, slimy men licking their lips as i walk by an endless patch of wheat with no one else around for miles. any input?