BootsnAll Travel Community

Cat Lady and meriz: I wouldn't worry about going alone. My wife did the camino alone ... twice. She made great friends along the way and never had any problems.

going solo you will be absolutely 100 per cent be fine. i went with a companion but several times, he opted out for the day and i ended up alone. also even the days we both walked by pace was diff. from his so i walked alone. it is great. the closer you get to santiago the

more crowded
less personal

it gets so start out as far east as you can!

zopa

check out american friends of the road or confraternity of saint james on line

Hi Zopa,

Thanks for the imput. I'm thinking about doing the Camino over this summer.

I'm thinking about St Jean Pied du Port but I can be flexible as I have no set time frame -
where did you start from?

Many thanks

my buddy matthew walked from there. i can give you his email if you pm me. i walked from leon. man, that was a beautiful part of spain. ancient. natural. historic.

i pledged i would never do it again (my feet just hurt too darn much for too long afterwards) but i am sooo glad i did it. very profound experience for my friend and i.

when i arrived at santiago, i remember seeing my first glimpse of the catherdral as i rounded some curvy streets and headed to the edifice..."camino friends" met along the way jumped up from a cafe to hug me and welcome me. i was bedraggled and burned out but god,i wanted to get to that building. finanlly,i placed mhy hand on the soft stone of one of its many sides and ij ust fel t the enormity of the thing and the many many people who had done this before. once inside, iput my backpack on the ground, sat in a pew alone and sobbed
and sobbed
and sobbed.
i was physically drained.
i was relieved.
i was elated to have gotten there.
i was looking forward to cathcing up with mattehew who had left at a different time than me the morning before.
i have not cried like that since.
it was purifying, clensing, renewing. i felt washed in my own tears. hard to sum up.

i do hope that you get the chance to do it. it is great. and over 1,000 years, people like you have done it. ihad a sensation, walking over a roman bult bridge or through a primordial forest that they were right there with me. millions of people from every culture and age. i never felt so un-alone and those moments walking alone.

do it

zopa

Did you people doing this more for spiritual reasons or more religious?

I think my question is whether the people you all met on the road where they doing this more for religious reasons or spiritual. Like the Haaj is muslim religious pilgrimage to Mecca...do the Catholics believe thy should do the Camino.

Thanks for sharing your experience Zopa and your words of encouragement. It sounds amazing.

Madhu, I wouldn't say religious reasons but for spiritual and personal.

Have you ever done a pilgrimage or something similar, Madhu?

No I have not done a pilgrimage but have been to couple of "holy" places in India.But not for religious reasons...i just happened to be there. But I do find a lot of "peace" and quite in temples and chruches...great place to "think"

I really want to do the Camino myself and I think like you its for spiritual reasons.Maybe 2007.

I did do a silent meditation course for 10 days in Thailand...that was the extent of my quest.

Yeah, the Camino sounds like an awesome experience. I haven't been to many holy places before but I'm feeling drawn to the Camino.

How did you hear about the meditation course and did you find it valuable?

I started with some deep breathing excercises which were supposed to be a start meditation...then I did a silent 3 day one here in San Francisco.

When I knew I wanted to travel..I did some research and wanted to start my travels with a meditation course. If you want details PM me.

It helped...but I have not been diligent about keeping up with it. But I saw that it calmed me down...less anxiety (stopped biting my nails), live one day at a time which is a great lesson to have beofre traveling..

Camino is one that attracts me and the other is the trip to MANSAROVAR...in China. Hindu's pilgrimage site...in the Himalayan mountains.

jv, zopa, everyone,

thanks. i have been doing a lot of research on el camino and i am no longer worried about the safety aspect. i feel really excited to be going. my flight is booked and everything. now, all i need to do is start working in my hiking boots.

so far i've found that just talking about the camino has sparked interesting conversations, smiles, interest and enthusiasm. that may not be spiritual to some, but to me it's wonderful! i feel i have already begun my journey towards santiago and i am so grateful!

i'm really enjoying reading all your comments

PILGRIM TRAILS TO SANTIAGO

This thread has yielded lots of brilliant comments and sound advice, but I am not sure people have quite realised that there are many roads to Santiago. The famous pilgrim Camino that crosses northern Spain from the Pyrenees to the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela is just one of a dozen or more established trails that converge on the great cathedral with its supposed shrine of St James the Apostle. The route from the Pyrenees is called the Camino Francés and that is followed by the great majority of pilgrims to Santiago. I think everyone here, so far, has been referring to the Camino Francés from the Pyrenees. I would urge people to think more about the other trails, all as rich as the route from the Pyreneees, and often very much less crowded. Take one of these other routes, and, when the officials present you with the pilgrim certificate at Santiago, you’ll be greeted as a real pilgrim and not just a tourist.

Much less well known is the Caminho Português that approaches Santiago from the south. Another is the Camino de Levante, that runs right across Spain for 1300 km from Valencia via Toledo to Santiago.

But none is more curious than the 90 km trail that connects the great cathedral of St James with one of Europe’s remotest peninsulas. This Finisterre path is scarcely a route to Santiago from anywhere. But rather it is an optional add-on, an extra sacrifice demanding three or four more days on the road, that those who have made it to Santiago might elect to take. To the mediaeval traveller, Finisterre (Fisterra in Galician) really was the end of the world. But, once there, at the wild and rocky headland that juts into the sea, the pilgrim is rewarded by some of Europe’s most spectacular cliff scenery, a momentous feeling of real isolation, and the chance to collect a scallop shell, the symbol of St James, from the little cove below the lighthouse. Tradition has it that on reaching Finisterre, pilgrims burn the clothes they have worn during the many weeks en route, and the many little fire pits around the headland attest to the fact that this practice continues today. My advice is that you should ensure you have a reliable friend who brings you a good supply of new clothes before embarking on any precipitate bonfires.

If you find these few thoughts helpful, you might like the May 2005 issue of hidden europe magazine, a European journal that probes Europe's lesser known corners. The above lines are taken (slightly edited) from that magazine.

Hope this is of interest.
Nicky Gardner
more than just a travel magazine - good writing from hidden europe
www.hiddeneurope.info

The Camino Frances was just what the doctor ordered for good ole 2opa. It had the infrastructure including:

1. perfectly marked paths
2. well-spaced refugios

which kept me from getting lost and wasting too much time trying to find lodging each and every night. after walking a half-marathon each day, i was elated to know there was a toilet, bed and fellow pilgrims waiting for me at a mere price of 3 or 4 dollars.

Once upon a time, when you went on a pilgrimage, you started it from your front stoop. You would hoof it to a major meeting point of other pilgrims (it wsa dangerous to travel singly, caterbury tales' motely crew was thrown together by fate and by this concern for safety in numbers) then you would hoof it as a group. at the end of your journey, after recieving your

compostela

which proved you completed it, you would hoof it back to your home in bavaria or burgandy or wherever. luckily, we get to go to the pilgrims office in santiago, sport our new compostela and buy a ticket back to madrid for less than a busfare...that is, if we choose to. I met only one person who planned to walk home again after getting to santiago. i met 2-3 people who were walking it the opposite way, from santiago to points east. that meant each night they werew aroudn an entirely new group of folks. i enjoyed coming across the same folks once in a while. that made my arrival in santiago after ten grueling days even more rewarding...to see the russian guy i'd given foot salve to, to see the icelandic woman and her two kids, to see the spanish couple there after a few nights wiht them in refugios.

it was wonderful to share the experience not only with the millions who had gone before me, but also with the fewdozen i recognized from along the route.


zopa

Over 650 000 pilgrims walked parts of the Camino's last year - a Holy Year. 179 874 pilgrims earned the Compostela - the copy of a 14thC document of completion. (You have to walk the LAST 100km to be given the certificate.) If you stay in the pilgrim refuges and are not an extravagant eater - or drinker - the cost should be about E1 per km walked. So, if you start at St Jean Pied de Port - 750kms to Santiago - 750E. (It just seems to work out that way!)
I have a list of my 20 Top Things to know about the Camino - if anyone is interested, I will send it with pleasure.
Sil

Nicky (or anyone else who knows),

These lesser-known routes sound really interesting. Do you happen to know if they have a similar infrastructure of refuges, signs, etc.? Also, since most of the information out there is centered on the most popular route, are there any good resources for researching the other routes?

There are at least 6 different "Ways" or Caminos that lead through Spain to Santiago. The most popular and well supported is the Camino Frances across the north of Spain. There are 4 routes through France - the Via Turonensis (the route through Tours) actually starts in Paris and follows a 1000 year old route to the Pyrenees. The Le Puy route starts at Le Puy-en-Velay and leads through the South of France, the Vezelay route and the route from Arles also lead to the Pyrenees and then onto Santiago.

Hi Guys

I have finally decided 2007 it is!

How did you guys train for it.

I don;t know where to start with my research...but am sure a book will help. Any recommendations?

Cheers
M

I guess you mean ‘prepare’ rather than ‘train’. I am not sure that mediaeval pilgrims ‘trained’ when they embarked to walk the route of St James. This is an excellent question, for many are those nowadays who treat this walk as a sport, and thus go woefully ill prepared.

Practice varies in different countries, but in most cities in Europe, you will find a Catholic group composed of those who have made, or who plan to make, the pilgrimage to Santiago. It really is worth making contact about a year in advance with one of these groups. And of course, though you’ve probably already done this, join the Confraternity of St James (www.csj.org.uk) or a similar organisation.

As many pilgrims will pray the Divine Office (ie. the Liturgy of the Hours) during the days of the pilgrimage, it is worth ensuring you know the structure of this. It is a little complicated, with set prayers at different times of the day (Readings, Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline). The prayers change over a four week cycle, and traditionally it is recommended that you complete three complete four week cycles before embarking on the Santiago trail. That way, at least you’ll know the structure of the Divine Office well before setting out.

Beyond this, many would suggest it is worth ensuring that you know the principal elements of the Mass in Spanish, so allowing your fuller participation in daily Mass at churches along the way. These simple preparations, and a special novena of prayer before embarking on the road, are all that is required. The overwhelming majority of Europeans who walk the various trails to Santiago (for there are several) are just ordinary members of the faithful of average levels of fitness. The training for the road is a mental one, not a physical one.

Hope these few thoughts help.
Nicky
hidden europe magazine
www.hiddeneurope.co.uk

Thanks!

I'm not undertaking this as a sport but more of a mental journey. Not sure yet why am even thinking of doing this.

Def not into the religious aspects of it as am not Catholic but having said that I will go to the chruch and pay all my respects.I'm attracted to the spriritual nature of the pilgrimage but I will take your suggestion and get some background on the mass etc.


Thanks for the start.

It is so exciting that you have decided to make your camino pilgrimage in 2007. You have (of course) already embarked on the road just by intention.
There are many things you can do to prepare. Learn as much as you can so that you fully appreciate each village, each Romanesque, Renaissance, Gothic or Baroque cathedral.
Chat to other pilgrims via one of the pilgrim sites.
Forums

http://www.caminosantiago.com/web_ingles/foroperegrinos.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiagobis/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ultreya/
http://gocamino.oakapple.net/
http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiago_Bicicleta/

And, depending where you live, you can join one of the pilgrim associations:
American Pilgrims on the Camino: http://www.americanpilgrims.com/
Canada: The Little Company of Pilgrims: http://www.santiago.ca/
England: Confraternity of St James: www.csj.org.uk

There are hundreds of books on the camino.
Guide books: The CSJ (Confraternity of St James) in the UK sells excellent, annually up-dated Pilgrim Guides for all the routes, which are good value at ± £5 and light enough to carry.
John Bierely’s Guides are also excellent http://www.caminoguides.com/index.html with strip maps for each day.
One of the BEST books to invest in for the Camino Frances is the book "A Practical Guide for Pilgrims" by Milláno Bravo Lozano. Published by Everest ISBN 84-241-3833-3. It includes a set of route maps for each day from St Jean to Santiago. The book will be too heavy to carry with you but the maps, with info on the route, the albergues and alternative accommodation, come in a little plastic carry bag which you wear around your neck.
If you want to learn about the history, folk-lore, flora and fauna, art, architecture etc of the camino Frances, the BEST book is: "THE PILGRIMAGE ROAD TO SANTIAGO, The Complete Cultural Handbook" by Gitlitz and (Linda) Davidson, ISBN 0 312 25416 4, published by St. Martin's Griffin, New York in 2000. (You can order these from any good book shop in Spain or from www.amazon.com or www.csj.org.uk.)
Buen Camino dear pilgrim and welcome to the world wide confraternity of pilgrims past - pilgrims present - and pilgrims still to come.
Sil

Wow, great thread, and tons of good links.

What I am having a hard time finding out is what sort of pace I should go at. I will probably follow the French way, and would like to keep it between 3-4 weeks, which would be around 30 km a day averaged. This seems a little faster than most people go, and I also don't want to miss out on all the sights and towns and people along the way because I didn't allow enough time in between.

If you've done it, what was your pace, and how much time did you have to wander about the towns. Did you find more spiritual growth while walking or when resting? Thanks a million, guys