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Camino De Santiago de Compostella
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12-04-2010 10:29pm#1Has Anyone actually done this pilgrimage? if so how did you find it? was thinking of doing it myself, either by foot or bycycle, its the route St.James took also, sounds great.
is it expensive? is it safe? is it difficult?
its a pilgramge route from the east coast of spain all the way to the west and you get a certificate at the end of it to say you reached St.James tomb:D
Just looking for some more info on it, if you've been there and would like to share your story with us that would be most kind of you and exciting to say the least.
Pax Christi
Stephen
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I've done it before. I really enjoyed it. And it is so cheap you would not believe it. Accommodation along the way is quite often paid for by donation rather than fixed price. But when the prices are fixed, it's rarely over a fiver a night.
I went with a group and we flew to Bilbao in the Basque Country, then got a bus to Ponferrada which is 200km from Santiago (you need to walk a min. of 100km to get your cert at the end). Took ten days to walk the 200km and it was amazing. Spent a few days in Santiago and flew back from there. Aer Lingus fly to both Bilbao and Santiago from Dublin.
The people you meet along the way are very friendly. Even if you go alone, you really wil not feel you are alone. Sometimes it's great to do a day with a few other people. Sometimes you just want a day with yourself and your thoughts. There are villages every few kilometres so you can stop for a coffee (or something stronger :rolleyes:) and a bite to eat and just like the accommodation, it's very cheap. Safety did not even cross my mind - not sure if you mean crime-wise or outdoor-safety-wise. Not once did I feel in danger either of pickpockets/thieves etc or falling down a mountain etc.
Also, be sure to get your "pilgrim's passport" from the Society of Saint James in Dublin before you go. This gets stamped in each hostel along the route to prove the route you travelled. Without this, you can't get your cert at the end.
May the Lord bless you for taking the time out to help me.
Have you any links to any sites that will help me get all these things? what are the flights like? cheap?
the accomodation sounds lovely, hows the food bill? is that expensive?
Your post has given me great encouragement and an even stronger desire to give it a go.
Whats the route like? do you have to pass through a lot of cities/towns? or is it the nice country track/walk that I have assumed it would be?
Pax Christi
Stephen 0 -
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dermothickey wrote: »It is something you will treasure for the rest of your days. May you find the Love peace and happiness within your Heart during your strolls through the beautiful Northern Spain. And always remember to Smile to every Heart you meet along the way
Such an encouraging post to read, thank you dermothickey, I've yet to persuade the wife of doing it, hopefully she will come around and feel the same inspired excitement as I do when pondering on such a great pilgrimage.
Pax Christi
Stephen 0 -
remember to smile to her Heart too it may help her to come along with you. If you do lots of walking together and know each other's pace it would be a beautiful thing to share with someone...however if you dont do long walks together you could end up not in the best of form with one another that is simply because you both have a different pace. I started out with a friend and after 4 days I let him go on as he was a faster walker than me. It was the best thing as from there I was carefree... Give it some consideration
Love and Light0 -
dermothickey wrote: »remember to smile to her Heart too it may help her to come along with you. If you do lots of walking together and know each other's pace it would be a beautiful thing to share with someone...however if you dont do long walks together you could end up not in the best of form with one another that is simply because you both have a different pace. I started out with a friend and after 4 days I let him go on as he was a faster walker than me. It was the best thing as from there I was carefree... Give it some consideration
Love and Light
haha, I'll remember to pray for patience
:D
Pax Christi
Stephen 0 -
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Stephentlig wrote: »Has Anyone actually done this pilgrimage? if so how did you find it? was thinking of doing it myself, either by foot or bycycle, its the route St.James took also, sounds great.
is it expensive? is it safe? is it difficult?
its a pilgramge route from the east coast of spain all the way to the west and you get a certificate at the end of it to say you reached St.James tomb:D
Just looking for some more info on it, if you've been there and would like to share your story with us that would be most kind of you and exciting to say the least.
Pax Christi
Stephen
I cycled the pilgrimage route years ago.
Did it in three days (was fit at that stage), starting from St Jean Pied de Port.
Bascially the route starts in the French Pyrennees and involved staying over in small hostels on throughout the route.
The hostels are geared for pilgrims and offer basic food/lodgings.
Lovely route I have to say.
The scenery is spectacular.0 -
I cycled the pilgrimage route years ago.
Did it in three days (was fit at that stage), starting from St Jean Pied de Port.
Bascially the route starts in the French Pyrennees and involved staying over in small hostels on throughout the route.
The hostels are geared for pilgrims and offer basic food/lodgings.
Lovely route I have to say.
The scenery is spectacular.
great post hinault, glad to see you went on it.
was the food expensive and how long did it take you to complete your journey? what gear did you carry with you and what sort of bike did you use?
Pax Christi
Stephen 0 -
Stephentlig wrote: »great post hinault, glad to see you went on it.
was the food expensive and how long did it take you to complete your journey? what gear did you carry with you and what sort of bike did you use?
Pax Christi
Stephen
Food was very reasonable in the hostel (Albergues) and the ones I stayed in had a communal evening meal.
We did the 700-odd kilometre route in 3 days : we were fit youngmen back then and we used cycle mountain bikes which had a small set of panniers in which to take food along/wet weather clothing etc.
We would normally buy a rolls/some biscuits and water/liquid along the route : we were pedalling 200kms per day so having enough fuel is essential along the route.
Our days would start at 6.30, we were on the road at 7.15 and pedalled until 18.00hrs.
We stopped throughout the route to eat/rest.
We made sure to bring with us :
1.full set of allyn keys.
2.spare tubes and one set of tyres each.
3.screwdriver and spare tyre tubes.
4.Torch.
5.Swiss army knife, map and compass.(the route is well signposted).
Hope this helps.0 -
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Food was very reasonable in the hostel (Albergues) and the ones I stayed in had a communal evening meal.
We did the 700-odd kilometre route in 3 days : we were fit youngmen back then and we used cycle mountain bikes which had a small set of panniers in which to take food along/wet weather clothing etc.
We would normally buy a rolls/some biscuits and water/liquid along the route : we were pedalling 200kms per day so having enough fuel is essential along the route.
Our days would start at 6.30, we were on the road at 7.15 and pedalled until 18.00hrs.
We stopped throughout the route to eat/rest.
We made sure to bring with us :
1.full set of allyn keys.
2.spare tubes and one set of tyres each.
3.screwdriver and spare tyre tubes.
4.Torch.
5.Swiss army knife, map and compass.(the route is well signposted).
Hope this helps.
Wow, sounds great, did the heat not get you down whilst doing it?
I doubt we'd make it in three days, and even if three days were our target we'd have to do a lot of training before heading over. un-route did you have to travel and cycle through cities? I'd hate that, and I vaguely recall someone telling me they did have to do that and it was very confusing and time consuming to say the least.
I've got knowledge in survival bushcraft and have done numerous courses throughout my years of existence so I've got that behind me. I've also got a road bike kellys lagoon, aluminium ( sp?) all the way through, dynamo, my brother calls it a tank but I think its very fast and as light as anything, great bike for the road. the only problem when travelling on a bike is that the more weight you carry the less speed you pick up.
Other than that I can safely say we'll be booking it sometime in the near future if the financial wind blows in the right direction.
Pax Christi
Stephen 0 -
Hi there,
I walked from St Jean 2 years ago, took around 30 days to get to Santiago...that was including days to just chill in places we liked on the way. It's one thing that I encourage absolutely everyone to do. Like the other posters said, it's very cheap. I think I spent around a grand for the trip, and that included a couple of nights where we arrived late into places and had to take hotels instead of the cheaper accommodation (or when we felt like a treat!).
If you don't have the time to walk the entire thing from France, I would advise you to just do it in parts...the end is definitely not the highlight. As another poster said, in order to get the cert, you just have to do the last 100km, so this part gets incredibly busy. And, while the last part is nice, it pales in comparison to the rest of the walk.
In terms of landscape, you end up walking absolutely everywhere! From nice rolling green hills to tough mountain trails and through the seemingly endless barren mesatas...there were days were we ended up eating blackberries as there we hadnt adequately stocked up, other days were we were walking through remote areas with only an isolated farmhouse every few miles, with the old woman in one making a packet selling fresh pancakes to the walkers! Other days we would be walking through cities, feeling thoroughly out of place as people crammed into buses on their way to work. You go through industrial areas, some horrible places...but then also spending days walking through the wine valleys and having a seemingly infinite stock of grapes tends to overshadow those parts
I think we flew into Biarritz and then caught the train from there to St Jean Pied de Port...you end up walking around 25km per day, some days less, some days you'll do much more...if you've got a reasonably good level of fitness then you will be fine. If you're doing the entire thing, because its such a lengthy walk, you'll build up your endurance after the first week or so anyway, so just plan relatively shorter days to begin with. Accommodation is very cheap, and basic...and everywhere you go does 'pilgrim menus' which are generally very basic meals. The food was the biggest let down, everywhere does the same basic dishes (to keep it cheap I suppose) so I found it ended up becoming quite bland.
We are off to do the Sentiér Cathare in the south of France this summer, which seems like a posher version...more goats cheese and less easi-singles
Let me know if you need any more information,
All the best,
MD0 -
Mother Duck you summed it up perfectly even to the old woman springing the pancakes on you
Remember a girl strolling with me at the time had no coins on her and got caught for a tenner when the lady stuck out her hand for the donativo Happy memories 0 -
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I am planning to do a large(ish) section of the Camino next summer (2011) and right now I am doing as much reading as I can about it. I am also working on some research on pilgrimage and secularisation in Ireland so it serves two purposes really - personal and professional.
If anyone here would like to speak to me, in confidence, about this experience, please private message me.
Speak to you in confidence about which experience? the going to camino or the research your doing at the moment?
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Stephentlig wrote: »Speak to you in confidence about which experience? the going to camino or the research your doing at the moment?
Your experience walking the Camino and your motivations for doing it.0 -
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dermothickey wrote: »Yes You could do it in 4 days, though I'd recommend you to be able for the long days ... when I did the camino I started out in St Jean so by the time We got to Sarria we had blended in and were a big group who were relaxed with each other after all our experiences, so when getting to Galicia busloads of people were doing the last 100k stretch, they just seemed a bit stressed and seperate from everyone else.
Thanks for that Dermot. I'm planning not to be too stressed about it to be honest I'm more excited about going beyond to Finisterre after Santiago, but I thought I'd check that there'd be time enough to fit them both comfortably! 0 -
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Ooh, the Indo updated their site after I made the post above. Those IT guys sure work late on Saturdays! They have a neat little summary of Santiago there now. Sounds like it was written by a half-Christian/half-heathen, lol. Would be tempted to just fly into the place for a look around, even if I wasn't planning on doing the walk. (Which I might do sometime, but I'm not planning it at the moment.)
http://www.independent.ie/travel/travel-destinations/camino-de-santiago-need-to-know-2181475.html0 -
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