The preparation
Preparing for the Camino has many dimensions and required doing a lot of research to ultimately make many decisions. It is amazing how much information is available on YouTube, on FaceBook Group Pages and generally when you Google the internet. Fortunate for me, I know a few people who have walked some of the Camino routes, some of them multiple times. So speaking to them has been extremely valuable.
The BIG decisions: Which route, when to go (weather, ability to take 6 weeks,COVID), Shoe and backpack choice and whether I will carry the pack the full way or ship the luggage to the next Albergue (hostel), B&B or Hotel.
The Packing Kit: What exactly will I take with me. Rule of thumb is for the pack to weigh no more that 10% of your body weight, for me that limit will be 20Lbs.
The Training: This has been so far the biggest challenge, specially with the months just before my trip being the winter, cold, snowy and icy months restricting where and how I can train. I hired a trainer and also going to a physiotherapist as I am encountering many challenges with my left leg.
I will expand on above elements in separate posts.
Getting to the starting point
I am flying on Wednesday April 20th from Ottawa via Toronto to Paris, arriving early on April 21st. Then, by train from Charles De Gaulle Airport via Montparnasse Station in Paris on a TGV high speed train to Bayonne. Bayonne is a city in the Basque Country region of southwest France, where I will stay the night. First thing on the 22nd, I will make my way (about 1.5 hours away) to the starting point, the village of Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port (SJPDP), a commune in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques department in South Western France in the Pyrenean foothills. I will spend the day and night in SJPDP picking up food and making the final arrangements to start the walk first thing on Saturday April 23rd.
Lodging strategy
There are many different types and styles of Camino de Santiago accommodation along the route, ranging from hostels (Albergues) to Guesthouses (Casa Rurales) and Luxurious Paradores (Luxury Hotels) and many in between. I plan to try them all depending on what is available along the way as well as strongly recommended. For more details: https://caminoways.com/types-of-camino-de-santiago-accommodation
Luggage Strategy
I have already decided to travel with an OSPREY 38L backpack and I have been able to decide on all the contents reaching the 20Lbs limit. I am also taking a smaller, collapsable day pack. When I know for sure where I will be sleeping the next night ahead of time, I will have the choice of sending my Osprey 38L pack ahead with a service and just take the day pack. Since the first 3 days will be most challenging (climbing over 1200M) I have already booked my first three nights accommodation and will send my big pack ahead. After that, the plan is for me to carry the bigger pack so that I will have more flexibility in deciding how far I would walk in real time. The Spanish infrastructure is well in place to facilitate the lugagge transfer safely and efficiently, usually 7Euros per day.
The Route
I have chosen to do the Camino Frances. It is a 800KM route. I know people who have done it in 30 days (fastest) to more like 33-36 days being the most common. I will have 39 days (assuming two days at the end in Madrid before returning home on June 3rd. In the map below you can see the major towns/Cities along the way. Many people go past Santiago to reach Finisterre/aka Fisterra (End of the World, thought by many to be that as the western most spot of Europe, it turns out there is one place just a bit further west in Portugal). Depending on well I do time wise, I may just go there by bus after arriving in Santiago. So, assuming 35 days of walking, it averages out to 23Km per day.
