Greetings , If all goes well i'll be heading off for a new Camino the end of May with my daughter . I have walked on the CAMINO about five times but only in two week stints(working) but i plan to do the whole thing start to finish this year.My daughter and i will arrive in SJPP on 5/28 . She is small but tough and has hiked some on the AT and we will see how she likes it. she will fly back to work from "low groan "Logrono and i'll continue on .
My previous rambles of 250-300 km each covers the French road and Camino Arragonnes.It seems to get busier and more crowded each year.But who knows when the last pilgrim will arrive in Santiago. Don't miss the boat . Don't miss the adventure of a lifetime . best wishes Darrell

howardd5,

Pray you and your daughter have a great time. Don't count small out. I am 5'1", and weighed about 108lbs. my first two caminos--no problem.

SJPP-Finesterra? Roncesvalles-Santiago? Whole thing? Keep us posted.

Barbara June

Hi Darrell (howardd5),
Being not so small (but very tough of course) it seems to me that being small would be a great advantage. Less weight to haul over those mountains.
Have a wonderful trip! Going with a daughter is very special. Mine went with me for ten days (all she had available as she was just finishing off her masters thesis) and we both had a wonderful time. She galloped up and down the hills, back and forth much like a puppy while I plodded along....it was a really big thing for both of us. She came to see why the heck mum insisted on walking across mountains in Spain - especially more than once- and she really got it. We both can't wait to travel one of the paths again - but it won't be this year unfortunately.
Buen camino
Cecelia

A few thoughts about the Camino getting busier each year. Looking at the number of walkers, the Camino is unquestionably seeing more pilgrims.

I walked the Camino in 2003 and 2009, September both times. In 2003, there were about 75,000 pilgrims over the course of the year. I remember how much attention was paid on forums about how busy it would be in the 2004 Holy Year. Last year 145,000 arrived in Santiago, twice as many as during my first walk and almost as many as the ‘busy’ Holy Year of 2004. I didn’t notice the increase when I travelled in 2009, and most days found it quieter. Yes, the more common places for overnight stops were busier, although many refugios have been expanded and there are new refugios which didn’t exist in 2003.

As part of my plan for 2009, I stayed in smaller towns which are less common stopovers. The difference was amazing. The refugios in the smaller towns house fewer people - 20-40 - rather than up to a hundred in the more common stops. Starting out from these smaller locations, I came across fewer travelers on the road, as the larger blocks of pilgrims were either 5-15 kilometers ahead, starting their day from the next town, or a similar distance behind. In 2003 I was never alone. In 2009, despite twice the population of walkers, I walked alone or with very few others much of the time

All of this is to say try the smaller towns is you want a less busy walk.

Buen Camino


Paul in Canada