- Trail type: point to point
- Trail name: Camino Frances
- Period: August-September 2017
- Starting point: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port
- Trail blazing:
- Trail description:
Ziua 1: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Roncesvalles
Ziua 5: Pamplona – Puente la Reina
Ziua 6: Puente la Reina – Estella
- Distance: ~113km
- Duration: 7 days, ~7-8 hrs/day with breaks
- Equipment: Summer long trip/pilgrimage equipment
- Map
- Total elevation gain: 2730 m
When
- We chose end of August so the weather won't be too hot and the trail too crowded.
- We allocated an average of 25 km per day with a small buffer, more precisely an average of 35 days to walk the entire trail.
Transportation
- The trail starts from the south of France, more precisely from the little village Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. You can get here by train from bigger cities like Paris, Toulouse or Biarritz.
- We took a plane to Toulouse with a layover at Berlin.
- To return, there is a bus network with multiple points on the Camino, with routes towards the big cities. We chose Madrid.
Accommodation
- Up to the start of the trail we slept in campings (in Toulouse and Saint-Jean)
- After we started to walk the Camino, we slept only in albergues.
*Albergue - the guesthouses from Camino that can be of three types:
- Municipal
- Parish
- Private
- In municipal albergues are donativo – cazarea, cina și micul dejun sunt gratuite iar tu poți dona o anumită sumă de bani, ce va fi folosită pentru pregatirea mesei pelerinilor din ziua următoare.
- To check in, you have to present your pilgrim passport, which you will receive from the Pilgrim Office, before starting to walk.
- Based on what's your starting point, there are several offices. We went to the Pilgrim Office from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where we received our passport, maps, answers to our questions and the classic shell.
Equipment
- The boots we chose for this trail were bought beforehand and were worn in every trekking trip we did before we left.
- Concerning clothing, we packed two sets of clothing: one to wear, the other in our backpacks. An extra set of clothing is enough for adults, two sets for children. The clothes are getting washed daily at the albergue, manually or by using the washing machine.
- The sleeping bag is recommended on the Camino, and in some albergues it's actually mandatory, so buying the one time use bed linen if the sleeping bag is missing might be necessary(~1-2€).
- A much lighter option would be the sleeping bag liner, light and compact, similar to a bedsheet.
- Trekking poles. Even if usually we did not use them, here they will help a lot. After a few days of walking, you'll start feeling each gram of your backpack in our knees. The poles will be taking over a part of this weight.
- More details at the equipment section
Daily budget
- Accommodation + food: ~35 euro per day on average for 2 adults and one child
- On some days, the expenses were higher, depending on where we slept and what meal options we had.
Food
- Usually, we had breakfast at the albergue and around 10-11 we would stop on our way to a coffee shop/store.
- We don't eat much of the food we carry with us in our backpack, having plenty of options on the way.
Useful:
- The Camino Pilgrim App, available on Google Play
- The Pilgrim's guide by John Brierley available online and in some bookstores
- There are plenty of resources available online: blogs, Youtube channels, Facebook groups.
Things I wanted to know before I left:
- Not to take too much with me. Camino is not in the wilderness, you often pass through cities where you can find everything you need.
- Each gram counts and as we moved forward, I had to drop another thing from my backpack.
- Not to take the tent with me and other camping accessories. For other Camino routes it might be useful but not for Camino Frances. You can't camp anywhere and the camping fee is higher than the albergue fee.
- Not to turn Camino into a marathon. The road is long and it's possible that the exhaustion will build up until it will not let you move forward anymore.
- Leave early in the morning. After the first day and a small run through the forest during night I realized that.
- Not to guide myself after what others did but after what we can do. It's ok to stop in between.
- Understanding elevation gain. While on the map it may seem small, on the spot things are different.
What I missed along the way:
- The above mentioned mobile app
- Sun screen
What went well:
- We tasted a bit of what Camino is, an amazing experience
- We made new friends
- We explored new places
What went bad:
- The plan versus reality did not match and that was painful, physically and mentally
- Echipamentul cărat în plus pe principiul „poate va fi nevoie” ne-a făcut zile fripte
- An unexpected emergency which made us rethink everything
What we learned
- Less is more
- Acceptance. Although back then I saw the return as something that went bad, I realized it was the best thing that happened
- Slow down and enjoy what's around us more
- Resilience. When we realized we cannot continue anymore, we stopped and rethought everything
- Knowing our limits
- Love the journey, not the destination
- How to move forward
Dear traveler,
In a cold winter's night, on the first day of the year, cuddling next to the heater, we were daydreaming about our plans for next summer.
Mamarmot was dreaming far away, to a loop around the Black Sea, Mongolian lands and the northern lights. These crazy ideas from Mamarmot's head, appeared every once in a while, after she finished reading another travel journal of a biker or traveler.
At 3 years and a half, I barely knew what those were, but I did saw some nice places until this age.
"All in all, today we have to decide.", said Mamarmot.
Mamarmot had a tradition, that dated a few years back, namely, on the first day of the year she would always write on a piece of paper what she wanted to accomplish in the coming year, put it inside an envelope and opened it when the year ended.
Therefore, Mamarmot kept coming up with ideas, but, for what we could do, none was actually doable. At least this is what dad said, I was too small to be asked about this.
-"But what do you think about Camino?"
Mamarmot heard about Camino from my uncle, some time ago. He told us that he saw a movie which carried his thoughts far away, on the paths of Spain. Being curious, my folks also saw the movie, but they never thought they actually might do this.
And yet, that night, with the blizzard howling at our window, I heard about Camino for the first time and a dream slowly started to grow.
Many months of planning followed.
My folks kept telling me we must go out trekking more often, to get prepared for the long road to Compostela.
I received my first hiker equipment from my uncle and aunt. I was so proud!
When we were not outside, trekking, we read and watched movies about how to get ready. Slowly, we gathered much of the needed equipment for this adventure.
Not sure how time flew, but I just found myself boarding in a plane to France.
After camping for one night and some train rides, we step inside this small town, decorated as for a carnival.
One out of two people are hikers. I can tell by their backpack, which is bigger than they are.
After we set up our tent, we leave in the search of the pilgrim office. My folks say that this is an important place. Dad is not feeling so good, I don't know why but he looks like he caught a cold.
At the office, we are greeted with joy. People ask me things in a language I don't understand. My folks tell me that they want to know if I'm going to walk the Camino. Of course I will, this is why I came here, right?
My folks talk with the people from the office, they receive some maps, directions, advices. I have my own pilgrim passport! It's so beautiful..and I got something else, just for me. It's like a small drawing with my name on it. Then they direct us to a table covered in sea shells to choose what we want. I've never seen so many shells. They are bigger than the back of my hand. I cannot decide!!
We finally manage to pick one shell for each. My folks tell me that we will wear them on our backpacks. This is the tradition. Interesting!
Now let's go to sleep as tomorrow we're leaving. The rain started and with the sound of raindrops falling on the tent I dive into the land of dreams. I wake up in the morning to see my dad quite tired. He said he did not sleep well, he felt sick and that maybe it would be better to leave the next day.
But the weather is not on our side, The people from the pilgrim office told us that the weather will get worse and if we're not leaving today, we might need to wait for a couple of days. This is because in the first day we'll be crossing the Pyrenees and it's not the best thing to in this weather.
My folks stay by the tent to think things through. I'm skipping in the rain and enjoying it, For me, things are simple. Things are simple like this drizzle of rain, things are fun like skipping in these puddles.
But it seems that we'll be leaving today. I am so excited! I help my folks to pack our stuff and I get dressed in my hiker clothes.
With my seashell backpack, I start walking with small steps towards a great adventure.
Starting today, we'll be following the path of shells.
Marmot statistics
Joy
At 4, the marmot feels nothing but joy and good cheer. She enjoys the walk, the new sights, the pilgrims that are greeting her, sleeping in bunk beds, shells, candy and olive trees.
Sights
The trail is continuously changing, from mountain areas with spectacular views, to small cities, then to yellow fields bordered only by the blue sky.
Difficulty
The difficulty of the trail can be given by its length. In this first segment, we have a few serious climbs. Also, there are some segments where you cannot stop in between and a longer distance must be walked.
Boredom
Here we learn to play all sorts of games and tell stories so the boredom will not appear.
Drama
Small drama appear when it's too hot or we get tired and lose our patience.
EN 
RO