Children on the Camino

[Rod Mullen]

1)Started at St. Jean PP; walked to Burgos....my grandson got a stomach
virus, so we spent three days in Burgos recovering from that;  then took a
bus to Leon (my granddaughter is extremely fair & I feared that she was
prone to sunstroke); from there we walked to Santiago, and straight through
to Finisterre.

2) We averaged about 20km per day, probably---ranged from about 10 to
40---they got a lot stronger as the trip went  on (I didn't).

3) We had the three days in Burgos, one day in Astorga----those were our
only full days off from walking, but we had some "easy days" with low
mileage.

4) They had a very hard time sleeping in the Alburgues....so we did a mixure
of those, pensiones, and the occasional hotel; they got better with the
Albergues as the trip progressed and actually preferred them usually---but
as we approached Santiago they were jammed with Spanish highschoolers so we
mostly stayed in cheap (20-35 Euro) hotels.

I love kids, but I've never spend 24/7 with kids in this way----gets a bit
tiring at times and you have to remember to have a sense of humor, not got
too caught up in the schedule,  and adjust to their needs (quite a few stops
and at least  four or five meals per day---they get very hungry).   Washing
clothes is a drag.  They would rather walk 40 km than handwash clothes!
After the first week there were virtually no complaints about backpacks or
getting up so early (usually between 5:30 to 6:30am).   They need time to
explore & play a bit.  We excavated rocks, got deeply into wheat and its
ramifications, along with the trips into churches and cathederals.  Read a
bit of the culture and history as we went along to give it all context.

Rewards far outweigh any problems.  They complained little, entertained each
other and me, met some great people along the way, and have had an
incredible cultural, physical and spiritual experience.

Rod


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed" <ed_maddenaLINEONE.NET>
To: <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 2:44 PM
Subject: Re: Children on the Camino


> Where did you walk from and where did you end up?
>
> How many km per day did you manage on average?
>
> Did you walk each day or take the bus/train or whatever?
>
> What were the downsides of taking  the kids (to be honest, there must have
> been some)?
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rod Mullen" <rodmaAMITYFOUNDATION.COM>
> To: <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 7:11 PM
> Subject: Re: Children on the Camino
>
>
> > Just finished taking my grandchildren, aged 10; they loved it! They were
> > greeted enthusiastically throughout Spain.
>
>
>
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