If you had only one week...

[Joe English]

When my wife and I decided to start our Camino we only had one week to
spare. All our friends advised us to do the last 100k into Santiago for
lots of reasons:
1) it was our first time doing anything like this, and we might not enjoy
it and consequently never return to complete the Camino.
2) If the objective is reaching Santiago then we should make sure that we
reach the objective. We could always go back on subsequent trips and walk
the remainder.
3)etc etc in that vein
Being pig headed, we took none of their advice and headed straight for
SJPP and walked to Logrono. It was the best decision we ever made, on a
number of levels:
1)The walk itself from SJPP is stunning and not to be missed.
2)Being so many hundreds of kilometers from the destination gives a real
feeling of adventure that I do not feel would be present 100K from
Santiago.
3)The act of walking from one country to another is very special, and puts
one in tune with the long vein of European history associated with the
pilgrimage
4) Planning to return to where one left off is a very strong impetus to
continue the journey in subsequent years.
5)Coming back to where one stopped a year earlier , putting on the
rucksack and boots and heading off is like putting on an old pair of
slippers. Would one have the same feeling back tracking?

What I am trying to convey (in a long winded way), is that starting at
the "start" will give you a much better feel of the journey that you are
embarking upon. I think most people on this listserv would agree that the
journey you are embarking upon encompasses a lot more the the physical act
of walking.
Joe