Suggestions and/or regrets

[Robert E. Spenger]

No regrets, but I do have a suggestion:

I most strongly recommend staying at the giîte in Hountto the first night.
This makes it an easy first day - followed by a great Basque dinner and
breakfast - and a relatively moderate second day over the Pyrenees to
Roncesvalles. In late March, the possibility of bad weather makes it even
more sensible to break up the Pyrenees crossing into two days. I have seen
claims on this and other forums, that there are great benefits to doing the
hardest stage of the Camino on the very first day. I don't buy this. Many a
pilgrim has been so wiped out by that first day that it ended up as the last
day. Others suffered from the after effects a few days further along on the
trip, resulting in layover days to recover or even having to give up the rest
of the journey.

regards,

Bob Spenger
rspengeraearthlink.net

Duke wrote:

> I am leaving for St. Jean Pied de Port in late March to begin the Camino.
> It occurs to me that those of you who have had the experience might be
> able to help me.  If you had one piece of advice to give (about gear,
> books,things not to miss, weather etc.) or one regret of things you might
> have done diffently (shrines visited, pace of walking, attitudes,etc.) or
> one thing you would do differently if you walked the Camino again, I would
> love to hear about them.
>
> Duke