[Gocamino] Travel-Madrid to St Jean Pied

[Eldor Pederson]

The simple solution is to begin your pilgrimage at Pamplona. 

There is absolutely nothing magical about beginning at St. Jean. Spaniards who walk from Roncesvalles  or Pamplona consider themselves to have walked the entire Camino Frances, and it is only Anglophones who have the peculiar notion that somehow the Camino begins at St. Jean, an idea probably introduced by the American journalist Jack Hitt who happened to start his 1990s walk there, is unique to English speakers. Aside from being the place at which several, but by no means all, of the traditional routes from elsewhere in Europe join to cross the Pyrenees, St. Jean has no special qualities which recommend it as a starting point. In the Medieval era pilgrims from outside Spain would have been walking for days, or more likely weeks, before reaching that cute but otherwise undistinguished Basque village (it would more appropriately be called by its Basque name Ostabat). Except for residents of the town itself, no one walking at the time of the great pilgrimages would have started there. As I have noted on a number of occasions, it is about the worst of all possible places for a jet lagged North American to begin walking the route. (Please note that this is not an anti French rant. I am a Francophile currently making plans to spend a several weeks this coming autumn in that lovely and hospitable country.)

For a variety of reasons, mainly practical, beginning at Pamplona, or perhaps taking a bus or taxi from there to Roncesvalles, a place which, unlike St. Jean, does have considerable historical resonance, is a much wiser idea. Use the extra time and resources freed by not going into the French town to more fully enjoy the Spanish portion of the Camino! The Camino begins wherever you decide to begin your pilgrimage, and Pamplona is a very fine place to start.

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: The Quilt Shop<mailto:thequiltshop at earthlink.net> 
  To: gocamino at oakapple.net<mailto:gocamino at oakapple.net> 
  Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 10:55 AM
  Subject: [Gocamino] Travel-Madrid to St Jean Pied


  I am making my first trip to Spain to walk the Camino Frances starting in St Jean.  I have plane ticket to arrinve in Madrid on Sep 6, 2005.  I have found good train travel to Pamplona and am seeking advice on best way to get to St Jean Pied. 

  Any help would be appreciated. 

  Thanks 

  Kurt Prescott 


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