Walking the Valcarlos Route

 

I've made a big decision!

This year,  I will walk the Valcarlos Route.

In the 20-plus years and countless times  I've walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles, I've always walked the Napoleon Route - through wind, rain, sleet, and sunshine.

The Valcarlos route goes through the valley instead of up and over the Pyrenees, with a final 4 kilometer climb into Roncesvalles at the end -  and the elevation is about 400 ft lower than the Napoleon route.

Because of the issues I've been having with my lungs, this route will be safer for me. Plus, I've never walked it!   

I'm thinking this will be my LAST Camino Frances, as I'm 74 this year and I have other routes I want to walk in the future, and I have never walked via Valcarlos.  

 

So, today I cancelled my bed at Borda, and made a reservation for the Hostal Camino de Santiago in Valcarlos. 

 

I'm getting excited!

I leave for Vancouver, Washington 

in one week. 

I will spend 2 nights with my youngest son, then one night at an airport hotel, and leave for Spain early Tuesday morning.

My bag is packed.

It weighs right at 12 pounds without food/water. 

I've already paid for bag transport for one day so I may have the bag transported on day two for the steep walk up to Roncesvalles. 

I saved closed to $500 by using travel points on my credit card to pay some of my lodging costs. I'll never get enough points to pay for a ticket so they came in handy this trip.

Here is my tentative schedule. I hope you can read it. I'll be walking VERY short stages, at least in the beginning. I just want to take it slow and enjoy every moment. I'm staying in a combination of albergues and private lodgings.