The Way of St.James

Mary, what are your concerns? The Pilgrimage is done by many many people every year and has been walked by Pilgrims for centuries. Has he prepared himself, both physically and spiritually? Is his passport in order, and his airfare? I respect him, and I respect your concerns.

If he has his heart set on this, then he ought to be finding out this information for himself and not leaving it to his mother to take care of. An 18 year old is an adult and should take responsibility for their own travel plans. This is an admirable thing to do, but he could easily be finding this information on the websites that deal specifically with this pilgrimage. There are lots of them available, and he can research them to find his answers. I am not saying this to be mean, just that when our kids want to do adult things, like travel alone, then they should act like an adult and not let their parents do it for them.

Thanks for the response. My son has been researching and preparing, but when it comes to personal safety-young people tend to feel as if nothing will happen & they will never get sick...He did research the safety on the route, but I wanted to get my own information from people who have traveled the route. It was a question-not looking for parenting advice.

There have been discussions about walking the Way here before, but I can't remember who the posters were or if they are regular posters. If you put Compostela into the search box at the top right hand corner of the page you can read all the older threads where it has been discussed, and a Rick Steves article about the Way, too. Its good of you for keeping an eye on him.

I have a friend who did the Camino alone as a 21 year old student in Spain. I think it depends entirely on the person. It's a well worn route that is safe for a person mature enough to undertake it.

My 70 year old neighbor, who speaks not a word of Spanish, did it by himself last year and had a great time. What exactly is your concern? Thousands of people walk it every year.

Ok-thank you, both! I am new to the site, so I will search older posts. Appreciate your time!

Hi Mary, I think your son is very lucky and if it's something he wants to do then really you should give him your blessings. I would one day love to do the Camino and have done my own research, here are 2 blogs I read last year. These are single women who started out on their own to do the Camino. http://www.caminomaggee.blogspot.ca/2008/12/preparing-for-camino-foot-care.html .. It's a difficult blog to navigate around as it always seems to jump to the end of the journey, it's well worth figuring it out and reading about her 1st camino journey. .. This is also one that I enjoyed reading she made the trip from New Zealand . . http://chemincamino08.blogspot.ca/2008/07/20-april.html ..
Read these, be inspired and let your son know you are HAPPY for him to follow his dreams and spread his wings :) ..

Hi Mary, I walked the Camino in May and June of 2010, it took me 33 days to complete. One thing about the Camino, though one goes there alone they are never truly alone. Many people start the Camino by themselves but by the end of the first day they will have met others who are traveling by themselves. After a day or two a Camino family develops because everyone is pretty much traveling on the same pace, staying in the same alburgues, eating at the same place. As with anything common sense is the key to safety. During my Camino I never witnessed any type of crime agains't any Pilgrims, though I will be candid, some women saw local men exposing themselves in a couple of places. Staying in alburgues is the way to go, he will need a Pilgrims Passport to stay there but they are readily available and he will also need it to receive his Compostela in Santiago. As far as getting home first where is he arriving in Europe and starting his Camino? I recommend Madrid, it's the easiest for North Americans, from Madrid he can take the train to Pamplona and from Pamplona there is a bus to Roncesvalles and then a taxi to St Jean Pied du Port, the traditional starting point for Pilgrims, if he meets other Pilgrims they can share this expense. Santiago de Compostela is a large city with an airport that serves Europe, he can also take the train or a bus back to Madrid. I will put a link to the blog I kept on my Camino for you to read, also feel free to contact me with any specific questions. I will also PM you some links to some good Camino websites. http://bhcamino2010.blogspot.com/

I highly recommend a movie that came out a couple of years ago called "The Way," starring Martin Sheen. It portrays the spirit of the pilgrimage beautifully.

My two friends did this three years ago. Both are in their late 40's and got a lot out of it. They did it in the Spring as Summer can be brutal. There are so many people doing this together that safety doesn't seem to be an issue. One year we were driving in Spain and saw first aid vehicles slowly going along the roads from morning till night to take care of anyone in need. My friends said that after a week or so you start meeting up with the same people each evening and that the non-Spanish speakers always found many others to share meals, first aid, friendship with. If he is traveling solo he should have a waterproof pouch for his passport, money etc. while he showers. My friends just watched each others valuables as well as often keeping an eye out on the stuff of now not complete strangers including the French couple who spoke no English or Spanish - it's a great thing for your son to get to do. God bless him on his journey.