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Which path


'Well, I'm not going that way.  It's too rocky.  This way is much easier.'

So says C3-PO in Star Wars shortly after arriving on Tatooine and a similar problem can be faced on the Camino - should you take the shorter path or divert to see something different?

There are many possible diversions on the Camino - some require a bus journey and others can only be reached on foot: there are castles to be seen, Templar Churches, sites of historical or scientific interest ..... So, how do you decide whether or not to take these extra sites in?

Partially it has to be time - do you have the time in your schedule to spend an extra day going to say Samos (the only diversion I have actually taken on my Caminos so far)?

Then you have to consider just how far the extra distance is - three or four kilometres may not sound far but at the end of the day it can be a long way to go or it might not be that much more effort at all.

You also have to consider if there is anywhere to stay on your diversion - on my second Camino from St Jean to Santiago I had planned to stay in Eunate and see the octagonal Church there but the albergue is no longer open there so we decided not to visit.

Sometimes though you will simply want to see a site so much that you will go out of your way to see it and, although the way may not be easy, you will go there and not worry about the extra distance - the first time we went to Samos we stayed overnight there but the second we walked there, stayed long enough for Dad to take the tour, and then walked on.


http://caminoestrella.com/blog/


Similarly there are days when there are longer paths or shorter paths that can be taken to the same path - I regret that both times I've set off from St Jean I've taken the lower path. The first time I took this path as I wasn't sure I could manage the upper one by myself. The second time I was with my sister Becky and we had decided to take the higher path only to find that it was several feet under snow when we arrived. Maybe next time I'll be able to walk that way!


Which path to take is not often an easy decision, all that I can suggest is that you carefully study your guidebooks, ask opinions of your companions on the way and then take the decision that you are happiest with.

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