The most common schedule for walking El Camino from Saint Jean Pied-de-Port is in stages over a couple of years - typically two weeks in each of three years. This is what most working people can find time for. I was able to walk El Camino in one, long journey with no preset schedule, no planned arrival date in Santiago, and it is what I will recommend to those who have the time.
The long journey makes it possible to immerse oneself in the experience of following and imagining the lives of the pilgrims centuries ago. The 48 days and 40 stages I spent on the Camino created an interest, curiosity and internal intensity that shorter journeys spread over a few years would not have allowed. Despite its length the journey was also relaxed because there was no schedule.
The time allotted to each stage should include time to stop. El Camino is not a race. About a week into the walk, I decided that following my guidebook's recommended daily stages, 33 in all, would not suit my temper, interest, curiosity, or physical ability. I needed time to stop and take in the view of the countryside, to admire the airscape, to take a picture, to walk inside a church and sit down to contemplate and pray for as long as I wanted, to visit a museum, maybe even stay a day extra in a nice town.
The time allotted to each stage should include time to stop. El Camino is not a race. About a week into the walk, I decided that following my guidebook's recommended daily stages, 33 in all, would not suit my temper, interest, curiosity, or physical ability. I needed time to stop and take in the view of the countryside, to admire the airscape, to take a picture, to walk inside a church and sit down to contemplate and pray for as long as I wanted, to visit a museum, maybe even stay a day extra in a nice town.
