El Camino - French Way - July and August 2020

This is my video diary of the Camino, from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, over 21 days in late July and early August, 2020.
It was an interesting year to walk, as due to COVID-19 there were very few pilgrims from outside continental Europe (travel restrictions meant that pilgrims who might normally travel from the USA, South America, Australia, Asia etc. were unable to travel to France/Spain).

[@FrScottHikes]

Dude!! You are a great, focused, hiker!! Thank you for the Adventure.

[@soniadiaz5259]

Very good video!!!

[@schamber1000]

Enjoyed your video. I was supposed to walk in June and July. Now I will go in 2022. Thank you for sharing your journey!

[@bpladewig]

You're welcome Sally - it's a shame you couldn't walk this summer but I wish you well in 2022. Buen Camino!

[@schamber1000]

@@bpladewig Thanks! I'm really looking forward to going next year!

[@DougASAP]

Great video! I took 36 days (rather than 20) to get to Santiago. I never stayed more than one night in a place along the way, but did plan my stages to arrive early in Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, Leon, and Ponferrada to have time to wander around. I also built in a huge buffer, then walked to Finisterre and then did part of the Camino Portuguese. ¡Buen Camino!

[@nicoletrogen1877]

I really enjoyed your video - thanks

[@reed0199]

The Camino In 21 Days. WOW - SOME BIG LEGS. Very Impressive !!!

[@ralphgeswint8002]

THANK you for sharing such a REMARKABLE JOURNEY. RALPH GESWINT from SOUTH Africa who wants to walk the CAMINO. 🙏

[@bpladewig]

I hope you do get to walk the Camino Ralph. Take care and all the best. Brad.

[@daverobert7927]

Nice to remember what it was like. Makes me want to do it again. When I did it in 2017 I had a limit of time to do The Way. Next time I go I will want to take my time and smell the roses along the camino..

[@ladamadelmanzanares]

Muy bonita fotografía👍

[@NewTasty]

Great review

[@barbaraagombar7177]

Very enjoyable. Walked the Francis fall of 2019, with my husband and grandaughter in 35 days. Can't imagine walking it so fast. Congratulations! It was a highlight of my life, as was yours. 🇨🇦

[@bpladewig]

Hi Barbara! glad you enjoyed the video, and more importantly, that your Camino experience with your husband and granddaughter was such a highlight. It was certainly very special for me. All the best from 🇩🇪

[@getgolay]

Nice view. Planning to do this in the future

[@KENNETHFRANCISRODRIGUES]

Great vlog. Personal experiences and advice.

[@bpladewig]

Thank you, glad you found it interesting.

[@michaelsherlock3717]

I thoroughly enjoyed your video, a lot of people may criticise your rapidity, however, you made very clear time constraint and I can imagine in that heat you had to start early. Well done.

[@bpladewig]

Glad you enjoyed it Michael. Like you said, the rapid pace was not ideal and I will not walk so fast on my next Camino, hopefully starting in Portugal. I learned a few things making this video too, so I will hopefully make another video next time that is possibly better.

[@cjultreiarunner]

I really enjoyed watching this Brad, we crossed paths many times, I relived my own journey whilst enjoying watching yours :)

[@bpladewig]

CJ - you are an inspiration mate - really pleased that we crossed paths, and hope to see you around again someday :)

[@cjultreiarunner]

Go on Brad, I just randomly typed in Camino vids 2020 and you popped up hahah :D

[@markcasey6792]

Kia ora mate, been on the vay a few times but still bloody envious of you being out there while we am trapped here in 🇳🇿 during lockdown, could be worse! Great video, has inspired me to go back when able. Kia kaha

[@bpladewig]

Keep safe Mark, I know from friends in Australia (my home country) how frustrating it has been locked down, and locked in basically. Buen Camino for when you get back there. Brad 🇩🇪

[@steveclayton4249]

Hi Bradley, really enjoyed your video, one of the best I've seen. I've been looking to see if anyone does it in less than 3 weeks. Complete respect to you in walking 55 km days. Definitely on my to do list the full French route camino. Best Regards Steve, UK.

[@bpladewig]

Hello Steve, happy you found the video useful. Doing it in less than three weeks is hard, I don’t recommend it unless you’ve no other option, or perhaps are doing it as a fitness challenge! I encourage you to walk it whatever way works for you, it’s a wonderful experience you’ll never forget. All the best, Buen Camino! Brad 🇩🇪

[@charliepearton9596]

really good video

[@bpladewig]

Glad you liked it Charlie.

[@mikaellindroos1594]

Hi, i walked the french route too in sept. 2019,but i join it so much so spent 34 days😀😀😀. Thanks for a nice video, greets from 🇫🇮Finland.

[@bpladewig]

Thanks Mikael, I am glad you enjoyed the French route as well. 34 days would have been lovely and a sensible amount of time to take! Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪

[@sherryduffenais4815]

My goodness what an experience. Well done. How did your feet hold up? Did you experience tendonitis doing such long days? Would you consider walking it again?

[@bpladewig]

"How did your feet hold up? Did you experience tendonitis doing such long days?" Good questions Sherry. My feet were okay - I took the advice of a former pilgrim to put vaseline on my toes and feet at the start of each day, then when I had breaks I took off my shoes and socks, massaged my feet and put more vaseline on. I only had one small blister in the 20 days, so was fortunate in that regard. For a few days I had quite a lot of pain in my shins (shin splints). No tendonitis as such - but in general, my feet and lower legs were pretty sore for quite a few days after I completed the Camino! "Would you consider walking it again" ABSOLUTELY! I plan to do some of the Camino Portuguese as soon as COVID restrictions allow, and in general I hope I go back and walk all or part of the Camino regularly. It's not far from where I live here in Germany, so it's really just a matter of getting there and walking. When I considered doing the Camino, I asked a guy who sometimes hikes with me here in my local region, how should I prepare? He has walked all the different Caminos, including in stages all the way from Strasbourg to Santiago de Compostela. I thought he would say things about shoes, fitness training, backpacks, routes etc. He just said "go there and start walking". I thought it was a really abrupt answer! But once I started, I realised he was right on - all those other things are peripheral. All that matters is that you go there, and you start walking. Everything you might need you can find on the way, including the companionship of fellow pilgrims. Buen Camino!

[@jacklonergan9991]

Great video 🇨🇦

[@bpladewig]

Thanks Jack - all the best if you are planning to walk this way (post-COVID)...

[@whirltraveller1350]

Great. Everyone has a different approach in doing a vlog. My wife and I have plans, as an older couple, to walk in September. What is your advice? Should I do periodically or wait until it is completed to publish my vlog?

[@megnicholls9931]

Amazing journey. I'm fit but I'm not I could walk the Camino in 20 days! Had planned to walk this Camino with my sister but she has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I will walk it in honor of her when the international borders open again.

[@bpladewig]

Meg, I’m sorry to hear about your sister. I wish you well when you are able to walk the Camino in her honour. Take care and stay healthy.

[@megnicholls9931]

@@bpladewig What kind of training were you doing before your Camino. I'm a teacher so I only have 2 week holidays at a time when the weather would be good enough to walk. I was thinking I I take a week either side of the holidays that could work.

[@bpladewig]

@@megnicholls9931 I was hiking regularly with friends (but not the kind of distances I did on the Camino). I was also jogging, so I was physically fit. If you are planning to walk sensible distances like 15-25km per day, I think just regular walks is perfect preparation, but ideally wearing the exact shoes you plan to do the Camino with, and your backpack as well. If you have four weeks in total, then I think you can make the distance from St Jean to Santiago, but you should be well prepared, that's only 28 days (and you might need one of those at the beginning, and another at the end, for travel - not sure where you're coming from). Buen Camino Meg!

[@megnicholls9931]

@@bpladewig I currently run 10km 4 to 5 times a week and workout at the gym. I'm coming from NZ so I would probably lose a week in total with flights from NZ to Paris and then actually getting to to the start of the Camino plus travel time back to NZ. I traveled a lot and always pack lightly so I think I can keep my pack reasonably light.

[@paddypage]

Hi, what video camera and software did you use? quality is very good. You have walked very fast to complete it so quick, quickest I have done it was 26 days well done

[@bpladewig]

This was filmed on my iPhone 7 (now retired!). The editing was done using Adobe Premiere Pro, the title sequences in Adobe After Effects. Glad you enjoyed it, and 26 days is also fast. I would never aim to walk it again so quickly, I missed a lot of time that I could have spent exploring the towns and cities along the way.

[@paddypage]

@@bpladewig Quality is good for iPhone 7, I'll have to learn Premiere Pro & After Effects. I've completed it 3 times and everytime I say am going to walk slower and end up walking faster mainly too stay with people I meet. Last year as there was so few people we all tried to go same villages which meant walking further each day. I am going to do it again in July but would like to spend more time seeing sites and stay in different villages than previous times.

[@jon6372]

Very good video! Hopefully us Americans will be able to join you again soon. We’re there many pilgrims on the Camino because of the obvious?

[@bpladewig]

Hi Jon - it was very quiet when I walked. Many Albergues were actually closed, and some of the open ones only had a few pilgrims staying there.

[@walkingthrulife2296]

Enjoying your video very much! Crazy Klms ....but still very interesting actually seeing someone tackling their goal head on 👍 I was wondering if the morning routine of 0400 waking, and getting out of bed, came easy to you? Seems like a good case of mind over body.

[@bpladewig]

Hi Kevin - it became a routine, getting up that early and walking. I normally do get up early (in my daily non-Camino life), but on the Camino I always looked forward to seeing the sunrise. There was something really special about seeing it, usually when I was outside any town or city, and alone. It felt like a little part of the sunrise was displayed just for me, in that time and place.

[@joramos1952]

Hello Brad. Thanks for the wonderful camino video. I am wondering tho' about the border control/immigration particularly with covid-19 along the train routes to Saint Jean Pied de Port. I know that US passport holders are not allowed entry into most if not all European countries, I was just wondering if there is a way I could sneak to Saint Jean so I could start my camino. Any help or insight you would give will be very much appreciated. Very grateful in advance.

[@bpladewig]

Hi Jo, I hope you manage to walk the Camino once everything opens up again.

[@seanclark2085]

Great video , but why start with a double on the hardest day ?!

[@bpladewig]

Hi Sean, glad you liked the video! We felt great after completing the first stage at lunchtime and decided to press on, but in hindsight (especially given the damage it did to Gonzalo's feet), it was a poor decision.

[@seanclark2085]

Rule number 1 on the Camino , look after your feet . You must be extremely fit . If you’re interested in other Camino videos check out “Efren” on KZbin , his videos are wonderful and a great source of information on all the different routes . Buen Camino

[@georginasawyer4959]

just not sure why you flogged yourself so much , i mean those km per day are insane

[@bpladewig]

It was not smart to walk those distances each day, I agree. I only took three weeks leave from my job, and I wanted to complete it...