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I saw many women in their 70 doing the Camino, and they were just fine. Just take it slow and steady, start with 10 or 15 kilometers then work your way up
I did a lot of backpacking over the course of that year, and the cheapest option for phoning home by far for me was buying a long distance phone card in the country that I was in, and using it to make calls from pay phones
someone mentioned it to me in passing, I took a book out of the library, thought it looked cool and just did it! It wasn't as big a decision for me as it may be for other people here, as it was part of a year-long backpacking tour of Europe and Australia, this was just another memorable step.
string!
clothes pegs!
ear plugs!
Moleskin!
Bandaids!
Polysporin!
All those items made things so much easier for me, until they ran out because I was forever giving them away to people who forgot them
every albuerge will have 4 or 5 snorers, guaranteed
it's more the responsibility of the people annoyed by it. I was, so I bought ear-plugs. Worked like a charm.
not all albuerges have blankets, and often the blankets themselves are...well... pretty disgusting, I don't think they get washed that often
and bed bugs are known to exist in them, so I'd definitly reccomend taking a sleeping bag
I can't remember what the name was, but I stayed in a little hotel while backpacking there for 15 euros a night, it was a tiny room, but it was nicely furnished and CHEAP
I got by with Cerveza and Bocadilla (sandwitch)
but I kinda wish I knew more, you can get more of the culture if you have a basic grasp on the language
I used a 25 litre backpack, which worked really well for me on the longer days of walking
the towns are close enough to each other that you never have to worry about carrying food, and if you have an ultralite sleeping bag then that won't use much space either.
Galicia was one of the most beautiful parts of the Camino
rolling hills, eucalypt forests (why there's eucalypt forests in spain beats me, but they sure smell nice), and mountains to climb
really, all of Galicia is amazing scenery
I started the Camino after living in hostels for some months, sharing a room with 8 people to sharing a room with 180 (Albuerge in Roncenvalles) did nothing for my modesty
so I just did boxer shorts
as for sleeping bags and stuff, I brought just a ultralite sleeping bag, it was good down...
if people bus across the Meseta then I would not hold it against them
seriously, loved every minute of it, but some of the routes through the industrial agricultural areas weren't exactly visually spectacular
doing it in 20 is fairly easy for someone in good shape, just take it easy early, don't do the full 26 miles at first, build yourself up
as for the backpack, the 35 is fine. You don't need to carry food, so you won't have too much stuff to carry, and you always want to keep weight down.
it's rediculously cheap, I was doing exactly the same thing, posted my 20 kilo backpack from Pamplona to Santiago for about 11 euros
I'm guessing it's subsidized by the government, it almost just too good to be true, to the point where I was somewhat suprised to find my backpack waiting for...
You have questions? I have answers
you can buy the clam shells in albuerges along the way, most sell them
I had a map, and never used it, it is very clearly signed all the way through
and you can find out where the official albergue is for each town by either visiting tourist offices or...
I trusted it, without problem
and as for bottled water, it's very available and at the grocery store chain that gives you free stuff (can't remember the name) you can get lots
I recommend you start from St. Jean
I didn't, started from Roncesvalles, and regretted it, the first part may be the most beautiful part of the Camino, you want to see every part
as for distance, it really depends who you are
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