For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
Was I sleeping when I received my x number of Compostelas? I've never paid for one. A tube is €2 but I've never gotten one, nor a distance certificate which (I may be wrong) you do pay for.
The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage from village to village, open to all, even locals out on their daily walk. It's not a thru-hike in the wilderness so a permit system is not the solution. The idea makes me cringe!
A positive suggestion? One that comes to mind and which I fully endorse is...
Disagree. My trail ail runners start wearing out after about 500 km and by 700 km they are definitely ready for the garbage. It doesn't matter if they are Salomon, Saucony or Merrell. In all cases they were almost new before starting a Camino.
Last summer I started off with Saucony and after...
I first thought that this was written tongue-in-cheek. You can't truly expect albergue owners or a hospitalero to offer these items for sale. They are not a store. This is your problem, not theirs. If you find them essential take them yourself, just as you would take soap, shampoo, toothpaste...
Two weeks would be the minimum for me but if I can swing it I prefer at least 3 weeks. I tend to walk long stages and walk fairly fast so I can cover quite some distance in 3-4 weeks. One year I was away for almost 6 weeks combining 2 Caminos and that was a bit too long for my liking. Since then...
No way! I can't believe he's still alive! I had a long chat with him November 2018 while buying a pair of gloves. He told me then that no one in his family wanted to take over the store.
I believe that I first met him years before that but I can't remember when.
May he continue to be healthy...
According to my calculations I walked about a marathon a day both in 2010 (20 to SdC, 23 to Finisterre) and in 2018 (19 to SdC) although not in the winter. I was 54 and 62 and although fit I would not consider myself an athlete. I'm just lucky that I am able to walk long distances and recover...
I've never walked along the road and in 2010 and 2018 took the route through the woods. You need to watch your footing if it has rained or is raining as it's a bit steep with lots of tree roots sticking up. Nothing dangerous though.
Apparently an American called Tim donated €60.000 for this "beautification" 🤦🏼♀️. IMHO that money would have been much better spent on improvements to existing albergues or a new albergue on the Olvidado!
One year I walked from Burgos to Sarria in January and had little snow going up to O Cebreiro. The next morning we woke up to a beautiful snowfall. Half way down to Tricastela it had all melted, never to be seen again.
One just never knows, in 2018 I was caught in a snowstorm walking into...
Exactly the reason not to watch all those vlogs or read the plethora of blogs out there. Too much worrying or built up expectations before you go.
I live below sea level where the biggest incline I have near my house is up and down a dune to reach the beach, a whopping 40 meters! I've done it...
It will definitely be a challenge but doable. At 54 I walked SJPDP to Finisterre in 23 days and at 62 SJPDP to Santiago in 19 so you'll indeed need to do quite a few days of over 40 km. My longest ever was 60 km but that's because I missed a turnoff in the pouring rain near O Pedrouzo and needed...
Although I agree, the OP mentions that they appreciated staying in hotels on the Portuguese. Thin mats on the floor to sleep on (often with only a few inches/cm between you and your fellow pilgrim) which both these albergues have, may not coincide with their requirements 😉
Sorry, I haven't read all the comments but I wanted to chip in that the Meseta is also lovely to walk in the winter. One January I walked from Burgos to Sarria. The wind was pretty fierce on occasion but the landscape and sky were spectacular.
Even in 2010 on the Francés and in 2011 along the Vía de la Plata I used computers in libraries and in albergues to send emails home. It wasn't until late summer 2011 that I got my first smartphone. I remember my son saying at the time, "why do you need a smartphone?!?" 🤣. Seems like a lifetime...
I'm a bit late to the game but here's a belated enhorabuena to you two peregrinas @peregrina2000 @C clearly . I've enjoyed your pictures and storytelling in Find Penguins Laurie. What an adventure it has been!
Had to chuckle at my posts from 2010 before my first Camino (#8 and #11). Did I really write that? Sounds quite sensible 😂
The fact is that I actually got to Santiago in 20 days. I originally thought that I would make it to about León that changed quickly to Ponferrada and while walking it soon...
Exactly. I cringe when I read that this part or that part of the Camino being ugly, boring or whatever. It is all part of the experience.
I'm so glad I never followed other's advice about skipping parts. It is all so subjective anyway.
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon