Ecover washing up liquid. Natural, suits mosts skin. Great for dishes, clothes, bodies, hair and as a bonus is particularly good for getting oil off! A small bottle 50ml goes a long way. Also most European health food stores do refills....
We camped most of the way on the interior - and the coastal - plenty of campsites - with pilgrim discount on coastal (we did that last summer!) Wild camping fairly easy - just use your loaf! Always (camping or hiking!) take a trowel - no sanitation problem!!!
In Scotland - where wild camping is...
I agree with Gerard! Plenty of places to camp discreetly - we did on Portuguese... also on VdlP , Norte etc.....No problems with locals - if they even notice u they are concerned for u and will maybe offer water etc! As females - yes, a little more discreet maybe - many of my cycle buddies camp...
The best piece of 'Camino' writing I read - which was in an anthology of travel (I wish i could remember the title!) was indeed about lightning!
The author described walking across the Meseta (on Frances) and seeing a storm with lightning approach - he then realised that he was the tallest...
Also - when you stay in towns - quite a few large ones with fantastic places to visit - then you have a plethora of places to eat - and amazing tapas - in Zamora it was memorable! But indeed in some places (like in my avatar pic on left!) the shops/bars were thin on the ground. Nuts and seeds...
As David has suggested in the past - always take your shoes/boots and socks off during the day - lunchtime etc. It lets your feet relax and regain their size (they swell while you walk) Also he has excellent advice on tying boots (search his posts)
I always take animal wool (in my case sheep's...
Meant to add- we started on April fool's day! We took 5 weeks in all to Santiago.... we did stop to see everything en route - there are some fantastic towns - Zamora, Salamanca, Caceres - and Merida for Easter Sunday was unforgettable!
Apart from the heat 30 degrees plus! It was fantastic! Cadiz is a wonderful city to have a couple of days RnR before setting off. We were on tracks most of the time with salt lagoons etc - even had runner beans cascade into our path for dinner! (overloaded local) Jerex de la Frontera is a great...
Triana albergue also had the Spanish guidebook which gave alternative cycle route in a few 'goat path' places! We bought this (having been mostly off-road from Cadiz to Seville!) and actually used it - my husband was still angry that we cycled over the Portela Grande on the Portuguese! (I say...
I don't know - but an alternative would be to buy cheap bikes at Decathlon or similar - as long as you can get racks as well (assume you have panniers) - if u are well off - use a local bike shop!! Then you could sell them or donate in Santiago.
We took our own bikes - we are Uk based, so got...
On our first camino we had a small budget , £25 a day for 2 of us. ( back in 2009!) We got a cheap flight to Lisbon and camped much of the way ( to S de C then back home to UK. ) This was easier as we were cycling. We gave at donativos the same as it cost at municipals. So - nights wild...
We cycled from Lisbon down to Algarve last spring. There are certainly quiet routes almost all the way. The Rota Vincentina went from Sines south - amazing walking and quite a lot of folk hiking... we cycled some of that route ( some accidently!) Really lovely - much quieter than N Portuguese...
and some of us just prefer to sleep outside - wherever we are..... odd how it becomes a crime?!
Most people wouldn't - most like a locked door - but lets just be kind to those who do - sometimes there are good solid reasons for it....😼
Yay - I will be there! Be great to see some new and old faces!! We accidently cycled some Camino this year (or was it my cunning plan...?!) and it was fantastic to see so many pilgrims stomping along!!
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