Hi all,
Im also heading over to do the camino in Mid-October. I did 12 days of it in April (only had 2 weeks free then), and walked from St. Jean to Fromista. So i'll finish it off from there in Oct.
Here are a few tips i'd give anyone doing it:
Pack as light as you can, i know everyone says it, but i had less than 5kg( no one could believe how little I was carrying) and I had everything I needed. I found I was able to cover good distances and had no back issues at all. Probably one tenth of the weight of my pack consisted of a big slab of cadburys chocolate which kept me going (should seriously have struck up a sponsership deal)
Definitely bring earplugs, thought i wouldn't need them but some of the snoring had to be heard to be believed(actually recorded one session on my phone...priceless). First aid kit wise, compeed plasters and a needle and thread are top of my list. Invest in good quality socks aswell.
I didn't have a guide book (good for weight reduction), I just used the 2 photocopy pages they gave me in St. Jean and they worked a treat. Just follow the yellow signs, and I think it was a bit more enjoyable not sticking to a guide book and discovering places yourself, plus you'll meet loads of people who'll give you some great advice.
A stick was a must for me, if only for beating off the dogs on the first day, but didn't meet any dogs after that.
The albergues were generally good, the one i didn't really rate was in Larrasoana. My favourite on by a long shot was in Cizur Menor, lovely spot and the couple who ran the place were great, it was definitely worth the extra push from Pamplona. Didn't really like staying in the big towns/ cities such as Logrono (the walk out of the city the next morning wasn't that nice).
As for language, spainish isn't that difficult to pick up the necessary phrases, i had really only the basics and it was grand, actually i ended up improving my German dramatically.
So, thats all the tips I can think of right now, hope it helps ye out,
Good luck on the walk.....im off to buy earplugs