Jessica Boldig
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances, Camino Del Norte
Hi All,
I used these forums a lot while preparing to walk the Camino Frances from Leon to Santiago, and found some really great advice. I thought I would share some info and lessons learned that I discovered in hopes that it might be of use to others.
1. We walked the middle two weeks of September and the weather was perfect! Very warm but not unbearably hot during the day, cool at night and very little rain. O Cebraio was very chilly at night, but it wouldn’t have been worth the weight to bring bulky warm clothes. I used a thick polyester zip sweater and a fleece shirt at night and was fine. I walked all of the way in shorts since even on the coldest mornings I would get hot after about 30 mins of walking.
2. There is medical care available on the Camino. Basic care is sometimes free, even for those not covered under any European medical systems. The hotels/albergues can direct you to a doctor. I visited the Hospital in Ponferrada and private clinic in Triacastela for foot issues and both treated me for free because I was a pilgrim. (They did ask to see my pilgrim passport.) Many towns along the way were originally founded as pilgrim hospitals and some kind people still carry on that tradition today.
3. We took a quick and easy 30 or so min bus ride from Leon out to Hospital de Orbigo and then walked to Astorga that day, in order to skip the walk out of Leon. We were glad we did it! The route out of Leon was not pedestrian friendly. I believe the first bus left about 7:30a.m. and tickets could be purchased at a machine in the bus station.
4. Much of the Camino after Astorga is hiking, not walking. Prepare accordingly and try to build your muscles on some steep trails before you go. That said, just about anybody can finish the Camino, as long as you build in enough time to do an easy pace. Some folks we met actually only planned even as little as 5-10km a day.
5. Don’t assume a guidebook stage can be completed in a day. For instance, the walk from Molinaseca to O Cebraio should definitely be cut in half for those in average physical shape like myself. I found 20km a day to be agreeable, but of course it’s possible to walk further if you ship your bag ahead. It takes a long time to walk more than 20-22km, which leaves no time for lunch and enjoying the scenery, or to wash and hang-dry clothes before sundown at the end of the day.
6. Many albergues have less than desirable clotheslines, under terraces and out of the way of sun and wind. Because of this definitely avoid cotton clothes. Even synthetic clothes sometimes wouldn’t dry overnight if we missed the high sun hours. My thick Coolmax socks wouldn’t dry overnight so I generally had to attach them to my pack with clothespins while I walked.
7. On my next Camino I will take Crocs. Thong sandals don’t work at night because it will be chilly and you will want to wear socks with sandals. Keens or the like can’t be used as shower shoes because they don’t dry out. Also, Keens didn’t work well for me on the trail because the lip on the heel gave me a blister and the ankle strap made my tendon sore. I saw very few people on the trail in sandals. I did however see many people walking around town at night and around SdC in Crocs.
8. If you plan to hike in pants make sure they don’t drag on the ground. You will walk through a whole lot of cow poo in Galacia. (Also another good reason to avoid sandals on the trail).
9. I didn’t believe what everyone was saying, but sure enough my feet swelled immediately after a day of walking and carrying a pack. I ended up buying new shoes almost two sizes bigger than the ones I took with me.
10. Good hygiene and happy feet are everything to finishing the Camino. Both blisters and in-grown toenails can be potential Camino-enders if they get infected. Start caring for your toenails months before you leave to be sure they are grown and shaped properly. Be sure to carry toilet paper and even sanitary wipes (bladder infections are apparently common). Bring hand sanitizer, it’s very hard to find on the way and generally all the cafes water down their soap, if they provide any at all. Wipe your feet with alcohol after you shower. Even with shower shoes, we found some albergues with bad plumbing, and the water filled up at the bottom. Yuck! Bring lots of alcohol pads or buy a bottle of alcohol to carry with you when you get there. Take off your shoes on breaks to dry out your feet and buy Compeed as soon as you have the hint of a hot spot. You’ll find most people end up taking longer and longer to clean, wrap and apply Compeed to their feet each morning in the later days of the Camino. I got one blister on the walk, which caused considerable pain. It was deep under my skin and I was too concerned of an infection to drain it. Bigger shoes and applying moleskin around it worked great to ease the pressure and the blister quickly healed on it’s own.
11. On that note, if you experience foot problems right off the bat then I recommend to go immediately and buy more comfortable/bigger shoes. Think about the time/money/planning that went into making the Camino and consider whether or not an extra 100 or so Euro investment in some bigger shoes is worth being able to finish it– or at the very least – being able to enjoy finishing it.
12. Travel sized items and first aid kits are very hard to find on the Camino. Bring easily refillable travel bottles, as you will probably have to buy a big bottle of soap/shampoo or whatever you need to refill your bottle and donate the rest to the albergue.
13. A picture is worth a thousand words of broken Spanish. If you can think of any medications or medical tools you may need to purchase from a Pharmacy along the way then take a picture of the item, or the pharmaceutical name of the medication, on your camera/ smart phone before you leave and show that to the pharmacist.
14. Download the Google translator app on your smart phone and use it to type in questions for store owners/pharmacists/doctors to read.
15. Jumbo-sized Ziploc bags are great for organizing your items and for rain protection. Lining my pack with a garbage bag would have been annoying as I was generally in and out of the side pockets for stuff all day.
16. If you are on the fence about bringing trekking poles then bring them! There are lots of steep trails with loose rocks, I almost fell several times, but was saved by my poles. Collapsible poles worked great!
17. Most people we met shipped their bags ahead. If you want/need to do this it’s very easy to arrange through your hotel/albergue and cheap, €3-€5 each bag, each day.
18. Don’t try to maximize distance in the amount of time you have. You will quickly find nobody on the Camino is in a race or trying to out do anyone else. Plan a schedule that allows a reasonable pace and allows you to enjoy yourself, otherwise you will be jealous of other people who aren’t in a hurry and worn out every day.
Buen Camino!
I used these forums a lot while preparing to walk the Camino Frances from Leon to Santiago, and found some really great advice. I thought I would share some info and lessons learned that I discovered in hopes that it might be of use to others.
1. We walked the middle two weeks of September and the weather was perfect! Very warm but not unbearably hot during the day, cool at night and very little rain. O Cebraio was very chilly at night, but it wouldn’t have been worth the weight to bring bulky warm clothes. I used a thick polyester zip sweater and a fleece shirt at night and was fine. I walked all of the way in shorts since even on the coldest mornings I would get hot after about 30 mins of walking.
2. There is medical care available on the Camino. Basic care is sometimes free, even for those not covered under any European medical systems. The hotels/albergues can direct you to a doctor. I visited the Hospital in Ponferrada and private clinic in Triacastela for foot issues and both treated me for free because I was a pilgrim. (They did ask to see my pilgrim passport.) Many towns along the way were originally founded as pilgrim hospitals and some kind people still carry on that tradition today.
3. We took a quick and easy 30 or so min bus ride from Leon out to Hospital de Orbigo and then walked to Astorga that day, in order to skip the walk out of Leon. We were glad we did it! The route out of Leon was not pedestrian friendly. I believe the first bus left about 7:30a.m. and tickets could be purchased at a machine in the bus station.
4. Much of the Camino after Astorga is hiking, not walking. Prepare accordingly and try to build your muscles on some steep trails before you go. That said, just about anybody can finish the Camino, as long as you build in enough time to do an easy pace. Some folks we met actually only planned even as little as 5-10km a day.
5. Don’t assume a guidebook stage can be completed in a day. For instance, the walk from Molinaseca to O Cebraio should definitely be cut in half for those in average physical shape like myself. I found 20km a day to be agreeable, but of course it’s possible to walk further if you ship your bag ahead. It takes a long time to walk more than 20-22km, which leaves no time for lunch and enjoying the scenery, or to wash and hang-dry clothes before sundown at the end of the day.
6. Many albergues have less than desirable clotheslines, under terraces and out of the way of sun and wind. Because of this definitely avoid cotton clothes. Even synthetic clothes sometimes wouldn’t dry overnight if we missed the high sun hours. My thick Coolmax socks wouldn’t dry overnight so I generally had to attach them to my pack with clothespins while I walked.
7. On my next Camino I will take Crocs. Thong sandals don’t work at night because it will be chilly and you will want to wear socks with sandals. Keens or the like can’t be used as shower shoes because they don’t dry out. Also, Keens didn’t work well for me on the trail because the lip on the heel gave me a blister and the ankle strap made my tendon sore. I saw very few people on the trail in sandals. I did however see many people walking around town at night and around SdC in Crocs.
8. If you plan to hike in pants make sure they don’t drag on the ground. You will walk through a whole lot of cow poo in Galacia. (Also another good reason to avoid sandals on the trail).
9. I didn’t believe what everyone was saying, but sure enough my feet swelled immediately after a day of walking and carrying a pack. I ended up buying new shoes almost two sizes bigger than the ones I took with me.
10. Good hygiene and happy feet are everything to finishing the Camino. Both blisters and in-grown toenails can be potential Camino-enders if they get infected. Start caring for your toenails months before you leave to be sure they are grown and shaped properly. Be sure to carry toilet paper and even sanitary wipes (bladder infections are apparently common). Bring hand sanitizer, it’s very hard to find on the way and generally all the cafes water down their soap, if they provide any at all. Wipe your feet with alcohol after you shower. Even with shower shoes, we found some albergues with bad plumbing, and the water filled up at the bottom. Yuck! Bring lots of alcohol pads or buy a bottle of alcohol to carry with you when you get there. Take off your shoes on breaks to dry out your feet and buy Compeed as soon as you have the hint of a hot spot. You’ll find most people end up taking longer and longer to clean, wrap and apply Compeed to their feet each morning in the later days of the Camino. I got one blister on the walk, which caused considerable pain. It was deep under my skin and I was too concerned of an infection to drain it. Bigger shoes and applying moleskin around it worked great to ease the pressure and the blister quickly healed on it’s own.
11. On that note, if you experience foot problems right off the bat then I recommend to go immediately and buy more comfortable/bigger shoes. Think about the time/money/planning that went into making the Camino and consider whether or not an extra 100 or so Euro investment in some bigger shoes is worth being able to finish it– or at the very least – being able to enjoy finishing it.
12. Travel sized items and first aid kits are very hard to find on the Camino. Bring easily refillable travel bottles, as you will probably have to buy a big bottle of soap/shampoo or whatever you need to refill your bottle and donate the rest to the albergue.
13. A picture is worth a thousand words of broken Spanish. If you can think of any medications or medical tools you may need to purchase from a Pharmacy along the way then take a picture of the item, or the pharmaceutical name of the medication, on your camera/ smart phone before you leave and show that to the pharmacist.
14. Download the Google translator app on your smart phone and use it to type in questions for store owners/pharmacists/doctors to read.
15. Jumbo-sized Ziploc bags are great for organizing your items and for rain protection. Lining my pack with a garbage bag would have been annoying as I was generally in and out of the side pockets for stuff all day.
16. If you are on the fence about bringing trekking poles then bring them! There are lots of steep trails with loose rocks, I almost fell several times, but was saved by my poles. Collapsible poles worked great!
17. Most people we met shipped their bags ahead. If you want/need to do this it’s very easy to arrange through your hotel/albergue and cheap, €3-€5 each bag, each day.
18. Don’t try to maximize distance in the amount of time you have. You will quickly find nobody on the Camino is in a race or trying to out do anyone else. Plan a schedule that allows a reasonable pace and allows you to enjoy yourself, otherwise you will be jealous of other people who aren’t in a hurry and worn out every day.
Buen Camino!
) and start walking in the morning. After all that time cooped up travelling, I would probably be willing to walk ANYWHERE just to get my muscles moving.
