Flexibility while having luggage transported

[LisaJo]

Am planning on walking from Porto to Santiago with a day pack, and having luggage transported...question: how to maintain flexibility of distance walked from day to day, and still get to have luggage transported?

 

[CiaraC]

Am planning on walking from Porto to Santiago with a day pack, and having luggage transported...question: how to maintain flexibility of distance walked from day to day, and still get to have luggage transported?

The simple answer is you can't maintain total flexibility if you're having your luggage transported. If you start at point A and have your luggage sent forward to point B, you're 'committing' to going at least as far as point B to pick up that luggage again. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from collecting the luggage and going beyond point B if you felt able. Also, if you didn't make it to point B then I'm sure there are ways to have your luggage transported backwards. I would imagine that the latter would be a costly solution, so prepare to be financially very flexible if that's what you choose to do.

 

[naplesdon]

Potential conflicts with the place where you ship your bag. I would assume you would not ship your bag to a place where you do not have a reservation, so if you can't make it you might need to take a taxi or lose your deposit. If you plan to pick up your bag and continue further, you are going to find yourself in a very contentious situation with the hotel owner.

 

[andycohn]

Beyond what’s in your day pack (which will surely include rain gear, an extra top layer of some sort, some first aid supplies, snacks and water), add 2 changes of underwear, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a small stick of deodorant. And that’s all you’ll ever need in total on the Camino. Believe me, and thousands of others who have done this before, and who will give you the same exact advice. That way, with the addition of only 1 - 2 lbs. beyond what you have in your day pack, you’ll be totally free of the need to ship anything and your camino will be hassle-free. Especially if you’re planning on staying in pensions or hotels and you don’t need to carry a towel or a sleepsheet / bag. Any other extra stuff, if you have any, you can just ship to your ultimate destination in Santiago, either to Casa Ivar or to the Spanish post office (Correos) in Santiago.

If freedom is important to you, you’ll be much happier this way.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

This is sort of a 'can I keep my cake intact but still eat it' kind of question. I just don't see that the two things are compatible with impromptu decision making.

Two questions:
1. How are you doing your booking for lodgings; are you pre-booking the whole thing or pre-booking the night before?

2. Why have you decided to ship things ahead instead of carrying a backpack? I am wondering if there is a medical or physical condition which precludes doing so.

 

[Hobbyhorse]

There is nothing 'wrong' about shipping your pack, and if injury or disability makes it impossible to carry basic essentials, a few people are forced to do so. It is unfortunate that businesses who make money doing so have created a culture in only 5-6 years that suddenly makes us feel it is 'the norm' to need this, to bring so much we wouldn't want to carry it. Rejoice if you are healthy enough to have the choice to walk with the freedom to enjoy the surprises. Rejoice if you don't really need to add extra investigation, planning, costs and worry-weight to your pilgrimage. As in life, freedom is easily lost if we don't struggle a bit in protecting it :>).

 

[trecile]

It is unfortunate that businesses who make money doing so have created a culture in only 5-6 years that suddenly makes us feel it is 'the norm' to need this, to bring so much we wouldn't want to carry it.

It seems to come up more on the forum and FB groups than I actually experienced on the Camino.

 

[Bradypus]

It seems to come up more on the forum and FB groups than I actually experienced on the Camino.

As someone who returned to the Camino Frances in 2016 after a 14 year gap the prevalence of luggage transport services astounded me. A concept which simply had never entered my thinking in 2002 and was never raised in conversation with other pilgrims then. I was particularly struck by the number of large suitcases I saw waiting for collection and delivery - clearly belonging to people who had no intention of ever carrying their gear, not even to and from the airport. Of course that is their choice but I did think it sad that someone would deliberately choose to deny themselves the freedom and flexibility that travelling light allows. A friend posted about his journey around Shikoku a few years ago. One of the replies was a question about luggage services: if there were none the enquirer was not interested. Sad that one's travels should be determined by this one issue.

 

[Via2010]

With luggage transport you can only enjoy limited flexibility.

Depending on the service you choose, you have either a fixed schedule for the whole journey or you decide on a day-to-day base (i. e. if you use Correos). Some Services deliver your luggage to any place you specify en route, some others only to your pre-booked accomodation.

So you should ask yourself what you want and what you need.

If you can not carry a heavy backpack due to health issues, there are other possibilities to enlighten your journey. First of all only take what is absolutely necessary. If you stay in hostels and pensions you do not have to carry a sleeping-bag, towels or soap. Some people use a Trailer (e. g. Carrix).

BC
Alexandra

 

[trecile]

I have also seen large luggage pieces waiting to be picked up, but I rarely walked with anyone using these services. It seemed that they were more often being used by groups who kept to themselves on the Camino.

 

[Glamgrrl]

You can ship a bag ahead but timing of delivery may make it difficult to walk further too. Your bag gets picked up as part of a chain of pickups, and then delivers the same way. Sometimes the distance makes so it may not arrive until later in the day. Certainly, it won’t be delivered while the albergue is closed. Some people go to their home or away during the day, returning to open around 2pm. So imagine all the bags starting to get delivered at that point... its best to have a destination confirmed. You may be able to pick it up and walk 5km more.

 

[LisaJo]

Potential conflicts with the place where you ship your bag. I would assume you would not ship your bag to a place where you do not have a reservation, so if you can't make it you might need to take a taxi or lose your deposit. If you plan to pick up your bag and continue further, you are going to find yourself in a very contentious situation with the hotel owner.

Makes sense!

 

[LisaJo]

With luggage transport you can only enjoy limited flexibility.

Depending on the service you choose, you have either a fixed schedule for the whole journey or you decide on a day-to-day base (i. e. if you use Correos). Some Services deliver your luggage to any place you specify en route, some others only to your pre-booked accomodation.

So you should ask yourself what you want and what you need.

If you can not carry a heavy backpack due to health issues, there are other possibilities to enlighten your journey. First of all only take what is absolutely necessary. If you stay in hostels and pensions you do not have to carry a sleeping-bag, towels or soap. Some people use a Trailer (e. g. Carrix).

BC
Alexandra

Yes, it is for health reasons; we will figure it out once there... thanks for your reply!

 

[LisaJo]

This is sort of a 'can I keep my cake intact but still eat it' kind of question. I just don't see that the two things are compatible with impromptu decision making.

Two questions:
1. How are you doing your booking for lodgings; are you pre-booking the whole thing or pre-booking the night before?

2. Why have you decided to ship things ahead instead of carrying a backpack? I am wondering if there is a medical or physical condition which precludes doing so.

We will book ahead for lodging on a daily basis; medical conditions do preclude our being able to carry backpacks, no matter how little they contain. We ARE however looking forward to the wonderful freedom of just walking every day for whatever distance works.Not caught up in any particular goal; just want to enjoy the meeting of many different people and the places that we will see.. and the wine/food of course!!

 

[Viva Terlingua]

I was in Europe for business a couple of years ago and walked part of the Camino at the end of my trip. I had a suitcase with my business clothes in it that I had shipped ahead of me. So people have reasons for having a suitcase shipped that you might not have considered.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

I was in Europe for business a couple of years ago and walked part of the Camino at the end of my trip. I had a suitcase with my business clothes in it that I had shipped ahead of me. So people have reasons for having a suitcase shipped that you might not have considered.

I don't think that was the issue: someone shipping baggage. The issue really is how to best advise on how to reconcile issues of flexibility of how far one can walk each day VS where they need to be in order to get to their luggage. And that is precisely why I asked the questions that I did

 

[Deleted member 67185]

We will book ahead for lodging on a daily basis; medical conditions do preclude our being able to carry backpacks, no matter how little they contain. We ARE however looking forward to the wonderful freedom of just walking every day for whatever distance works.Not caught up in any particular goal; just want to enjoy the meeting of many different people and the places that we will see.. and the wine/food of course!!

You will find that after the first couple of days, you will have a great 'feel' about how far you want to walk in a day. So, at the end of the day, you can take that knowledge and pick your next day's destination. Then when your destination is determined, go to booking.com or hotels.com, etc, and find and reserve your next night's lodging.

If the next day's walk is too tough (hills, fatigue, etc) and you find that you cannot reasonably walk to your destination and lodging for that night, no biggie; you can get stop at a bar or restaurant, etc along the way and call for a taxi, or see if there is a bus that you can catch.