Hola peregrinos,
Thank you all for the incredible input on making our short 5 day camino a wonderful success. I will be back for a longer camino ASAP. A few items I wanted to report back on.
Side note: The weather was sunny with no rain and I realize how lucky we were.
What I would have done differently - other than finding more time for a longer camino.
1. Alto del perdon: walking poles would have been largely beneficial on the descent. Not a hard descent, just very loose rock with sore and worn out legs. My knees and ankles were scared!
2. Lighter pack - I was at 13 lbs. I did get rid of a fleece, pillow cover, lotion, pack cover and a back up charger half way through. There were some very seasoned peregrinos with packs less than 10 lbs and they were cruising.
3. Trained more for the rolling hills. I did not expect the terrain to have some moderate acscents. Again, these are not large or extreme, it just seemed to take a lot more out on me than expected.
4. Glad I brought just a poncho thus saving weight on full rain gear. Weight, weight and weight is enormous on the pain.
5. Glad I had some Spanish knowledge - It made it easier to find good restaurants and rent apartments on the occasion. Talking with the locals proved very helpful.
6. Amazed by the Spaniards friendliness and respect for peregrinos.
7. Be sure to get to town early and get a town map. The maps were very useful.
8. The trail is marked incredibly well. I rarley used my guide map.
9. The distances marked in the Bierly guidebook are less than what they actually are. We found them to be 10-25% longer in reality.
10. We stayed off of the Beirly guide stages and found it wonderful at this time of year to be in different villages than most.
11. Walking at the end of March was fantastic and I would imagine the next 2 weeks will be even better - flowers and trees are blooming and the green wheat fields are swaying in the wind and dancing.
12. We did have to continue on further than expected as there were instances when there were little to no services available. Reportd from local did note that the Albugue's were opening the first week of April.
13. We ran into about 4-8 peregrinos every day and the accomodation always had room.
I am already missing the weight of my pack, cafe con leches, bread, Estrella cervezas and hearing Buen Camino on a daily basis.
Again thank you all. I will check in regularly to hear of the stories when I need my fix!
Thank you all for the incredible input on making our short 5 day camino a wonderful success. I will be back for a longer camino ASAP. A few items I wanted to report back on.
Side note: The weather was sunny with no rain and I realize how lucky we were.
What I would have done differently - other than finding more time for a longer camino.
1. Alto del perdon: walking poles would have been largely beneficial on the descent. Not a hard descent, just very loose rock with sore and worn out legs. My knees and ankles were scared!
2. Lighter pack - I was at 13 lbs. I did get rid of a fleece, pillow cover, lotion, pack cover and a back up charger half way through. There were some very seasoned peregrinos with packs less than 10 lbs and they were cruising.
3. Trained more for the rolling hills. I did not expect the terrain to have some moderate acscents. Again, these are not large or extreme, it just seemed to take a lot more out on me than expected.
4. Glad I brought just a poncho thus saving weight on full rain gear. Weight, weight and weight is enormous on the pain.
5. Glad I had some Spanish knowledge - It made it easier to find good restaurants and rent apartments on the occasion. Talking with the locals proved very helpful.
6. Amazed by the Spaniards friendliness and respect for peregrinos.
7. Be sure to get to town early and get a town map. The maps were very useful.
8. The trail is marked incredibly well. I rarley used my guide map.
9. The distances marked in the Bierly guidebook are less than what they actually are. We found them to be 10-25% longer in reality.
10. We stayed off of the Beirly guide stages and found it wonderful at this time of year to be in different villages than most.
11. Walking at the end of March was fantastic and I would imagine the next 2 weeks will be even better - flowers and trees are blooming and the green wheat fields are swaying in the wind and dancing.
12. We did have to continue on further than expected as there were instances when there were little to no services available. Reportd from local did note that the Albugue's were opening the first week of April.
13. We ran into about 4-8 peregrinos every day and the accomodation always had room.
I am already missing the weight of my pack, cafe con leches, bread, Estrella cervezas and hearing Buen Camino on a daily basis.
Again thank you all. I will check in regularly to hear of the stories when I need my fix!
