Some basic Questions

I walked this April/May from StJPP - and did the 510km from Burgos in 13 days - at home with no backpack but 2 litres liquid I can walk at a little over 7 kph - on the Camino with 7kg pack plus liquid I averaged 5.4 kph with peak of 6 kph

So if you're reasonably fit, it's certainly do-able: 35km per day with 7 hours walking and a break of up to an hour at lunch

PeterBarry said:

Hi,
... however my camino will be for me a mostly meditative one.

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At that speed meditation is going to be rather difficult :wink:

Somehow I associate meditation with tranquility, relaxation, slowness; not exactly an average walking speed of 6-7 km/hr.

Buen camino to you.

Here's my thoughts on boots that I posted on another subject

Just bear in mind that I never use hiking boots

I walked this April/May with more comfortable trainers The North Face Blaze Low (plus Sorbothane double strike insoles - 1.1kg) and lighter fell-running Inov8 Terroc 330s (0.8kg)

There's very little of the Camino (in terms of slope or muddiness) that needs boots so I'd certainly recommend that you try trainers - plus the insoles that will give you additional protction when walking on the roads/harder surfaces - certainly I had no problems with my ankles

Minimising blisters: I would suggest changing socks halfway through the day and probably allowing the feet to breathe every 2 hours or so (and also check for any hotspots on your feet) - I use some french socks with double layers but go to a running shop and something like the thousand mile socks - I also used something called Bodyglide that's an anti-chafing stick that I put on my heels each morning; And, if all else fails, bring some Compeed plasters that will remove the pain from walking with the odd blister (I had one under one of my toes)

Without going through all that I brought, just to say that I went the expensive weight-saving way: for instance, Goretex Packlite raintop (250g) and PhD 500g sleeping bag - next time I'd probably go for a silk slleping bag liner (130g) and rely on blankets; next time I might replace the second pair of shoes with very light flip-flops

The highlights were thew wonderful hospitality of the local people and fellow pilgrims along the way added to the joy of starting walking each morning in the fresh air shortly after 7am and having nothing to worry about apart from finding liquid, some food and a refuge in the evening

Preferred the open countryside and small villages rather than the cities along the way and the last 100K is a bit more crowded after the relative solitude for the first 700K - not surprisingly I found Santiago a bit touristy but took the bus to Finisterre the following day and had a more peaceful end at the lighthouse

And finally, don't forget the earplugs

heya..

heya hows it going?
im going from dublin too, starting on the 7th in Pamplona..bit nervous but looking forward to it.

best of luck !
aine.