Some of my biggest advice for newbies

[Fearless0]

I was following this thread as a newbie looking for valuable newbie advise. While I enjoyed listening to everyones opinion of the Meseta, I'd really like to learn something other than Meseta remembrances. Can we get back to "Biggest Advice For Newbies"?

 

[Kanga]

Advice?
Go without expectations.
When in doubt, walk.
Listen.
What the Camino provides, take.
Be aware and be kind.

 

[Fearless0]

Advice?
Go without expectations.
When in doubt, walk.
Listen.
What the Camino provides, take.
Be aware and be kind.

Thank You Kanga. Funny that you should be the one to respond, as I'm such a fan of your advise in other threads. I'm taking your advise to buy Ecco hiking sandals and sealskins socks as my preferred footwear rather than boots or trail runners. Thank you so much for your valued opinions.

 

[Kanga]

Eeek @Fearless0 I hope they work for you! Please, plenty of walking in them at home before you go to make sure. I see you are going in June so sandals should be fine. The Sealskinz socks I only wear when it is cold. They are a bit like wetsuit material and I think might cause blisters in heat. Generally I walk without socks - no socks to wash at the end of the day, yippee! I wade through water and mud and don't worry about wet feet, but rinse off any dirt or mud. However my feet are now pretty tough - my friend Robyn who wears Ecco sandals wears them with hiking socks. The Swedish look.

 

[Fearless0]

Eeek @Fearless0 I hope they work for you! Please, plenty of walking in them at home before you go to make sure. I see you are going in June so sandals should be fine. The Sealskinz socks I only wear when it is cold. They are a bit like wetsuit material and I think might cause blisters in heat. Generally I walk without socks - no socks to wash at the end of the day, yippee! I wade through water and mud and don't worry about wet feet, but rinse off any dirt or mud. However my feet are now pretty tough - my friend Robyn who wears Ecco sandals wears them with hiking socks. The Swedish look.

Understood. Interesting too that you walk without socks at all. I have friends who walked Sarria to Santiago when it rained the entire time. She HATED her wet shoes and socks each day. I guess I had that in mind when I posted. I should have said, "I'll take the sealskins along, but as your friend, walk with hiking socks otherwise". Being older and pretty unfit, I plan to have my luggage transported each night. I will only take a small daypack each day. Do you have suggestions for that? How small of daypack I could get away with, and what daily essentials I should carry? I would LOVE to be able to follow so many others advise and 'just go as far as your body will take you'...but my companion feels the necessity of pre-arranged nightly stops. I am conflicted, but will have to go with her ideas. Any suggestions would be appreciated....by anyone.

 

[Kanga]

Where are you starting your walk, and how long do you have?

 

[Fearless0]

Where are you starting your walk, and how long do you have?

Sarria to Santiago, 9 days walking.

 

[Kanga]

That stretch is a beautiful easy path.

Minimal gear then. I don't have experience with daypacks but I'd carry as little as possible. Watch the weather forecast each day and dress accordingly, bearing in mind you will heat up significantly as you walk - less clothing rather than more. Fine merino is good. If rain or storms are forecast take an umbrella and raincoat (or poncho) with a hood. Raincoat also doubles as a windjacket. A 600ml bottle of water. That is all you need. There are enough cafés along the route that you don't need to carry any food or extra water.

The umbrella is a really good thing. Really. It rains a lot in Galicia. But obviously useless in wind - hence the need for hooded raincoat. My current sunhat is a tennis visor covered with a water repellant fabric and it has proven useful under the hood of my Altus - keeps the rain off my glasses.

Here are my thoughts on your specific situation (but you know yourself best!). From Sarria to Santiago in June, because it gets so crowded, your friend's insistence on booking is not a bad idea. I would go with her flow. When I go with a friend and for a relatively short distance it is all about having fun together. I can come back some time to walk from further afield or on quieter routes and do my "own" camino.

From Sarria to Santiago - it's a party. There is not quite the same community spirit that grows with the longer quieter routes; people are friendly but more guarded, as they are in a city. It is like a crowd of happy strangers walking down the road together. I try not to be shy but to start conversations. One of the joys of being an older woman is a disreguard for etiquette.

 

[Fearless0]

Perfectly stated:
"It is like a crowd of happy strangers walking down the road together."

 

[peregrina2000]

I will only take a small daypack each day. Do you have suggestions for that? How small of daypack I could get away with, and what daily essentials I should carry?

Hi, Fearlesso,

Welcome to the forum. I can only give an opinion on one of the issues you raise. I would encourage you to make sure your back can handle the daypack that you have chosen. I have lower back pain from time to time, yet I walk fine with a 9-10 k backpack so long as there is good internal support and a frame to transfer the weight to my hips. But when I walk with a small daypack, with only a few kilos inside, my back starts screaming at me within an hour. Especially if the reason you are having your pack carried is because of back pain, it would be worth it to make sure ahead of time that you're going to be ok with the small daypack. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Lachance]

Thank You Kanga. Funny that you should be the one to respond, as I'm such a fan of your advise in other threads. I'm taking your advise to buy Ecco hiking sandals and sealskins socks as my preferred footwear rather than boots or trail runners. Thank you so much for your valued opinions.

I'm a great fan of Kanga's too and her useful advice. But FYI, as I just discovered in another thread, Kanga now buys men's Ecco, not women's. Of course the women's off road may work for you, just be aware that they don't give you as much room at the front as the men's do, if that might be an issue for you.

 

[Fearless0]

All the above advise has been awesome, and I DO appreciate all of it. I know all this must seem silly to you veterans, but to me, its PRICELESS! @Lachance, I went out tonight and bought women's Ecco's Yuchatan's, not the Off Roads. Nice thing about R.E.I. Is that I can actually wear and hike in these sandals for up to a year to find out if I like them or not, and if not, return them for a full refund. They seem good so far. Seem ultralight which is what I thought I wanted, but now am wondering if perhaps they might be TOO light (is there such a thing?).

 

[Lachance]

All the above advise has been awesome, and I DO appreciate all of it. I know all this must seem silly to you veterans, but to me, its PRICELESS! @Lachance, I went out tonight and bought women's Ecco's Yuchatan's, not the Off Roads. Nice thing about R.E.I. Is that I can actually wear and hike in these sandals for up to a year to find out if I like them or not, and if not, return them for a full refund.

Wow! I don't think any Aussie retailers would do that. I'm only a Camino aspirant but have learned a few lessons in training as I've never done any serious walking before. One thing I've noticed with footwear, it can seem fine on shorter walks, but problems can emerge after 2+ hours. Unless you actually do a pseudo Camino walking trial, I guess you can't be sure until the real thing.

 

[lrisvold]

I'm not certain this advice is needed for alum of the Camino that choose to return here to live it daily, for we obviously love our Camino.

Newbies , I would ask you to consider not to let anyone ever describe the Meseta as "boring" or try to convince you the Meseta is "boring". Consider looking at the Meseta as a season in life.
I think others will say it way better than I ever can BUT I would just cringe when I heard others on trail say things like, "I hear the boring part starts tomorrow", "I'm taking a bus thru the boring part" etc... to say this implies that your camino experience has nothing to do do with other pilgrims or even meals missed along the way.
I had some of the best conversations with myself on the Meseta, most of my best walking was done there, and I looked at it as a great time to think things through.

I'll never forget a late start out of Burgos having chosen to sit behind in the city square with coffee and pastry and watch the street sweepers, and the hustle and bustle of the city in the morning. I felt the need to keep walking, passing San Bol that I had in my notes as a place I really wanted to stay. I kept walking , something told me to do it...and all of a sudden out of nowhere a steeple appears to be coming out of nowhere in the sands before me...each step revealing it more and more...till you walk into Hontanas. This was socially one of the best nights of my Camino.

I've been giving the Meseta a lot of thought lately and really wanted to just put the thought in newbies ears to not let anyone on trail influence you to think it is "boring".

Neve

I stayed at San Bol and loved it. The meseta was my favorite part of the camino!