Things you couldnt have done without on the Camino

[amybell]

As I am now on a countdown (3 weeks to go) I am getting the last of my bits together and hoping some of you will share your "must haves" with me please!!!! Also any good makes of hiking socks and base layers..... thank you xxxxxx

 

[jrosado1]

3wks for me too!

 

[tyrrek]

You're walking at a lovely time of year, even though the weather this year has been odd. Hopefully you'll just be needing a good sun hat and sun cream in a few weeks time.

Have a great Camino!

 

[natefaith]

Hi amybell,
People have already told you about safety pins for hanging up laundry and ear plugs, right? Those were the two must haves for me . And small packets of tissues (which, of course, you can always get in the grocery stores as well). I had to stop every few kms to blow my nose when I walked in May (a couple years ago). Oh, and trekking poles and a good hat.

Have fun packing and planning and Buen Camino!!

 

[Sheesh]

This thread has some useful tips on other's favourite items:

equipment-questions/topic8023.html

 

[amybell]

thank you. Didn't know about safety pins or ear plugs and would never have thought to pack either..

 

[Tia Valeria]

If lights/torches bother you then a face mask to cover your eyes for sleeping is very useful. They are often sold as sets with the ear plugs.

 

[reckless8]

Gloves - light neoprene are really nice, and a scarf. I'm 7 days in (left sjpp on April 26), and didn't expect it to be this cold in spring. It snowed most of one day (around Roncevalles).

 

[Susannafromsweden]

Försvarets hudsalva.
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Försvarets_hudsalva

The Swedish army's skin salve. It's like a big lip balm, which you can use on the lips, in the face (against frostbite), on the feet (against chafing) and so on. You can eat it, if you like. Best ever. I'm not going anywhere without it.

 

[Kanga]

My Aarn pack with sports pockets. I know they look weird, but so comfortable and useful.

 

[pattymo97206]

What I could not have done without....trekking poles. Keen sandals, ear plugs, melatonin.

 

[nidarosa]

Nail scissors for nails, plasters, packaging, altering clothes along the way etc, Aloe Vera vaselin for feet, lips, sunburns etc, sarong for scarf, skirt, bed sheet, towel, curtain in front of bunk ... All three are now regulars in my pack. I don't even take them out between walks!

 

[FrancineM]

Body Glide on my feet before I put my socks on. I had zero blisters.

 

[lorrainemc]

My trekking poles: great support, good for balancing when crossing streams and mud patches and useful for scaring away dogs.
My sarong: top sheet in overheated dorms, wrap for dressing in not so private showers, curtain for side of bottom bunk, something to wear for that dash back to the pack once undressed in the shower and toiletries have been forgotten!!
Facecloth: cut down micrfibre dishcloth for doing a first dry down after shower to make microfibre travel towel dry more, to help wring out clothes when hand washing, as well as for washing hands and face. Hang off pack during day to dry and for easy access.
Prepaid Spanish SIM in my iphone: purchased before I left home. Could call home anytime for 5mins for free, nearly always had coverage for texting. Did not use it all that much, but my family liked that I could be contactable if need be.

 

[jrosado1]

Poles
Safety pins for hemming pants and hanging still-wet laundry on the pack while I walk
Vaseline for feet
Paracetamol
Rain gear

 

[Anne100]

Prepaid Spanish SIM in my iphone: purchased before I left home.

How did you buy this before you left Australia?

 

[lorrainemc]

Hi, visit this website. Scroll down to Spain SIM icon. Delivered from Bannockburn in Victoria in a few short days. Instructions great. Was able to do a "test drive" before I left to make sure it worked.
http://www.mobipassport.com.au/

 

[Say Simba]

The right shoe. Water wicking pants. Moisture wicking shirt. Light, durable pack. Pack rain cover. Ball cap.

 

[MimisCakes]

What about the left shoe, Say Simba...?

 

[sarsos]

As I am now on a countdown (3 weeks to go) I am getting the last of my bits together and hoping some of you will share your "must haves" with me please!!!! Also any good makes of hiking socks and base layers..... thank you xxxxxx

Silicone ear plugs and travel towel - essentials.

 

[Bozzie]

As I am now on a countdown (3 weeks to go) I am getting the last of my bits together and hoping some of you will share your "must haves" with me please!!!! Also any good makes of hiking socks and base layers..... thank you xxxxxx

Hola, Pilgrim...
The answer is Glide, which I put on my feet every day so as not to get blisters, wool sock liners and wool outer socks from REI. It's important to take special care of your feet! I didn't have one blister!!
Burn Camino,
Bozzie
(Dee Anne)

 

[nicollb]

Walking in late Sept and October -- I will surely take the Glide with me! (I run distance, and have thought this wonderful product might be just the ticket -- good to have confirmation).

Now, to find those good ear plugs!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The answer is Glide

The Jeopardy question is: what is Crisco you put on your feet?

 

[maryaxtmann]

A few indispensables when I walked last May (33 days from SJdP) My trekking poles; Sock LINERS (a lightweight polyester sock that's worn inside the smartwool socks: I never had a blister); a Goretex coat (very lightweight: saved my skin when it snowed coming down from O Cebreiro); Advil (kept my 61- yr old joints under control. Buen camino!!!

 

[MaxfromMO]

We leave next week. Lots of good ideas here.

 

[peregrina2000]

Although the Spanish farmacias are well stocked with almost every conceivable foot remedy imaginable, I always bring moleskin and molefoam from home because there doesn't seem to be a similar product in Spain (unless I've missed it). I have used one or both of those products on every camino I've walked, at some point or another. Molefoam is especially great for "building up" around a blister to take the pressure off it (assuming there's room in your shoes to do that) and let it heal naturally.

Aside from a basic first aid kit and moleskin/molefoam, I leave the rest at home and buy if the need arises there.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

Silicone ear plugs and travel towel - essentials.

Depends on the shape of your outer ear. Those silicone plugs never worked for me. What I found in Spain were ototaps -- balls of wax covered with a furry substance that mold to your ear's shape as they heat up. They are cheap, and come in boxes of 8 or 12, I think. They don't block the sound (I don't think any earplug does that), but they do relegate it to the realm of distant ambient noise.

 

[Magwood]

Small scissors to cut tape. Home made visor and buff. Bum bag. Small fine gauge food bags used for all sorts of things. Pain killers. Pacer poles, excellent for stability and propulsion, but also to stop hands swelling uncomfortably. What I would take on my next camino - well fitting knee braces. What I took as an extravagance - illuminated mirror and tweezers

 

[mspath]

A electric water heating coil. When alking in late autumn/winter it is my single luxury and perfect for making an early cup of hot tea in a frigid albergue ! For other pilgrims' comments see on these handy devices see >> http://www.caminodesantiago.me/comm...ric-coil-changed-my-life-on-the-camino.19167/