Walking with children

[Jandoraa]

Hello,

My partner and I had planned to walk the Camino starting September 14th in Astorga, as that,s where he left off when he last walked it. We had to cancel our tickets, sadly, so I'm starting to plan again for next year. The good news part of this is we received a full refund, not a credit, from the airline as they had made changes to our flights. The not so good news is we didn't get to go to Spain this year.

For next September I'm thinking we may walk with my three children ages 17,13 and 11. Is there a particular section in this forum related to waking with children? I tried doing some searches, but I only found a few threads related to families walking together. I'm curious about staying in albergues with children and wondering if that is even possible. I'm not sure of the costs of always staying in private rooms, but I'm pretty sure that's just too expensive.

Any information people have to share is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jandoraa

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, Jandoraa, Welcome to the forum!

There isn't a separate section of the forum for walking with children, but there are some very experienced members of the forum who will surely chime in with lots of tips and advice.

You definitely should read Kiwi-family's posts. Mama Kiwi is the forum member, and she has taken two very long caminos, one 1000 km involving the BAztan, Frances, Primitivo, and I forget what else, with a bunch of young-uns. I believe that for their first camino, they totaled 10 or even more and were able to stay in albergues often.

A good way to start would be to look for posts by Kiwi-family using the search word "children" and you'll see lots of posts. But I'm sure Rachel herself will be here soon to tell you all about it. And by the way, I will be listening too because I hope that in three or four years, when my grandson is 6 or 7, to take him for at least part of my camino.

Children are unusual, but not rare, on Caminos, and the times I've run into them it has been a lot of fun talking, playing games, and hearing their take on this weird walking thing we do.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Hi Jandoraa!
Here I am, that KiwiMama Laurie told you about! If I can be of any assistance, feel free to PM me. But may I start by allaying your fears. you will have no trouble staying in albergues. In over three months worth of camino nights we have only been forced to use private accommodation once, and that in a town that the municipal albergue was closed for renovations. And as Laurie said, for some of our trip we were a group of eleven people (two parents, one Grandpa in his eighties and eight kids - who have walked sections of the camino from as young as 6 - I have no experience younger than that other than walking in NZ with them from babyhood)
You're going to love it (and probably have moments that you hate it - but those happen at home too, right?) Perhaps the best thing is that you might not even end up thinking about your kids as "kids" but as "fellow pilgrims" - that's how ours were universally addressed (but then given an extra portion of admiration because of their age - and chocolate bars and peanuts and cakes and and and)

 

[Teresa Santamaria]

Hi, while not a whole route, my thirteen year old and I walked part of del Norte for several days - he loved the coastline - a rec from another forum member, and then after Llanes, went to Lugo and completed Lugo to Santiago on the Primitivo. On del Norte he had decided he wanted to attain the Compostela so we re-routed to a reasonable distance. My son loved it! As did I. We had two sections of four days each walking with a couple of days break. We found the albergues very welcoming and he became accustomed to bunking with strangers, and we had fun as well as quiet times. While he isn't a child, he is a kid and actually had far greater stamina than I expected. I found that he masked things, like hot spots on his feet because he didn't want to draw attention to it. I became good with a needle and thread there. It is important to pay attention to really basic things that kids may not want to talk about - hydration, bathroom and toilet time, showers, and eating properly. A pension on every fourth night, helped us to reassess a bit more privately as well as give him some kid time. It was a great experience for we two and we became fit companions for our journey - and he enjoyed the many walking companions that caught up with us or with whom we caught up. We still talk about Michigan, Mauro and Paola, California ( he and she), Francisco! Go Wei and Julian, and Sylvan, the man with the tats and Quebec who walked from Itrland and worked on a farm in Switzerland, and so much more. Yes, we had arguments to, so all was normal! I brought a small sponge ball we used a lot and a deck of cards - Go Wei taught us Chinese card games..... Have fun planning and ask lots of questions! I don't know how I would handle 750 km. maybe just six times of the same.... Teresa!

 

[VNwalking]

If you walk during Semana Santa, you will have a fair amount of family company as there are many Spanish pilgrims then, and the youngest can be quite young.

 

[SYates]

Absolutely no problem to stay in albergues with kids that age ;-) Buen Camino! SY

 

[NualaOC]

Good luck and Buen Camino @Jandoraa and family! What a lovely thing to do as a family.

 

[Annette london]

Hi Jandoraa!
Here I am, that KiwiMama Laurie told you about! If I can be of any assistance, feel free to PM me. But may I start by allaying your fears. you will have no trouble staying in albergues. In over three months worth of camino nights we have only been forced to use private accommodation once, and that in a town that the municipal albergue was closed for renovations. And as Laurie said, for some of our trip we were a group of eleven people (two parents, one Grandpa in his eighties and eight kids - who have walked sections of the camino from as young as 6 - I have no experience younger than that other than walking in NZ with them from babyhood)
You're going to love it (and probably have moments that you hate it - but those happen at home too, right?) Perhaps the best thing is that you might not even end up thinking about your kids as "kids" but as "fellow pilgrims" - that's how ours were universally addressed (but then given an extra portion of admiration because of their age - and chocolate bars and peanuts and cakes and and and)

Definitely impressed now! I have 2 grandsons just over 4 and was going to walk with them when they are 9 or 10 but I thought that at 73 I would be pushing it!! If grandpa was 80 then there might be some hope for me! They talk about the Camino. Could it be that I am brainwashing them a bit too soon!! Well done all of you.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Annette, Grandpa is now 84, suffered a massive set-back earlier this year with major back surgery and only a 30% chance of survival from the infection which destroyed two of his vertabrae - he will be walking part of the Via de la Plata with us in May! You never know how things are going to turn out, but certainly don't give up hope.
Start walking with your grandsons now and there will be nothing more natural than walking a camino with you later!

 

[jdpiguet]

Hello Jandoraa,

I have walked from Astorga to Santiago with my 15 years old son last October.
His main concern for choosing an albergue was: "Did they have Wi-Fi?"
His main highlight was: "Desayuno con churros"
It was a great experience for both of us.
I would encourage you to go for it!

Not on the Camino, but as a full family (4 adults + 5 childrens from 10 to 14) we have walked Switzerland North/South in 4 weeks: it was a great experience too, even if sometimes we had the feeling of being a wandering circus

Buen Camino, Jacques-D.

 

[Jandoraa]

Wow! Thanks for all the input everyone! I feel much better about taking them now. My 17 year old son is very interested in doing the whole Camino Frances, we have considered going back and St John PdP to Astorga after we finish. My partner has already walked that section but would love yo do it again after we complete Astorga to Santiago. My 13 and 11 year old are not yet convinced this a good idea, but we have time to walk as a family before we go.

It's very encouraging to know other families have made this pilgrimage and been welcomed at Albergues. Thanks so much for the information!

~ Jandoraa

 

[Paul_L]

We walked as a family earlier this year from SJPP to Santiago. My kids were 2, 8, 10, 14 and 15 and we travelled from mid February (leaving on Valetines Day) arriving for Semana Santa. It was awesome. I'd be happy to share our experience so feel free to ask anything.
We stayed in albergues probably 4 out of every 5 nights, with rest days in Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and León.
There are lots of little things that were really important for us. One thing my wife said early in the Camino as I wanted to plough ahead with everyone tired was that we as parents had chosen the Camino, but that our kids hadn't. Don't get me wrong, they loved it, but it made me so much more aware of their needs rather than my own.
Taking time was really important. We looked at time walking more than distances covered. One of our hardest walking days was a short 6-7km walk into Ponferrada. (Yes, that's all we walked in a whole day). My mood was shocking, my kids were tired, the baby was having a tantrum every 10 minutes...it was just a bad day. Our best was a day when we walked about 30km and spirits were high, we were just floating all days as a family.
Almost all hospitaleros were exceptional, with a couple sticking out as truly special. We felt welcome in all albergues and found hospitaleros very accommodating. When possible our family was given space away from others which was much appreciated.
Washing clothes was a permanent concern, and quite expensive as we chose to use the washing machines when they were available. There was no option to share with others as we would always fill the machine, but we expected that.
Being a large family made it difficult to develop a Camino family, as we would be 'on duty' as parents when we arrived, so washing clothes, chasing food, preparing lunch and so forth. We also walked at different paces to most people, so only kept pace with other groups for a couple of days at a time. We did feel a bit like celebrities though as we were 'the Australian family' as people who had met us, spoke about us because we're kind of stood out, so when we arrived at places we were sometimes expected, which was quite touching.
Arriving in the wave of pilgrims at Easter at Santiago I had a particularly touching moment. An elderly gentlemen was standing by greeting pilgrims and my two youngest went over to him and the 2 year old said 'buen camino' in the cutest voice. The man held his hand up for us to wait, ran inside and returned with two shells upon which he had painted the cross of St James. Placing the cord over their heads, he blessed our children and we continued onwards.
We hope to return.

 

[Kanga]

@Paul_L I just love it. Do you have a blog or a diary, or are you planning a video or photo slideshow? I remember when you started walking and posted on here and I've been wondering how you got on ever since.

 

[Kanga]

Whoops, just found it. Looking forward to watching.

 

[suzie]

Hello,

My partner and I had planned to walk the Camino starting September 14th in Astorga, as that,s where he left off when he last walked it. We had to cancel our tickets, sadly, so I'm starting to plan again for next year. The good news part of this is we received a full refund, not a credit, from the airline as they had made changes to our flights. The not so good news is we didn't get to go to Spain this year.

For next September I'm thinking we may walk with my three children ages 17,13 and 11. Is there a particular section in this forum related to waking with children? I tried doing some searches, but I only found a few threads related to families walking together. I'm curious about staying in albergues with children and wondering if that is even possible. I'm not sure of the costs of always staying in private rooms, but I'm pretty sure that's just too expensive.

Any information people have to share is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jandoraa

Hello Jandoraa, my family and l are walking next May 2016. Thank you for asking the question the responses have been fantastic. Enjoy your walk.

 

[Jandoraa]

Such wonderful experiences members have shared! @suzie I'm so glad the replies to the thread I started are useful to you. I hope many others planning a Camino walk with children also find this thread and benefit from the wonderful sharing here!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Walking at home before you go is essential - but don't worry if your kids (those older ones) aren't all Enthusiasm. My own gripe and grumble about walking / hiking at home, but love camino walking.