Wild swimming

[silverbum]

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

 

[ghanem]

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

Hola dear friend
For sure there are plenty of spots along the way. In case of no replies, check on Google Earth app and Wikiloc app. A lot of helpful useful awesomeness of information. Take your time 🙏🙂✨☘️💖🌅

Buen Camino Peregrino!

 

[Vacajoe]

Depending upon the season, some albergues even have pools! I know that isn’t “wild” but it may be the only option for an area. Some municipalities also have public pools.

 

[Bradypus]

A number of towns and villages along the route have a playa fluvial - an official bathing and recreation area beside the river. The depth and speed of the flow might not be ideal for swimming though.

 

[ghanem]

A number of towns and villages along the route have a playa fluvial - an official bathing and recreation area beside the river. The depth and speed of the flow might not be ideal for swimming though.

Godspeed my friend 🙏🙂✨☘️🌅 Gracias! 💙

 

[trecile]

A number of towns and villages along the route have a playa fluvial - an official bathing and recreation area beside the river. The depth and speed of the flow might not be ideal for swimming though.

Molinaseca stands out in this regard.

 

[mspath]

Here is an earlier thread re swimming on the camino.

In addition here is another great pool--
Municipial Sports Centre "San Ginés"
31132, Calle Regueta, 2, 31132 Villatuerta, Navarra, Spain

Happy splashing and Buen camino.

 

[Marbe2]

If you start in Pamplona on April 28, by May in Galicia a number of outdoor pools will-likely be open at private Albergues. They were being used in early May last year.

 

[dimdog]

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

Hi I walked the CF in 2021, as I did it August (I know.......) it was a tad warm, I found that sticking my legs into any river, or, the concrete aqueducts that lined many of the fields worked wonders.....

 

[dbeatriceb]

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

If you want to swim with any regularity you might want to walk the northern coast instead. There would be much more swimming opportunity there as compared to the Camino Frances. And that water in the Cantabrian is COLD! I honestly don’t recall much opportunity for swimming along the Frances. Plus I’d be wary of agricultural runoff. A few albergues have swimming pools and I’ve heard people mention the river by Molinaseca. I always walk in colder seasons so haven’t really sought swimming opportunities on the Frances. Perhaps in summer there are more options than I realize. The climate is pretty arid, so not a lot of natural bodies of water on a daily basis.

 

[TrvlDad1]

Hi I walked the CF in 2021, as I did it August (I know.......) it was a tad warm, I found that sticking my legs into any river, or, the concrete aqueducts that lined many of the fields worked wonders.....

RE: aqueducts, do they use recycled water, i. e., without insecticides removed? Same for rivers in agricultural areas?

 

[dimdog]

RE: aqueducts, do they use recycled water, i. e., without insecticides removed? Same for rivers in agricultural areas?

Hi, I think this was untreated water, that is pumped to water the fields, its bloody freezing tho, would love to know where its source is.......anyone?

 

[wisepilgrim]

In years past, and when the circumstances are right, there is a delightfully frigid watering hole here. It is along the stretch from Triacastela to Samos, and isn't easily visible from the camino. But if you get to the village of Renche you have only overshot it by 50m.

 

[lalaone]

Not wild swimming, but please be aware that for public pools you may encounter dress code rules. For men, that's speedos rather than long short-style swim trunks. In some cases, bathing caps for men and women alike. The latter may be available for purchase on site, but I recall a peregrino's story of surprise and disappointment at being denied entry to a public pool in La Rioja because he was wearing board shorts.

 

[David Tallan]

Not wild swimming, but please be aware that for public pools you may encounter dress code rules. For men, that's speedos rather than long short-style swim trunks. In some cases, bathing caps for men and women alike. The latter may be available for purchase on site, but I recall a peregrino's story of surprise and disappointment at being denied entry to a public pool in La Rioja because he was wearing board shorts.

That is interesting. I would think that long shorts provide more coverage and modesty than speedos. Usually dress codes require more modesty, not less.

 

[silverbum]

In years past, and when the circumstances are right, there is a delightfully frigid watering hole here. It is along the stretch from Triacastela to Samos, and isn't easily visible from the camino. But if you get to the village of Renche you have only overshot it by 50m.

Cheers that sounds a promising spot

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

That is interesting. I would think that long shorts provide more coverage and modesty than speedos. Usually dress codes require more modesty, not less.

The worry is probably dirty underwear under street wear shorts and it being easier to ban all shorts instead of shorts by style.

Edit: BTW, I really enjoyed swimming laps at Molinaseca. From the dam to the other side of the Roman bridge under one arch and back using another arch. And in walking shorts!

 

[lalaone]

That is interesting. I would think that long shorts provide more coverage and modesty than speedos. Usually dress codes require more modesty, not less.

True. My understanding was that it had to do with ideas around hygiene over modesty: longer shorts being able to carry more dirt, or possibly to be worn in non-swimming environments before entering the pool. An interesting cultural difference. It may not be required universally at Spanish municipal pools, just a heads-up that some do.

 

[Kathy F.]

During my first Camino, most of the swimming I saw being done was by some wild and crazy pilgrims off the road in a nearby stream - skinny dipping, of course.

Feel free (pun intended).

 

[howardd5]

Hi all I am planning my 1st Camino from Pamplona to SdC starting 28th April. I have found that cold water swims help my body especially my knees recover from a long day walking. Dose anyone have any good swim spots along the route. Also are there any laws that I should be aware of.
Thanks fellow pilgrims

There are a few albergues that have pools.

 

[Vacajoe]

Please note that while the water at Finisterre is lovely and chillingly-cold per your requirement, it is inherently dangerous and should not be undertaken unless you have experience in unregulated ocean swimming.

 

[howardd5]

Please note that while the water at Finisterre is lovely and chillingly-cold per your requirement, it is inherently dangerous and should not be undertaken unless you have experience in unregulated ocean swimming.

Oh yes known as costa de motte , coast of death

 

[Goyo]

That is interesting. I would think that long shorts provide more coverage and modesty than speedos. Usually dress codes require more modesty, not less.

Me, too. But, it is Europe, and Speedos seem to be de rigeur unless you’re at Porto, Biarritz, Lacanau or other surf spots.