A few tips for those interested in undertaking Caminos de Santiago de Compostela

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A few tips for those interested in undertaking Caminos de Santiago de Compostela. 

No. 1 Choose the route that is most suited to your needs.

The following are some key considerations.

  • Decide which route to take having dipped into guidebooks and maps/trails.
    • The difficult of the trail is something worth considering here.
    • What time of the year do you intend to walk?
      • Summer months can be extremely busy particularly on the French Camino which is the most popular trail.
      • Early in the year and also late in the year can have inclement weather conditions and also less hours of daylight.
    • Jean Pied De Port, Portuguese Inland or Coastal, English, Northern, Coastal and Primitivo. Other start must further afield.
  • Consider whether you will undertake a full route camino or just a section/stage of it. For example, the French Camino is nearly 800 kms versus the last stage of this Camino is from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela which is just over 100km.

Perhaps you have time constraints so rather than take on the full Camino you might decide to walk just a stage at a time – returning a number of times to complete it entirely.

 

No 2 Your Physical fitness

  • When it comes to walking Camino’s knowing your physical fitness helps.
    • I know that the distances I walk now versus when I started walking Caminos in 2014 differs greatly. I am comfortable with up to 15km these days. So know your limit.
  • Walking consecutive days is quite different to just going for a walk a couple of days a week or just doing 30 minutes a day.
    • Use your guidebooks and maps to suss out the terrain and the difficulty of a particular stage or section and make adjustments accordingly.
    • Walk with backpack or sent luggage forward.
      • When it comes to carrying your backpack be sensible about it. Obviously keep it as light as possible goes without saying.
      • Another thing to consider is there is a facility to send your luggage forward with a transfer luggage taxi service. Some purists shun this. If it comes down to completing your camino or not because of stress of carrying a backpack, I know what wins out. I have tried both ways. I believe sense needs to prevail here.

 

No. 3 Backpack

  • Keep it light and cater for the time of year.
  • Pack essential first aid. Include Comped or equivalent plasters are invaluable and can aid a lot of blister discomfort.
  • Socks – buy socks with a combination of mixed material. All cotton while light can retain moisture and lead to blisters which can severely limit your walking and comfort.
  • Absolutely essential is investing in good quality footwear – shoes or boots depending on the weather/terrain. Remember to bring another pair of shoes for the evening so your feet can relax and breathe after your day’s trek.
  • Mobile charger – have your mobile fully charged when staring out every day.

 

No. 4 Booking Accommodation

  • If you are on your one or with friends, you will need to book accommodation. The advice here is not to book too far ahead in advance until you get to grips with walking and know with confidence that you will be able to reach your target destination at the end of each days walking.

 

No. 5 Joining tour companies, friends or walking solo.

  • Going with tour companies – they will arrange your accommodation and provide other services such as backpack transport and emergency backup. Just remember that with most of these companies all the routes are self-guided.
  • If you have come on Camino with friends just a reminder that you may not walk at the same pace. You might start off walking with them in the morning, but with your different pace you may not always be walking with them. Also, there may be days or sections that you may want to walk alone or have sometime on your own. It is important to keep this in mind. So, having an upfront discussion before undertaking a Camino might prove beneficial.

 

No. 6 Enjoy your Camino

  • Walking in nature is wonderfully peaceful
  • Listen to nature – let it talk to you on your trails
  • Reflection is a natural part of a Camino and it is good.

 

Buen Camino