Taking the Long Way Home: The Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago has been on my to-do list for a couple of years and last year I finally created the time to do it. I wanted to choose a time of year that was not too cold, but especially not too hot. I just couldn’t imagine how people can do it in the scorching heat of August. So my choice fell to the beginning of March. I was planning to walk for three weeks and I expected the weather to change quite a bit during this time, so I had to plan accordingly.

              There are various reasons why people do the Camino, and I had my own personal motivation. First of all, I had some space in my life where I could decide where I wanted to go next and I felt that I needed some direction in helping me make that decision. The second reason was the physical challenge of it: I love hiking and I love a challenging trek up the mountains so I thought this could be a great opportunity to take it one step further. And the third one was to meet people from all walks of life and learn a thing or two.

               I did my research into what kind of preparation I should do and there is only one piece of advice I can give regarding that: it will vary based on your fitness level, but you do need to prepare if you want to enjoy the walk and not just suffer from muscle pain and physical exhaustion. As for myself I tried to do 5 km walks every weekday and a longer, 15-20 km walk every other weekend for two months before the walk. For the last two weeks I also took a backpack on my daily walks with about 6kg of weight in it. It was instantly a bit less enjoyable, but I was more prepared mentally for what was to come.

              The packing list is going to vary for everyone as well, based on the time of year and the level of comfort you desire. But one thing I cannot stress enough, and everyone will say the same thing: do not take anything that is not absolutely essential. My backpack ended up on the heavier side of things because the weather was a bit more unpredictable, and I was happy that I took whatever was in my bag. Also, being a travel photographer, I felt I couldn’t leave my camera behind, even though it added a good kilo and a half to my bag, which is already a fourth of the ideal weight of a backpack. A basic rule of thumb is to try not to take more than 10% of your own weight, but 12-15% should be fine as long as you are prepared for the added weight. Mine was closest to the 15% mark, and I felt it throughout.

I had rainy and windy days that made my hands freeze to my walking sticks - I didn’t bring gloves, unfortunately - but also sunny, warm days that I could only get through by stripping down to shorts and a t-shirt. A great pair of hiking boots is also essential. Another essential piece of advice is that you must brake them in before taking them out on the Camino. You might be able to do a day-hike in brand new boots and feel fine afterwards, but taking a 20-something kilometer walk day after day for weeks is an entirely different experience. A good all-round emergency pack of medicine, Vaseline, Band-Aids and/or Compeeds is a must as you have to count with some blisters. Thankfully all the farmacies along the route are well-stocked with all these, but you have to make sure that you reach a village with a farmacy before you run out.

              I discovered some great resources online that gave me an idea of what to expect and how to prepare. One of them was the book Walking Alone by Mony Dojeiji, which I found extremely useful for many reasons. She talks about preparation for the Camino taking into consideration the different aspects of the trip: the physical, mental and spiritual side. I found some very valuable information in there and I highly recommend it to anyone considering the challenge. Another one was the movie, The Way with Martin Sheen, which besides being a really light-hearted movie, I thought captured the spirit of the Camino well. I also highly recommend getting a Camino guidebook as it can be an extremely useful resource in areas where there isn’t much reception, and it is also packed with useful information regarding each town you pass through. You can find the book I got here, but there are many great guidebooks out there, you can choose whichever appeals to you the most. I also broke my phone about 4 days into the Camino, so the guidebook essentially saved my trip. This forum is one of the best resources to connect with other pilgrims and get advice even just days before your trip.

              I think many people have the Camino on their to-do list, just never find the time or get around to do it. And it is true, it takes time and dedication, but once you set things in motion, everything will fall into place. So that is what I did: the first and most important was to make the decision to do it and decide on the month I was going to start. Once I committed to it mentally, I wrote it down and started mentioning it in conversations with people I trusted so that the plan solidified in my head as well as outside of myself. Then came the actual dates and the duration of my stay. So having done my research I’ve decided that 24 days would be the ideal time for me both in terms of the physical challenge and the amount of time I could comfortably take off of work. And then I started connecting and following people who were planning to do it or have done it already and that gave me a huge boost and lots of motivation.

I had an amazing experience on the Camino with ups and downs, many adventures and some misfortunes as well, but all of it was a great learning experience. I am going to talk more about my actual experience on the trail in another post, but if you have any questions or your own experiences/tips to share, feel free to reach out or leave a comment.