Camino Expert Tips From Someone Who Hasn't Even Passed The Halfway Point (Day 17 Part II, The Return of Day 17)
So tomorrow I will arrive at the halfway point of my camino journey. It’s actually the halfway point for the camino in Spain so the first day’s nightmarish 16+ miles of hills aren’t accounted for but I’m too lazy to do the math and figure out what the real halfway point is (run on sentence FTW). Tonight marks the halfway point of walking days. Seventeen down, seventeen to go. Garmin tells me I’ve walked 258.5 miles up to this point. I guess what I’m saying is that i’m now pretty much the expert on all things camino and I feel it’s time to drop some of this knowledge on the masses. Also, it’s really, really hot outside so I’m hiding in the dark in my room trying to stay cool and wait for dinner time (homemade meatballs if you’re curious and I couldn’t be more excited if you told me I was going to be hand fed them by Weird Al while The Proclaimers Sang “And I Would Walk Five Hundred Miles and I Would Walk Five Hundred More” in the background. So yeah, pretty excited).
I’ve made a short list of tips for anyone thinking of doing this. Since I’m not even halfway through the hike I reserve the right to add/modify/delete items from this list.
Tips:
Bring walking sticks. Even if you don’t use them at home normally; get some walking sticks and use them on your training hikes. If you are checking your bag bring them with you. If you are bringing everything carry on like I did, no worries. I’ve picked up two pair while over here and the price was 9 euro and 10 euro. These things have paid for themselves ten times over. Everyone I’ve spoken to agrees with me on this one. The worst thing that happens is that you have a pair of sticks you don’t use and you leave them here. I will make a deal with you. Get the sticks and if you don’t use them in the first week leave them at an albergue for another pilgrim. I doubt you will though and you’ll thank me for this one
Have your backpack transported the first day from Saint Jean to Roncevalles. Okay, this one is contingent on a bunch of stuff but I wanted it high on the list because if I had this to do again I would definitely have done this. If you’re not going to pre-book places to stay this isn’t really feasible so disregard. If you are pre-booking (my computer doesn’t think that’s a word and keeps underlining it in red but it is a word and I won’t be bullied by a Chromebook. A Macbook maybe, but not a Chromebook) then you have an option to have your backpack transported from place to place for you at a nominal fee and you carry a day pack. I didn’t opt for this but have no issues with those that do it. It’s not like they aren’t walking the full distance or anything and some people have limitations that make hauling around a 20lb pack an impossibility. Even if you decide you want to carry everything with you like I’ve done (and this is where I screwed up) - you can have it transported for just a single day. The first day of the camino from Saint Jean is a bitch. A hilly bitch. At that point you’re at altitude and even though you’ve probably done some training hikes you aren’t used to having the pack on everyday. For about 8 euro you can have it shipped to where you are staying in Roncevalles and save yourself a lot of heartache. Glenn and Jan did that and it’s why they’re smarter than me. It’s actually just one of a number of reasons but it’s a big one. Do it. You won’t regret it.
Take care of your feet. This topic gets more coverage on camino blogs then anything else. I’m not going to dig into it too deeply but what has worked for me is sock liners, good wool socks, lubing up the feet with a balm every morning (most folks around here use vaseline on their feet every morning to reduce the friction, I’m fancy and use a balm with emu oil that Michele gave me. Yes, emu oil. I assume they get it from the beak) and addressing any blister issues immediately. I’ve dressed Michael Buble every morning since he arrived on the scene and it’s been effective. I’ve seen more than a couple of our group of walkers taken down (some even forced to take the bus for a couple of days) with blisters. I know that we are all tough and can walk through blister pain and that’s not what got them. The blisters got infected and the infection is what took them out. Also, when you’re on antibiotics because you have infected blisters you can’t drink yummy lemon beer. And I’ve been saying for years that if I can’t drink yummy lemon beer than the terrorists win.
Pre-book (still a word) your accomodations. Oh shit, I just opened up a can of camino worms with that one. There are some, I’ll call them purists, who feel that the camino is best experienced in more of a free flow state. These walkers go until they want to stop and then find lodging at an albergue (often the municipal one) for the night. They also eat there and those meals are wonderful and spent sharing with other pilgrims. I have talked to many folks who are going this route and love it. I envy their courage (and that’s not me being a smart ass) and can see the appeal of this strategy. I’ve also seen some of those walkers get turned away because a town is full and they have to push another 5-8K to get to the next village and hopefully find a bed. This is where I’m not strong enough to do this. I don’t think at this stage I could handle the worry. I fear I would be the person leaving at 4am with a headlamp on to ensure I had a bed in whichever town I thought I could get to. Rather than have a free flowing camino experience I think I would often feel rushed and would probably finish quicker than planned. It’s probably something I need to work on and if you are able to go without reservations then you have my respect and I hope to be more like you one day (again, not sarcasm - I know it’s hard to tell sometimes so I wanted to be clear). Aside from always having a bed, one thing I also like about having everything booked in advance is that I have a plan. I get up in the morning, pack up my stuff and I know that my only job that day is to get to the town I’m staying in. No other worries. Just walk. That’s worked for me and I believe it’s what I needed.
And finally - put your headphones away. Put your phone on airplane mode. Put on a big stupid floppy hat and just walk. Be open to everything. The sounds around you. The people you’re with. The food you’re offered. The sights you’ll see. Despite there being people around a fair amount of the time you’ll also have a lot of time alone. By yourself. Yourself. Be open with yourself and see what happens. You might find out some interesting things. Or you might just hum a Proclaimers song for 3 hours. You won’t know until you try.
I’m not done. I’ll let you know if there’s a number 6.
