Walking every step of the Camino de Santiago definitely gives you time to reflect on your pre-planning and other preparation. There were many times I wished I had prepared differently but thought more in terms of “next time” rather than beating myself up about it. Even in the tough times, when it was hard to stay positive, I still wanted to do it all over again and would compile a mental list of what to improve next time I felt like walking across Spain. It was a challenging journey and some things you cannot prepare for, and others you wish you had. But I wouldn’t trade it for a couch or poolside vacation any day of the week. After all even when I did daydream of a poolside or comfortable couch “the camino would provide.” A saying that worked its way into our lives everyday as it happened day in and day out.
Below are my reflections and advice after completing my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Many challenge my pre-camino preparations which you can read about HERE.
Choice of route
As I was an inexperienced pilgrim with below average Spanish speaking abilities, I opted to take the most common Frances route to Santiago de Compostela. English quickly was identified as the common language that brought pilgrims together with locals and other pilgrims alike.This route is also near impossible to get lost on. Within every 500m, on average, you would have another marker indicating you were still on your way to Santiago. The only downside to this route however is how commercialised it is, with a large cost increase compared to a friend’s former camino experience, and many stores etc, were targeting the pilgrim’s pocket. There is a staggering amount of pilgrims on the Frances Way and getting a bed was difficult and the experience of an empty road was incredibly rare. If you don’t wish to be constantly bombarded with other pilgrims, maybe selecting a different route or less popular month (May and September are the most popular) would be a better option. The stretch between Burgos and Leon is as bad as they say and some of the most painful walking days. With little to look at and the majority of the way as roadside walking, motivating yourself each day was difficult.
Accommodation
I am surely thankful that I booked my accommodation for St Jean Pied du Port in advance. I met many pilgrims who struggled or did not find accommodation on their day of arrival. The majority of the way I stayed in municipal albergues, where sometimes you would arrive too late and have to continue to towns further down the road for a bed. Luckily for me, I am an early morning and fast walker so I often arrived before others and missed out on a bed just the once but got lucky in a town further away (two other pilgrims ended up walking another 20 km after that town). Some pilgrims I met were constantly left without a place for the night and struggled day in and day out. As the Frances Way is a commercialised journey, the new modern pilgrim style is reservations. If you are after a more medieval and traditional pilgrimage and don’t have an open mind, another route would be better as you will constantly be put into a fury by pilgrims’ accommodation reservations and taxi/bus mentality of many modern pilgrims. On long 35km plus walking days, I would often look up an albergue once I had decided how much further I would like to walk and locate a phone to make a reservation. Some pilgrims may frown upon this, but I did not want to take a risk of having no place to sleep after 45km (I was also unequipped for outdoor or floor sleeping with no sleeping bag or mat). If you intend to arrive late in the day too, in Pamplona, Burgos, Leon or Santiago de Compostela, you should try to book a bed in a private allbergue, as in the popular months they are often full within the first hour of opening time. I arrived in Pamplona at 10am and wished to stay at the municipal Paderborn which opens at 12pm. Waiting there for two hours, I felt stupid, but the whole albergue was full 5 minutes after it opened its doors.
Physical Preparation
The training I completed before the Camino was nowhere near enough. Essentially I didn’t really train, which was a mistake. I did not walk regularly enough or far enough. I did not train on hills. I did not train carrying the weight of a backpack. It wasn’t until I was over halfway on the Camino de Santiago that I was actually ready to begin the camino. This lack of physical preparation led to me having a very painful and hard first week. If I had prepared, I would have enjoyed these days much more and would not have ended up on the side of the road in the foetal position. Around day 10 I finally pushed through the wall and actually enjoyed the walking part of the Camino.
Packing Preparation
So crossing my fingers did not work. I began the Camino de Santiago with all my travel gear in my Osprey Farpoint 40L backpack weighing a total of 13kg with water. This was just stupid. On day 5 I collapsed and couldn’t walk any further and was ready to throw in the towel. I picked my bag up and continued. In the city of Estella I bought a new day pack filled it with 6kg of camino gear and sent the rest of my items to the next town I was headed for. I did this for two days until Logronno. Here I posted the excess to the hostel I booked stay at in Madrid after the camino and my life became sweet. So lesson learnt: DO NOT CARRY MORE THAN 10% OF YOUR TOTAL BODY WEIGHT! (Preferably less than 7kg.) The extra weight caused havoc on my joints and muscles which led me to walking as if I had aged 80 years in 5 days. Not bringing a sleeping bag or mat did make me rely on beds in albergues, which sometimes was stressful as getting a bed was like a game of musical chairs at times.
Mental Preparation
Everyday you make friends with fellow pilgrims who will help boost you. The friends I made in Estella are hugely responsible in my decision to continue my pilgrimage and not quit when I was at my lowest. After that, I learnt how staying positive was the biggest key to enjoying and thriving on the Camino de Santiago. If you focus on loving every minute and all the great inspirational things on the road, it is easy to make the distance with a smile on your face. Being positive allows you to walk through all pain and love every second no matter how hard. At times it was very difficult and I would stop and focus on outweighing any negative thoughts with happier thought processes. It led to me running up mountains with a great big smile plastered on my face wishing for more.
I hope this helps you with your initial and final preparations for your journey to Santiago de Compostela. It is a very personal journey and even if you think you have prepared perfectly, the camino will challenge that thinking at some point.
I wish you all the best.
Buen Camino!
Very good list!
Thanks Drew! 🙂