OUR CAMINO JOURNEY
The First-Timer's Guide to Walking the Camino de Santiago - 8 Tips to Soothe your Worries
Planning your first Camino de Santiago can be quite daunting. These not-so-typical tips will get you started and take away some of your first-timer nerves.
Embarking on an 800-kilometre (500-mile) walk across northern Spain is enough to create worries in any of us.
Am I fit enough? What gear should I take? Where will I sleep?
What will I do if something goes wrong? Will I cope with walking alone?
All legitimate concerns, after all, good preparation for such an undertaking is essential. But tying yourself up in knots over-researching is not good for the nerves. So here are some not-so-typical tips to help alleviate any first-timer's worries.
1. Lean on your Camino Family
Who knew there was this big Camino family out there who want to help you? We didn't before we started preparing for our Camino. Stumbling on the Camino de Santiago forum was a godsend. All manner of questions have been asked and answered here, giving you peace of mind that you are not the only one with that off-the-wall question.
The family vibes continue if you spend your first night at Beilari in St. Jean Pied de Port. Joseph and Elizabeth host a delicious vegetarian communal dinner with get-to-know-you games. Sound painful? Well, it wasn't. It was perfect for focusing on why you are about to do this. Joseph created something that first night which lingered throughout our 37-day journey. Longer for us, life-long friends bonded from shared highs and lows.
Our Beilari family.
2. Trust the Brierley Bible
A lot has already been written about John Brierley’s Camino guides, and rightfully so. Pitched as the 'practical and mystical manuals for the modern-day pilgrim', they are right on the money for guiding you step by step through your Camino journey.
This book is all you need to plan your days, where to eat, sleep, and what to see. Everything. Painless and stress-free.
3. Timings can Make or Break it
Timings can make or break your Camino experience. What time of year you walk, even the time of day you walk.
Summer can be as busy as hell, which may be right up your street. But be prepared for competition for a bed for the night, and a noisier walk as pilgrims chatter away along the trails. It will be darn hot too, but probably rain free.
The best option, in my opinion, is either Spring or Autumn, both of which are quieter people-wise and cooler too. You do need to prepare for chilly morning starts, warm afternoons and the occasional risk of rain. We got lucky with our mid-September start, only getting two short showers. Barely worth getting out the rain gear.
I also recommend getting your butt out of bed early each morning. The earlier you start, the more peaceful the trails. You get to experience the sun rising and usually get the pick of the bunks and clean showers at your next hostel. Particularly important the closer you get to Santiago when the number of pilgrims increases considerably.
4. Stop Chasing the Perfect Gear List
As a Camino virgin, you will find yourself pouring over every packing list you can find, trying to perfect your gear list. You will spend days looking at ponchos versus backpack covers, sleeping bags versus fleece blankets and sneakers versus hiking boots.
My advice is don't sweat it. You will be just fine. Yes, you need some essential items, but they don't need to be fancy or expensive. Less is more for sure, when you have to carry it day after day.
Just make sure your backpack and boots/shoes fit well and are comfortable. Practice with them on day hikes before you leave. Invest in good-quality socks and carry a small first aid/feet care kit. A headtorch is handy for those pre-dawn starts, and walking poles takes the pressure of the joints and improve your endurance. See our complete packing list here.
5. Keep your Feet Fantastic
Nothing really prepares you for the toll that walking 20-odd kilometres a day, day after day, takes on your feet. You will feel your fitness improve, your lungs and heart getting stronger, but your feet get increasingly grumpy with the daily toil.
Daily foot care helps to mitigate some of the issues. Rubbing Vaseline into our feet before heading out helped keep blisters at bay, with the odd exception. Washing and moisturising in the evening helped too. Our friend Ann swore by her Wrightsocks. She endorses their magical properties for keeping her feet blister-free.
But the single best thing I found was some Camino-specific yoga stretches you can do from your bunk bed. Two exercises, in particular, were as painful as they were effective in stretching out the tops and bottoms of my feet. I don't think I would have made it to the end without doing this torture at the beginning and end of each day.
Look after your feet and they will carry you to this magical place.
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As with all of life, everything is not perfect. Your time on the Camino will be no different. For us, the good outweighed the bad and the ugly ten-fold. We loved the people we met, often our paths intertwining for days on end. Some have now become good friends. We loved the daily routine of walk, eat, sleep. The simplicity of it all is refreshing. We loved the actual walking with all its beauty, challenges, and rewards.
The bad, well maybe not bad, but different was the last 100 kilometres. Quite a different experience than the previous 700. Busier, yes, of course, but also a different type of pilgrim. Larger groups are often noisier and less considerate. It took a lot of zen will-power to zone it out, that and starting super early in the morning.
The ugly (and preventable) was the litter and graffiti. A personal bug-bear of ours sadly scarred the Camino landscape. In particular, the fairly new kilometre markers which had been defaced, often by the same person - we all know who you are, Julius! As for the loo paper - pick it up, ladies, compostable doggie poo bags are ideal. It's not complicated. Anti-bac hand sanitiser is your friend.
7. When Things Go Wrong
Your Camino experience is unlikely to be a total walk in the park. Things can and do go wrong. Adapting and rolling with the punches is the best approach.
On a small scale, watch out for Sunday nights. Despite the numerous hungry cash-carrying pilgrims heading through the towns looking for a feed, many restaurants and supermarkets close on Sundays. So plan ahead and don't get stuck like we did, in the middle of nowhere, famished after a 22 km hike with only nuts and a pot noodle for dinner.
On a slightly larger scale, I had to suck up my pride and adapt. After 10 days, just as we were about to hit the Meseta, my achilles started to give me grief. Each day it got progressively worse with my pace dropping to about 2 km an hour. Gutted at the thought of not being able to finish, I took a curveball option and decided to bike the Meseta, whilst Steve continued to walk. It added a new dimension to my Camino, giving my feet a rest but creating aches and pains in new places! It was fun and challenging despite the supposed flatness of the Meseta. I also got a couple of rest days in León waiting for Steve to catch up. By then my achilles problem had eased off, and the chance of finishing the Camino seemed possible again.
My advice is don't beat yourself up if you need to adapt - hire the bike, ship your pack, take the bus. Do what you need to do. It's not a competition with anyone else or yourself.
8. Emotional Rollercoaster
One thing that is hard to prepare for is the emotional rollercoaster you may feel as you walk day after day. Camino wisdom states that you will go through three stages as you progress along the trail - physical, emotional, and spiritual. No doubt it is different for everyone, but for me, it was physical, physical, physical! It is hard to stop your brain from dwelling on every little ache, pain or niggle. Every. Single. Day. In the end, I just accepted this for what it was, which allowed me to focus on everything else around me. The undulating countryside, the farming villages, the bustling cities.
That said, I did have the odd emotional experience. Usually, when walking alone along the alternative tracks. Solitude has a way of allowing our deepest thoughts to surface for consideration. It's good to get yourself some alone time, even if you are walking with a friend or partner.
As for the spiritual side, this only hit home as we limped into the plaza in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on day 37. A heady mix of emotions collectively shared by grinning pilgrims sunning themselves in little groups scattered across the square. Intoxicating.
Whatever your journey brings, keep your mind and heart open. Walking the Camino de Santiago will be one of the best things you have ever done. You will find yourself dreaming of returning to enjoy the simplicity of walk, eat, sleep, day after day.
Buen Camino!
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11 Hot Tips for Walking the Camino de Santiago
Walking the Camino de Santiago? Top tips to make your Camino journey easier and more enjoyable.
Whatever your reasons for walking the 800 kilometres (500 miles) Camino de Santiago we believe these tips will make your journey a little easier and enjoyable. We completed our own Camino over 37 days in late September 2016, and it was undoubtedly the highlight of our travels last year. We met some crazy people and made new lifelong friends. We stepped out of our comfort zone and found peace with the daily walk, eat, and sleep routine.
1. John Brierley’s A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Camino de Santiago, aka Mr Eyebrows (see photo on the inside cover). This book was our bible during the walk. A detailed overview of each stage, with excellent information on the towns, accommodation, and places of interest. We suggest getting out of sync with the 'top of the page towns', or you may find yourself trying to secure accommodation along with hundreds of other Brierley bible carrying pilgrims.
2. Beilari, we can’t recommend enough the hostel that we stayed at the day before the start of our Camino. The team at Beilari in St Jean Pied de Port could not have been nicer, the communal dinner was a blast, a wonderful evening getting to know our fellow pilgrims. Joseph and Elizabeth prepare you in the best way possible for your journey.
3. Vaseline (petroleum jelly), we each went through a tub of this during our Camino trying to minimize issues with blisters. A liberal application between the toes and around the heels before stepping out each morning. It’s also a good idea to reapply every 2-3 hours.
4. Walking poles, park your ego at the doors, boys. Collapsible poles are a must. They help absorb a lot of the pounding that otherwise will be transferred to your knees. Some of the terrain can be very tricky, especially if it's wet. But please, please buy the rubber tips. In fact, have spares in your bag. The clackity-click of metal on stone can drive the most patient person crazy. Plus, you can practice your guitar moves at the end of a long day.
5. Gaffer tape (Duct Tape), tear strips off the roll, and stick to the walking poles for use later. Gaffer tape is a bit of a fix it all, rain cape, backpack, boots, and clothing. Just don't use it to cover up blisters. It will rip your skin away when trying to remove it.
6. Ear plugs, if you are staying in communal albergues and we recommend that you do, then ear plugs are a necessity that will drown out most of the evening noise (snoring) and let you have a great night's sleep.
7. Golf ball, after 4-6 hours of pounding the Camino, rolling a golf ball or squash ball under your feet is sheer bliss. If you forget to bring one with you, you can pick one up at the golf course which you pass at Cirueña (stage 9), and it makes for a great souvenir of your journey.
8. Start slowly, day 1 takes you over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles. Tackling the whole 25 kilometres (1,200-metre elevation) can make for a very tough day as it typically takes 8-10 hours. There is the option to stop halfway at Refuge Orisson. This needs to be booked in advance. You get another fun-filled communal dinner, so get ready to introduce yourself to fellow diners.
9. Practice, get your new boots or shoes and loaded backpack out for a number of practice walks. We did several 10-15 kilometre hikes beforehand. One of us is so very pleased that the other one of us pushed hard for those practice walks.
10. Head torch, should be one of the first things you pop inside your backpack. On several occasions, we left well before sunrise (seeing stars from horizon to horizon was a massive highlight of our walk) and having the head torch made it so much safer. But be considerate of your fellow roommates, and don't shine it in people's faces as you prepare to leave.
11. Routine, we would often arrive at our next accommodation before anybody else. Our routine was always to jump into the shower as quickly as possible. They can get pretty skanky once everybody has arrived. Then we would do our washing and get it out to dry. Only then would we chill, maybe look for something to eat. It can get crazy in some of the bigger municipal albergues so getting the essentials out of the way early makes life a little easier.
There you go. Hopefully, one or two of these tips will find their way into your Camino journey.
Please note that some of these are affiliate links, so we earn a small amount if you buy anything through them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this site!
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