Have any of you done the El Camino de Santiago walk through Spain?
Two years ago, my DH found his beloved brother dead in his bed, most likely from undiagnosed heart disease. His brother had told his son (now almost 15) that he would take him on the El Camino de Santiago walk in summer 2020. Our nephew, who lives in Manhattan, has in the past two years taken all of his legally entitled “Dad time” with us, and he and DH have grown closer because of it. Nephew wants to do the trip.
DH is approaching 59 and is nervous about getting in shape for such an endeavor, never mind about taking 35 or more days off work to do it (he is self employed but very busy).
Looking for sources to learn more about this pilgrimage and/or personal anecdotes.
I’d never heard of this until it came up as a family thing, so I understand if I don’t get a lot of responses.
I have not, but have several acquaintances that have, and it’s on my bucket list. This from a nice Jewish girl. I actually had my opportunity several years ago when a major layoff had me off work for 6 months, but I chickened out because I was afraid of spending the $ (what if at 55 I couldn’t find work again?). I even sent away for my Camino passport, which sits along side my “vision board” (I am completing items one at a time) - Now, of course, I so wish I’d have kicked myself and just done it!
There’s another route, not quite as daunting, The English Way (Camino Inglés), that still provides a Compostela (the pilgrim’s certificate) https://caminoways.com/ways - But I want to do the full Camino de Santiago and take the final leg, going to Finesterre.
Tell your husband it’s not a competition, and the only thing he needs to be concerned with are shoes and not carrying too much stuff. For me, no boots. Never wore them, ever, and likely won’t start on the Camino. For me it’s a good pair of walking shoes or even runners. And no extra anything. If I can get away with an under 4 pound pack, that’s my goal!
I did the Camino in 2017. It was difficult but a lot of fun and an experience I will always treasure.
There are a lot of memoirs written by Camino travelers. Check Amazon. The best guidebook is by Brierley. The Martin Sheen movie “The Way” will give you sense of it.
A group called American Pilgrims on the Camino has local chapters. Our chapter regularly hosts Q & A sessions for first timers. They also have a Facebook page with lots of questions and answers and stories of pilgrims experiences.
Unfortunately the Camino Frances is getting so popular that finding a bed each night requires making reservations ahead. Timing is crucial. Spring and fall are best but popular. Summer is too hot. PM me if you have more questions.
Now you’ve got me started thinking about the Camino again and I just can’t stop talking about it! ha.
If your DH is worried about taking so much time, he could just do a portion of it. There is no ‘rule’ that a pilgrim has to do the entire thing from St. Jean to Santiago. The only rule is that to get the Compestelo a pilgrim has had to walk the last 100 km. or roughly from Sarria to Santiago.
35 days to do the entire 500 miles is really pushing it.
In my opinion the most scenic stretches were from St. Jean Pied de Port, France (where most pilgrims start) to Puente de la Reina and it’s lovely bridge. That takes the pilgrim across the Pyrenees and through Navarre and Basque country. The other really scenic part is from Astorga to Santiago, through Galicia. Again, mountainous and green.
We planned to do the entire thing but were over optimistic about how many miles we could do in a day. We were meeting another friend in Leon and weren’t going to make it walking so we had to take the train between Burgos and Leon and so we skipped the dreaded Meseta, which is a long, flat, treeless plain. Burgos, Leon, Pamplona and Santiago were all worth spending extra time in to see their cathedrals and historic sights.
Most important gear is footwear. Almost everyone gets blisters. Swab your feet in Vaseline before putting on socks and that seems to keep blisters away. Pack light. Really light. It will make the trip so much more enjoyable not to be carrying around too much stuff.
A friend of mine leads 2 trips a year (usually just a portion of it) and I see her FB posts. The people on her trips are generally older and look very happy! They have luggage transported separately. This is not a trip up Everest! Not saying parts won’t be hard - that is the nature of a pilgrimage- but I don’t think you should be worried. Prepared, yes. Excited, yes. And make sure your time fits your miles!
Love @TatinG 's post. I have a hankering to do this as well. It got me very interested in it again.
My D did it, the entire length from France. She ditched her boots and bought a lighter pair on the way that everyone was wearing. She met many people and throughly enjoyed herself. As @TatinG mentioned, your H could take a bus from time to time and meet his nephew at the end of the day if it gets too much for him.
Our D (26 years old) did it from St. Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona. She was by herself, but met people along the way and shared meals. Even though she likes to hike, climb and camp, she appreciated the shower and nice hotel room she had booked in Pamplona!
There seem to be ‘types’ on the Camino. Lots of older retired people. Lots of young people who have no job commitments. People who do just a portion and come back year after year to finish.
Before I started, I was extremely dubious. My thought was 'why don’t we just rent a car to see northern Spain?" ha. But the Camino hooked me. It was the camaraderie of an international group of walkers. We’d have such interesting conversations while walking or while sharing a meal and some wine in the evenings. We’d run into the same people in various towns and were glad to see each other again, like running into old friends.
We stayed in all sorts of places along the way. The albergues with bunk beds and communal meals were great for the experience and the fellowship. But in the bigger cities it was also great to book a luxury hotel with a private shower, big towels, and not having to share with lots of other people including snorers.
I wonder if @gardenstategal and I know the same person who leads trips.
H and I did about 70 miles or so of it in France, leading up to Rocamadour. Completely agree with all who are pointing to footgear as the biggest piece, and also agree that getting your luggage moved for you can make it a much more joyous walk.
I haven’t done it, but I’ve read about it and think it could be really interesting to do.
I think it would be great if they could honor the father/brother by doing at least part of the journey.
I haven’t done the entire Camino, but did do the last 200 miles–mostly through Galicia, which was quite scenic. Parts of the walk are hilly, but they aren’t killer hills and the path is well worn–hard to make a wrong turn.
We had backpacks, but they weren’t heavy, because you don’t have to carry food (except for water and snacks) or bedding. All along the Camino there are small towns that cater to The Pilgrims (walkers). You can easily get a meal and a place to stay. We never stayed in the alberques because we didn’t want to deal with communal sleeping arrangements. We would stay in small hotels or guest houses that catered to walkers.
You need to be fit enough to walk 10-12 miles or more each day but the Camino is not as difficult a trek as some other trails in Europe.
There was a thread about the Camino on CC a few years ago. You could find more information there.
I haven’t done the Camino but did Hadrian’s Wall in 2017. While this walk was just under 100 miles we did some training.
Doing it as a supported (i.e. your luggage gets moved each day) trip makes it way easier.
The hardest part is walking day after day. We did 1 rest day which was help.
Our traing regime was just to increase our walking. We did a bunch of weekends where we did 7-10 milers and a few where we did a couple of 10+ back to back.
The advantage of doing lots of training walks is that you can figure out what works best for you. My wife wears fairly light low boots and I like heavier ones.
