Camino De Santiago Advice and Tips
While I claim absolutely no expertise with regard to walking the Camino De Santiago, over the years, I have accumulated a little experience and am able to offer a few suggestions below. Obviously, your Camino will be your own, but the suggestions below may make your experience a much more pleasant experience.
Capacity - Know your Capacity and Work within it
I suppose it is a little hypocritical or rich for me to talk about this since I have a proven track record of initially resisting the reality of my capacity. But then I suppose, if you want a good outcome, it is a case of do as I say not as I do. I am apparently forgetful of my capacity, or perhaps too hard-headed to accept it… You decide.
Do not overestimate your capacity either to walk or carry. It is a huge mistake that even a Camino ‘veteran’ like me has made on most of my Camino’s. For example, this year, 2023, despite being four years older, heavier, and more unfit, I imagined myself walking 40km a day and then doing a yoga session afterwards… For relaxation. And created our itinerary with this in mind.
It was not until I was confronted by the Camino that it gave me a harsh dose of reality by kicking me to the curb a few times, not to mention my husband telling me multiple times that I could not do it, (but why listen to him?), that I realise my Ego has got the better of me. I am no longer a spritely 21-year-old. But I suppose that it is hard to let go of what I once was and even at my age, I am a little competitive and since my husband can walk long distances with relative ease and carry heavy weight, I believe I should be able to do the same. Despite the fact that he exercises every day and prepares for the walk, and I do not.
But what is even stranger, is that despite his training, he does not want to walk 40km a day. He prefers not to carry and to walk around 25km and enjoy the Way. He prepares so that he can walk comfortably… Silly man. 😉
The Way of Saint James is difficult enough without adding ridiculous distances and heavy bags. So do not do what I do. Do not pick a fight with the Camino and be knocked to your senses. Instead, be sensible to start with. I know… Its a revelation. Only the best advice here.
Furthermore, do not be tempted to overextend yourself on Camino. It is very difficult to recover on Camino as it has the tendency to wear you down, not build you up. So that one day that you walk 40km will likely have a negative impact that you will find difficult to recover from whilst on Camino.
Personal, mediumistic and Spiritual development – One can say the same from a developmental perspective. People are often impatient and want their personal, spiritual and mediumship development to move as quickly as possible. They set unrealistic expectations and are disappointed at not achieving them and then feel like giving up.
Feet
Your feet and the way that you walk, are some of the most influential factors on the Camino De Santiago that will influence the quality of your experience so much so that problems with your feet can end your Camino. Issues with your feet like blisters, bunions, flat feet, calluses etc. or bad ‘form’, i.e. the way you walk, will at best lead to a painful walk and perhaps a miserable experience, and at worst, can lead to compensation in your posture that can cause complications that lead to leg, hip, or back injuries that will make it impossible to continue.
Prepare your feet and improve your form before you go and preemptively care for your feet each day whilst on Camino.
Calluses – It is a misconception that calluses, i.e. thick hard skin, on your feet, will protect your feet from the rigours of the Camino. Nothing could be further from the truth. You are not a hobbit.
You need the skin on the soles of your feet to be consistent, soft even. Pliable. Flexible.
The issue with thick hard skin is that the border between hard skin and soft skin is where the flexible meets the less flexible and whilst walking long distances, internal rubbing of hard against soft may occur resulting in a blister. A blister that will be partially under your hard skin. Obviously, blisters are not what you want and you should do whatever you can to avoid them. With proper foot care, appropriate footwear and socks you can avoid blisters altogether.
Remove all hard skin from your feet before you walk Camino.
Blister Care – Another popular misconception is that if you have a blister you should leave your blisters alone as draining them can lead to infections. The problem with blisters, especially on the soles of your feet, under pressure, will spread out, delaminating, more of your skin.
It is best to drain your blisters with something that has been sterilised without breaking the lower layers of skin and causing bleeding and lead to infection. People often use a sterlised pin to puncture their blister and then drain them. However, whilst I have done this in the past, I prefer to use a small pair ot nail scissors to put a cut into the blister as blisters once drained often fill up again and a pin hole may not be enough to keep them drained.
People often cover their blisters with Compeed a brand of blister ‘plaster’, a patch of silicone-type material or ‘moleskin’. I personally do not like them as they tend to ‘squidge’ out underfoot and stick to your socks. I prefer to use an ordinary sticking plaster supported by sports tape, (not zinc oxide tape), see my first aid kit below.
Wear appropriate shoes – see below
Bunions – Misaligned ‘Big’ toes
Foot posture – Resolve, as best you can any walking issues before you go. Unl=healthy walking ‘form’ will lead to issues down the line.
Footwear - Boots, Shoes, Sandals or Barefoot
Boots are unnecessary for Camino and are too restrictive.
Wide Toe Box – Modern shoes, even modern walking boots are ridiculous in their shape and conform to a modern fashion standard rather than a human standard. Your feet are not pointed… Or at least they should not be.
If you take an ordinary shoe turn it so that it is sole up and then place your foot on the sole, you will discover that the shoe is not the same shape as your foot… Assuming that your feet have not been deformed by searing shoes… See bunions below. Your bug toe should be straight alined with the direction of your foot and not point to the outside. Your toes should be splayed and not clumped together. Take a look at baby’s feet before they are crammed into shoes and deformed.
This is not good. Forcing your feet into an unnatural shape is not good for your feet and by extension, not good for you. Choose wide-fitting shoes with a wide toe box.
Feet are a wonder of natural development and engineering. They are a beautiful and practical design and design that modern shoes damage and hobble. Set your feet free from modern stupidity. Victorian women were encouraged to damage their bodies by wearing corsets. Renaissance women used deadly nightshade eye drops to dilate their pupils to make their eyes more attractive. And Eastern women, even to this day, have their feet bound to make them small, (footbinding).
Wide toe box shoes or even barefoot shoes are the way to go.
Stability – Whether at home, work or on Camino, one of the biggest issues that older people face is falling over. A significant fall can result in massive injuries, that often are debilitating or require lengthy rehabilitation. Modern shoe design does not help you with your stability. Pointy toe boxes and thick soles contribute to instability, weakening and deformity of feet and thus overall instability. You need to be able to splay your toes out to stabilise your feet and thinner souls to be able to feel the ground, adapt and know where your feet are.
Bigger size – In all likelihood, your feet will swell whilst walking therefore choose shoes that are at least a half size bigger, UK sizes or one size bigger, European sizes.
First Aid Kit
You will need a First Aid Kit. My husband and I carry quite an extensive one because he is in the habit of helping others with supplies. Anyway, here is a list of things that we carry. You may not need all of them, but I would suggest plenty of strip plasters, sports tape, scissors, alcohol, and cotton wool pads as a bare minimum.
Sun Exposure
One would think in this day and age, that with all the health information we have, it would be unnecessary to say this, but apparently not. The sun in Spain, even on cloudy days, is harsh, especially if you are from more Northern countries or have paler skin. While a sun tan may seem like a good idea, it is not. A sun tan is merely an indicator of massive sun damage. From a vanity perspective, it will age your skin and it can lead to health issues like cancer. Wear a high SPF sunscreen and avoid walking in the open in tee-shirts and shorts otherwise, you will burn yourself and regret it. The amount of people on Camino with skin the colour of a cooked lobster is quite extraordinary. It is like being at the beach back in the 1970s when people were just grateful to be there and did not consider the harsh reality of skin cancer or looking like an old saddle bag by the time they were 40.
Rucksacks and Backpacks
When walking Camino, the most common thing to do is to carry your possessions with you in a Rucksack or Backpack. If this is what you intend to do, do not pack for emergencies or unknown eventualities. Anything you might need in an emergency, you can buy along the Way, therefore pack the bare minimum. The lighter your bag, the better. Try to keep it under 20lb or 10kg. Furthermore, choose a bag that is comfortable when loaded, and that fits you properly. You are going to walk 500 miles or 800km with it on your back. If it rubs or digs in, it will make your journey miserable. Also, when loading it, heavy at the bottom, light at the top and evenly distributed from left to right. If the bag is unevenly packed it may lean to one side and it will become uncomfortable over time. Also, a leaning bag may cause posture problems and result in a back injury.
Asuggested packing list:
- 2 Shirts, (tops), one on one off.
- 2 Trousers, one on one off.
- Plenty of underwear, you should be wearing more than one pair a day.
- Plenty of socks, again, more than one a day and they take a little longer to dry after washing.
- A torch or headlight, you will need one.
- First Aid kit.
- Wide-brimmed hat.
- Bio-degradable toilet wipes. Better than toilet paper and you will be toileting in the ‘wild’.
- Something to sleep in.
- Sunscreen unless you like your skin to look like leather.
But if you do not want to carry, you do not have to… and I prefer not to. If you use a courier, you can pack a little more generously.
Luggage Carriers
It is unnecessary to carry your luggage whilst on Camino. There is this idea that a true pilgrim carries their belongings with them, however, historically, people did not have multiple changes of clothing nor the numerous modern convieniences that people carry with them today. All they had were that clothes on their backs, and perhaps a satchel or bag to carry some water and food. It is you that walks the Camino, not your luggage.
If you do not wish to carry or are tired from carrying, then utilise one of the many courier services. They are relatively inexpensive. Amongst others which we have used in the past, Spain’s national post service, Correos, will carry your bag for you. Correos’ website is easy to use and they are really reliable, see https://www.elcaminoconcorreos.com/en/ .