Freedom. Simplicity. Fellowship.
Just you and yourself.
And maybe at times your boots and sun-cream as well, but they do not get more attention than they deserve.Every step you take lead you forward. Not back again, just forward, towards the new. Behind every crest lays a new landscape. New villages are being born, new faces are seen. New friend are made every day without feeling of loss over the friends from yesterday. We all have one thing in common, the willingness to move forward.
We met after a few days walk into Spain, and it did not take long before we realised that we might be more than "one-day" friends. El Camino brought us together and we made a connection in a very special way. We continued our adventure and ambition to move forward, but together. Never far apart, not in thought nor in presence.
The Way
There are plenty of different ways. The most popular is the "Camino francès" that mean "the French path".
But which one you take depends mostly of your time and physical condition.
You can start from your home and reach the closest way or you can fly direction to Le Puy-en-Velay or St-Jean-pied-de-port. Those are the two main starting point for people coming from a long distance. But every thing is in a walking distance if you have time... :)
From Le-Puy-en-Velay it is 1500 km to Santiago and from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port it is about 800 km.
I (Alexandre) started from home, Switzerland. I walked 2000 km and it took me 77 days.
Josefin started from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-port and completed the Camino in 24 days.
Preparation
Try to measure how many kilometers you can walk in a day. This will as well help you to plan your travel.
Packing
As light as possible. You will need:
- backpack, about between 50 and 70 liters. I personally like bags with pockets on the side for bottle of water, it is important to have easy access of your bottle when you are walking.
- pair of walking shoes, you don't need heavy and hard mountain shoes, but you don't want running shoes either. What you need is something in between. They need to be higher than running shoes but soft.
- hat
- 2 trousers, light and ample; one for walking and one for after. ( you can add a pair of short but trousers are good to protect you from the sun.)
- warm sweater, in wool or fleece.
- 3 pairs of socks and underwear, you don't need more as you are going to wash them daily.
- 2 t-shirts
- rain jacket
- towel
- soap, shampoo, toothbrush and paste, you can add few things from your pharmacy like sun cream and care for blisters. (don't take to much things, I know that a small bottle doesn't weight so much but one plus one plus another one they become heavy)
- sleeping bag, you don't need a very warm one as you are going to sleep inside every night.
- guide book
Tips
Drink water often, every time you think about it, drink, every time you see someone drinking, drink. I saw several people that had to take a flight home because they had tendinitis and the only thing you can do to avoid it is to drink enough.
Your backpack should weight maximum 15% of your own weight.
Walk in the morning as much as you can. When you walk every day, your body needs time to reload its battery and one night is often not enough. So think about to wake up early and rest during the afternoon.
