Walking the Camino

, Hi Vicki, I walked the Camino from St Jean Pied du Port in 2010 starting on May 22 and finishing in Santiago on June 23, 33 days of walking, eating. spending time with friends sleeping, then getting up and doing it over and over and over again for those 33 days. Once you do this the Camino it becomes a part of you and is in your thoughts everyday. Since St Jean is such a small town up in the Pyrenees there is not a direct train from Spain. I don't have any specifics about getting to St Jean from Barcelona, but I recommend taking the train to Pamplona and then you can get to St Jean easily from there, it takes about 2 hours to get to St Jean by vehicle and 3 days to walk back. There are buses and a shuttle service you can use. The shuttle service is called Express Bourricot, there is a new bus service to St Jean so I'm not familar with it but I've read about it on Camino message boards, some people taxi, that would be an option if there were enough people to share the cost, there is also a regular bus service that goes only to Roncevalles and some people taxi from there, a less costly option then taxi all the way from Pamplona, but unless things have changed it doesn't leave Pamplona until 6 PM so it would get you into St Jean a bit late and there is only 1 bus per day, the two buses I mentioned are different companies, just to make that clear. I have quite a bit of information such as websites and a great packing list I can pass on to you, I'll PM you with my email address and I can send it that way, this site doesn't allow for long messages on PM's. With 5 wks/35 days you should be able to do it, I took 1 rest day in Burgos, I didn't feel the need for any others, it might be cutting it close it that includes your travel time, but if need be you can always bus a bit, some people might frown upon that but it's your Camino, do it as you please.

A very devout friend of mine who did the Camino partly walking and partly by transport, was told by a Nun at one of the hostels that as long as she did it "prayerfully" it was perfectly acceptable.

Vicki, there are several books by people who have walked the Camino, describing their experience. Perhaps you could try your local library or amazon. One of them is by Shirley MacLaine, the American actress. It's called "The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit". She did the pilgrimage just like everybody else. Tim Moore wrote "Travels with my Donkey" - he walked the Camino Real with one. Both of these books were interesting and entertaining reading and have "good tips on walking the walk".

The books I enjoyed reading, both personal narratives of the experice, are "The Year We Seized the Day," by two Australians, and "I'm Off, Then," by German comedian Hape Kerkeling. It is apparent from reading these, as well as my own experience with a long-distance walk (but not the Camino) is that you MUST take food care of your feet. A bad blister can interrupt your trip and make you miserable. Even well broken-in shoes or boots can cause blisters when it is hot, especially if you don't wear the right socks. No cotton socks! Wear Smartwool or a good synthetic wicking sock. Stop and treat any hotspot immediately before it turns into a blister. And carry a good blister kit in case these measures fail. Compeed blister patches (available from a pharmacy in Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe) are the best.

The book that Lola mentions "I'm Off Then" has made the Camino very popular in Germany, Hape Kerkeling is a well know (in Germany) comedian, Germans were the second most from one particular country (after Spain) people walking. As Lola also mentioned, blisters, it was by far the most common ailment I witnessed on the Camino. At some alburgues they would bring someone in during the evening to treat pilgrims. Luckily or wisely I didn't suffer from blisters because I wore liner socks under my hiking socks, they are a thin sock that doesn't move instead the friction is between it and the hiking sock, I always and will always encourage people that undertake the Camino or any other long hikes to wear them. When I would ask people if they had liners on occasion I would get a yes, I'd ask why they weren't wearing them and most people said they feet were too warm, well, I'd rather have warm feet than blisters any day. I did however suffer from shin splints and some edema in my ankles, so everybody does suffer somehow on the Camino. Alot of people that have seen the movie The Way are inspired by it, I'm glad to see that, the one thing they didn't do in the movie though was show people having ailments such as these, but then it's a movie to inspire, nothing to nitpick over.

Thanks heaps everyone. Barry, I will definitely buy liners. Like you I would rather have warm feet than blisters

Liners work for some people, but not for me. I gave up on them years ago, finding it too hard to get the right fit (close and wrinkle-free) and also it seemed most are too abrasive. I do strenuous hikes with 3500 feet or more of climbing and descent, as well as ski mountaineering that puts a lot of stress on my feet on the uphill portion. After trial and error and lots of blisters, I found the best for me are pure wool hiking socks in a woman's fit that hugs my small narrow foot perfectly. No liners; the socks are designed to be worn next to the skin. Mine are Smartwool, but I don't know if those are available in Australia. You probably do have Icebreakers, which are good merino wool. Something like this makes a nice summer hiking sock: http://www.amazon.com/Icebreaker-Womens-Hike-Lite-Mini/dp/B005GTKC9O I'd suggest doing a lot of walking before you go, comparing a liner + sock system with just a single good wool hiking sock. (Mine have a terry inside and I think that helps eliminate the abrasion.) You won't know until you try it which works best for you, and you want to have this figured out before you go, not along the Camino! The walking might help you avoid shinsplints as well. Those are no fun either. They generally come from ramping up your activity level too quickly (as in increasing your mileage suddenly.) If you do develop them, ice helps (assuming you can find it.)

Book:Camino De Santiago by John Brierley. Back Pack.(Built in Rain cover) Max 35 Litre. Max 15Kg.with Waist and Chest strap.(Berghaus free flow) Socks. Proper walking socks. Blisters: A little Vaseline on the feet + Blister pack. Boots. Not new. Good head cover + High factor suntan lotion. Take a day off every 10 days to chill and do laundry. May see you on the trip as I am going in May. Good walking
James

Instead of Vaseline on the feet try a product called BodyGlide. It comes in a stick form. Dr. Schools sells a similar thing called Blisterblock or something like that. Running stores and outdoor stores carry these, or maybe you couldnorder from someplace like Amazon. But I bet you can find it in Australia at a store that sells running clothes and workout wear.

Have been told by a fellow Australian, she used pawpaw ointment. It's big over here. Have already started our journey in India, so can't buy anything on line now. Thanks anyway.

How many miles a day are you allowing for the 5 week
plan?

You can get a ton of information and answers to all your questions here:
http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/?sid=76a37c1a7e1d8e84c8680a194db6f1cc