Camino de Santiago | Camino Francés
The first stage of my world trip I will not be doing alone. My best friend Vera and I are walking the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela.
We are taking the Camino Francés, the French Way of St. James. The one that is about 800 kilometers long. The one that, besides Hape Kerkeling, around 65% of all pilgrims so far have also walked. The one that takes between four and six weeks to complete, depending on fitness and speed.
And if we still have enough time and feel like it in the end, we want to continue on to Cape Finisterre and to Muxía.
Why are we walking the Camino?
Honestly? We don’t really know anymore. What is certain is that years ago, on a proverbial whim, we decided that we would one day walk the Camino together. Naturally, the long route, and naturally, the whole way all at once. And when my plans for the world trip started to take shape, we immediately took the chance to turn our whim into reality.
Timing works out well for both of us – Vera has two months before she has to submit her master’s thesis, and I can take the first step of my world trip in a relaxed way, in the best company. After all, neither of us, as beginner hikers, dared to go on a six-week hike alone. We know it will be at least physically and mentally challenging. But two stubborn heads who have made up their minds are not so easily stopped.
The Travel Gear
Relevant travel guides and forums recommend taking very minimal luggage—if you choose to carry it yourself for the entire route (there are actually shuttle services that transport pilgrims’ luggage from place to place!). In terms of weight, the recommendation is usually a maximum of 10 to 15 percent of your own body weight. This reduces your luggage to the essentials—especially when the obligatory hiking backpack alone already weighs 1.4 kilograms and the hiking boots are also fairly heavy.
When packing, we therefore limited ourselves to the number three: three shirts, three pairs of pants, three sets of underwear, three pairs of socks. In addition, a pajama, a fleece and rain jacket, sandals, and flip-flops for showering in the communal facilities. We use three practical packing cubes to organize the individual items and maintain some basic order in the backpack.
Large packing cube (clothes, towels)
Medium packing cube (hiking guide, journal and pen, flashlight, charging cables, pouch, guardian angel)
Small packing cube (medications, clothesline and pegs, washing cream, tissues)
Additional items: sleeping bag liner, lunch box, cutlery, cup, dish towel, glasses cases, toiletry bag, travel yoga mat
Document folder: passport, cash
All in all, my luggage comes to exactly 12.0 kilograms. With one set of clothes and the shoes I wear on my body, I carry about 10.0 kilograms in the backpack on my back.
Small spoiler: After just a few days, we already started sorting things out. More on that in the following posts. Just this much: every gram counts.
The Route and Accommodations
We are taking the classic route of the Camino Francés. We will start in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in southern France and will cross the Pyrenees and the border into Spain already on the first day. Of course, we plan to finish after 800.0 kilometers of walking in the pilgrimage hub of Santiago de Compostela.
As for accommodations, we are very flexible. We want to try everything, from really cheap pilgrim hostels with dormitories for 30 people to double rooms in bed & breakfasts—depending on what we feel like at the moment.
The Preparation
We prepared by reading several blogs and firsthand reports, creating a packing list, and acquiring all the necessary items beforehand. Vera did a few test packs to figure out the best way to fit everything. We had already tested our hiking shoes and backpacks during our trip to Ireland and found them to be suitable.
Other than that, the original idea was to build up a lot of physical fitness beforehand. That only worked out moderately well. And we deliberately didn’t want to overthink or overplan everything in advance, which would have tied us down and made us inflexible. We want to approach this as openly and unbiasedly as possible, seeing what comes our way and how we handle this challenge.
How it continued…
By now, I’ve completed the Camino de Santiago and had the chance to collect incredibly wonderful experiences. Are you curious to read more about it? Then take a look here:
Camino de Santiago | The First Experiences
Camino de Santiago | The First Time Alone
Camino de Santiago | The First Arrival in Santiago (tbc)
Camino de Santiago | The Second Departre, The Second Arrival (tbc)
