I was asked recently what would be my top ten things about the Camino de Santiago – so here it is. 1. The people, the other pilgrims. The other pilgrims I met is my number one on the Camino, all Camino routes. I feel I was blessed. I don’t like crowds, however, I do in general like talking, and listening to other people. I, being an English speaker, was amazed at the amount of people that spoke English when it [...]
Stage Five: Primitivo Oviedo to Santiago, May 2nd to May 14th We were flying by now. Yes, our feet still hurt and at the end of the longest day of the whole trip, (41km, a choice so I didn’t have to stay in a dormitory…), I thought I would die. But the next day our bodies were as good as new. I was the fittest I had ever been, no knees problems, bunion issues or back complaints. Light shoes still going [...]
Stage Three: GR 10 Saint Jean Pied de Port to Hendaye April 5th to April 10th This section wasn’t strictly the Compostela/ Camino. One of our hosts who only allowed you to stay if you carried your pack the whole way told us it would be fine to do this by train, but while we intended to take it a bit easier we walked. The weather was extraordinary. An early summer had hit the region. No snow and brilliant blue skies and [...]
Stage Two: Chemin de St Jacques Le Puy to Saint Jean Pied de Port, March 4th to April 4th This section, on the Le Puy Camino, took us to the wind swept plains of the Aubrac. Cold, I got frostbite on my nose which took weeks to heal but no snow and so we were able to cross through one of the worst marked sections. Thankfully we had a GPS and a thermos. Our bodies had settled down a little but we [...]
Stage One: Chemin de St Jacques Cluny to Le Puy, February 17th to March 3rd It seemed we were destined to walk the Camino. Well, in retrospect. I had six months long service leave and we had a house in France. Okay we could have stayed and enjoyed the local food, wine and terroire but from the first time we saw the scallop shell on a lamp post in Tramayes, which our house is on the outskirts of, we were hooked. Enough [...]
This is a post from Des O’Dowd, thanks. I retired on the 1st of September 2008 and I wanted to celebrate my new life and new freedom. The Camino de Santiago was the challenge and adventure I needed. So in late September, like children going on a school tour, myself and my fellow retiree Pat McEvoy arrived in Dublin Airport with our rucksacks packed. We flew to Biarritz and two hours later were in the beautiful village of St. Jean [...]
I think I am a terrible example of getting fit before walking the Camino de Santiago. I walked only once for about 3 hours, with a rucksack, to see how I would be walking before going to Spain. I did have some hill walking experience, though not a lot. I would have walked in the Wicklow hills about twice per month in the two years previous to my first Camino, that was it in total. The year before my first [...]
One of the most common questions I am asked when I speak about the Camino is how long is the Camino de Santiago in kilometers and miles. Usually, I just answer by saying 780 kilometers – though if the person is very interested I will get into explaining that there are many different routes in Spain and lots of other Camino routes throughout Europe leading to and joining the main routes in France and Spain, so the distance is [...]
I lost about 8kgs, about 18 lbs, over a four week period. So yes I did lose a lot of weight on the Camino. However losing weight was never one of my intentions for walking. I did not set out on the Camino to lose weight and I must admit that it never entered into my mind at any time while I was there. Losing the weight was simply the result of walking, I ate pretty much anything I wanted, including [...]
In 2004 I first walked the Camino Frances the main Camino de Santiago route; I first wrote this article in 2009 and thought it could do with some updating. I was a student at the time and I wanted to do something different during the summer, something interesting – I am not one for lying on a beach and prefer to be active. One of my college mates had walked from Holland to Santiago de Compostela a few years before [...]
Walking the Camino is without a doubt an extraordinary experience – but what about walking the Camino de Santiago with children? An escape, an adventure in time where too many things are planned out and controlled. But it’s not always easy to get away, especially if you are taking care of more than yourself. Perhaps you have been dreaming about this Once you have children it’s not always easy to get away. Perhaps you have been dreaming about this pilgrimage for [...]
You have to be fairly motivated to walk the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain – as it is 800km. Usually 800km with your rucksack on your back containing everything you need for a month. Sleeping in hostels with strangers, communal showers, and no privacy. To many this does not sound like a holiday or a good use of their precious time, however, more than 100,000 people [...]
The Camino to Santiago might be a spiritual journey, but it’s not exempt from common earthly troubles like bed bugs. Who would have thought that such little creatures could be such a huge pain in the neck? In the past decade, bed bugs have infested some albergues along the Camino causing trouble not only to pilgrims but also hospitaleros. Although inconvenient, the problem is being handled and should not be a reason to give this one-of-a-kind journey. In fact, bed bugs are [...]
When planning a pilgrimage, travelers, besides deciding what route to take and what to pack, are often faced with a choice of going for it alone or as a part of a group. The forums are swirling with questions such as “I want to do the Camino, but I have nobody to go with, should I go alone?”, “I couldn’t agree on dates with my friends, but I still want to go, is it OK?”, “Is it better to travel [...]
The Pilgrimage to Santiago is a one of a kind experience. While many would love to walk the entire way, it is not always easy to get away from our day-to-day duties and responsibilities for a whole month. Rather than giving up the journey altogether, many pilgrims opt to undertake a shorter one-week version of the Camino. When the time is limited, people want to make the most of the experience. Thus, the pressing question on the minds of [...]
