The Grown Up Gapper's Top Camino Tips

Here are my top tips for "doing" the Camino

1) You MUST start from St Jean Pied de Port, be a proper pilgrim! The part of the Camino between St Jean and Pamplona is by far the hardest but equally the most rewarding.

2) It is acceptable to miss bits out and cover some of the route by bus or train. Just remember that to get your certificate from the cathedral you must have walked the last 100km or cycled the last 200km into Santiago itself.

3) You will need to do some training before hand particularly for those first few days. Remember you don't get blisters from the treadmill at the gym! You will need to hike properly not just run on the spot in the warm.

4) Ignorance is bliss. Do some research about the route and what you will see etc but don't read any of those blogs that go into great detail as to how hard it was and how their feet fell to pieces. All that will do is sow seeds of doubt as to your capabilities.

5) In Roncesvalles stay at the Hotel Roncesvalles. After the climb over the Pyrenees you deserve it.

6) You are a pilgrim not a martyr - there is no shame in not carrying your bags. We only carried our rucksacks on one day. There are companies in St Jean that will carry your luggage to Roncesvalles and when in Spain the postal service Correos have a luggage transfer service for the whole of the Camino. They will pick up your luggage from one place of accommodation and transfer it to the next for about €5 or less a day. All bookable online - in English

7) Plan in some rest days - Pamplona, Logrono, Burgos and Leon are all cities that are too good to miss.

8) Make sure you are at the wine fountain early in the day - it's soul destroying to get there and find it empty.

9) Go at your own pace and interact with your fellow walkers. 10 minutes chat here and there with a passing walker will provide you with some of the best memories. You will find that you also look out for people each day, not to have a long friendship with, but just to check they are OK. People will be looking out for you too.

10) Plan to leave Sarria on a day other than a Sunday or Monday - the crowds on the trail will be less.

SPAIN - Santiago de Compostela

So here we are in Santiago de Compostela last resting place of St James the Apostle. He is after all the reason why so many pilgrims have made the journey from all over Europe to this part of northern Spain. Is it really him in the silver casket behind the high altar of the cathedral? Well of course that is open to debate just as is the Turin Shroud and all the other relics around Europe. Really it's all about what you want to believe - does it really matter if it is him or not - if you believe it is then there is no reason why it shouldn't be. 

I'm quite happy to go along with it.

Santiago therefore is all about it's cathedral. It is currently undergoing a huge restoration programme so that it can cope with the ever increasing number of pilgrims (and cruise ship visitors!) for many years to come, As you can see from the photos it's not currently open for services, so no chance to see the huge incense burner (the Botafumeiro) being swung from transept to transept. It takes 8 men to swing it on a pulley system and one of the theories as to it's origin is that the pilgrims arriving at the cathedral were a bit smelly and therefore more incense than usual was required!

Despite all the renovation work you can still go behind the high altar and see the silver casket that contains the saint's bones.

Elsewhere Santiago is a busy but lovely city to wander through, The granite paved streets are buzzing with pilgrims, tourists and yes cruise ship passengers bussed here from Vigo and A Coruna.  The shops are mainly tourist related selling the usual souvenirs - but if you have just walked over 200km to get here, why shouldn't you treat yourself to a Camino t-shirt!

SPAIN - 201 km later

Father forgive me for I have sinned again .......

Today's post should have been all spiritual about us finally reaching our Pilgrimage destination. Instead I have to report laughing out loud next to a group of American pilgrims huddled around a slug. One was heard to exclaim "It looks like a snail without a shell"

In their defence - I can now report that I have checked the internet and there are large parts of the central USA that do not have slugs. Maybe I should not be so quick to judge!

The atmosphere on the Camino today is very very different. We stayed in Pedrouso last night. This is where several pilgrimage routes from all over Spain converge and pilgrims make themselves ready for the final day walking to Santiago.  Everyone today is walking with a purpose, renewed energy and renewed happiness.  

Eventually you reach the point where you get your first view of the great cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

We then walked through the suburbs, tiredness relieved by excitement. At one point I was high fiveing a older lady who I'd never met before because we had reached the sign saying 1 kilometre to go.

Eventually you wind through the narrow streets of the old city and reach the main square in front of the cathedral.

Our credencials are now full of stamps - Andrew & Sue have more than me because sometimes I just couldn't be bothered to get mine out to stamp. 

So we queued this afternoon to get our Compostela's written in Latin saying we have completed our pilgrimage. We also got a distance certificate where the distance walked has been calculated from our stamps 

201 Km 

SPAIN - Back to normal on the Camino

You will have gathered from the last two posts that I have been a bit fed up with some of the other walkers on the last 100km of the Camino - but that has now all changed as we have had the trail pretty much to ourselves.

We have surmised that most of the people walking the last 100km to Santiago are aiming to do it in a week and therefore start on a Sunday or Monday - hence why the trail was so packed with people when we left Sarria on Monday. Now of course thanks to our dodgy guidebook we are about half a day ahead of the crowd and once again have the Camino to ourselves and a few other hardy walkers.

Today I spent, just 10 minutes or so, walking with a lady from Taiwan who like us started in St Jean but unlike us has not left bits out. She was therefore on day 32 of her Camino, still plodding along day after day.  It made me think of people we met crossing the Pyrenees who were expecting to arrive in Santiago in just over a month's time - they still have a long way to go.

Galicia continues to be Galicia - very different from the rest of Spain - this time because of the forest.  Today we have walked through a lot of forest but this is no ordinary forest because the trees are eucalyptus. Apparently they were introduced into Spain and Portugal in the late 19th Century as they are fast growing and produce good timber.

Eucalyptus Forest

At the end of the day we are now less than 20km from our destination

Could be Dartmoor or Exmoor?

Some cows to make you go ahhhhhhh!

SPAIN - 40 km about 25 miles today

We've hit a bit of a problem - it became apparent yesterday whilst walking to Portomarin that the distances in the book we are following (and that we used to plan the trip) were no longer adding up with the distance markers along the Camino. Consequently we have had to walk 40 kilometres today - 7 more than we expected and indeed we have to do an extra 7 tomorrow. Yes folks the book is about 14 km out and that's half a days walking for us. 

Sign made from shells indicating the direction of the Camino

A granite pilgrim

The circus that is the final 100 km of the Camino continues. The new pilgrims are still squeezing into their lycra outfits, still tending their blisters (although we do have a couple between us now) and above all still getting in the way. Today we have seen pilgrims catching taxi's, thumbing lifts and one group that had a van of food and hot drinks meeting them every hour or so to keep them nourished!

So on that note lets talk about the Spanish province of Galicia. 

Whilst Galicia is part of Spain is it also part of the "Celtic Fringe" the area that includes Brittany, Cornwall, Wales etc. Like those areas Galicia has a very distinct identity. The climate is much the same as their Celtic neighbours, meaning that the landscape is green and lush, dairy farming with Freisian cows is prevalent - although interestingly Spain doesn't really do  cream - so no Cream Teas! - and the local stone here is granite, again unusual for Spain. 

So when walking through the landscape it  shares many characteristics with the other Celtic "nations" and often you feel that you could be walking through Cornwall or Wales.

This house could easily be in Cornwall

One thing I should point out here that I'm not a fan of - they play the bagpipes!

SPAIN - The new pilgrims

"Father forgive us for we have turned in to St Jean Snobs"

Today we got an early train from Monforte de Lemos to Sarria.  Sarria is about 110km from Santiago on the Camino and to get your certificate (your Compostela) at the end you have to complete at least 100km of walking. As Sarria has good road and rail connections it is a popular place to start your Camino.

Trouble is that here there are no mountains of Ben Nevis proportions, no walking up and down the steep slopes of the vineyards in Rioja and for those doing the whole thing, no walking for days through the endless grain fields of the Spanish plain (the bit we missed out).  In fact judging by our first day west of Sarria, it is a nice walk through countryside very similar to that in south west England.

Familiar looking countryside

Now we were aware that there is a bit of "them and us" mentality between the hard core pilgrims and the Sarria to Santiago pilgrims - in fact there is graffiti that says "Jesus didn't start the Camino in Sarria" - and now I have to confess we are feeling this too.

The problem is that we are no longer a group of people of all ages battling over the Pyrenees and supporting each other as we go. The "world and his wife" is here, which means more litter, queues of people along the trail - half of them on their phones - loud voices spoiling the countryside.  They are stopping after 4 hours of walking to tend their new blisters - don't they realise we have been walking for days? They are wearing lycra outfits when they clearly have a figure that should never be anywhere near lycra. And above all they are SO SLOW - we have been overtaking large numbers of people half our age and more!

We started in St Jean - we are proper pilgrims!

These stores are for storing corn on the cob

We are now less than 100km from Santiago

Staying tonight in Portomarin by an area of the River Mino that was dammed to form a reservoir

It's not all luxury

It has been said - you know who you are!! - that we have been having a bit too much luxury on this trip bearing in mind it is supposed to be a pilgrimage with a bit of penance thrown into the mix somewhere.  So before this blog goes any further I therefore feel the need to reveal the experience of our accommodation in St Jean Pied de Port. 

Andrew and I shared the responsibility of booking the rooms and he came up with this little gem.

Basic room, no bedding, no ensuite and to be honest no sleep either. The authentic, rustic experience for all penitential pilgrims looking for salvation and with this, Andrew followed the brief and truly embraced everything that is the Camino.

A week later and I think I must be following a different star, certainly one that doesn't do stables, because all I could find for last night was the Parador in Monforte de Lemos.  Well at least it's a former monastery.

SPAIN - The City of El Cid

Spanish medieval hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar more commonly known as "El Cid" was born near Burgos and is buried in Burgos Cathedral, our next port of call on the Camino.

We travelled here from Logrono by train and anyone reading this whilst planning a trip to Spain should note that the city's railway station - Burgos Rosa de Lima - is literally a "station in a field" on the outskirts of the city so you will need to use a taxi transfer.

Burgos is dominated by its cathedral housing El Cid's tomb, which is directly under the octagon lantern in the centre of the building.

  

El Cid's tomb

The rest of the city made up of an historic core surrounded by modern developments and is a pleasant place to wander and soak up the atmosphere.  Burgos seems to be a popular place with "Stags & Hens" and I've seen lads dressed as ladybirds, girls dressed as minions even a bride to be, dressed as a Big Ben style clock. 

From Burgos its a 5.5 hour train journey over to the province of Galicia (the part of Spain above Portugal) where tomorrow we will recommence our walking and start the last 100km of the Camino which will take us to Santiago itself.

SPAIN - Party Time in Logrono

Logrono, the capital of Rioja, sits on both the Camino de Santiago and the River Ebro.  It's fiesta celebrates an event in 1521 when the city was besieged for 17 days and just as it was about to fall the Duke of Najera arrived with 4000 troops and liberated the city.

The fiesta was taking place over the weekend we were there and included lots of wine, lots of tapas and a general party atmosphere. It also included folk dressed up in costume acting out important events relating to the siege.

I can recommend white Rioja wine as well as the red. Interestingly here they chill some of the reds as well as the whites. One odd thing though was that people were drinking  a drink called a Kalimotxo which is ....... wait for it ........ equal quantities of red wine and coke, with ice! Sounds weird, it is weird, but Google says "Don't knock it until you try it". So then blog readers there is a challenge for you laid down from Spain.

Now enough of wine, as we are supposed to be on this pilgrimage thing I suppose I had better show you a couple of pictures of the cathedral.

 

SPAIN - Wine Country = Headache Country

We have climbed mountains, crossed rivers and streams and re-homed a wild boar piglet but this is a Pilgrimage and so far it has not been particularly spiritual. Well this morning that was remedied as when I woke up the Lord was telling me that perhaps last night I consumed slightly more wine than was absolutely necessary for a pilgrim.

Today marks the last of our days walking at the eastern end of the Camino and we have reached the wine producing areas of Navarre and Rioja. We walked from Punta la Reina through to Estella taking in vineyards, olive groves, wheat and barley fields and enchanting small towns and villages.

The Pilgrims Bridge at Punta la Reina

Our first vineyard

The village of Cirauqui

Grain fields and poppy fields

Water

One feature of the Camino is that there are frequent water fountains where you can refill your water bottles.  At Irache (just beyound Estella) there is a fountain that dispenses red wine instead of water. Unfortunately it only dispenses 100 litres a day and when we arrived the days supply had been used up so we did not get any - another divine message perhaps?

Wine

We are now going to journey to Logrono by coach before taking a train to Burgos and finally Sarria to start the last 100km along the Camino to Santiago. The next post will be from Logrono where it is fiesta time - sounds like a good excuse for some more wine!

SPAIN - Watch out - there's a bull behind you

Now blog readers, I am not going to get into the pros and cons of bull fighting, other than to say, just like fox hunting in the UK, it's not something I would want to get involved in but I equally have no real urge to protest against it.

Having said that I do have a soft spot for Pamplona and the feast of St Fermin or as we know it the "The Running of the Bulls". For around 3 minutes a day for the week of the festival (starts 7th July) the bulls have an opportunity to get their own back and sometimes they really do with major injuries or deaths. 

Each bull run starts just before 8am when the runners (who all wear white trousers, white shirts and red neckerchiefs) assemble in front of the statue of St Fermin and ask three times for its blessing. Then at 8 o'clock a rocket is fired and the bulls released.

They chase the runners up the hill and round by the Town Hall. The runners carry rolled up newspapers to agitate the bulls with (why would you torment a bull that's about to run all over you?)

The runners and bulls then have to negotiate a  ninety degree turn into the Calle de la Estafeta - this is the most dangerous bit because both bulls and runners slide on the cobbles as they turn the corner.  After running the length of the Calle de la Estafeta everyone finally (providing they haven't been gored or trampled) arrives at the bull ring. 

If you fancy running with the bulls - AND YES I AM MEANING YOU! - Please not that most (in fact all) travel insurance policies will not cover you for this activity.

SPAIN - The rain in Spain .........

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain - what a load of rubbish. 

As us Brits know from The Lake District the rain clouds bumble along until they hit the mountains then drop their load in one go. Today has been VERY wet but the camaraderie among the Pilgrims is still there, even though some of my cheery "Hola, Buen Camino"s have been met by grunts.

This pic of an abandoned boot in the rain pretty much sums up today's experience.

SPAIN - WANTED - Home for Wild Boar Piglet

Today was much easier, as we were hiking our way down through the foothills of the Pyrenees. After the tough challenge of the peak yesterday, there was a growing camaraderie among the "Pilgrims" - sharing the experiences of the first day and generally touching base with fellow walkers.

Monastery church with hotel building on left

We started from the relative luxury of the Hotel Roncesvalles rather than the large dormitories of the traditional pilgrim accommodation and headed down through more stunning scenery - beech forest - crossing streams and rivers by bridges and stepping stones.

This tranquillity was brought to an end about an hour before the end of our walking day with a thunderstorm. As we were walking along in the rain we encountered a (very cute) wild boar piglet. My initial concern was "Where's Mum?" - they are quite big and can be aggressive - but it eventually it became apparent that it had been spooked by the thunder, run off and somehow got trapped on the footpath which was fenced in on both sides. Therein was the problem, with fence on both sides there was no where to encourage it to go. The piglet then decided that with no mum we were the next best thing and decided to follow us, everywhere,  running around our legs etc. 

So what do you do when followed by a wild boar piglet up in the hills in a foreign country? Big moral dilemma, given its survival prospects were being reduced by the minute.

Well at the end of the path there were some houses, so we let it into someone's garden and closed the gate. At least it could have fun digging up the grass!

FRANCE & SPAIN - OMG - We did it!

They say the first day's Camino is tough - well what an understatement - but it was awesome.

St Jean Pied de Port is at 157 metres above sea level - we had to climb to over 1400 metres to get across the Pyrenees, before dropping down to about 950 at Roncesvalles to stay the night in the former monastery there. At this point I have to convey the achievement here because we climbed to OVER 1400 metres on foot - Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain is ONLY 1345 metres.

It was a long hard slog and took us over 9 hours (with some breaks) and all but the last couple of hours were up hill. Once the early morning cloud had burnt off it was also fairly hot. The scenery was amazing, some of the peaks in the distance still had snow on them. 

There were cows with cowbells and sheep with bells too but for me the highlight was the large number of birds of prey soaring on the thermals overhead. We saw one catch lunch and when their shadow passed over, you realised just how massive these things are. A quick check on the internet revealed that they were most probably Griffon Vultures with a 2.5 metre wingspan! Huge!  

Roland - Charlemagne's son - remember him from the statue in Bremen? - he came this way too. There is a fountain/water point on the French/Spanish boarder named after him and in the monastery complex in Roncesvalles a crypt where legend has it he died. Can't give you more information than that because on arrival at the monastery I couldn't be bothered with anything else other than a cool shower and a comfy bed. Just as well part of the complex is a (really nice) hotel!

One word of advice to anyone planning this walk - Pay the €8 to have a taxi carry your luggage for you. It's far too hard to carry your rucksack too - although many do!