On the Camino

An earlier post of mine had pictures of everything that I took on the Camino (or rather everything that I could find to take pictures of!). Here's a bit of advice on packing for you. In general less is best; a lot of people take far too much and end up having to dump it or posting it forward to Santiago post office (who will then hold your items for 30 days ready for you to collect, many people have used this option and found that it works well for them but I have never myself done it). I was told before my first Camino to carry no more than 10% of your body weight which may work well for some people but as someone who weighs about 46 kilograms and is about 1m 55cm tall this is impractical – if you want to carry your own backpack all of the way then only carrying 4.6 kilograms is simply not possible. I carried a bag weighing 6-7.5 kilograms and found this to be a practical weight for me. I would say never carry more than 10 kilograms – you don’t need to and your Camino will not

I was looking back over my diary for my first Camino (in 2009) and came across this list that I must have written after I had returned home about what I had learned whilst walking: The journey is more important then the destination Don’t make too many plans It’s good to share experiences If you don’t turn around and look back while you climb the mountain the you’ll miss the view It’s just as okay to receive as it is to give There can always be quiet times Some people have heavier loads than others Seven little things that I must try to remember still - these things can be easy to remember whilst still walking but can be difficult to remember when you return home so you have to remind yourself.

After returning from my first Camino in 2009 I did this short talk based around the five questions that you are likely to be asked at least once should you walk the Camino: 1.     Where are you from? 2.     Where did you start? 3.     How much does your bag weigh? 4.     How are your feet doing? 5.     Are you going all of the way to Santiago? Where I am from is an easy one to answer: Nottingham and that invariably brought up the subject of the man who became a constant companion on my Camino – Robin Hood because I found that never mind where people are from they have heard of him! But I did meet people from all over the world: Spain, Portugal, Canada, Australia, America, Germany, Italy, Holland and there was a feeling of everyone coming together from all over the world for a common cause, all coming together just like the symbol of the Camino the shell which used to be carried by Pilgrims on their way back from Santiago as proof that they had completed their Pilgr

I'll try and keep putting up sellos for you every now and again - next year I'll hopefully have some for you from the Portuguese Camino!!