Sticks or Poles?

I am still undecided if sticks or poles are necessary or useful when walking the Camino. I have heard all sorts of arguments for and against, but remain unconvinced either way. By the time we leave for the Camino Ingles in less than four weeks I am hoping to have made my mind up one way or another.

In 2010 I walked the 800 plus kilometres of the Camino Frances almost completely without sticks or poles. For a short stretch we (Janey and I) did use sticks that were given to us, but couldn't get on with them, so left the for someone else to use. Sussi and Laila, our dear walking friends did , however use poles pàrt of teh time.

On the Portguese Camino, despite the steepness of some of the climbs again Janey and I did not use sticks or poles, whilst Sussi stuck with them

On the Camino Primitivo I started out without sticks or poles, but by day four was talked into buying some sticks which I used the rest of the way and found them very useful, not only as aids for walking but also to talk to- yes I talked to them as a way to self-motivate! 

Let me know if you have a view either way. I really do need help! 

Camino Friends - ONE

Setting out on our first Camino in 2010 Janey and I had no idea of what sort of people we might meet along the way.

We were delighted to make many friends, many of them for life.

By day four we had joined up with some delightful people and even earned ourselves a nickname of the Camino Famous Five - which was called after us all over the place.

Along with Janey, my sister in law (from Sussex, UK), and myself (BCN, España) the Camino Famous five included Sussi from Finland, Laila from Sweden and Kees from Holland. Incidentally Kees had walked all the way from Amsterdam, having start out months before the res of us. We spent almost 24/7 together and  knew things about each other that we probably never should have. We bonded like family and were there for each other and when we went our separate ways cried buckets!

 

The language of the camino

On the Camino you get to hear many different languages. Of course Spanish as it is the language of the country but you will also hear Euskadi,  the language of the Basque country and Gallego, the language of Galicia. 

As people come from many different countries to walk the Camino there are so many different languages spoken all along the way. 

During my walk I have heard Spanish, French,  German,  Dutch,  Finnish,  Swedish, Italian, Korean just to name a few.  But the language that is the lingua franca, or most spoken language, on Camino is English,  or at least a type of English.  Being an English teacher I'm quite fussy about the way English is spoken and often find the way that non native s speak my language humorous.

For instance when we stayed in Rabanal, where there is an English run albergue,  we saw a menu board outside a restaurant that gave us quite a few laughs. For instance what are Friek eggs?

 

That being said I have to take my hat off to all those different nations for practising English along the way because in general they do very well and make themselves understood without too much problem.

Camino Paths

The Caminos are made up of a variety of types of paths, from alongside the road, on tarmac, to beautiful leafy groves where the only sound is the sound of nature rejoicing. 

Today I thought I'd share a few images of those paths and leave you to add your own wording.... some go up, often steeply, some down, just a steeply and many just meander gently along the level... 

These were all taken along the Camino Frances in 2010.  Each one special in its own way.

It's a very good place to start

Where to start your Camino can depend on many factors, and of course will depend on the Camino your are following.

In 2010 when Janey and I walked the Camino Frances we started in Sant Jean Pied de Port.  Being Camino naive we assumed it was the only place to start when walking the Camino Frances. We soon found out this not to be so, but for me I wouldn't have wanted to start anywhere else.

Getting to St Jean was slightly difficult. We took a train from Barcelona to Pamplona. Share a taxi from Pamplona to Roncesvalles -quite by chance another group of walkers were looking for another two pilgrims to join their taxi .. someone looking after us perhaps? From Roncesvalles we had already booked a taxi to the other side of the Pyrenees and into France before leaving.  The journey by taxi from Roncesvalles to St Jean gave us an idea of what we would be doing the following morning.

ST Jean Pied de Port is a beautiful place, and an excellent starting point. It has little cobbled streets, interesting old and beautiful buildings and a comfortable feeling about it.

And of course starting here means we started our Camino with the climb, not easy but rewarding, up over the Pyrenees:

Yes -all in all, in my humble opinion St Jean Pied de Port was a very good place to start.

To cap it all

Some days walking the Camino the sun can be relentless. Now that might be fine for anyone with a full head of hair, but for me and my receding hairline (from all directions) I need a bit of protection from getting a sun-burnt head. 

So of course each year I've designed a cap to match the t-shirts that were featured on this blog a couple of days ago.  

caps are excellent for keeping cool too. We simply dunked them in the streams and under fountains until they were soaked then put them back on our heads. The (sometimes freezing) cold water was a shock at times, but wonderfully refreshing.

In 2010 both Janey and I had the following fetching headgear:

Fetchingly modelled by Janey here, halfway up the Pyrenees

In 2011 a slight change in style

Again modelled beautifully by my wonderful sister-in-law. 

In 2012 a change in colour -

 an  ill-advised change as when wet the colour ran and faded really quickly

Here you can see my preferred way of wearing it, attached to my rucksack instead of protecting my head! 

and for this year, restyling to a khaki cap...

Along with the caps a jaunty scarf is advisable to protect the back of your neck, especially as most of the time the direction of the Camino means that the sun is directly behind you. 

Camino Magic

From our very first day on the Camino France, back in 2010 as we climbed the Pyrenees we knew Magic was afoot. 

The first sights we saw that morning were breathtaking as the sun started to rise showing us the wonder that was all around us. The mist in the valleys with peaks rising above look spectacular, and this was just the start. 

Daily we saw things that excited and amazed our senses. And of course some days were more special than others.

On each of the Caminos I have walked I have had days of wonder, days of Magic. On the Camino Frances walking through the forests from Villafranca de Montes de Oca was a special time. The forests had such energy and I could almost feel my very being vibrating as we walked through them. It almost felt as we were being drawn along that day. Ending our walk in Ages that night I guessed that we were being drawn to this tiny hamlet.

Ages between Belorado and Burgos, for me, was an incredible place. It was truly magical. From the moment we arrived there I felt uplifted and energised. Incredibly I found I was able to read without my glasses whilst we were there. Something I hadn't done before for a long time, nor have done since. 

On the Camino Portugues we found similar pockets of intense energy, and the place that sticks in my mind most was Padron. Visiting the hill behind the albergue the evening we stayed there I became supercharged with energy to such a degree that others thought I was running a temperature. The heat coming off my body was real, and lasted well into the next day when we started out again. That evening we had a Quemada, another kind of Camino Magic.

Last year on the Camino Primitivo I found magic too. This time it was whilst walking up one of the steepest parts of the walk. Guided by a small herd of cows initially, I walked untroubled by anything. My step was light and the air was filled with a certain something that is hard to describe, magic really doesn't capture that feeling. 

If you'd like to read more about the magic we found on the Camino Frances it's all described in my bestselling book (click the title or the cover to go to my Lulu store):

The Magic of the Camino, 

available in paperback, E-book and even in Spanish.