8
CAMINO QUARTERLY
Q & A Extremes & Options
along the Camino Francés REBECCA GALLO
Where will I stay? See pages 16–17: “Albergue Life” and “Types of Accommodations along the Camino Francés.”
How physically fit do I have to be? Some pilgrims are experienced hikers; others arrive without any practice at all. Most of us, however, fall somewhere in the middle: we are not athletes, nor do we trust our bodies to take us five hundred miles without any practice, so we do some training prior to our departure. As a woman who faced boredom after just three minutes on a treadmill, I needed another plan. Four months before my Camino, I bought a pedometer and started tracking my steps, increasing my goal by 2000 or more steps each week. By the time I left for the Camino, I was walking between eight and ten miles per day, and had managed more than a few fifteen-mile days. No need to drive anywhere. Just put on your shoes and get out the door. I did most of my training on roads, hardly any on mountains, and only donned a pack the last week of my training (though I’d recommend practicing with your pack a bit more than that!). How heavy was your pack? At JFK Airport, my 42-liter pack tipped the scales at 10.4 kilos—a whopping 23 pounds. I read Camino packs should be ten percent of
© Darcy Wolfe 2013
Can I afford to do it? My six weeks on the Camino (from St. Jean Pied-de-Port to Santiago) cost me $1,700, not including airfare. (I used frequent flyer miles.) Most Americans spend more than that on a one-week vacation. I could have spent even less had I cooked more often, not “splurged” on a couple private albergues, and not had to see a doctor for a mysterious skin rash. On the other end, I made the acquaintance of a South African woman whose entire Camino (meals and accommodations) was pre-booked for her. Many tour companies offer such packages and these range between $30004000, not including airfare.
one’s body weight, which meant I should find someone twice my size to carry mine. Like many pilgrims, I discarded items at albergues along The Way, and by the time I reached Santiago my pack was down to sixteen pounds, still exceeding the ten percent rule. However, there is nothing preventing you from bringing whatever you want, because there are services along the way that will transport your pack from one albergue to the next for 7 Euros. This is also a great option for those not physically able to walk with a pack. And then there’s Cherise: an experienced hiker I met from South Africa whose pack was just four kilos (nine pounds). I aspired to be like her when I grew up. What about the food? Five star restaurants are not standard along the Camino to Santiago, nor are they the standard fare of pilgrims. Of course, you can enjoy fine dining in the large cities along The Way (Pamplona, Burgos, León, and Santiago).
Additionally, some, but not all, towns have restaurants where you can select from a menu of options. At the other extreme, the South Koreans I met only stayed in albergues with kitchens and cooked together every night. Their first meal not made by their own hands was in Santiago. Most pilgrims, however, will experience a variety of dining options. Many restaurants along The Way serve a Menú del Peregrino (Pilgrim Menu). For nine to twelve Euros, a pilgrim is given a first course (usually salad or soup), second course (meat), and dessert (yogurt, fruit, occasionally something sweet), plus your choice of a half-liter of wine or water. Many pilgrims tire quickly of the Pilgrim Menu (and as a vegetarian, I found my options limited, although there are occasional vegetarian restaurants along the Camino). I enjoyed restaurants on occasion, but cooked for myself as much as I could. Sometimes others contributed what they had and the meal was shared. Some of my best Camino memories were made this way.