Walking the Walk

Let’s walk, Pilgrim. grab your passport.

So who is a Pilgrim? What does that mean to you? The answers are simple but varied as the individuals who set their feet to the Camino. The term pilgrim used to have deep religious meaning on the Camino trail, as it was often an act of penance and devotion to walk the distance. Credentials were issued starting in the middle ages to attempt to halt the fraudulent practice of claiming distance not actually covered. These days “pilgrim” is more of a catch all term for any traveling on the camino for what ever their reason may be.

Officially, to be recognized as a pilgrim on the Camino, it is necessary to obtain a pilgrim’s credential, sometimes referred to as a pilgrims “passport”. They are easy to get all along the camino route in tourist or Camino offices, churches, etc. No need to over worry getting one before you depart, you will have plenty of opportunity to grab one where you begin your Camino. They are usually either available for a small donation or a couple of Euro.

As you progress along the Camino, you will present your credential at the albergues, bars, hotels, churches and many other stops along the way and collect dated stamps known as “sellos”. While most are just fun mementos of where you have been, they are also a date and distance confirmation to obtain your Compestela when you arrive in Santiago.

You will need to obtain one stamp per day until you are 100kms from Santiago, after that you will need 2 per day.

Don’t worry. The sellos are so plentiful that you can get 4 or 5 per day of you choose. Many pilgrims run out of room and buy 1 or 2 more credentials along the way.

If you desire, at the end of your journey you may opt to receive your Compestela(certificate of completion) from the Church. Optional certificates of distance and non religions certificates of completion are also available. For many this is a cherished memento of their Camino.

Finding your way

After all of your training and prep you have finally arrived in St Jean(or other starting point along your chosen camino), you have your credential and are ready to head out.

How in the heck do you know where to go from here?

Lucking most Camino routes are well marked and finding the markers are for the most part easy and part of the experience.

A few symbols are used for directions on the Camino de Santiago . The Concha, the yellow arrow and the KM stone.

No need for GPS coordinates and complicated topographical maps. Unless you decide to hike in darkness or are moving though a high snow pack area you should have little to no problem finding the ever present markers. Most commonly the yellow arrows painted EVERYWHERE.

When in doubt you can always follow all the other folks with backpacks walking the same direction. Pilgrims are pretty obvious…

Guides and Apps

Guide books and apps are always comforting and a terrific tool. The venerable and omnipresent guide book is A Pilgrims Guide to the Camino de Santiago by John Brierley.

This guide has assisted hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pilgrims to walk the Camino. Breaking the walk into easy to understand stages that can be done in a day(usually) the Brierley guide gives map directions, elevation profiles, accommodation information and some great general tourism tidbits for each area covered.

Well worth purchasing the most current year publication, as the Camino can change radically from year to year.

These days a lot of pilgrims are turning to apps for their smartphones. We have used the Wise Pilgrim app to great success and will continue to do so. For the low price it is well worth the planning information and ability to book accommodations right from the app(using Booking.com or direct email contact) without needing to call the next poor albergue manager with your iffy language skills.

The app also has the added benefit of allowing pilgrims to post real time reviews of lodging so problems can be quickly and easily identified and shared.

There are also other well designed apps and well written guide books available. Take some time to look for additional publications and your app store or other option.

How far can I go?

Determining how far you may be able to hike on a daily basis is largely up to your conditioning and desires for your camino experience.

Many guides, such as the Brierley and the Wise Pilgrim app, give you essential information on what to expect from every section of the Camino. Consider carefully fitness level, the terrain and elevation you will cross, your available time and especially any tourist opportunities that may interest you. While hiking 25 miles a day may get you across the Camino quickly, it might leave you little time to explore the marvelous opportunities available. Leaving yourself with a few hours of leisure time in the evenings can be worth the extra days it may extend your camino schedule.

Changes in altitude and terrain can make for unpleasant surprises. Careful examination of the next few day’s trail should be a part of your planning and any arranging of accommodations.

That backpack looks heavy!

If you find yourself with an injury, an over packed pack or just want less weight to haul on some of the more rugged sections of the Camino, you have the option to ship your bag to your next destination.

Remove what you need for your day of walking, being sure not to leave any valuables in your backpack and take it to the lobby.

At almost every albergue and hotel there will be plenty or printed envelopes from companies such as Jakotrans and Correos.

Simply fill out the form on the from with your personal info and what albergue or hotel you want your bag sent to, tuck a few Euro(usually 5) into the envelope and seal. Attach envelope to your pack and set it with the pile of other backpacks.

Be sure to ask if the albergue or hotel worker will be calling the transport companies. If not, you may need to. The number is on the envelope.

Once you get all that done, start walking. Your bag will be picked up and transported to the destination you wrote on the envelope for you to gather up when you arrive.

You don’t even necessarily need to be staying at the location you indicated. You can step into the lobby and grab your bag and go if you so choose.

Emergency Transportation

If for any reason you require transportation, taxi, bus, train and shuttle services are plentiful and very reasonable. The detailed information is far too complex to list here, but rest assured that any albergue or hotel worker can help you arrange needed transportation.

Don’t be too proud to use transportation if you need to. Saving yourself a day or two of your scheduled time to recover form an injury can salvage the rest of your Camino!