Somewhere Slowly

With one week to go before I head for Spain, I am doing the usual packing, unpacking, panicking and repacking, tweaking the contents of the pack and the toiletries and … and … and then I thought about all the other times I have packed and how the packing list always changes as you learn something new about the camino or yourself and your preferences. So I thought I’d make a random list of some stuff people forget to tell you:

Bring salt! You will be working and sweating, even if you don’t notice it much as you bimble along, so you will want and/or need to increase your salt intake. There is usually no salt on the tables, though they will bring some if you ask for it. That won’t help if you want to eat al fresco though, so bring a small salt cellar or even those paper sachets from home. Boiled egg with salt in the sunshine … yum!

Take your insoles out every night or the moisture trapped between the shoe bed and the insole will make your shoes stink – if your hiking sandals get whiffy (looking at you, Teva), try soaking them in warm water with a few denture cleaning tabs! They kill bacteria and your sandals will smell nice and minty fresh.

Everything hurts on Day Three – think John Wayne with sore muscles – but by about Day Ten you’ll be strong, camino fit, feeling like you’re flying! After a few weeks people get so chilled they seem camino stoned …

The Irache wine fountain is not a fountain as such, but a fuente like the water ones – a tap on the wall. (And the wine isn’t that good. Sorry.) Don’t fill your flask, it’s greedy!

Your metabolism will go into overdrive, so you might lose weight – but your hunger will stay in overdrive for a while after you come home, so the weight you’ve lost can easily find you again.

The camino flu, aka albergue fever, or norovirus, can hit you at any time, so bring some diarrhoea tabs – you don’t want to try to get to a pharmacy when it strikes. If it does, it’s probably best to stay put near a bathroom for the next 24-48 hours, sipping Aquarius rehydration drink and nibbling at something salty. Don’t make plans.

Ladies, exercise and exhaustion can mess up your period cycle so pack some of your products!

Broken or basic English works better than “real” or colloquial English. Think about what you are saying and how you are saying it; would you understand that level of any other language? Not “I’m spitting feathers here” but “I really want a drink/I am very thirsty/Need water.” Be willing to adapt to who you are talking to, and also try to learn some Spanish before you go.

Not everyone wants to be your new best friend, and you won’t necessarily want to be theirs. Respect other people’s boundaries as well as your own. This is your time and your camino.

Homesickness can occur – or not! Try not to feel guilty about it either way. Yes you are taking time out for yourself and you are worth it. And it can be good to miss someone and look forward to coming home. Just not yet. Remember why you wanted to walk!

Whatever you do, however you prepare and whatever you pack, at some point you will be hot, cold, wet, hungry, thirsty, tired, sleep deprived, achy, homesick, annoyed, unwell: you will feel lost and worried and low and doubt yourself and resent others and miss foods and people and comforts and privacy, but it will all go away and pale compared to the fun, the joy, the achievement, the adventure, the friendships, the laughter and meals and stunning views and this awesome new you that keeps moving on and making the most of every day from sunrise to sleep and the memories you take home with you. And then you will miss it so hard that you can feel it in your bones.

Arriving can feel like a huge anti climax. Post camino blues is real. The camino is genuinely addictive and can cause massive upheaval in your “real” life. Don’t worry. You’ll be glad it did.

(Also, size up your shoes; don’t take them off inside a bar/café; no rain gear in the world can keep you dry in Galicia; don’t leave mess and toilet paper along the trail!; don’t write on the road signs; try the local foods; take more photos; don’t overpack; short showers please; top bunks give you more space; and your credencial will probably end up being a more treasured possession than the Compostela.)