So we did the Camino Frances from end of August through October and we agree on everything you suggest! Especially the extra hump poncho! Might suggest a half dozen clips of some kind to keep your poncho from flying up when it's raining and windy. Clips were also handy for hanging (clipping) not-so-dry socks to the back of your pack! We also brought Ibuprofen cream and Compeed - I was not a fan of the Compeed because, unless you have a shoe with a large toe box (ie, Astra shoes) the Compeed caused [me] extra pain and pressure on other parts of my feet. I tended to wrap blisters tightly in a good band-aid so that the blister (or the remaining skin) didn't tear. I heard gooping Vaseline on your feet was a secret to blister-free feet...I just couldn't bring myself to doing it. We didn't have ENOUGH Ibuprofen cream! We ran into so many pilgrims with aches and either provided a handful to them or simply gave them the tube! We, also, sporadically used our sleeping bag liner - more at first, then mine ended up in the bottom of my pack. The "Bible" - I found it exceptionally useful; however, we did rip pages out as we went because it was bulky. What I also found the guidebook had albergues and other places to stay that were not showing up on the apps we used, so having both was a plus! I saw a very small percentage of people wearing boots when we went. LOTS of trail runners! Darn Tough socks - my wife bought them and loved them also! She bought more for this spring Camino...yes, she got a few blisters, too, and she was wearing boots initially (not blaming the boots). Watching your Camino was a thrill! Thank you for sharing your time and allowing us to reminisce from our own Camino!
Thank you for commenting Bill...this is priceless advise! I think that I (Mark) will be looking to wear trail shoes in September wen we do the Porto, we will report back if better than boots 👣
Some handy tips there guys. We too took Brierley, but also used the Camino Ninja app for booking etc. The book was great for history/background, but we found the app better for distances, facilities in villages and booking. It was also nice to break out of the "stages" mentality that Brierley can instil due to the nature of the way the book is structured. In terms of other gear, did anyone use Injinji toe socks and vaseline to counter blisters? Glad to see you all home safe and with a smile on your faces!
Hey Grant...thank you for watching the video. We never tried the vaseline method, however, a lot of pilgrims swore by it! The smiles are still continuing now, the Camino certainly gives a person a certain 'glow' after completing it 😃
Welcome back - another great video. Hopefully see you in Ludlow at some point or roaming the Church Stretton hills - Cant wait for Seville one of my favorite cities in Spain.
@@EverydayJourneysTV I live in Ludlow - My wife and i have travelled in Spain quite a bit and love the culture and food - if you get the chance try Cadiz beautiful !
Thank you Guys!! Just finished watching your Camino adventure. Wonderful, funny and so informative. Jotted down quite a bit of useful info for my Camino Frances walk in May 2023. You are lovely people and I wish you well in all your future trips. Take care.
@@EverydayJourneysTV All of it!! I have an interest in Flora & Fauna particularly birds. It was really interesting to hear the singing bird species, each time you talked as you walked. Black Redstarts in the villages as you set off and the distinctive sound of Corn Buntings & Turtle Doves in the open countryside. I will be walking at a slower pace to record what I see & hear. Expecially the Vulture species climbing up to Roncevalles!! Can't wait. Got a question. You might be able to help. Want to book my flight to Bairritz from Stansted for May. No May schedules shown yet. Any reason why not. Don't worry if you don't know. Best wishes. Derek.
So glad to hear you’re off to Seville. It’s a wonderful city in so many ways. If you get the chance get over to Granada as well for a day. The Alhambra is to die for (almost)!
Hey Judith...thank you for watching and commenting on our videos. Unfortunately we did not get chance to head over to Granada (Louise has been thought previously...with Husband No 1 🤣, hence the desire to travel to Seville)...however, it is on my bucket Lise to visit 👍
@@EverydayJourneysTV - Seville you must! Agree with Judith, Alhambra is so amazing, if there was time - I’ll have explored the gardens again, loitered at the pool & great hall longer ….. towards the evening, it was so magical when the sun struck the stone walls as it went down … 🫰🏼👍
@@EverydayJourneysTV Did you visit the Alcazar in Seville? Its just breathtakingly stunning and the gardens are a great place to just relax in on a hot day. We visited Seville and Cordóba to celebrate hubby's 50th (5 years ago eeek!). Personally, we were disappointed with Alhambra in Grenada - a one-way system which meant no freedom to explore and bollards everywhere which were so aesthetically ugly and a distraction from the intricate Moorish architecture. The beauty of the Alhambra is best captured from hiking up to San Nicolas de Mirador at sunset and watching the sun go down over it - in our humble opinion anyway!
Thanks for the packing tips. I bought the Turkish cotton towel sheet thingy from Amazon. I’m thinking picnic blanket/ half an hour siesta after lunch under a tree before walking the last km’s of the day. We start walking from St Jean in just over a week’s time!
Thanks, all things Camino are of interest to us in Australia, as we wait for our “St Frances” in October. Stay well and enthusiastic, cheers Chris 🇦🇺 My sandals and socks are at the ready!!
Hey Chris! October start time for the Camino Frances, you are going to have the most amazing time ever! I can just imagine a few pair of socks sitting there in pride of place ready to be packed away in readiness for the adventure that awaits them (and their enthusiastic wearer! 😃) Buen Camino and please tell us how you get on.
Loving all your videos so far. Have walked the Portuguese three times so far (Don't ask!) and now planning to walk from Burgos to Leon next April with a friend who is 77 and recovering from a medical episode and can only walk short days of between 6 and 9 miles, mainly six. It was great seeing your Mesata vlogs to prepare. Looking forward to your future adventures. As an aside you must have been very bad at some time to have been banished to Leominster! (joke)
Hey Lord Bisnick...thanks for watching the videos. Three times, I doth my hat to you 👍Burgos to Leon in April, what an amazing time you will both have. Leominster...LOL, being a bred Herefordian I never thought that I would cross that 'border' into Leominster, however, Louise convinced me and I have yet to look back. Are you local?
What would you pack/or did you pack in your bag ready to tackle the Camino de Santiago? If you like this video, then head on over to see us start our Camino Journey (th-cam.com/video/uwOMPt91RzQ/w-d-xo.html)👣 Buen Camino
ty for the vlog....though mine is not for a couple for years, i am just down to the basics/essentials...would you suggest to take a shoe 1/2 size or a fiull size your normal shoe ? water bottle or the plastic bag that goes in your backpack w/ tube ?
Hey Ray...we took the same size shoe as we normally wear, however, if you are planning on wearing thick/2 socks it would be worth investigating 1/2 a size bigger. Water bottle definitely, we had no trouble filling it up (apart from the Meseta area for one/two days) and we would struggle witj getting the camelback alongside our back packs. Hope that helps?
A couple of questions (a) what was the drinking water situation like, how much water did you carry on you every day? (b) did you carry a first aid kit, apart from the blister plasters, and was it useful? (c) how did you manage to keep cool when walking in the heat of the day - I think at one point I saw you use cooling towels around your neck, did that help?
Hey Flowers Flowers...a) Brilliant water facilities all the way through the Camino. We carried approximately 1.5 litres each b) No first aid kit, we felt that other pilgrims/pharmacies/albergues where really well available (we would not take a first aid kit on our next walk) c) Cooling towels and generally being really sensible about stopping regularly and leaving early in the morning really helped 😃
I loved following you on your journey. How was it traveling with a laptop? I plan to walk next spring and will need to bring my laptop for work. Did you leave it in your room or have to bring it with you everywhere for security reasons? Enough places for wifi? Thanks!
Hey Laura...thanks for watching and we do hope that you enjoy the future content coming up 😃. We both have Apple MacBooks so they are 'relatively' light in comparison to other laptops out there and we adjusted our packing of items (i.e. a little less 'nicer' clothing) to accommodate the weight. We did find though that our charges added to the weight that we had not really thought about at the start of the journey. We pretty much always had it on us or locked away in a locker at our place that we were staying at. We never felt that any items would had be stolen but we never took the chance of an optunist seeing them and taking...we would have been devastated due to the content held on them. The only area that we really struggled with Wifi was middle to late stages of the Meseta where WiFi was sparse/non-existent. Really hope this helps and do let us know how your journey goes next Spring 👣 Buen Camino
The apps we found useful were Camino Ninja and Buen Camino app. I agree a book guide is a great companion we chose Sandy Brown’s Camino de Santiago Camino Frances Guide and Map book by Cicerone. Have you tried Magnesium spray very useful for sore muscles Better You it comes in a handy spray bottle.
Hey Vanessa...Magnesium spray, Louise had said that she had used that in the past and totally forgot about it, good suggestion! Sandy Brown, this one is a new one on us, but if we (lets be honest...when we) do another Camino we will certainly check him out 👍
Hey Acooi1...hope you are enjoying the videos and thanks for watching. If (lets be honest...when) we did the Camino again we would NOT be taking poles with us. Are you heading out to do the Camino soon? 👣
@@EverydayJourneysTV yes! Enjoyed your two videos I watched so far (just discovered your channel last week) - What you Pack was very very useful & was also curious why you did not mention hiking poles. A number of articles & pictures shows people with poles ….& yes, planning to do the walk next Sept 2023 🙏🏻 God willing!
I love this “after the Camino packing retrospective”! It’s so helpful to those of us who are in the planning stages. Thx!!
Hey Kate...our pleasure, it was fun sharing what we thought we needed prior and to what we actually did find useful 😃
So we did the Camino Frances from end of August through October and we agree on everything you suggest! Especially the extra hump poncho! Might suggest a half dozen clips of some kind to keep your poncho from flying up when it's raining and windy. Clips were also handy for hanging (clipping) not-so-dry socks to the back of your pack! We also brought Ibuprofen cream and Compeed - I was not a fan of the Compeed because, unless you have a shoe with a large toe box (ie, Astra shoes) the Compeed caused [me] extra pain and pressure on other parts of my feet. I tended to wrap blisters tightly in a good band-aid so that the blister (or the remaining skin) didn't tear. I heard gooping Vaseline on your feet was a secret to blister-free feet...I just couldn't bring myself to doing it. We didn't have ENOUGH Ibuprofen cream! We ran into so many pilgrims with aches and either provided a handful to them or simply gave them the tube! We, also, sporadically used our sleeping bag liner - more at first, then mine ended up in the bottom of my pack. The "Bible" - I found it exceptionally useful; however, we did rip pages out as we went because it was bulky. What I also found the guidebook had albergues and other places to stay that were not showing up on the apps we used, so having both was a plus! I saw a very small percentage of people wearing boots when we went. LOTS of trail runners! Darn Tough socks - my wife bought them and loved them also! She bought more for this spring Camino...yes, she got a few blisters, too, and she was wearing boots initially (not blaming the boots). Watching your Camino was a thrill! Thank you for sharing your time and allowing us to reminisce from our own Camino!
Thank you for commenting Bill...this is priceless advise! I think that I (Mark) will be looking to wear trail shoes in September wen we do the Porto, we will report back if better than boots 👣
Super useful tips but more importantly you seem like such a lovely family.
Thank you Nina ☺️
Some handy tips there guys. We too took Brierley, but also used the Camino Ninja app for booking etc. The book was great for history/background, but we found the app better for distances, facilities in villages and booking. It was also nice to break out of the "stages" mentality that Brierley can instil due to the nature of the way the book is structured. In terms of other gear, did anyone use Injinji toe socks and vaseline to counter blisters? Glad to see you all home safe and with a smile on your faces!
Hey Grant...thank you for watching the video. We never tried the vaseline method, however, a lot of pilgrims swore by it! The smiles are still continuing now, the Camino certainly gives a person a certain 'glow' after completing it 😃
Thank you. I had to end my camino in Astorga last October so I really enjoyed your journey.
Thank you for watching! Do you think that you will be able to get back on the trail? 👣
This is such a helpful guide! Thanks for sharing what you packed and your lessons learned!
Our pleasure! Looks like you have had some amazing adventures yourself? Going to check some of your videos out 👍
Welcome back - another great video. Hopefully see you in Ludlow at some point or roaming the Church Stretton hills - Cant wait for Seville one of my favorite cities in Spain.
Hey Tim, are you local to Leominster/Ludlow? Seville is beautiful (and hot when we went) and we are looking forward to sharing them 👍
@@EverydayJourneysTV I live in Ludlow - My wife and i have travelled in Spain quite a bit and love the culture and food - if you get the chance try Cadiz beautiful !
Thank you Guys!! Just finished watching your Camino adventure. Wonderful, funny and so informative. Jotted down quite a bit of useful info for my Camino Frances walk in May 2023. You are lovely people and I wish you well in all your future trips. Take care.
Hey Derek...thank you for watching and please do lets us know how you get on in 2023. Which stage of the Camino are you most looking forward to? 👣
@@EverydayJourneysTV All of it!! I have an interest in Flora & Fauna particularly birds. It was really interesting to hear the singing bird species, each time you talked as you walked. Black Redstarts in the villages as you set off and the distinctive sound of Corn Buntings & Turtle Doves in the open countryside. I will be walking at a slower pace to record what I see & hear. Expecially the Vulture species climbing up to Roncevalles!! Can't wait. Got a question. You might be able to help. Want to book my flight to Bairritz from Stansted for May. No May schedules shown yet. Any reason why not. Don't worry if you don't know. Best wishes. Derek.
Hi from NZ 🇳🇿 👋Great video, thank you 😀 you were brave doing it with your kids, but what a wonderful adventure to share with them.
Hey Brigid - Thank you for watching! It was amazing and we are planning our next adventure 👣
Your story and travels in el Camino have given us great inspiration to walk the Camino hopefully next year :-) I will keep following you guys.
Hey Fernando, thank you and thanks for watching. Please do get it in the diary, it is an amazing experience 👍 Hopefully Buen Camino to you very soon 😃
Great video and very informative! Take care and safe travels!
Hey The Phil We Know...thank you 🥰
Thanks for the packing hints
Hey Lin Fung...no problem, we hope that you found them useful 👍
So glad to hear you’re off to Seville. It’s a wonderful city in so many ways. If you get the chance get over to Granada as well for a day. The Alhambra is to die for (almost)!
Hey Judith...thank you for watching and commenting on our videos. Unfortunately we did not get chance to head over to Granada (Louise has been thought previously...with Husband No 1 🤣, hence the desire to travel to Seville)...however, it is on my bucket Lise to visit 👍
@@EverydayJourneysTV - Seville you must! Agree with Judith, Alhambra is so amazing, if there was time - I’ll have explored the gardens again, loitered at the pool & great hall longer ….. towards the evening, it was so magical when the sun struck the stone walls as it went down … 🫰🏼👍
@@acooi1 Sounds amazing! 🥰
@@EverydayJourneysTV Did you visit the Alcazar in Seville? Its just breathtakingly stunning and the gardens are a great place to just relax in on a hot day. We visited Seville and Cordóba to celebrate hubby's 50th (5 years ago eeek!). Personally, we were disappointed with Alhambra in Grenada - a one-way system which meant no freedom to explore and bollards everywhere which were so aesthetically ugly and a distraction from the intricate Moorish architecture. The beauty of the Alhambra is best captured from hiking up to San Nicolas de Mirador at sunset and watching the sun go down over it - in our humble opinion anyway!
Thanks for the packing tips. I bought the Turkish cotton towel sheet thingy from Amazon. I’m thinking picnic blanket/ half an hour siesta after lunch under a tree before walking the last km’s of the day. We start walking from St Jean in just over a week’s time!
Hey LH...no problem and glad it was of use. Have a fantastic Camino and please let us know how you get on (we miss the Camino) 😃 Buen Camino 👣
Thanks, all things Camino are of interest to us in Australia, as we wait for our “St Frances” in October.
Stay well and enthusiastic, cheers Chris 🇦🇺
My sandals and socks are at the ready!!
Hey Chris! October start time for the Camino Frances, you are going to have the most amazing time ever! I can just imagine a few pair of socks sitting there in pride of place ready to be packed away in readiness for the adventure that awaits them (and their enthusiastic wearer! 😃) Buen Camino and please tell us how you get on.
Loving all your videos so far. Have walked the Portuguese three times so far (Don't ask!) and now planning to walk from Burgos to Leon next April with a friend who is 77 and recovering from a medical episode and can only walk short days of between 6 and 9 miles, mainly six. It was great seeing your Mesata vlogs to prepare. Looking forward to your future adventures. As an aside you must have been very bad at some time to have been banished to Leominster! (joke)
Hey Lord Bisnick...thanks for watching the videos. Three times, I doth my hat to you 👍Burgos to Leon in April, what an amazing time you will both have. Leominster...LOL, being a bred Herefordian I never thought that I would cross that 'border' into Leominster, however, Louise convinced me and I have yet to look back. Are you local?
What would you pack/or did you pack in your bag ready to tackle the Camino de Santiago? If you like this video, then head on over to see us start our Camino Journey (th-cam.com/video/uwOMPt91RzQ/w-d-xo.html)👣 Buen Camino
ty for the vlog....though mine is not for a couple for years, i am just down to the basics/essentials...would you suggest to take a shoe 1/2 size or a fiull size your normal shoe ? water bottle or the plastic bag that goes in your backpack w/ tube ?
Hey Ray...we took the same size shoe as we normally wear, however, if you are planning on wearing thick/2 socks it would be worth investigating 1/2 a size bigger. Water bottle definitely, we had no trouble filling it up (apart from the Meseta area for one/two days) and we would struggle witj getting the camelback alongside our back packs. Hope that helps?
@@EverydayJourneysTV ty..u 2 cant wait for my turn :)
1000 mile socks for next time! No seams, double-layered :)
Hey Flowers-Flowers....lol, maybe 👍
A couple of questions (a) what was the drinking water situation like, how much water did you carry on you every day? (b) did you carry a first aid kit, apart from the blister plasters, and was it useful? (c) how did you manage to keep cool when walking in the heat of the day - I think at one point I saw you use cooling towels around your neck, did that help?
Hey Flowers Flowers...a) Brilliant water facilities all the way through the Camino. We carried approximately 1.5 litres each b) No first aid kit, we felt that other pilgrims/pharmacies/albergues where really well available (we would not take a first aid kit on our next walk) c) Cooling towels and generally being really sensible about stopping regularly and leaving early in the morning really helped 😃
I loved following you on your journey. How was it traveling with a laptop? I plan to walk next spring and will need to bring my laptop for work. Did you leave it in your room or have to bring it with you everywhere for security reasons? Enough places for wifi? Thanks!
Hey Laura...thanks for watching and we do hope that you enjoy the future content coming up 😃. We both have Apple MacBooks so they are 'relatively' light in comparison to other laptops out there and we adjusted our packing of items (i.e. a little less 'nicer' clothing) to accommodate the weight. We did find though that our charges added to the weight that we had not really thought about at the start of the journey. We pretty much always had it on us or locked away in a locker at our place that we were staying at. We never felt that any items would had be stolen but we never took the chance of an optunist seeing them and taking...we would have been devastated due to the content held on them. The only area that we really struggled with Wifi was middle to late stages of the Meseta where WiFi was sparse/non-existent. Really hope this helps and do let us know how your journey goes next Spring 👣 Buen Camino
@@EverydayJourneysTV Thank you! I greatly appreciate the feedback.
Would you please spell out the name of the red gel you mentioned that helps prevent blisters from getting infected? thank you!
Hey Abigail...of course, it was Iodine 👣
The apps we found useful were Camino Ninja and Buen Camino app. I agree a book guide is a great companion we chose Sandy Brown’s Camino de Santiago Camino Frances Guide and Map book by Cicerone.
Have you tried Magnesium spray very useful for sore muscles Better You it comes in a handy spray bottle.
Hey Vanessa...Magnesium spray, Louise had said that she had used that in the past and totally forgot about it, good suggestion! Sandy Brown, this one is a new one on us, but if we (lets be honest...when we) do another Camino we will certainly check him out 👍
What dates did you walk the camino? From when to when?
Hey Camille G...we started on the 19th May 2022 and finished 27th June 2022 😃
Curious - hiking poles not recommended?
Hey Acooi1...hope you are enjoying the videos and thanks for watching. If (lets be honest...when) we did the Camino again we would NOT be taking poles with us. Are you heading out to do the Camino soon? 👣
@@EverydayJourneysTV yes! Enjoyed your two videos I watched so far (just discovered your channel last week) - What you Pack was very very useful & was also curious why you did not mention hiking poles. A number of articles & pictures shows people with poles ….& yes, planning to do the walk next Sept 2023 🙏🏻 God willing!
@@acooi1 Buen Camino for 2023 👣. Hope you enjoy our forthcoming videos 😃