An average day on the Camino....

There are no average days on the Camino, really. But there is a rhythm that I´ve fallen into:

6AM: Alarm goes off and I put my headlamp on and clean my feet/blisters/wounds. I then apply the appropriate dreesing (Compeed, Moleskin, gauze and tape, etc.). This takes about 30-45 minutes. Then I pack up everything and finish dressing and wash my face and brush my teeth (hopefully there´s no line for the toilet yet).

7AM: I try my best to be on the road by this time. It´s nice and cool in the mornings and it makes a big difference when you´re carrying 22-lbs and hiking rough terrain!

9AM: Usually need to stop for a rest as my feet are beginning to talk/scream at me. My pace is pretty good first thing in the morning and I´ve gone about 10km by this point. So a 1/2 hr coffee break is good.

11AM: Another 9-10km, and time for a nice hour long break. I take my boots off to let my feet have a chance to breathe. It feels SOOOOOOO good! Hopefully, Í´m in a town and can get some lunch and something to drink.

Noon: Back on the road! Depending on how far I´m going, it could be another 2-3 hours of hiking. I usually do between 25 and 30km per day. However, when the terrain is as rough as it was today, I cut it back. We managed 21 today and we´re exhausted! It was all downhill and rocky. Very taxing.

2 - 4 PM: Check into an albergue, shower, and do laundry or take a nap. Laundry is usually by hand. My socks take two days to dry and I have to pin them to my back pack! I look like a travelling sock salewoman!

Dinner time? Well that´s tricky in Spain. In the smaller pilgrim towns, I can get a pilgrim meal usaually anytime after 5. However, in the larger towns/cities.... they keep to the Spanish tradition of dinner time: 9PM! That´s why I´m more partial to pushing on to a smaller hamlet, than staying in a city.

After dinner, I usually write in my journal by headlamp for about an hour. Then it´s bedtime (9 or 10 PM). I wear to bed what I will wear to hike in the next day.

There´s little time for sight seeing, but reall, the sites for me have been the beautiful scenery, kind people, and the journey itself.

I should be in Santiago de Compostela on the 22nd! I´m getting very excited! That will give me 1 and 1/2 days there. Time to shop and rest and celebrate with my fellow pilgrims.

Dawn