caminoportugues Archives - Cruisin with the Colemans

What Do I Bring on Pilgrimage? Camino Packing List

Posted on March 3, 2025 by CruisinColemans

It’s easy to overpack for a pilgrimage—believe me, I’ve learned from experience! On my first Camino, I carried way too much gear, and it was quite a burden, especially since I had to carry it all on my back. Fortunately, on our planned trips, you’ll have luggage service, so you won’t need to carry everything with you. Even with luggage service, this is not a trip of luxuries. We are on pilgrimage, so we are not carrying much “stuff” with us.

For the trips we lead on the Camino, each person is limited to one backpack or one small suitcase weighing no more than 15 kilograms or 33 pounds to manage the luggage for everyone. However, Brian and I take one suitcase (no more than 15 kilograms) between the two of us. We encourage everyone to pack light! Whether you have luggage service or not, having one backpack that weighs under 15 kilograms (the lighter, the better!) will help you, as it eases the burden of carrying your luggage day after day.

Our two backpacks from our 2019 Camino. This was everything we carried for 2 months in Europe

We believe in the principle of washing and wearing your clothes. What does this mean? It means you are either washing your clothes or wearing them. After hiking for the day, you should shower and wash your clothes. In the evening, you can wear hiking clothes for the next day. Any other clothes would be considered a luxury. You can have luxury items if you keep them in one backpack or suitcase under 15 kilograms (33 pounds).

Ultimately, this is your trip. We will never tell you exactly what you “should” or “should not” take with you. This blog post offers suggestions and our perspective. Please feel free to use this information as you see fit.

This is our suggested packing list for any of our Camino trips.
Where there are differences between Brian and me, Michelle, we have identified them. These are just suggestions. You have to pack what you feel is best for you! Also, where we travel, you will be able to find what you need in local shops (band-aids, hiking poles, ibuprofen, etc)

Toiletries: toothbrush, soap to wash clothes and body, shampoo, nail clippers, tweezers, comb, hair ties, etc. Some type of washcloth because they don’t use them as we do in the US. Here is the lightweight bag that I carry my toiletries.
Sunscreen
A bandana or something to wipe the sweat off your face. I use this towel as my sweat rag and my washcloth in the shower.
Headlamp if you want to leave before sunrise to walk
Clothesline: We use something like this, with safety pins to hold our clothes on the line
A notebook or something like that for journaling
Towel: When we take a group trip, the places we stay will provide towels. Some people like to have their own towels. This is Brian’s favorite towel, and this is my favorite towel. We carry a towel because sometimes we stay in places that don’t provide towels (outside of group experiences).
European plug adaptor
Portable backpack for evenings to get snacks or groceries or to take your laundry to the laundromat
Sunglasses with UV protection
Lightweight Sunglasses Case that clips on your pack.
A hat: Here is what Brian likes to wear. I have worn my Nike hat but have no particular preferences.
Merino wool lightweight socks are my favorite brand. I take two pairs, and I always have an extra pair in my daypack, so if my feet are sweating, I can change my socks. If your feet sweat a lot, I would suggest three pairs in case your socks don’t dry overnight.
Some like sock liners to help prevent blisters. These are what I wear under my socks.
Hiking shoes—this is quite a debatable conversation. Brian hikes in Chacos all day and wears Croc flip-flops in the evening. I hike in New Balance tennis shoes (a full size larger than my regular tennis shoes). I wear Chacos in the evenings and on shorter walking days. We have hiked for many years in other shoes, but this is what we have hiked in for more than three years. We can talk to you about all of the hiking shoe options, but it’s a decision you have to make.
Some like a sun umbrella when they are hiking in the summer. This is our favorite brand because it’s super lightweight
Lightweight underwear that fits well and has no lace that can rub and irritate the skin and will dry quickly—no cotton underwear! You just need two pairs—remember you are washing and wearing. These are the underwear that Brian wears, and this is the underwear I wear. We don’t buy expensive underwear; we just ensure it’s not cotton!
Bras—ladies, that is up to you! Wear a sports bra during the day and a regular one at night; you decide. I can help if you need ideas. I hate sports bras. I have to pull them over my head because that is hard to do when you are hot and sweaty, so I love this sports bra.
Lightweight jacket for cool evenings or early mornings. Remember, no cotton; this is the brand I prefer to wear.
Rain jacket: You can make this your lightweight jacket if you want to save space. We love Marmot jackets
T-shirts: Brian loves button-down shirts, and I prefer t-shirts. Either way, just make sure you are comfortable. Avoid wearing anything tight; you don’t want to feel self-conscious! Some people like tank tops. The problem with tank tops for hiking is (1) the rubbing from your daypack strap and your bare skin can become uncomfortable, and (2) many churches frown on those who don’t have their shoulders covered. You must have your shoulders covered in Italy to go into a church.
Shawl: Some people like to have a nice shawl with them for cooler nights as a wrap or for churches.
Pants: Brian likes zip-off pants (no more than two pairs). I like skorts and shorts
Sleepwear: Brian sleeps in his underwear. I sleep in my evening dress or t-shirt and underwear. People on the Camino are not modest.
Sleep liner: We travel on Camino in the summer; therefore, a light sleep liner is all we need when sheets are not provided. Sheets will be provided for our group travel experiences. Every albergue we have stayed at has blankets available. However, if you stay somewhere where sheets are not provided, this is our sleep liner.
A swimsuit if you think you might be able to find a place with a swimming pool (on our trips, we always try to find a pool!)
A swim cap. In Europe, people are required to wear a swim cap in most public pools (we have been required to purchase swim caps in some hotels but not all hotels). Brian loves this one because it’s comfortable. I love this one because it has room for all of my hair. It’s not waterproof, but it is comfortable, and that’s what I like about it.
A fly swatter, you will thank me if it’s fly season!
A sink stopper to wash your clothes in the sink. You would be shocked at how many people take or don’t provide a sink stopper.
Some sort of stain remover pen. If you truly have a limited number of clothes, a stain-removing pen will be a blessing, so you don’t have to live with a stained item.
Arnica Montana homeopathic medicine. Pills you put under your tongue that melt in your mouth. These pills help with muscle stiffness, cramping, bruising, and swelling. You can take these up to three times a day.
Anti-chafing cream is a good thing to have if you have parts that rub. Haha!
We always take a bit of Advil and muscle relaxers (non-drowsy script from the doctor).

In your daypack – If you are not carrying a backpack but rather a suitcase and daypacks, this is the daypack I use and the daypack Brian uses. You can carry something smaller, whatever you are most comfortable using. But ensure you have a way to cover your backpack if it rains. You should have the following at a minimum in your pack:

Water bottles, a water bladder, or both. We both like carrying a water bladder to drink from while hiking. We also like a water bottle to make a drink with electrolytes or a flavored drink. Water bladders should only contain water to prevent mold or bacteria from forming.
Water bladder cleaning tab. For a trip that is two weeks or less, you just need one tab to clean your bladder halfway through your trip
Electrolytes. If you are feeling dehydrated, overheated, weak, or sluggish, drinking electrolytes will help. I love this brand of Salt Sticks for quick relief, and this brand for putting in my water bottle.
Snacks. We find snacks in a local grocery store and only buy what we may want for the next day. This can be fruit, trail mix, chips, etc. Whatever makes you happy
You should bring a few toiletries, such as tissues, toilet paper (yes, some places will have toilets without paper!), and maybe ibuprofen.
You could also consider a small notebook if you like to journal with pen and paper or give your number to someone you meet along the way.
Your cell phone charger, if you think you will need it during the day
Your pilgrim shell should be attached to your daypack, as this identifies you as a pilgrim to other people
Bring a fanny pack with your essentials. This includes your pilgrim’s passport (also called a credential), your US passport, and money for the day.
A hat or a sun umbrella
Some sort of stain remover pen. If you truly have a limited number of clothes, a stain-removing pen will be a blessing, so you don’t have to live with a stained item. Have one in your suitcase and one in your daypack unless you are using just a backpack.

AirTags: Be sure to place AirTags in everything from your suitcase to your daypack and even your fanny pack. It might seem like overkill, but you never know when you might misplace something, and you’ll be glad you have your AirTags!

You will find plenty of ATMs along the way. We carry a Charles Schwab card for our ATM transactions. CS reimburses your ATM charges, and there are no upcharges.

What type of SIM card do I need for my phone? We used to use Orange eSIM cards when we traveled abroad; however, we currently have an international Verizon cell plan. Choosing a phone plan involves several considerations. Contact us if you have questions about phone plans and traveling abroad.

If we have forgotten to include something on the list or if you have any questions, please let us know.

Thanks for reading! – Michelle

Group Trip to Spain – Walking the Camino de Santiago

Posted on February 23, 2025 by CruisinColemans

If you read our blog earlier this week, you learned we have moved up our date to begin leading group experiences*. If you missed the blog, it’s a great story; you can read it by clicking here. We are taking our first group to walk on the Camino de Santiago this July 7-18, 2025. Below are details about what to expect on the trip, followed by the total costs for singles, doubles, and singles in shared rooms, the registration deadline, and what is not included. If this doesn’t work for you this year, we will have a trip for you next year, which is summarized at the end of the blog.

As of March 24, 2025 – The trip is SOLD OUT. Please subscribe to see what trips we will be adding in the future!

What to expect:

You can walk every day on the Camino Frances from Samos to Santiago de Compostela, covering 132 kilometers or 82 miles over seven days.
You don’t have to walk at all. There will be plenty to do for people of varying physical abilities.
Light continental breakfast, typically coffee and a pastry
Have a communal dinner with your group every night, including multiple courses and wine. These will not typically be your average “pilgrim” dinner – when you are Cruisin’ with the Colemans, you are with foodies!
Private or semi-private (with another group member) rooms that fit your needs
Daily luggage transfer: all you have to carry is a light pack with just your snacks and water
Transfer to/from Santiago airport at the start of the trip
Daytime transfer if you need to skip a part of the walk
Begin in the small village of Samos to explore the Monastery of San Xulián de Samos, built in the sixth century
Rest day near the end of the trip in Santiago de Compostela with guided or not guided time in the old town
On the rest day in Santiago, we will explore the Cathedral and the museum and do a rooftop tour of the church. A botafumeiro is not guaranteed during mass (this is a $3000 expense)
Enjoy a traditional guiemada ceremony as a group after dinner in Santiago de Compostela
Group bus trip to Finisterre to enjoy the beach, shop, take the 2.5 km walk to the lighthouse for sunset, and celebrate with a group dinner
Transfer back to Santiago de Compostela for the end of the trip
Advance support for planning your trip
Camino 101 Zoom sessions to get ready and get familiar with those you will be traveling with
Help to make travel arrangements to/from Spain, including suggested flights from the US to Spain
Credential, pilgrim shell, and travel wallet to carry your pilgrim credential and passport
Thumb drive of photos and completed summary videos of your trip

The Cost Breakdown of the Trip:

For those who are traveling as a couple, your cost for all of the above will be $4,350 total
For those who are traveling solo but are willing to share a room with another member of the group, your cost for all of the above will be $2,600

To secure your spot on the trip, a $500 non-refundable deposit is due immediately. The remainder is due by June 1. Payment plans are encouraged.

Deadline to Sign Up: The registration deadline is April 1st or as soon as we reach 12 people.

What is Not Included: Your only remaining expenses are your gear, daily lunch and snacks, and airfare from your hometown to Santiago de Compostela airport or Sarria train station. We will have a car ready to pick you up and take you to our starting point. If you need assistance, we can help you plan your flight. Most people fly into Madrid and then take a connecting flight or a train to Santiago de Compostela.

Can’t make it this year but want to go Cruisin’ with the Colemans next year? As of February 2025, we plan to offer much more group travel! In 2026, we are looking at a walking tour in Italy; in 2027, we are walking the Camino Portuguese from Porto to Santiago. We are also looking at future caravan opportunities for our RV friends!

*We are not certified travel agents, but we are experienced travelers and educators with over 25 years of leading group experiences. We organize travel experiences to destinations we know well from our own journeys. However, we do not claim to be experts on the various cultures or locations we visit. If available, we may hire a local expert to enhance your travel experience.

Our Top 10 Reflections from our 2019 Camino – Part 2

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

Last week I began reflecting on our 2019 Camino, sharing five of our top ten reflections from our Camino. You can find that blog by clicking here. In June and July of 2019, we biked and hiked about 550 miles or 882 kilometers on the Camino. We walked from León, Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Then we flew down to Lisbon, Portugal where we biked from Lisbon to Porto and walked from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. This was our second Camino as we walked the Camino Frances in its entirety in 2017.

We were blessed with fantastic weather, being the summer season. In June we had cold mornings and cool afternoons, by July we were thrilled to have quite a few weeks in the mid-70s. It only rained twice, which probably wasn’t great for the farmers but we relished in the weather.

Though the weather was kind to us I struggled throughout much of the Camino. I had foot problems which wasn’t anything too unusual for me. But more importantly, I developed anxiety while on the Camino which stunned both of us. Unfortunately, I had to go to the emergency room the night before we walked into Santiago on the Camino Frances because my shortness of breath was at an all-time high. I was convinced it was a heart attack. Thankfully we found a hospital with an interpreter who stayed with us all night and had fantastic staff who ran a lot of tests before concluding it was anxiety. They taught me to remember I was on holiday and needed to start acting like it. I am still coming to terms with the “why” I had such high anxiety but I think the answer lies somewhere in the remaining five reflections.

#5 – Live Like Locals

This reflection comes from the idea that when you walk the Camino you are on vacation, or on holiday as my nurses reminded me. In general, when we travel we try to follow the philosophy of “living like the locals” by minimizing tourist attractions, avoiding chain restaurants, seeking out local activities, and finding ways to engage with local residents.

A wonderful picnic lunch with locals and owners of Camino by Boat

On the Camino Portuguese, there are a lot of locals and not much else; however, many pilgrims stick with other pilgrims. It may be seeking what we have in common with one another, the language barriers, you’re only with a local for a night or two, or just the ease of talking with those you walk by every day. But if you can spend time getting to know the locals, I promise you will have a richer experience. There are several ways this can happen.

When you are looking for a room for the night stay in a small albergue, stay an extra night if you meet a local that you really connect with, and seek out places to eat where you can engage with the locals. Also, if someone is selling something on the side of the road, talk to him or her. We each bought Camino necklaces made by a local and the stories he shared made our experience much richer (photo above). We learned so much about the communities, the culture, the neighborhoods, just by talking to the locals. They are certainly the most knowledgable about the country you are experiencing.

#4 – Find the Festivals

This is a must-do for us whenever we travel for several reasons. (1) If prices are usually high, a festival is usually the reason why. Then you have to decide if you want to stay in that town for the festival or press onward. (2) You can learn what’s important to a community based on what they are celebrating. (3) We make a reservation in advance to make sure we have a room, and if you book early, you usually can find a better price. (4) It helps us decide if we want to plan an extra rest day in that town/village.

The Festival of Trays happens once every 4 years in Tomar, Portugal

On our Camino, we knew about two festivals that we made sure were included. The Festival of Trays in Tomar, Portugal which included a competition of “best-decorated neighborhood” in the photo above (not the winner, that we know of), parades, and processionals. We only planned one rest day here but wished we would have had two days in Tomar. The second festival was the Apostle Festival in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It happens every year during the Feast of St. James. It is the largest festival of the year and we have been able to attend during both of our Caminos. However, if you don’t book early, it will be tough and expensive to find a room.

#3 – Alone vs. Lonely

This is an interesting reflection for me and one that surprised me deeply. Let me set up. In 2017, on the Camino Frances, we were with people all the time. We were rarely alone and we are still friends today with several people we met on the Camino. Was it because we walked the entire Camino? I don’t think so. Were we different? I don’t think so except that I was in a lot of pain this time so I may have been more introverted. So that may have been one reason.

Brian capturing the perfect water shot on an empty beach

On this Camino, we decided to walk part of one Camino and all of another. Does that mean we split our focus and didn’t have the time to build relationships? Maybe. Upon reflection, I wish would have only walked the Camino Portuguese. We were too “all over the place” on this Camino.

However, and this is big, the friendships we still have today from our 2017 encouraged us to walk on the Camino Frances. Why? I am still processing but here is what I have concluded thus far about our Camino Portuguese. (1) We were on bikes from Lisbon to Porto which means we were not walking day by day with other people. (2) Pilgrims were shockingly judgemental about those who bike the Camino. This hurt me deeply but we had fellow pilgrims tell us we were cheating. The locals were kinder than pilgrims. (3) By the time we were walking again, many people already had their “clicks” and we were not a part of them. (4) There were a lot of larger groups on the Camino. (5) When we talked to pilgrims, we learned that many people walk the Camino Portuguese in part because there are fewer people and they were more interested in the solitude. In the end, Brian and I had each other and we certainly grew closer together.

#2 – Planning Extends the Fun

We absolutely love planning our travels. The planning time gives us something to do when we can’t travel because we are working, it gives us experiences to look forward to, and it gives us time to research what is happening during the time we will be at a certain place. I don’t see us ever traveling without planning something. Even if we don’t make reservations, just researching where we are traveling gives us a lot to look forward to when we get there!

The village of Águeda and the ever-popular Umbrella Sky Project

The day we were riding into the village of Águeda was filled with anticipation because we knew about the Umbrella Sky Project. We didn’t, however, know how many streets are decorated. Above is the main street but there is so much more to this village. It’s this anticipation that got us through the tough days, the hot days, and the days we wanted to quit.

We encourage everyone to at least do some research when you are traveling to a new place. Whether you learn how they interact, what they eat, what they celebrate, and what makes the town special. This research will give you a lot to look forward to and enrich the anticipation of what is to come.

#1 – In the End, Don’t Plan Everything

Here it is, the number one reflection so far. I can’t believe this is my number one, Brian is still on the fence about it. But based on both of our Caminos and all of our years of travel, I have to say don’t plan it all.

Let me set this one up and explain why we plan everything. We plan our routes and make all of our reservations for one specific reason – we can only travel during the busiest times of the year which is school holidays because we are teachers. When we travel it is the busiest and most expensive time of year so planning helps us same money, find deals, helps us do a lot in the time we have, and gives us travel to look forward when the workdays are rough.

I am sure you already know the downside, we did but it didn’t change our way of doing things. When you plan everything out, you are locked into a route and a time frame. We have been ok with that because we always have contingency plans. If we were too hot, too tired, sick or injured, we were ok with taxing/bussing ahead. For us, that normally works. Here’s the problem this time, there are a few of them.

First, when we walked into Sierra, Spain, the starting point for those who only want to complete the last 100k of the Camino required to earn your Compostela, there were busloads of students. Multiple busloads. A lot of people. If we would have stayed an extra night, maybe we would have avoided that crowd. However, maybe there would have been more the next day. I don’t know but we didn’t have the flexibility to learn.

Second, when my foot started giving me trouble, it would have helped if we would have done half days. Yes, we could have walked half the day and taxied/bussed the other half, but I was too stubborn until the pain reached a breaking point. 🙁 Half days would have also helped my anxiety but I didn’t know what the problem was at the time. Slowing down period would have helped because I was feeling the pain in many ways.

Finally, not planning the Camino in its entirety would have given us time to stick around a village longer if we needed or wanted to stay. However, we had festivals to get to, an ambitious route planned, and we were determined. In the end, we walked a lot less than we wanted to and I pushed myself way too hard.

Do you sense my inner conflict? Because it’s there. I know there is a lot to be said about going with the flow. I want to, I really do, we will see where life takes us next. I will say, we are doing a better job of planning with flexibility. For example, our next two trips, Nashville for Thanksgiving and Naples, Florida for Christmas, are planned, but minimally. We have reservations for our campgrounds which are necessary because of the time of year. Our Naples campground was sold out by August. However, we don’t have daily plans. We made a general list of things we would like to do while at each destination. However, what we actually do will simply be what we are in the mood to do.

There you have it, our top 10 reflections from our 2019 Camino. From footwear, to festivals, to going with the flow. At this point, it has only been a month and I am sure there will be more reflections as we work on the presentations we are giving in the future about our Camino experiences. For now, head over to YouTube for a lot more Camino content.

We would love to hear from you! What did you learn from your Camino? What do you wish we would have talked about? What questions do you still have for us?

Thanks for reading, and until next time…

10 Reflections from our 2019 Camino – Part 1

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

“OUR TOP TEN REFLECTIONS MAY NOT SURPRISE YOU, BUT OUR NUMBER ONE WILL LEAVE YOU STUNNED”

We walked part of the Camino Frances and all of the Camino Portuguese in June and July of 2019. As of today, we’ve been home for exactly a month. We have been extremely busy since we’ve been home with little time to reflect but the Camino is always on our mind. Creating a list of our top 10 reflections is tough because it may be too early to genuinely process our experiences. However, we think this is a pretty good representation.

#10 – Every Camino is Different

We didn’t consciously go into this Camino with a list of expectations; however, since we walked the Camino Frances, from St. John Pied de Port, France to Finisterre, in 2017 we unconsciously had more expectations than we realized. For example, being teachers the overall time of year we walked was the same for both. However, we started in León, Spain this trip around the 10th of June when last time we didn’t arrive in León until the 4th of July. A month makes a difference that we didn’t expect. Last time it was the festival season, this time it was large groups of school children walking the Camino as their end of the year school trip.

Additionally, we heard the Camino Portuguese has fewer people; however, we figured that would make people want to bond more. Not in our case, remember every Camino is different, people were already in self-proclaimed groups or wanted to be alone. The other factor we had is we biked from Lisbon to Porto and then walked from Porto to Santiago so we didn’t have the ability to follow at the same pace as others. The final major unexpected factor was the sheer foot pain I was in for most of the trip. I wasn’t the happiest person all of the time and it greatly impacted our experience.

#9 – The Camino Tells You When to Stop

This is a tough one for me to admit because I want to be unstoppable. However, the Camino will humble anyone. In January through March of 2017, I was in a walking boot for a stress fracture on the top of my left foot. We walked the Camino Frances that year in June and July. The Camino wasn’t too bad, I had my bad days and I should have had foot surgery as soon as we returned home. But I didn’t. Sadly, after more over-training and overuse, I was back in a walking boot from March to May 2019 for two stress fractures on the top of the same foot. I needed surgery but the Camino was calling. I scheduled my surgery for August 2019. As of now, I am 2 weeks post-op and though I can’t bear weight on my foot, I am in significantly less pain.

If you skip to the end of the video below, you will see my reflections about walking the Camino after only 3 weeks into our 8 week trip. I was humbled, broken, and yet inspired by what I was learning from the Camino. Another pilgrim on the Camino said, “listen to the whispers before they become screams.” He was right, great advice, the Camino is always talking to you.

Our Last 2 days on the Camino Frances and Reflections of 300 Miles Walking this Camino

#8 – Never Judge Someone’s Footwear

No, these aren’t our hiking shoes, but they are shoes made of cork that we brought home from Portugal

Yes, there is an unintentional theme going on here regarding feet but when it comes to the Camino it is the most important discussion, food is second and it’s next on our list so hang tight. Brian and I are completely different when it comes to foot problems, I have a lot and he has none. He walked our 2017 and 2019 Caminos entirely in Chaco sandals, linked below, and had zero feet problems. He used O’Keeffe’s Healthy Feet cream every night to help with dry skin.

I need to wear one specific pair of shoes, they need to fit my feet with bunions and hammertoes and need to be wide-ish but my feet are not wide enough for wide shoes. Not all Merrell shoes work for me but the Moabs, linked below, are a great shoe for me. Additionally, I love toe socks and wool socks. I alternate wearing them both when hiking. Unfortunately for this Camino because I was in a boot for so long and I was trying out a different pair of Merrell’s I didn’t wear my Moab’s. Big mistake, always trust the shoes you know. If you can walk all day around an amusement park and still want to continue the next day, those are the shoes to walk in.

Every single person on the Camino is wearing the shoes they think will be the best, some based on experience, others based on someone else’s input. So many people expressed shock when they saw Brian in his Chacos but never said anything to me. However, I was the one struggling.

#7 – The Food in Portugal is Amazing

We didn’t know what to expect when it came to Portuguese food as it’s not a cuisine that you hear about in restaurants. But holy cow were we pleasantly surprised when we arrived! The food was flavorful, colorful, and though there were common staples, there was a nice variety. The one thing we knew was Portugal was known for their pastries and they did not disappoint. They had both sweet and savory, you could find them on every corner, and we ate a lot of them! Haha

Our favorite restaurant on the Camino Portuguese was Tudo aos Molhos in Sao Joao da Madeira. Jorge, the owner and host, takes a level of pride in the food he serves that is rarely seen in home kitchens, let alone busy restaurants. For us, this place is probably the biggest not to miss stop of Portugal! You can see our meal beginning at 2:52 in the video below.

The bottom line is we ate our way through Portugal and it was amazing! If you have favorite Portuguese food, leave a comment.

#6 – Porto has Port, Lisbon has Soul

We thought for sure we would love Porto more than Lisbon. Why? I have no idea, maybe something we heard, maybe the draw of Port wine, maybe the water, who knows. I am not sure why we were trying to pick one over the other except that we had 3 days at the end of our trip and we were trying to decide where to spend those days. Early in our trip planning, we picked Lisbon without much thought and then we changed our minds but we were locked into a non-refundable hotel. This all happened before we saw either city but we had to stick with spending our 3 days in Lisbon and we pouted about it for a few months. Now, I am disappointed that we spent so much time pouting because from the moment the plane landed for a 7 hour layover in Lisbon we were in love.

The beach, the buildings, the character, the Tuk-Tuks, the people, the wine, the music, and the neighborhoods, there is so much to say about Lisbon. Brian created a “48 hours in Lisbon” video, it’s linked below. There will also be another 48 hour video about Lisbon in the coming weeks, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified when that video drops.

We stayed in the neighborhood of Alfama both times we were in Lisbon, both during our layover between Camino’s and at the end of the trip. The first time we were in Lisbon they were celebrating the Festa de Lisboa which celebrates the barrios (neighborhoods) of Lisbon for the entire month of June. The whole city is decked out for the party and it is sure not to disappoint. Grilled sardines in the street, fado music floating out of doorways, vino Porto, Ginja, sangria, and so many more drinks to sample keep partiers going all night long for the entire month! Alfama is one of Lisbon’s oldest neighborhoods having survived the earthquake of 1755 and they take the party up a notch. During the rest of the year, Alfama is a little quieter during the day, but in the evenings this neighborhood comes to life and should not be missed.

48 hours in Lisbon – The 1st of 2 Mini Travel Guides

Wait? Where are the last 5 reflections? I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait until next week. But I promise it will be worth the wait. There is still much to reflect upon, it’s too much for one blog post. I will give you a hint – when we walk the Camino again, we won’t do it the same way. Our number one reflection even shocked us!

We will have a YouTube video out on Sunday and another blog post will come out on Wednesday. Be sure to subscribe to both our blog and our YouTube channel if you like what you are reading.

Until next time…

Final Camino 2019 Preparations: Short Hikes, Packing, and a Podcast

Posted on June 5, 2019 by Cruisin Michelle

Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
Ibn Battuta, Travels of Ibn Battuta

We have been planning for over a year, had a multitude of setbacks, a lot of excitement, and a huge set of nerves as we take on our biggest adventure ever! We hope we’re ready, we pray the weather is kind to us, and we want to bring all of you along! During June and July, we will be hiking about 722 miles or 1162 kilometers. We will hike part of the Camino Frances from León to Santiago, then we will hike all of the Caminho Portugués from Lisbon to Santiago. We will then conclude with the Camino Finisterre from Santiago to Muxia to Finisterre and back to Santiago.

There are so many paths to take when you are planning a Camino, it’s hard to pick a route. Just look at the maps below – that is just the routes in Spain, Portugal, and a bit of what is in France. We wanted something new and a bit of what we have done before to reminisce on our favorite parts. Last time we walked all of the Camino Frances and then from Santiago to Finisterre, so much of what we will be doing this time will be new.

Photo Credit from: http://www.wisepilgrim.com

There are Camino routes throughout Europe and we want to walk so many of them! It’s like a bug that has lovingly bitten us hard. When we travel in the US, our goals have been to visit every state and every national park and we are getting very close to reaching those two goals. Therefore, we are coming up with new travel goals, and though we may not walk every Camino path, but we are sure going to have fun picking a new route each time we travel to Europe.

Photo Credit: https://www.afotc.org/walking-the-camino/

I sometimes envy those who don’t plan or train at all for their Camino pilgrimage. When it comes to a quick weekend getaway, we usually don’t have a plan. If we are going away for a week’s vacation, we have a rough idea of “things to do” but nothing too rigid. However, in both cases, we know where we are sleeping each night, which in turn is all we know about our Camino. Honestly, we don’t even know if we will walk or bus/taxi to our destination village every night. We plan to walk, we hope to walk, but sometimes life says, “today you aren’t going to walk.” We are flexible. We know from our Camino 2017 that sometimes you just have to taxi/bus to your destination. We ended up taking a bus/taxi 3 times, about 12 km total, in 2017 because of the heat and illness. It happens. Our “plan” is to simply walk without worry and trust that each day will go exactly as it is supposed to go. However, we are well aware that just like in 2017, Spain is expecting record high temperatures. Therefore, we will be waking up early and hoping for the best.

We will arrive in Madrid on June 10th, so at this point, the only things left to do are (1) pack our backpacks and (2) take a few more short walks. When it comes to your backpack there are a couple of major considerations, they are:

How can I keep the weight down?
What can and can’t I live without?
What clothing will dry easily overnight?
Can I get it along the Way if I need it so I don’t have to carry it?

We have assessed, evaluated, considered, and paired down as much as we can. Some will say our packs are too heavy while others will say our packs are too light. They weigh less than the last time we walked the Camino and they will get lighter as we go. The goal for clothing is to have something to wear during the day, wear in the evenings, and wear in the pool/while the other clothes are getting washed.

As for Michelle, with her pack coming in just over 15 pounds before water, here is what she is carrying (including the clothes on her back):

2 tank tops, 1 short sleeve shirt, 1 zip-up jacket for cool mornings, 1 raincoat
1 pair of leggings, 1 pair of roll-up hiking pants, and 1 pair of lightweight shorts
1 pair of compression socks, 2 pairs of double layer socks
2 pairs of underwear
Panty liners to help with overall freshness. Yes, I could buy them as I go but I have a brand I love and my pack will get lighter as I go.
2 sports bras, not the ones that slip over your head because it will be too hot for pulling anything over my head (I remember well from our last Camino)!
Hiking shoes and tennis shoes for the daytime and super lightweight Crocs for evenings and rest days. I have a lot of foot problems and I am praying this variety helps.
Toiletries include: conditioner, razor (Brian has shave gel for us both), brush, tweezers, nail clippers, camp soap (it will wash my hair/body and our clothes), cotton balls, face cleaner, q-tips
Misc: Bandana, head wrap that has a visor on it, hair clip, 2 ponytail holders, 2 Pro Bars in case of an emergency, a bottle of electrolytes, roll up water bladder, tissues, one small roll of toilet paper, main water bladder, rain cover for the backpack, and wide angle lens
Vitamins and medications. Yes, I can get vitamins in Spain but I have them all portioned out so I don’t have to think about it. I have an auto-immune disorder and I am anemic so this is my assurance that I will be ok.

As for Brian, with his pack coming in just over 18 pounds before water, here is what he is carrying:

2 tech t-shirts, 1 polo shirt, 1 long sleeve shirt, and a rain jacket
1 of each hiking shorts, zip-off pants, and gym shorts
1 pair of socks and 2 pair of underwear
Chacos to walk in and Crocs for evenings and rest days
Buff and bandana
A roll of string and safety pins for drying laundry
Vitamins and medication
Toiletry kit including soap, shampoo, razor with extra cartridges, shave gel, q-tips, cotton balls, face cleaner, sun screen, toothbrush, and toothpaste
Misc: 2 Pro Bars in case of an emergency, a bottle of electrolytes, roll up water bladder, tissues, main water bladder, extra carabiners, rain cover for the backpack, battery back-up, portable keyboard for blogging, and Camino guidebooks
The gimbal for recording video along the Way
Foot balm and tension ball for easing foot pain
Cruisin’ with the Colemans stickers to pass out
The first aid kit which is explained below

We carry a small first aid kit, as everyone should, in case of an emergency on the trail. Here is what we have in our kit:

Various sizes of band-aids and steri-strips
Moleskin
Wet ones to clean your hands before cleaning a wound on the trail
One pair of disposable gloves in case we have to help another pilgrim
Tape, gauze, Neosporin, tweezers, and scissors
A bottle with Benedryl, Advil, and Aleve
Anti-inflammatory cream and Cortizone from our last trip to Spain. We will be bringing more of this stuff home because it’s amazing!!
Needle and thread for draining blisters
Tums and anti-diarrhea meds

Our fanny packs include the essential things that you need access to while we’re walking. This includes:

Passport, pilgrim passport, money, credit cards
Phone, headphones, charging cords, European charger, and wide-angle lens
Probars
Chapstick, gum, tissues, Charmin wipes, and utter smooth butt cream
Shells to leave along the Way and rocks to leave at Cruz de Ferro

The only thing left to do is take a few short walks with our final backpack loads in the week leading up to our departure date. We want to keep our legs loose but we don’t need to do anything big this week. We certainly don’t want to injure ourselves.

Just a short hike around the neighborhood to test out our loaded packs.

The final thing we did this week was to have a conversation with the fantastic Dan Mullins. Dan has a weekly podcast called My Camino (this is the link to our talk with Dan). He talks to pilgrims from all walks of life, from all over the world. This podcast has been very inspiring to us and we are blessed to be able to have a conversation with Dan. We look forward to listening to a new episode every week and going back to listen to old episodes. If you need inspiration while you wait to walk your Camino, check out Dan’s podcast. Oh, and don’t forget to buy his song, Somewhere Along the Way, I have it on my playlist to enjoy while we walk!

During the podcast, I talked about how our Camino 2017 overwhelmed my senses. I don’t know if you find this a positive statement or not, or if you even know what it means, but to me, it summarizes the wheel of emotions I felt along the Way. From hearing the many languages and trying to communicate in a foreign land, to smelling the new foods and flowers, to seeing new sights daily, to tasting new foods and wine daily, and to feeling a huge array of emotions, the Camino overwhelmed me. It made it tough at times but now I am drawn to it. I want to feel those feelings again. I want to embrace my emotions more than feel overwhelmed by them. We travel all over the US and my senses are never as overwhelmed because it’s not like everything I experience is new. For example, the landscape may be different when we travel out West, but the food and language are similar. I believe that feeling overwhelmed by your senses is why people bungee jump, skydive, or zipline. The Camino changed our lives and I can’t wait to see what changes will follow this Camino. I talked a bit more about our Camino 2017 in this blog post, Rock Bottom: Why I Almost Quit My Camino. Thank you, Dan, for allowing us to reminisce on our 2017 Camino and get us excited for the new journey just around the corner.

Thank you to our blog subscribers for indulging our many passions from the Camino, to RVing, to traveling, to cooking. We enjoy reminiscing about our adventures, we hope you appreciate reading about them. If you are not a subscriber, scroll to the bottom of this page and add your name to our email list. The only emails you will receive from us are notifications of our blog posts.

Buen Camino friends. We hope to see you Along the Way.

He Said, She Said: 5 Questions on el Camino de Santiago

Posted on May 8, 2019 by CruisinColemans

As the school year winds to a close, we are getting very excited about our upcoming trek on the Camino de Santiago. As you probably already know, in 2017 we hiked the 550 mile Camino Frances from Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago and then on to Finisterre. This summer we will be repeating part of that trek, walking from Leon to Santiago but also walking the Camino Portuguese from Lisbon to Santiago and the Camino Fisterre, walking from Santiago to Muxia to Finisterre and back to Santiago for a total of 1,162 km (722 miles) over a two month period. Today we bring you “his” thoughts and “her” thoughts about our upcoming adventure as we answer the top five questions that we hear most often.

What are you most excited about?

Brian: Revisiting some of our favorite cities (such as Astorga and O’Cebreiro) along the Camino Frances is really exciting but I am most looking forward to being back in Santiago on Feast Day. Seeing the fiesta from a pilgrim’s perspective was a great experience and getting to participate again now that the exterior of the Cathedral is finished is going to be awesome.

The opening of the Festival at the Cathedral in Santiago

Michelle: I agree that seeing the Fiesta in Santiago again will be fantastic, especially since the Cathedral is complete on the outside so I hope the projections will be on the Cathedral this year. But, ultimately, I am most excited about walking every day with friends! Walking next to my best friend, meeting new friends, meeting up with an old friend in Portugal, and sharing this incredible moment in time with so many other pilgrims.

What are you most nervous about?

Brian: On the Camino Frances we were averaging about 13 miles a day with frequent stops every 5-8 km. In Portugal, the villages are further apart and our days will be significantly longer with an average of 16 miles a day. Add to that the fact that we are further south and the summer heat can be brutal, I think there is plenty to be nervous about!

Michelle: Yes, what he said! I am nervous about how early we will have to get up in the morning to beat the heat. Also, the last time we walked the Camino, we were so lucky with the rain. It only rained twice while we were walking the entire summer. I am hoping for cooler temperatures and the rain is tolerable. But, what I am most nervous about, and it’s something I haven’t shared with people who don’t see me in person. I injured my foot when we were in Gatlinburg in March. I have been walking with a boot because of two stress fractures on the top of my foot. The doctor said I will be healed by the end of May and can do light walking until we leave on June 10th. Unfortunately, I fear re-injury. However, we have accepted that we may need to taxi ahead and accommodate as needed. There is magic on the Camino and I am praying some healing magic comes my way. Brian is quite patient and we always have each others back in tough situations like this one. Safety is always goal number one.

What village are you most looking forward to?

Brian: Duh, Porto, the home of Port wine! We plan to do plenty of Port tasting while we are there. I’m also really excited about Tomar. While we are there, the Fiesta de los Tabuleiros will be happening. The Festival of Trays only takes place every four years and just happens to coincide with our layover. For me, one of the primary reasons for hiking the Camino is to experience the local culture and big festivals are a great way to meet locals.

Michelle: Mmmmm port, tinto, cheese, pastries, festivals. Let me dream about all of that for a moment! I don’t have one particular village in mind but I am excited that the first and last legs of our trip will be a repeat of some of our favorite spots. I love Foncebadón because it’s this super tiny village that many pilgrims stay at in order to hike to Cruz de Ferro at sunrise. O Cebreiro is another tiny village that we couldn’t stay at last time because they didn’t have any rooms, I am looking forward to staying there this time. If the village is tiny, I am looking forward to it. The big cities overwhelm me because Brian wants to walk them! Haha

What are you doing differently this time?

Brian: My packing list is a little different this time. I’m taking less clothing and getting rid of some of the same extras that Michelle mentions below. I’ve decided to take a dice game (Farkle) for evenings in the albergue (but to save weight, I’ve created an online score sheet on Google Drive). I also have some new camera gear that you can read more about in the next question.

Michelle: I am taking a smaller pack going from 48 liters to 36 liters. I am not taking a sleeping liner or towel because we will be in private rooms and they are provided for you. The biggest thing I am doing differently, beyond the “stuff,” is a shift in attitude. I was overwhelmed last time. This is a big adventure, far from home, where nobody speaks your language (or so I thought). I didn’t know if we could do it. This time, I know we can. I am more open to the relationships that form on the Camino. I am open to whatever food we eat as a pilgrim. I am open to the entire experience, in a way that I was not before. What a blessing.

What is the most essential piece of gear you are taking?

Brian: Because we are documenting this trip more actively on YouTube and our blog (we hope), my gear is probably the most essential equipment. I’ve found new trekking poles that can double as a monopod and I have a gimbal to help with better video quality. I’ll also be bringing a boom mic for voice-overs. All of the videos will be shot on a new iPhone X that I’ll be upgrading to in the coming weeks.

Michelle: I am adding extra shoe insoles because mine were quite beaten up last time. Finally, as of this moment and this could change, I am taking 3 pairs of shoes to help manage my foot problems. I am taking my Merrell Moab 2 hiking shoes and my New Balance 880 tennis shoes which I will switch between during the day, and then my Chacos for evenings and rest days. Again, we’ll see but I have to figure out how to manage my foot problems.

There you have it, another edition of He Said, She Said. We are just counting down the days, practicing our tinto arm, making sure we have all of our gear, purging as much as possible, and most importantly wrapping up the school year so when we return we will be ready to start another year. Do you still have a lingering question about the Camino? Leave a comment below! Your question may just show up in our next He Said, She Said blog post.

Outside the Templar castle in Ponferrada

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Our Top 10 Pieces of Essential Camino Gear

Posted on December 26, 2018May 26, 2024 by Cruisin Michelle

We’re in Florida! It’s time for two weeks of fun in the sun and Camino training, so I am thinking about gear! Everyone loves to talk about gear and I get it. When you prepare for your 1st Camino you research like crazy because you desperately want to know what to bring, but more importantly, what not to bring. Before I get to the gear, you may want to know how we are training for the Camino in Florida. This is a great question because, yes, you can combine RV’ing, Florida beaches, rum runners, and fun in the sun! Our plan is to start every day (except for some travel days) with a 7-10 mile walk. We have all of the routes planned out based on where we will be so we can easily get our miles knocked out before we start the fun. Follow our Instagram page to see how we will spend our days in Florida. We won’t be carrying gear beyond water, it is a vacation you know, haha. Our plan is to pack our Camino backpacks when we get home from Florida so we can train through the cold Ohio winter months, hiking fewer miles but with fully-weighted down packs.

Before I digress too much with my enthusiasm for our trip, let’s get back to the Camino. I remember when we first start planning our Camino I wanted to bring so many pieces of gear that I thought were “essential” even though we have backpacked enough to know the difference between essential and non-essential. The movie The Way had me feeling the not so practical side of planning for our Camino as I wanted to unload my entire closet into my backpack. But you can’t, and at the end of a long day on the Camino, you will so thankful you didn’t pack too much gear.

There are a lot of opinions about gear on every forum you read, and there will be plenty of people who want to assess what you have in your pack once you are in Spain. Have you checked out the Facebook group, American Pilgrims on the Camino? It is very helpful. Our first night in St. John Pied de Port, France, the hospitalero lifted my packed and told me immediately my bag was too heavy. He was right, it was too heavy but I had seen a lot worse and at the time I had done my best to purge the nonessentials. When you arrive in Roncesvalles you will see tables and tables of gear that people have purged after climbing over the Pyrenees Mountains.

Everything we took, laid out on the table before we packed

With all of that being said, this is our top 10 items to carry on your Camino. It’s not a perfect list. It is your job to create a packing list that works for you. As Brian and I prepare for our 2019 Camino, we will probably talk about gear again. Leave your questions so we know what you want us to talk about next.

(1) Backpack: Your most important piece if equipment is a backpack. You need to find a backpack that makes you feel like you don’t even know it’s there. We strongly recommend going to an REI near you. REI has a large selection of backpacks, they will fit you to help you find a pack that works with your body shape/size and have a return/exchange policy like none other. Brian was lucky, he was fitted and loved the first backpack he purchased. Brian found the Osprey Exos 48, and surprisingly, you can find this pack in the outdoor stores in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. Me? I am never easy. I tried the same pack in a women’s version, bought it, hiked in it, and it bruised my hip bones. I hated it. REI graciously exchanged this pack for another one. I am still not totally happy with my pack but it made it through our 2017 Camino. I am heading to REI to look at backpacks in January to prepare for our 2019 Camino. Seriously, it is important to get your pack as soon as you can, load it up, hike with it in your neighborhood, and make sure you absolutely love it. You will be carrying it on your back every day, up to 8 hours a day, for as long as you are in Spain. You have to love it.

(2) Clothing. This is the first place people overdo it and I get it, you want to look at feel good. However, I promise you will feel much better if your backpack is lighter. For pants, you need zip-off or roll up hiking pants that are made of polyester and have UV protection to help with the cool mornings/evenings and warmer or hot days. You are looking for lightweight pants that wick moisture and can be used in multiple ways. My absolute favorite pants are from REI, they are the Sahara Roll-Up Pants, they are not available anymore. I just bought a pair of the Kornati Roll-Up Pants, they are almost the same but they have a snap instead of a button. I hate snaps so I may have to get those fixed. One of the things I love about both pairs is they have an adjustable waistband which is important on the Camino when you are mostly hand-washing your clothes. I have this pair of pants for the evening while the pants I wore during the day are being washed. During the day I liked wearing capri length leggings, if I liked my legs more I would wear a shorter length of leggings because we are typically traveling in the heat of the summer. As for Brian, his pants were a pair of zip-off hiking pants and a pair of hiking shorts, both are polyester and looked very similar to mine. Please, whatever you decide, don’t wear jeans, they are too heavy, they don’t wick moisture, and they don’t move well when you are hiking.

As for tops, Brian had 2 button-down tech shirts, a tech t-shirt for bedtime, and a long sleeve tech shirt for cold mornings. Could he have had less? Probably, but he was happy. I had 2 tank tops and a zip-up sweatshirt. They were all made from polyester and very lightweight.

We both had raincoats which are essential on the Camino. You want one that is lightweight and in a bright color so you are easy to see in the fog and rain. We don’t recommend ponchos because when it’s windy they are all over the place. Your backpack should have a cover so when it’s raining put the cover on your pack and put your raincoat on. I promise it’s all you’ll need for rain.

As far as undergarments, we suggest 3 pairs of socks. One for the morning, one to change into in the afternoon, and one for the evening/overnight. Regarding underwear and bras, we believe you should have one to wear and one for wear while washing. Again, they should be made of a polyester material.

Ladies, let me talk to you for just a second… I suggest wearing a panty liner so you feel fresh and clean all day long. Also, I suggest you find your favorite sports bra that you are willing to wear all day long. You don’t want one that feels like it’s pulling on our shoulders. I love the sports bras in this link. It is inexpensive, the most comfortable piece of clothing I own, and wicks sweat very well. In the evening, I like just an everyday bra, certainly nothing I have to pull over my head. I am too tired and like easy by this point in the day. The goal here is to find your comfort level.

Finally, you need a bandana to wick away sweat, dirt, whatever. We carried one on our backpack strap so we had access to it all the time. The goal is to think about what you are wearing all day, what you are wearing while your clothes are drying and when you’re sleeping (should be the same), and what you are adding to your layers when it’s cold. Some people wore hats, but it’s up to you.

(3) Toiletries: This should be easy. You need a toothbrush, toothpaste, brush/comb, maybe a face cleaner if you struggle as I do with oily skin, an all-in-one shampoo/conditioner/soap, and a towel. We absolutely loved this Turkish towel from Amazon. Then there is all the other stuff you feel like you need which complicates the “trying to keep the weight down” issue. I really didn’t carry much more. I had to carry vitamins which I put in individual bags for each day, I got the bags on Amazon. I carried a small roll of toilet paper, which I did need and would take again because many times by mid-afternoon the bars were out of toilet paper. You have to decide what you can live with and what you must have with you.

(4) Bedding: What bedding you need depends on the type of accommodation you will be sleeping in. We stayed in private rooms so we had a bed liner with us in case we needed it but we didn’t. All of our rooms had bedding, sheets, and a pillow. I am so thankful because I would not have wanted any more weight on my back. Those staying in dorm rooms will need a sleeping bag or just a bed liner in the heat of the summer. Many people rolled up clothes for a pillow, I would have had a travel or inflatable pillow.

(5) Fanny Pack: This is so important for everything you need to get to throughout the day so you don’t have to get in your pack. We kept our essentials in our fanny packs which included passport, money, pilgrim credential, phone, charger, and a snack or two. Be sure to put things in a freezer baggie to protect your stuff from rain and sweat.

(6) Two pairs of shoes: Brian and I left for the Camino each with a pair of Merrell hiking shoes and a pair of Chacos. Brian decided by Pamplona that he loved hiking in his Chacos so he mailed his Merrell’s home and bought a pair of flip-flops for the evening. As I have mentioned before, Brian is the easy one. I have foot problems; I have bunions and a hammer toe. It sucks, I will need surgery eventually. Therefore, I wore my Merrell’s in the morning, wore my Chacos mid-day, put my Merrell’s back on for the late afternoon walking, and then back in my Chacos for the evening. I am actually, very seriously, considering bringing a pair of tennis shoes as a 3rd pair for our next Camino. I get blisters and have a lot of foot pain if I am in a pair of shoes too long. I don’t want the extra weight, so I am trimming in other areas, but we have some long days planned for our 2019 Camino and I think this will be a smart decision. Time will tell what I decide.

(7) Basic First Aid: You do not need much here at all, there are plenty of pharmacies along the way. All you need is a small baggie with a few band-aids, needle/thread to deal with blisters, moleskin for blisters, and Advil. Spain sells an anti-inflammatory cream in their pharmacies that is amazing! Bring some home, you will love it! We also had a small exercise ball that we used on the bottoms of our feet at the end of the day, I strongly suggest it. Your feet will be bruised with all of this walking, make sure you are taking care of them.

(8) Hydration system: There are a couple of perspectives here – water bottle vs. water bladder. We chose water bladder and will again on our next Camino. There are some long days on the Camino and you need to make sure you have plenty of water. We knew the hostel/albergue had potable water so we filled up for the day. We never had water issues but we saw a lot of people who did. Between non-potable water or just not having enough, we saw it all. The other thing that will help you stay hydrated is electrolyte tablets. You lose a lot of salt when you are sweating so be prepared.

(9) Cell phone: You will need a cell phone for a variety of reasons – to call ahead to albergues to let them know when you will be arriving, to make reservations if needed, to be able to check maps, and to be able to call home if you wish. Therefore, you need to decide if you are going to get an international plan or unlock your smartphone and get a SIM card once you land in Spain. We opted for the SIM card and were very happy. We didn’t use it much, mostly used wi-fi but we did use the phone to confirm with albergues. Also, make sure you have a European charger. There are a lot of great smartphone apps that would we encourage you have including Google Translate, Google Maps, Wise Pilgrim, and Booking.com.

(10) Charles Schwab Card: Number 10 and the best thing we learned about before our Camino! We are so thankful someone told us about using a Charles Schwab card when on the Camino. Charles Schwab does not charge ATM fees, they rebate ATM fees from other banks, and they don’t have international charges. We transferred money from our checking account to our Charles Schwab throughout our trip and then took money out every week as we need it. Seriously – best advice ever!

If you are still reading this blog, you are serious about what to pack on your Camino and that makes us smile. Please click the “Like” button if this blog helped you at all. The Camino is a magical place. Enjoy your journey.

Buen Camino!

Five Steps to Planning our 2019 Camino

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Cruisin Michelle

I can’t wait anymore – I have to talk about the Camino! There is so much to say! This is the first of several blog posts over the coming months on the subject of the Camino de Santiago. We hiked the Camino Frances in 2017 which was a life-changing experience for both of our adventurous spirits. Many times we had heard the phrase, “you never hike the Camino just once,” but we had no idea what it meant until the draw of the Camino pulled us so hard we could not resist it. I have to admit, I am still shocked at how much I want to go back and hike the Camino again. Brian felt the same draw to go back, but he wasn’t as surprised as I was. There will be more on the reasons we both felt the draw in future blog posts.
Let me begin by telling you some people decide to hike the Camino and don’t plan a thing. This is not who we are, we like to plan, I can go so far as to say we love to plan. Spreadsheets are life to us! For us, the spreadsheet takes something that can be quite intimidating – hiking across a country – and making it more manageable. Our spreadsheet broke down the 550 miles trek into small sections so we had more confidence and set achievable goals. All of that being said, we have a lot of respect for the many thousands of people who complete the Camino annually without any planning. There is something to be said about just picking up and going, just because it is not for us doesn’t mean we don’t admire those who do.
It was about May 2018 when we both finally admitted to one another that we wanted to go back to the Camino; it was less than a year from being back in the states from our Camino 2017. I remember where we were standing in the new house we just purchased in April 2018 when we admitted our desire to hike the Camino again because my heart skipped a few beats. It took a few months to make any progress on that decision, mainly because we were in the midst of preparing for our son’s wedding and our summer 2018 adventure but we knew we were going! We plan the details of our next big summer adventure the moment we finish the adventure we are on and often while we are on the current summer adventure. So in September 2018, the real planning began. Determining when we are going to travel is not a step for us because we are teachers so we know that we’re traveling in June and July whether we like it or not. With that being said, before I outline the steps we have taken thus far, I strongly encourage you to join the American Pilgrims on the Camino Facebook group. With over 18,000 members, everything and anything you need to know to plan your Camino is in that group! Ok, without further delay, here are the steps we have taken thus far to plan our Camino 2019:
Monitor International Flight Prices
I cannot tell you how important it is to sign up for some sort of flight monitoring website. We signed up for a few and the winner of finding our cheap airfare was Scott’s Cheap Flights. You can pay up to about $1500 a person to fly internationally but with a bit of legwork, you can fly a lot cheaper. A couple weeks ago, I received an email from Scott’s Cheap Flights that Air Portugal was having a great sale so did further investigating and found great prices. If you are willing to fly from one of the main hubs (we picked Boston), they had round-trip tickets as cheap as $300. This means we still need to get to Boston, but we will monitor flights until we find a good price to get to Boston.
Determine the Route
Next, you need to determine which of the Camino de Santiago routes you will choose to hike. The most popular and the one we did in 2017 is the Camino Frances. Many people are inspired to hike the Camino Frances because of the 2010 movie, The Way, starring Martin Sheen, and we were no different. The moment we saw this movie we knew it was a bucket list adventure, and it only took us seven more years to get there.

This time we are going to hike the Camino Portugués which is 640 kilometers. Since we have the time, and we want to go back, we are going to hike part of the Camino Francés from Leon to Santiago. Finally, we are going to hike the “extra loop” to the “end of the Earth” which is Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre to Muxia and back to Santiago. We hiked to the end of the Earth in 2017 to celebrate our anniversary but this time we want to complete the loop and go on to Muxia and then walk back to Santiago. Our total hiking mileage is coming it at 1162.3 kilometers. This is epic for us! The last time we were there we had 38 hiking days, averaging about 14 miles a day. This time we will hike 44 days and average 26.4 kilometers or 16.4 miles a day. We like a challenge – and well – we have one before us!
Buy Guidebooks
There are several guidebooks out there about the Camino and we have two favorites. The first, and most popular, guidebooks are by John Brierly and you can find any of his books on Amazon. This is the basis for our spreadsheet and provided us with everything we needed to know about hiking the Camino from villages, distances, terrain, details about where to stay, and notes of stuff to watch out for as you travel. Many people carry his book with them on the Camino and just rip out pages as they don’t need them anymore or they have the electronic version on their Kindle.
The second guidebook we use is the Village to Village guidebook by Anna Dintaman and Matthew Harms, their books can also be found on Amazon. You should also check out their website too. It has been a great resource for planning where to stay, what to wear, what to take, and has links or email addresses to albergues.
Buy your guidebooks about 6-8 months before you leave. You don’t want to buy them too early because you want the latest edition; however, you want to buy them early enough to have the time to read the books so you can, at least, mentally prepare for this undertaking.
Make Spreadsheet
Disclosure: We were not the original creators of this massive spreadsheet! One of our fellow Ohio APOC friends, Greg, created this spreadsheet and shared it with us. We have shared it with others so as to pay it forward because if you are a planner, this spreadsheet is amazing!
Ok, here is where we went crazy! But you need to know that we plan our summer adventures with this type of spreadsheet every year. Our rationale is that when we are gone for two months, we need a spreadsheet to ensure we meet our goals for the adventure.

For our first Camino, we were not going to plan anything because we heard that most people don’t plan their daily goals on the Camino. It was about five months before we left for the Camino when we decided the no-planning philosophy was not going to work for us. There were a few determining factors going on here – (1) we have to travel during the busiest season, (2) we heard stories of people coming into a village and there were no rooms left (and we saw this happen!!), (3) we wanted to know where we were sleeping each night even if we had to bus ahead due to illness or injury, and finally most importantly, (4) our minds were at ease the moment we started planning our stays. For us, the spreadsheet is our lifeline and we love having it. Would we ever go without one? We could, yes. If we were only going for a couple of weeks, a good possibility, yes. If we weren’t going during the busy season, possibly. It is all a matter of preference.
Training Time
If you have the time, we would strongly encourage you to start walking! Walk 5, 8, 10 miles at a time as much as you can, build up to longer walks whatever that looks like for you. Start where you are comfortable to prevent injury. Since we are still about seven months out, we are walking once or twice during the week and have one long walk on the weekends. Do what works in your schedule. If you can get consecutive long walking days in, that would be perfect for your training! If you have any old Roman roads in our neighborhood, walk on them! Haha But seriously, do not go for a walk in the woods, which is what we would normally be doing. Walk on gravel roads, brick roads, pavement, anything to toughen up your feet. Carry a backpack with about 12-15 pounds in it during the last couple months of your training. I will talk about gear, I promise, in another Camino post! For now, here are a few more big suggestions to train for your Camino:

See your podiatrist and get insoles. They saved our feet! You have to find the shoes and insoles that work for your feet. It is critical. We both love Merrell shoes and insoles that are fitted for our feet.
Know how to care for blisters (see the APOC Facebook group, everyone has an opinion on what to do)
Do lunges and squats, just 10-20 a day, 3-4 days a week. Your knees will thank you for that specific training, I promise you!
Have your backpack fitted, we went to REI and both love our packs for different reasons.
When you know what you are going to wear on the Camino, wear it in your training. You want to minimize gear surprises.

Don’t overthink the training, just walk. There are people of all ages, backgrounds, and fitness levels on the Camino. We met two 12-year-old girls hiking the Camino, lots of 20, 30, and 40 something folks, and even more 50, 60, 70+ folks walking the Camino. If you can walk, you can walk the Camino. Even if you can’t walk the Camino will provide, see the 2017 movie, I’ll Push You if you need the motivation to walk the Camino.
Extra Step: Making Reservations
This step is not for everyone but it certainly made our Camino the most “relaxing” adventure we have ever had! I referenced making reservations in the “Creating the Spreadsheet” point but it needs to be clarified. The site we used to make most of our reservations was Booking.com. It won’t help you with every single reservation, for some villages you will need to email the albergue to make your reservation because they are not on Booking.com.
Before you make your reservations, check out the APOC Facebook group because everyone is talking about various albergues and may provide you with insight about where you want to stay or avoid staying because it does not meet your needs.
I didn’t talk about the budget in this blog, it’s a topic for another post. However, in short, you can spend very little or stay at 5-star hotels throughout your journey. You can find municipal albergues for $3-5 a night. We averaged about $40 a night for a private room. Sometimes that included dinner but often, for us, it did not. I will talk more about our “teacher budget,” this means that we had more resources than a college student but not as much as someone from Corporate America.
There are so many blog posts about the Camino, this is just our point of view from our experience. Read as much as you can before you hike your Camino. It’s your journey, it’s your Camino, make it what you want it to be. As we say on the Camino, Buen Camino!

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