Category Archives: Camino planning

Camino packing, Camino planning

Camino Packing – My Camino Shower Kit

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Where I last left the Camino del Norte in Santander I dipped in the ocean for a salty cleanse at the end of a long, hot day/week of walking. Pure luxury! As is the shower you take when you arrive at your accommodation each day. Heaven.

As I am currently packing my shower kit and trying new things here is a post for those of you who are also planning your camino. Toiletries are the achilles heel of my packing. What can I say? I, unashamedly, love a product. I like to keep my face cleansed and my skin moisturised! Oh and I wash my hair every day on the camino, hours of walking and sweating I can’t not! However, I do want to get more minimal and I want to be as sustainable as I can and avoid throw away plastic.

So this is what I will go with …

  • 1 x Lush soap bar that also moisturises in tin
  • 1 x Lush shampoo and conditioner bar in tin
  • 1 x Lush face cleanser bar in tin
  • 1 x Bottle of face rose-hip oil
  • 1 x Deodorant
  • 1 x Razor
  • 1 x Comb plus spare hair tie
  • 1 x Toothbrush, floss and mini tubes collected from hotels and flights
  • 1 x Quick dry towel (140 grams) because I am doing or aiming to do Albergues
  • 1 x Fold away mini pack (50 grams) to use to go to the shower (also used on plane or when out and about after a day of hiking)

Camino Tip! Wear your clothes in the shower and wash them first then take them off and wash yourself. Or you can do it in the wash sinks if provided. I prefer to do it as I shower and then it’s done and I can get my feet up and resting.

My Camino Shower Kit

Weighing in at 400 grams

Other essentials: i.e. sunscreen, tiger balm I pack in My Camino FirstAid Kit which weighs in at 300 grams.

It is basically 1kg of my packing weight! Plastic bags have been suggested for the soaps but I really want to avoid that kind of convenience. The plastic ones I use for my sandals and the towel have been reused many times! If I use some for soap I am not sure they will go the distance. Any thoughts?

I may also pack a lipgloss and some mascara for the city stay at the end!😉

Camino packing, Camino planning, Uncategorized

Camino Packing – My Camino First Aid Kit

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Yes! It is true, you can find a farmacia (pharmacy) vending machine stocked with FirstAid supplies along the camino. This did give me a giggle when I first spotted one. You will also find many farmacias along the camino to purchase all your first aid requirements. Just look for the neon green cross, if it’s on, you’re in luck.

We’re all trying to keep those packed kgs low. What do they say ‘carry less than 10% of your body weight’. BUT, if like me you like to be prepared, a little kit is a handy way to deal with any niggles as early as possible. Little niggles can become bigger problems later, and along our camino, we all want to stay healthy and keep walking. Right?!

Obviously prevention is best, so shoes, socks, training, foot care, hydration ya da ya da. However, even with our best efforts niggles and problems can occur. Over the years and many camino and hiking trips later I’ve created the kit list below that works for me. (Save some grams by not packing the packaging.)

💫 👣💫 If we don’t need to use what bring, just maybe we’ll come across someone who does.

My Camino essential FirstAid kit

  • Tiger balm (rub into feet daily after shower)
  • Small ball to roll under feet at the end of the day
  • Blister patches (compeed)
  • Bandaids
  • Electrolyte sachets (to pop in my water bottle on the big days)
  • Sunscreen and lip balm with UV protection
  • Antibacterial hand gel
  • Painkillers (paracetamol)
  • Anti inflammatories
  • Repellent, bug bite cream and antihistamines*
  • Sterilised needle and alcohol swabs**

My Camino FirstAid Kit

Weighing in at 300 grams.

* I have an allergy to bed bug bites. I know, no one wants to hear about bed bugs but they happen. I have had them in a donative, a private albergue and a pricey hotel. Not along every camino, but 3/5 of them. Being able to manage the itch and my reaction right away makes for a far more pleasant experience. I learnt the hard way after walking a whole day before finding a farmacia. I won’t share a photo but think hives, huge itchy red angry ones! Eeek. Just writing this makes me itch, fingers crossed for my next one. Oh and if I am out of antihistamines I buy them in Spain before I leave, the farmacias there are good like that.

** This is a new edition for me. How to treat blisters is controversial. I tend to go with deal with them directly as soon as you feel them by supporting and protecting them with compeed, rather than risk infection by popping them myself. Of course prevention is best. I have managed to avoid them for many caminos but the last two I was wearing a different trail runner and I wasn’t so lucky. I had a blister on the insides of my big toes and they needed the pressure removed. I waited too long and ended up with a lot of pain and losing toe nails. This time I will be prepared if it happens again. Also, I am back in my trusted brand of hiking shoe so hopefully no issues. There are places along the way to get foot care if needed and of course seeking proper care is smart and preferable. Your albergue can often help you locate where.

*** My husband (the gear freak) always packs an emergency blanket. I read recently of a few people who became hypothermic after crossing the Pyrenees in bad weather. I won’t be in any big mountains so will leave it out this time. Perhaps when I get to the Primativo camino again.

Right … digging out the silk sleeping liner that apparently those gross little bugs hate and booking in a pedicure now to be sure my toes are in top shape before I leave!

Any other suggestions?

I share my shower essentials here in My Camino Shower Kit.

Other resources:

Camino packing, Camino planning, Camino TIPS

The Credencial del Peregrino, Your Official Pilgrim Passport Along The Camino

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One of your most exciting packing essentials is your credencial del peregrino as it’s known on the trail your camino passport. Your own little cardboard concertina of blank pages. Day by day you will slowly fill these blank pages with stamps as you walk, or cycle your way along your chosen route towards Santiago de Compostela.

What is it?

The credential was the official documentation that safeguarded pilgrims in medieval times. While it is not a ‘must’ to carry along the camino now, it is a must to obtain your compostela when you reach Santiago. It also allows you to stay in pilgrim accommodations and obtain pilgrim meals. It is proof of your walk and also sentimentally, it’s a special keepsake of your adventure along the camino.

What do you do with it?

As you walk your camino you collect stamps along the pilgrimage route. Mostly, you will collect your stamp from where you are sleeping. Whether that is at an albergue, hostel or hotel. You can also obtain them along the route at churches, cathedrals, tourist offices, pilgrim offices and more. Getting your stamps is not difficult. So don’t worry if you’re camping! As mentioned you will collect one a day and for the last 100 (walking) or 200 (cycling) you will need two stamps. Again, even though you need two, these are easy to get.

A note from the official pilgrims office. “… if you only do the minimum required distance (last 100 walking or 200 km by bike), you must always get your Credencial stamped at the start and end of each stage, including the corresponding date, to show that the pilgrim has resumed the Way in the same place where they last stopped (i.e. you should always get the stamp at the starting point even though you have already stamped the card in the same place at the end of the previous stage).”

Fun fact, where to get a wine with your stamp!

After you pass through Bodegas de Irache you will find the Fuente del Vino (the wine fountain). Yes, actual red wine from a winery. The idea of the wine fountain, which is open to all is apparently to offer motivation to fatigued pilgrims! You can also get a stamp with a smile from the winery. We stopped for both.

Where do you get it?

You can order your pilgrim passport before you leave for your camino, you will find some links below to help with this. You can also buy a passport upon arrival in most main starting points at either the pilgrim office such as St Jean Pied de Port, at some churches or cathedrals. Some albergues also sell them. In the off season it can be harder if offices and albergues are closed. I once met a pilgrim wandering around Irun looking for somewhere to buy himself a passport before he could begin!

Worldwide associations approved by the pilgrims office in Santiago are listed here.

I have purchased mine from Casa Ivar previously. Ivar ships worldwide. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Or from your local friends of the camino group …

Australian Pilgrims
British pilgrims
American Pilgrims
Irish Pilgrims
Canadian Pilgrims
South African Pilgrims

I hope you found this helpful! If you have walked a camino did you get your credential before or upon arrival? I always get mine before as it is one less thing to worry about when I arrive. I like to arrive walk ready. Shout out if you have any questions or comments.

Buen Camino!