Camino Gratitude

1. Visit REI store and explain you are walking Camino de Santiago. Buy excellent trail shoes to practice walking – most important gear on Camino. 3 months before leaving for Camino, buy backpack (water bladder inside pack) and gear (there are hiking stores in Camino towns to buy anything forgotten). Pack + gear should weigh less than 15 pounds with water – you carry every pound in pack over 800 kilometers! Wear full pack every practice walk.

2. Build to 50 miles walking per week over 6 months, walking 5-6 days per week.

3. During Camino walks, I spend 50% listening to podcasts and music, 25% silent thinking, and 25% speaking to others. Bring excellent AirPods and subscribe to favorite podcasts, mine – Books, Liturgy of the Hours: Sing the Hours; Fr. Mike Schmidt; Conversations with Tyler; EWTN Daily; All-In; Word on Fire.

4. Read John Brierley “A Pilgrim’s Guide to The Camino de Santiago.”

5. Download Apps and learn to use – WhatsApp (most common messaging App), Camino.ninja, Wise Pilgrim:Frances, Google Translate, Booking.Com

6. Create Spotify playlist

7. I estimate daily living costs range from $50 – $150, depending on accomadations. Total trip costs, including flights, gear, and daily expenses are $3,500 to $8,000. This assumes a 30 day pilgrimage.

8. Pilgrims spend lots of time speaking with other pilgrims at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and on the Camino. Unless you have a few interesting questions to ask, the conversations will be boring. Some of my favorite Camino questions –

– Why are you walking the Camino?

– What have you learned on the Camino?

– Where do you find joy in life?

– What matters most in life?

– What are you grateful for on the Camino?

– What special talents do you have?

– Something you’d like to accomplish after the Camino?

9. Stretching – you should stretch before walking in the morning and again at night. Stretching will reduce muscle fatigue and improve muscle recovery after walks. Here are my daily stretches (hold each for 30 seconds) –

40 push-ups – you need upper body strength to carry a 15 pound pack for 850 km!

90/90 Hip Stretch – https://youtu.be/dGVBm19BFpE

Kneeling Adductor Stretch – https://youtu.be/m1b-m6KlC0U

Spider-Man https://youtu.be/oOZIjw75TKs

Abs stretch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OEGMRnxA1I

Squat to stand with diagonal reach – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4EdfoUDWDg

Toe Touch Progression – https://youtu.be/zmvqOdb4XhY

Foam roller thoracic extension – https://youtu.be/vRJly1Px7T0