Camino de Santiago in the Winter

We decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in the months of January and February of this year. Our preparation for the walk was mostly based on blogs and other online materials and we found that there was little information on walking the Camino in the winter months. In addition all of the published guides out there are based on the summer months and there were quite a few discrepancies with what we expected and what we encountered along the way. Below are some things which we learned along the way and which we hope will help other Pilgrims who want to experience the Camino in winter.

Weather

We encountered a full range of weather conditions on the Camino. There was a good deal of precipitation ranging from a day-long drizzle to a heavy snowfall. Near the end of our journey as we crossed over into the province of Galicia, it was sunny and warm t-shirt weather. In short, we experienced the full spectrum of possible weather conditions all within 34 days.

Albergues

When we arrived at St. Jean Pied de Port, the hospitalero at the Municipal Albergue gave us a sheet of paper with all the Albergues along the way, along with their phone numbers and seasonal closures. January, February and March are “off season” months for the Camino and some municipal and even private Albergues are closed. We found this to be not an uncommon occurrence and relied quite a bit on private Albergues, which were usually double the price (10 Euro per person per night). If budget is not an issue for you then there is always a place you can sleep as there are also more expensive Hostals along the way (25 euro per person per night).

We also found that even if the Municipal Albergues were open, they did not open their doors until at least 3-4pm in the afternoon, when a volunteer from the town came to open up and register us. We recommend that you time your walk so that you are arriving between 4 and 5 pm in the afternoon. At the beginning we started early in the morning (7- 8 am) and arrived mid- afternoon in our destination, only to find out that we had to stay outside and wait for someone to let us in. In some of the smaller towns Bars and stores and even churches were closed and we were literally left out in the cold.

Heating was also an issue. Because of the few number of pilgrims (there were five of us at the beginning) many of the municipal albergues do not turn on the heat at night, or they turn it on for a couple of hours and then turn it off around 10pm. This made for a chilly night, especially when the temperatures were around the 0 mark and the inside temperature was actually a little lower than that outside. We suggest that you ask the hospitalero if there is heat before paying for the night and if you have any other choice, such as a private, heated albergue- take it!

It would also be a good idea to take a cell phone with you. I know this defeats the purpose a little, but we did rely quite a bit on our Spanish friends, who called Albergues ahead of time to ask if they were open and to warn the proprietors that there were people coming at such and such a time. This saved us quite a bit of guess work.

All that said once you cross into Galicia(the last leg of the journey) all of the above problems do not apply. ALL of the municipal (xunta) albergues are open and usually early (1pm). They are heated, clean and reliable!

Food

You can get food in one of five places: 1) The Bar- usually serves sandwiches, tortilla and amazing lattes. 2) Supermercado- it has everything you would ever dream of eating! Caution: don’t buy more than you can carry the next day! 3) Tienda- a small shop with a selection of the basics. Sometimes you can even find some first aid items or other knick knacks that you might need. 4) Restaurante- we often ate at restaurants in the evenings. Most places along the way will have a Menu de Peregrino for anywhere from 8- 10 Euros per person. This includes A LOT of food and a bottle of house wine. After a long walk in the cold, it was great to be able to have something warm and cooked in the evenings like soup or a stew of some kind. Dinner is served late in Spain- usually 8pm and no earlier. 5) Panaderia- the bread makers…they are usually open all the time and early too so you can get a baguette for the road. On the whole we were only left without food in a couple of places, where everything was closed. In those moments we pooled our resources with fellow pilgrims and made the best of it!

Clothing

One word- LAYERS. We had a thermal underlayer (which saved us from freezing and doubled as pyjamas), a thin fleece layer and a fleece- lined, wind proof, water proof jacket and pants. We were on a very tight budget so we didn’t buy a lot of fancy clothes, since the specialized clothes are very expensive in Canada. The one thing we invested in however was quick- drying underwear from Mountain Equipment and Patagonia- They dried within a few hours of being washed! Try to get a coat with a hood as well for windy wet weather. Also a must is a hat and waterproof gloves. It is amazing how quickly you get wet and staying that way for eight hours is not fun! Another useful item was a little fleece tube scarf you can keep around your neck and use to shield your face from the elements. The most important part of course was our foot gear- GET GOOD SHOES! And walk them in before you go- make sure they have GORE TEX and a good ankle grip. We had a lot of foot pain at the beginning, while our bodies got used to it, but not a single blister all the way to Santiago! The secret: wear a thin tennis sock and a thicker woolly sock on top- this eliminates skin friction and thus NO BLISTERS!

Walking stick were also a very important part of our journey- If you are crazy fit and feel like you don’t need them that is one thing. However walking sticks have different uses on the Camino as well…One thing is you can use them for drying clothes on. Also more than a few times we had to climb a sloping mountain path which was coated in ice and without a stick to brace yourself and dig a little into the ice we would have been at the bottom of the hill! They are also handy for warding off unfriendly dogs, which you encounter along the way.

If at all possible try and buy some of your equipment in Spain. We found that on the whole the specialized hiking gear was much cheaper than in Canada. For example our hiking sticks were 10 euro each, whereas in Canada they start at $50. Same goes for everything else. I found my hiking boots for cheap at an outlet, but they are generally between 80 and 100 euros a pair for the best brands. On top of things, many of the shopkeepers in Spain have walked the Camino themselves and can recommend things to you.

Our sleeping bags were also a very important thing- We did not spend a lot of money on them- I think they were 40 dollars each, but they were good for up to -5 degrees Celsius, which is what I would recommend for this hike. Anything lower than that and you are going to be cold.

Some of the Albergues were equipped with washers and driers. If you have space buy some detergent tablets, since they charge you one euro for them. If you do run across a Lavanderia put in a load! There is nothing like clean, dry clothes on a cold day!

What to Pack

Here is what we had in our backpacks, which by the way were the smallest ones from all of our fellow pilgrims and the lightest.

1. Sleeping Bag (4 pounds and under recommended)

2. Change of underwear

3. Travel towel (super compact)

4. Extra t-shirt

5. Extra socks

6. Extra Underwear

7. Soap box and soap

8. Knife

9. Bottle opener

10. First aid kit (polysporin, bandages, pain-killers, muscle rub (VOLTAREN), vitamin C

11. Headlight

12. Playing Cards

13. Book or Notebook

14. Pens

15. Lighter or Matches

16. Camino Guide

17. Cream (for dry lips, face and feet)

18. I pod

19. Toothpaste and Toothbrush

20. Earplugs

21. Comb

22. Tea bags

23. Plastic spoon and fork

24. Needle and thread

25. Flip Flops

This is everything we ever needed on the winter Camino. We had some extra space in our packs for food which we usually ate along the way. Since the winter Camino is not nearly as busy as other times of the year, you may find yourself alone on the road and even in some of the albergues- this is why a book is a good idea as is something to listen to. We had some lectures and music.

We did not get sick on the road, although there were some others who did. We took a vitamin C dissolvable tablet every night and we were careful not to sleep next to people with bad coughs or obvious signs of illness. Other vitamins are a good idea too as is tea for a quick warm up if there is no heating etc…

Sundays

Todo es Cerrado! Everything is closed! When Sunday rolls around everything is closed…no stores, even some restaurants and bars are closed. So if it`s Saturday and you found a store, get some extra food for the following day in case you do not run across an open establishment.

Galician Dogs

Galicia is full of dogs…Pretty much every little hamlet you pass by (and there are many of them) has at least one or two giant, German shepherds who have no qualms baring their gums and trying to bite. If you are in a group then you are relatively safe. If you are alone- make sure you at least have a wooden stick and don`t be afraid to use it! That said we also met some very friendly, adorable dogs that followed us out of the village and they made up for the mean ones!

Attractions

We also found that many of the monuments, museums and churches were also closed when we arrived. The best way to sneak a peak is to go to mass in the evening. Some places have special pilgrim`s mass or just regular mass at around 7pm. You will hear the bells!

A Note on Earplugs

Bring earplugs! There is always a snorer in the room- ALWAYS. Often times they don`t even know it. We tested a few different kinds of earplugs and we found that the yellow foamy ones were the best (and the cheapest).

Take care of your shins

The most common leg related injury on the Camino is an inflamed frontal shin. Everyone was in pain there and it is important to watch out for warning signs like redness, swelling etc…We rubbed our legs and feet every night with a muscle cream and made sure to keep them elevated as much as possible. This injury is caused my walking along downhill slopes (which are common). Because the ground can often be slippery and wet in the winter times you tent to tense up your legs a bit more when walking and I think this contributes to the risk of injury. The walking sticks are a help with this since they can take up to 20% of the weight off of your feet. We found in general that it was much more comfortable walking uphill than downhill and tried to lessen the damage by walking diagonally across sloping roads.

Why we loved the Winter Camino

We loved walking in the winter because of the beautiful solitude. Things were a bit cheaper because the `tourists` were not around. People were nicer and much more willing to help, because they respected the fact that you were walking under these weather conditions. We did hear reports that a lot of the locals get a bit exasperated in the summer months with the throngs of tourists and pilgrims. The people we did meet on the way, we formed stronger bonds with since we relied on helping each other out, cooking for each other and even sharing equipment when someone was in a scrape. Our belongings were also always safe, since we knew everyone in the room and theft was never and issue, something we heard was a concern in summer months. This meant that we could leave our heavy packs on our beds and go look for food or simply walk around the amazing towns. There was a real sense of community and we all made sure to keep an eye out for fellow pilgrims. We always had a place to sleep and often times we had an entire albergue to ourselves! We also enjoyed walking in the cooler temperatures. Our bodies would warm up quite a bit from the physical exertion and so we did not notice the cold while we were walking.

We are of course basing all of the above on our own limited experiences, but all this said we wouldn`t trade our Winter Camino for the world. We met some amazing people that we still keep in touch with. We gained a huge sense of accomplishment from having surmounted the weather conditions and I do think that in general challenges are more memorable.

If you have any questions for us please feel free to write to us.

Buen Camino

Yuriy and Diliana