El Camino Week 3 Pre-planning: controlling what I can, letting go of the rest

Written By Jeannette Snyder

We're getting closer to our 550 mile walk! 

I'm excited to bring you along. 

For now, we're still in the pre-planning stage, hoping to pack the right amount of supplies, but not too much. Hoping to set up our house for success in our absence, but also surrendering to the unpredictables. 

Here's where we are: 

I met with friends who had experienced the Camino. I made a Google Drive with details upon details about what to order and what to bring. I became mildly single-focused and then made a decision to postpone the trip one-more-year. I will travel during my 61st year and I will bring my husband along. This is a good thing!


Getting Ready

We are now mentally prepared, now come the tangibles.

  • Getting time off work

  • Organizing the home

  • Caring for pets

  • Caring for the garden

  • Purchasing supplies

  • El Camino passports

 

Time

Getting time off from work was easy for me and required more planning from Michael. I’m sure the Camino will be packed with school teachers, but not so many firefighters. Working for the Unified Fire Department requires a cooperative and successful vacation draw in November (and sometimes December) 2021. 

As the circle of firefighters sit in seniority succession, they choose their most pressing dates: up-coming ‘Family Obligation Vacations’, Union Trainings, Yoga Retreats (ok, that last one is not a typical firefighter vacation request… just in my family!). 

Michael has a creative system, mathematical in nature, to finagle dates he is needing. In the end, he trades work shifts with peers so that his time is covered. This particular request required 6 shifts, this was a Big Ask. 

But he did it! 

Home

Our home couldn’t sit empty, there is way too much going on there. I look back longingly to the time in my life when it was possible to pack my VW Bug and then depart for 6 months. Although I sense my life becoming simpler, I am not quite back to that place. Yet. 

We’ll have someone living there, caring for all the details a house requires. We also share pet sitting duties with another family, so there will be a time when our home will look and feel like a zoo. Although the zoo vibe is normal for our household, I have taken precautions by hiring a house cleaning company to do a deep clean just prior to our arrival home. Perhaps being an older and wiser traveler does have a few perks! 

Buddy, shy and often found hiding his head under the covers (or under the bed).

Buddy, shy and often found hiding his head under the covers (or under the bed).

Flora, often needy and seeking reinforcement that she is loved.

Scrappy, who IS scrappy… she is our OLD LADY who endures all things; as of late, removal of an eye and spinal degeneration – but she likes her new “bicycle”. 

Garden

This one perplexes Michael. Why grow a garden when you’re gone? But it’s logical to me. I grow a garden because it gives me extreme pleasure. Growing a garden is easy, tending a garden is more complicated. I love the process of planning and cultivating a garden, but if I’m not there for the beginnings (after initial planting), there will still be the tending and harvesting near the end of summer. (...reaping the fruits of our labor!) Our neighbor is helping us with the watering process. God Bless BJ!

Supplies

Collaborating with friends who have traveled the Camino was the best prep-work we could have undertaken! Reading a book about the Camino de Santiago is great, but listening to first-hand experiences was found to be essential.

These are the two books loaned to us by Rachel. We are comparing notes with the app Buen Camino. The pandemic changed a lot of things, between these three items, we should ‘feel’ prepared.

Our friend, Rachel Pearce with Pain Free Acupuncture has been a vital component in mentally and physically preparing us for our pilgrimage. She not only has been getting my body prepared for the past year, she is a bonafide Pilgrim! She walked the camino several years ago and has provided me with a detailed list of things to bring and, more importantly, things not to bring. 

Her bag weight was 11.5 lbs

OMG!

Shorts and shoes purchased (CHECK!)

The List

For the curious, here's my formal-yet-informal list of all the supplies: 

Tech: 

  • Download App: Buen Camino

  • Sim Card for internet in Spain re: phone

  • What’s App for text communication

  • Adaptor for charging phone

Money:

  1. Albergue (Hostel)

    1. ONLY for Camino Passport

    2. US Camino Passport

      1. 2 people

      2. https://americanpilgrims.org/request-a-credential/

    3. $0-$10

    4. Average: >$25.00

    5. Everyone is on the same schedule

    6. Cash and Cards

Essential Oils:

  1. En Guard (immune booster)

  2. TerraShield (bug repellant)

  3. Melaleuca (cut and scraps)

Dry bag (nylon)

  1. Held snacks

Time:

  1. Morning (before sun)

  2. Finishing by noon

Places:

  1. Begin: St. Jean

  2. End:  Finisterre

Miles

  1. <10 but >20 miles per day

    1. Average was 17 miles per day

Water

  1. Liter water bottle

  2. Camel back not recommended

Flights:

  1. French Route (St. Jean)

  2. We are flying in and out of Paris and taking a train down to Saint Jean

  3. We finish in Finisterre, eventually returning back to Paris via planes, trains and automobiles! (literally)

Medicine:

  1. Medicine 

    1. Advil

    2. Asthma

  2. Gel for toes

    1. Gel lined tubes

  3. Bathroom bag

    1. Zip lock baggies

    2. Hand sanitizer

    3. Toilet paper

Other: 
Walking Sticks

  1. A MUST!

Backpack

  1. 2-day pack

  2. 22 liter

Duct tape (wrapped around the poles)

Head lamp

Lacrosse Ball (foot massage)

Magnesium tablets for water absorption

Shoes:

  1. Flip Flops

  2. Hiking boots or Shoes

Socks:

  1. Sport socks

Bedding:

  1. Sleeping bag liner

    1. Pillow area included in liner

  2. Bed bug sheet

  3. Bed Bug Spray

    1. Sawyer Insect Repellent treatment 

    2. Spray backpack

    3. Spray sheet

    4. Sarong

Ear Plugs

Clothes:

  1. 2 sets of clothing

  2. Wash after hiking

  3. Sarong

  4. Swim Suit

  5. Slip

  6. Rain shell 

  7. Backpack cover

    1. Clothes:

      1. ¾ length Icebreaker yoga pants - 1

      2. Shorts Dri-fit – 1

      3. dri-fit Tank tops– 2

      4. Icebreaker t shirt – 1

      5. Icebreaker Long sleeve shirt – 1

      6. Buff – 1

      7. Sarong - 1

      8. Sports Bras – 2

      9. Underwear – 3 (lost 1 along the way)

      10. Dri-fit socks – 3

      11. Knee high socks - 1

      12. Swimsuit – 1

      13. Slip for sleeping – 1

 

  1. Bathroom Stuff:

    1. Q Tips small bag

    2. Tooth brush – cut in half

    3. Toothpaste – travel (Bought one more small tube on the way)

    4. Floss

    5. Hair ties – 10

    6. Shampoo – travel (bought 1 bottle of shampoo/conditioner on the way)

    7. Conditioner – travel

    8. ½ bar of soap with container (Bring whole bar)

    9. Deodorant – cut off piece and put in travel bottle

    10. Razor – travel

    11. Face lotion with sunscreen – travel

    12. Brush – travel

    13. Liners 

    14. Laundry soap – travel container

 

  1. Bed:

    1. Sea to Summit thermolite reactor extreme liner -1

    2. Lifesystems bed bug undersheet – 1

    3. Ear plugs -2 pairs (Bring 3 pairs)

 

  1. Hiking:

    1. Bag – 22 liter

    2. Trekking Poles with duct tape 

    3. FlipBelt -1

    4. Bathroom kit – I large Ziplock with 2 smaller ziplocks, hand sanitizer, and travel toilet paper

    5. Headlamp –  bring a small LED light for mornings in the albergues

    6. Gaiters – homemade

    7. Water bladder – 2L (would probably just use refillable water bottles next time)

 

  1. First Aid:

 

  1. MoleSkin – 3 sheets (never used, but gave away)

  2. On Guard essential oil

  3. Melaleuca essential oil

  4. Terrashield essential oil

  5. Neosporin

  6. Leuko tape

  7. CeraVe sunscreen – 50spf

  8. Knee Brace

  9. Advil

  10. Lacrosse ball for feet massage

  11. Acupuncture needles

  12. (bought magnesium tablets to add to water along the way, really helped with water absorption) 

  13. kinesio tape along the way, helped a lot

  14. anti-inflammatory cream fisiocrem and tiger balm

  15. gel lined tubes for toe blisters

 

  1. Misc:

    1. Cup – stainless steel

    2. Spoon/fork – camping

    3. Swiss army knife – small

    4. Chapstick

    5. Safety Pins – large – 6 (never used)

    6. Smart phone and charger 

    7. Guide book -Hiking the Camino De Santiago by Anna Dintaman and David Landis

    8. International Passport

    9. Camino Passport

    10. Clothesline – sea to summit

    11. Cord – 4 feet

    12. Plug in adaptor 

    13. Flip flops

    14. Stone for Crux do Ferro

 

  1. Organization:

    1. 8L dry bags – 2

    2. Ditty bags – 3 different sizes

 

  1. Bag Weight: 11.5lbs

    1. Minus:

    2. 1 outfit: Yoga pants, t-shirt, socks, underwear, sports bra.

    3. Flip belt

    4. Gaiters

    5. Trekking poles

    6. Water bladder and water

Yesterday, I purchased tickets for all the in-betweens.

These are the forms of transportation and living accommodations in-between the walking the Delta flights. Train reservations, uber and cab configurations, mapping routes and mileage points. I’ve gotten us to the trailhead and to the finish line.

Today, we will work out the mileage between the albuerges. 

The pre-planning is nearly complete. 

The present-planning is about to commence

I’m reading text messages from my friend, Dina, who is on the route now. She provides daily notifications of wonderful food but a difficult trek. She is on the Northern Camino route which is more challenging but has spectacular vistas. She is meeting wonderful humans and is inspired by all people. 

It's getting closer and closer...we can't wait to share our trip with you! 

Jeannette Snyder
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El Camino Week 4 Pre-planning: the house is pitchin’ a fit!
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Camino trek week 2!