What Is In My Backpack

What's on My Back

Model	Video	Picture
Baltoro 75 Liter	Review of the Backpack

Clothing

• Two pair of hiking pants with detachable lower legs
• Four quick-dry, wicking shirts
• Four pair of wicking socks
• Hat, bandana, 

Change clothes every day and wash clothes every night.

Shoes

As far as shoes go, this almost borders on a fetish for me. I carry  four pair of shoes when I'm hiking the Camino: one pair of breathable hiking shoes, one pair of sneakers, one pair of kean walking sandals and one pair of flip-flops. It's just really important to me, based on past experience, to make sure that I'm taking care of my feet. So on a long day it's usual for me to change shoes 3 times.

Electronics

The electronics is pretty straightforward. I have my tablet so that it's convenient to blog, even though some people would consider the extra weight not worth the convenience. Then I have my phone. The remaining electronics are plugs, adapters and cables.

Miscellaneous

Items in this category include routine cleanliness items like toothpaste, toothbrush, soap and a  razor. 

The medical kit as the usual pills like aspirin and allergies, things for blisters, and assorted other items for an emergency kit to last me until I get to a town.

This also includes Irreplaceable items like spare glasses and spare sunglasses.

Travel Arrangements

Research Upfront and Early

The Airplane Ticket

As always, there is a balance between cost, leisure and length of time in layovers and in the air. 

Considering Rochester to Dublin to Madrid to Rochester (with lots of hiking in between stops). LOL

The cost for this ticket looks to be about $1000 more than previous trips which have been round-trip between Rochester and Madrid.

Rochester NY - Dublin - Madrid - Rochester

Did some alternative route mapping and discovered that if I fly from Rochester to Madrid (round-trip) the ticket is about $1300, which is what I expected. Then if I fly from Madrid to Dublin (round-trip), the ticket is about $300. That is a savings of $700 which would pay for about 15 days of hiking. Sort of a no-brainer at this point.

Trains / Buses In Country (Ireland)

Bus from Dublin to Tralee

The Train in Spain

Railpass Website

Madrid to Puebla de Sanabria

Ireland and Spain? There's a Thought

Ireland

Not many know that Galicia, Spain was populated by the Celts and that Galicians owe part of their heritage to the Celts.

Further, opportunities for beginning a Camino de Santiago in Ireland are multiplying.

The Dingle Way

Therefore, I am giving serious thought to exploring Ireland as part of my next Camino. Altho' there are probably a dozen "Camino" in Ireland, I find myself drawn to the remote, but beautiful western Irish Coast.

The Dingle Way

 Ireland with Dingle Way Highlighted

The Dingle Way

The Camino Sanabres (Spain)

Upon completing the Dingle Way (approx 9 days), I can catch a flight to Spain and continue on the Camino Sanabres, which I started in 2016 before returning to the U.S.
*Green - walked in 2016 as part of the Via De La Plata
*Red - potential hike in 2018

The Camino Sanabres

Timeline of Past Adventures on the Camino

A Short History of How Far I've Come

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2014	80 Miles	Starting in Sevilla, Spain and hiking north out of Andalucia to Extremadura.
2015	180 Miles	Thru-hiking the province of Extremadura along the Via De La Plata.
2016	250 Miles	Thru hiking the province of Castile y Leon to Astorga, finishing the Via De La Plata, then beginning the Camino Sanabres thru southern Galicia.
2017	320 Miles	From Sahagun on the plains of Castille y Leon to Santiago de Campostela and then on to the Finisterre (The End of the World) and Muxia on the Costo do Morte (Coast of Death).
2018	???	Hopefully ... The Dingle Way in Ireland (8 - 9 days) and finish the Camino Sanabres in Galacia (11 - 13 days) ... then will figure something out if there is time left over.

The Story of the Camino de Santiago

The Origins of The Camino de Santiago

It is said that a shepard of Galicia tending his flock sometime in the 9th century A.D. was drawn to a spot on the ground by the light of a star shining down.

There was found the relics of St James the Apostle, beheaded while spreading the gospel in the Levant, and whose body was lost at sea on his return to Hispania (now Spain).

Santiago is a corruption of the Spanish Santo Iago. Compostela is a combination of 'Campo de la Estrella', or 'The Field of the Star".

Hence Santiago de Compostela is 'St James of the Field of the Star'. Whether one chooses to believe or not in the finding of his relics, it is a beautiful story.

I'm not Catholic/Christian/Religious? Am I welcome on the Camino?

All kinds of people come from all walks of life to walk the Camino. Walkers of all faiths (Catholic/Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist and on and on) consider themselves as pilgrims. The Camino fills each one according to their needs, not their religion and/or spirituality.

The Meaning of the Shell

The shell is the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. According to legend, when St James' body was being transported back to Galicia and the ship was destroyed in a storm, his body washed ashore,  protected by a covering of scallop shells.

Physically, the scallop shell was the perfect size for pilgrims to get a drink of water out of a fountain.

Mythically, the shell represents the protection it gave to the body of St James.

Metaphorically, the grooves in the shell represent the many Caminos, all of which arrive at Santiago de Compostela.

The Camino's Hold On Me

Why I Keep Returning

The lure of the Camino de Santiago remains as strong today, after 4 journeys along its fabled trails over the past 4 years as when I first really felt the need for my personal journey/pilgrimage.

 It's not a religious thing, altho' at times, I am overwhelmed by a sense of something greater than myself.

It's not a "pilgrimage" in the sense that I seek redemption before the relics of St James.

Day 1 on the Via de La Plata (outside of Sevilla)

Even tho' I can tell you what it isn't, I still can't tell myself what it is. I only know that as my life tends towards the chaotic and unbalanced, the more I need the peace and solitary feeling of composure that I find in Spain's heritage, history and life.

Routes for the Camino de Santiago

Palm Sunday in Fuente de Cantos (Fountain of Songs), Extremadura