Experience Camino: part 1 – the beginning is not easy

13 days, 315 kilometres, 14 different places to sleep. From having the room to ourselves to the room with 89 other people, snoring in different tones. That was our Camino de Santiago.

!!! (Before you dive into this article, I would recommend reading my first post about Camino de Santiago. You will have a chance to understand the whole experience and also some terms, for example, albergue or credential I will use later on.) !!!

The Camino we walked is called Camino Francés. The starting point nowadays is in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a French village at the foot of the Pyrenees. 767 kilometers away from Santiago de Compostela, with 32 stages – days to get to Santiago. 

As much as I wish we could do all the Camino, neither me nor my friend had so many free days to just leave our lives behind and walk. Also, it was our first time walking it, so we were not sure about how it will all feel like. We decided to start in León, a city which is the 3rd most popular starting point of this part of Camino.

Official kilometers of individual stages vs. our kilometers

I note the official kilometers as well as the actual kilometers we walked that day to each stage, together with the time it took us to walk it. I pressed the start on the watch when we started and pressed finished when we reached our accommodation. I paused it during our longer breaks – for breakfast or lunch, when we sat down in some restaurant/bar, and put our backpacks down.

The time includes all our smaller breaks to stop and drink water, eat snacks, or enjoy the views. And take hundreds of pictures. So yes, it seems to be long, but it isn’t a race. It is a journey to walk slowly, speak with strangers, chill and refill the water bottles from the local fountains…

DAY 0

León, 315 km to Santiago de Compostela

On day 0, I flew from Slovakia to Madrid. My friend, who used to live in England at that time was already there, she flew from London one day before me. She was waiting for me in the coffee shop in one of the airport´s terminals. From there, we took a bus to León, our starting point.

The bus took almost 5 hours, but it was fine, we watched movies and talked. We came to León around 4 pm.

First things first

Left the backpacks in the hostel as there were a few things we needed to do before starting our journey. The most important – we had to obtain a credential. We went to the official office – Asociación de Amigos del Camino de Santiago de León. The place was full of photographs and maps, there were 2 older gentlemen, who spoke English maybe the same way I speak French. Nothing. That was our first challenge, going out of our comfort zones.

My Spanish at that time was at a very beginner level, I could understand and speak some basics. But there was no other option. We asked for the passports and the gentleman helped us to fill them. He gave us maps and printed useful information about the towns on the way. He was so passionate about it! Then we got a presentation about the photos hanging on the wall. Just smile and wave boys! That´s how we felt when listening to that fast-speaking Spanish man, but it was great! We left with huge smiles on our faces. And realization, that our Spanish has to improve.

I expected that the office would be more busy, but no other pilgrims were coming in while we were there. Later on, I have seen why. You can get the credentials in other places, too. They had it also in the museum we went to check later. We did not visit inside as we were more interested in getting a great dinner and rest before the big day 1.

León looks great, a medieval city with old buildings, a huge cathedral and a museum. It is a place worth spending more than just a couple of hours there.

We had dinner, bought breakfast and snacks for the first 2 days, and went to sleep early. Set the alarm for very early morning.

Accommodation

Hostal Covent Garden

A cozy place with a nice staff. Large common room with plenty of space to cook and chill. Great location. 

DAY 1

León – San Martin del Camino

24,6 km (walked 24,95 km)

5:37:15

Woke up on my name’s day (Slovak and a few other nations celebrate it, every name has its place in the calendar and people gifts on their day). My friend gave me presents – a cute mug and the best present for Camino – a custom-made T-shirt with the route we were about to walk on the back, our names, dates, and symbol of Camino – shell. We had breakfast and got ready for what was about to come.

Many pilgrims already left before us, and the rest of them were getting ready. It seemed like nobody was sleeping anymore even when it was still dark outside. That’s the thing about Camino during summer – start walking very early before it is too hot outside.

We wanted to use phones and applications as little as possible and walk like pilgrims do – following yellow arrows and shells, usually placed on a dark blue background. The first stop was to take a picture in front of the cathedral in León, second stop was to take a picture of a beautiful shell on the ground.

We left León behind. Walked on the small paths on the side of the roads, through fields, and a couple of small villages. It was going pretty well, mostly flat. But later on, it started to be hot. There were many kilometers to walk under the sun.

I was walking with the camera in my hand, on my shoulder, or around my neck all the time. I wanted to take many pictures on the way. It would be a major hustle to take it from the backpack and put it back every couple of minutes. I almost regret that decision at the moment, which endangered all my Camino. 

The first day was the beginning and almost the end of my journey

I was walking in the hiking boots, the ones which are reaching above the ankles. They were comfortable and safe against the twisted ankle. But not against my own not-that-smart decision. 

My laces were fixed, but I didn’t use the upper two hooks to secure them. Reason? I was hot and wanted to give my feet a little extra breeze. The shoe laces were long and they hung down from the sides. We were walking pretty nice speed, excited to reach the albergue in less than 1 kilometer. 

Suddenly, one of the laces got stuck on the hook on the other shoe. I didn’t have any time to react to it, I stumbled and fell forward on the field road covered with tiny debris and stones. With 9 kgs on my back and a camera in my left hand.

I ended up kneeling on my bare left knee and right hand, holding the left hand high in the air. My shocked friend reached out to me, checking what happened, and if I was okay. I told her to check the camera first. It was untouched thanks to my reaction to save that instead of my limbs. My knee and my hand were bleeding and the cuts were full of dirt. We washed it off with the little drinking water I had left in my water bottle. Continued walking to the albergue.

Ladies taking care of the place asked what happened, poor girl – they said. One of the pilgrims was a nurse, she offered help, too. Luckily, I know myself well enough, I experienced countless cuts and bruises in my life. I had a first aid kit with me, including medical disinfection – the nasty dark brown one – the most concentrated, but also most painful. I cleaned it with soap and asked for ice to prevent swelling and help with the pain. While my friend was enjoying her time in the pool, I was drinking beer and cleaning the dirt out of the wounds with a needle from my sewing kit. 

I was worried about what would happen if it got infected. It was hot, the roads were dusty, and wearing bandages all day wasn’t a solution. So I poured disinfection on it 3 times a day every single day of the Camino. And I’ve done an excellent job. My wounds were swollen at the beginning but they have been healing nicely, without infection and I could walk normally. I got scars from that day, reminding me that even if I fall, I can still keep going.

Restaurants

• Hostal, Restaurante y Cafetería – Avenida II – next to the busy road, with many trucks parked at the spot, it looked like a busy hostel. Not the best location or view, but the food was fine. They had tortilla de patata and Aquarius drink. Good enough.

My recommendation

Take a break earlier, and stop in the villages before – either in San Miguel del Camino or Valverde de la Virgen to have a meal in a nice place. We didn’t think about it ahead and at that point, we were too tired and hungry to continue walking. It was a good lesson. On day 2 and all the next days, we took breaks more often, even before we felt tired, and ate more. It worked perfectly.

Accommodation

Albergue Vieiras

Such a nice place. The people running it were lovely. A bar and restaurant were offering all-day food, shared dinner at the large dinner table and breakfast. We had a meal after we came and also dinner with other pilgrims. It was the best beginning of the journey! The small garden had seating areas, hammocks, and a pool. Albergue is located at the very beginning of the small village, the perfect spot next to the road.

DAY 2

San Martín del Camino – Astorga

23,7 km (walked 25,16 km)

6:14:23

Woke up, grabbed the clothes we washed and let dry the day before, and started walking. The beginning was nice, walking along the road but on the side of trees and bushes. We stopped for breakfast in a cozy little place where we met many of our fellow pilgrims we knew from the day before or slept with in the same albergue.

It was the beginning of the whole experience, we kept meeting the same people when walking, having a break in the same spots, eating at the same places, and sleeping in the same albergues. The interactions have been different. No discussions about careers and jobs, about how many diplomas people have, or if they are in a relationship. It was more about traveling, goals, the future, and experiences, it was interesting.

This stage wasn’t as flat as the first one, but it was fine. We walked in nature, through the fields a lot, much less near the roads and we loved it.

A few kilometers before Astorga, on the top of the hill, we found a surprise. I am not even sure how to name the place. Chill zone?

Imagine a garden with grass, trees, hammocks, a tiny house, places to sit, and with buffet. There was a large table with so much food on it, fruit, nuts, cookies, water, and more. There were also coins on the table. The man who was running it brought the groceries from Astorga and offered this for a donation to pilgrims passing the place. Some pilgrims would just rest here for a bit, and some of them decide to stay here for the night.

We had a snack there and kept walking. We came to a nice viewpoint on the hill, we could see Astorga from there. Cross and a couple of benches, we ate more snacks and braced for the last kilometers.

It started to be challenging when we were already in the city, but not that close to the albergue yet. We talked, and then we kept quiet. I was singing in my head. Talking to myself – left, right, left, right, keep going. The last hundreds of meters were a walk to the hill to reach the albergue on the top. We made it, took a little bit of rest, and went to see the city.

Astorga is a nice town, we wanted to see a bit of it. Top 3 top places to see:

• Palace of Gaudi
• the Cathedral
• Main square with a town hall

We saw all of this, went to the supermarket to buy snacks for the next couple of days, had dinner in a nice restaurant, and finished the day in the park next to the albergue. We lay in the shadow of the tree and just chilled. That was the real Camino. Walk and rest, do not care about anything else.

Restaurants

• Bar el Puente in Hospital de Órbigo – great breakfast place with a small garden with chickens running around, cooked breakfast food, pastry and coffee.
• Restaurante Bar Arnal in Villares del Órbigo – stopped by for a drink and toilet only, but it looked like such a nice spot to have a meal as well. And there was a cute little statue of the pilgrim.
• La casa de los dioses – the place I mentioned earlier, with snacks and chill, on the top of the hill.

Accommodation

Albergue Siervas de Maria

The cheapest accommodation we had, we paid only 5 euros for the night. It used to be a monastery. It had a nice fully equipped kitchen connected with a small terrace. This place was running on a first come, first serve basis – we weren’t able to book the bed in advance.

Something extra

Experience of staying in hostels and albergues on the Camino

We both stayed in hostels, sleeping in the shared rooms before, but didn’t know if the experience would be the same. It wasn’t…

Albergues are ready to accommodate pilgrims’ needs perfectly. 

1. All the places we’ve stayed in had bunk beds, so they could accommodate large numbers of pilgrims.
2. All the albergues have either a washing machine (sometimes even a dryer) or at least a sink where to wash your clothes. Most of them had soap for washing the clothes or washing powder available as well. There are designated places to hang them to dry – either racks or just simple ropes outside. 
3. People don’t party until late at night as in normal hostels. Some people go to sleep at 8 pm, some at 10 pm. Because the alarms are going off starting at 5 am. So quiet during the night, nobody is coming drunk and turning the lights on.
4. Common areas to eat are in every albergue. Some of them had a common kitchen too, some had their tiny restaurants and cooked dinners or breakfasts for pilgrims for a small fee. 
5. Beddings range from full bedding sets – pillows, blankets, and sheets to only pillows and disposable pillowcases and bedsheets, which you will get when checking in. This allows the places to get ready for pilgrims coming early and keep the place clean. It is very reasonable, to imagine that they would need to wash the bedding every day as 95% of pilgrims stay 1 night only. Therefore you need to carry your sleeping bag, which you will sleep in, or use as a blanket.
6. Shoes are left outside of rooms – for obvious reasons after walking all day.

Continue with part 2!

Days 0 – 2 were just the beginning. More challenges and more interesting places and people happened during days 3 and 4!

For example how we got locked in one of the albergues and almost missed the sunrise we were so excited about!

My Instagram is a source of more information and pictures

Check the stories and the highlights of my Instagram. I will be adding more photos, reels, and stories starting today until all the parts of Camino de Santiago: Day by Day are out.