My credential

My pilgrim credential arrived in the mail today from the Australian Friends of the Camino! It confirms my status as a pilgrim and allows me to stay at the special pilgrim accommodations along the way. The albergues, hostels, cafes, bars and churches I pass or stay in will stamp the credential so that when I arrive in Santiago I can prove I have walked the whole way (if indeed I do!). The cathedral issues a Compostella, or fancy certificate, to those who walk at least the final 100km from Sarria.

Training run to One Tree Hill

Beautiful morning for a walk up One Tree Hill with my gear on my back.

The Camino de France

This the route across northern Spain that I will follow. I start in the east at St Jean de Pied Port in France and head east to Santiago, hopefully starting before the hordes who walk it in the northern summer. Many Spaniards start in Roncevalles, and I may end up starting there if the Pyrenees are covered in snow.

There are many other routes starting all over Spain - and Europe- and ending in Santiago at the Cathedral where the saint's bones reputably rest. This is the most well-provided route with lots of accommodation and refreshment stops along the way.

All my worldly needs

This is what I shall be carrying all my requirements for 2 months in. It's amazing how much I can fit in 36 litres. Keeping the weight down has been the hardest part. Do I really need a full tube of toothpaste? Moisturizer? 4 pairs of socks? T-shirts AND shirts? Decisions, decisions!

Over Belconnen to the Brindabellas at dawn

Training on Mt Rogers

Maggie and Nell have valiantly accompanied me on my training walks. We often have disagreements over the path to take. Usually I give in and we scramble around in the acacias with the rosellas for a while.

The list

I have been researching and gathering the lightest and most appropriate gear for this Camino for months. Well before I trialled much of it in Peru and Bolivia in June I had bought a smallish back pack, travel towel, a Scrubba for washing my clothes in basin-poor rooms, walking socks, and a Kindle (of course!).
The walking boots I wore to Tasmania and South America are comfortable in cool conditions but tighten ominously across the toes on warmer days. Reluctantly I went out and found some fabulously wide and softer Keen shoes. My toes spread to their hearts' content without sliding into the edges.
I thought that I would have to spend a small fortune on a Gortex raincoat to keep me dry in notoriously wet Galicia but many on the Camino Forum recommended a poncho that fitted over the pack as well as the person. This reduced the chance of water seeping down between the pack and the back - not a pleasant sensation I imagine! It also keeps pack contents more reliably dry than a pack cover. I couldn't find one in Australia at that time so I ordered one online.Since then they have appeared in Australian stores.
The forums are a great place to learn about the basics of Camino walking. People discuss equipment, accommodation, weather, safety, transport to and from the way, treating blisters, and many other absorbing topics.
Other less-provided for Caminos such as the Via de La Plata, Camino Portugues, and the Camino Ingles are also discussed. Really, a pilgrimage starts at your front door and ends in a place of your yearning. Many Europeans simply step out of their front door in Lyons or Gottengen and head for Santiago de Compostela. In many ways I feel I have already started my pilgrimage as I walk the hills of Canberra training for the mountains and plains of Spain.

View of Canberra from One Tree Hill between Hall and Casey

The Camino Frances

I will be walking the Camino Frances starting in St Jean de Pied Port in southern France. The first day is a climb over the Pyrenees to the Spanish village of Roncevalles. The route then runs through the towns and villages on this poster to Santiago de Compostela.

It is an ancient pilgrims' route and many of the settlements along the way have been devoted to caring for pilgrims for over a millennium. Cheap accommodation, pilgrims' menus, cafes and bars cater specifically to pilgrims. In past centuries the Knights Templar guarded pilgrims from robbers and plunderers and provided shelter and food. 

The scallop shell or golden arrow point the way west, keeping pilgrims on the right track.