Read Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago for Free Online Page A

practical portion because, really, anything seems pretty practical compared to that bit about the scallop shells. Seriously, I apologize for that.
    Anyway, the way I see it is that people who have already hiked the Camino want to reminisce and read about the funny things, places and people they encountered along the way. People who are planning to hike, on the other hand, demand at least some specifics, some information that will shed light on what to take, how to carry it, when to use it and how to subdue an amorous Frenchman sleeping on the bunk above them. We are very grateful for all the terrific information we, and by “we” I mean Laynni, were able to find on the internet prior to embarking on our hike which meant we ended up having surprisingly few regrets about what we took. I suggest you do the same, spend some time on the Camino de Santiago forum and any number of other dedicated Camino websites. Even travel agency sites often provide a lot of useful material. I believe that the hardest part is planning for the weather since, first of all, there are never any guarantees when it comes to weather regardless of what time of year you go. Secondly, most websites don’t differentiate much by season so it is hard to tell if their advice applies to all seasons or only if you go at a certain time. My advice is to go to travel blog sites such as TravelPod , TravelBlogs or TravelBlog , just to name a few, and find blogs of people who hiked the Camino at the same time of year that you will be there. For a more detailed discussion about the kind of weather to expect check out the chapter dedicated to When to Go and Weather .
    Something else to think about is your plan for accommodation. If you expect to spend every night in albergues sleeping in dorms and sharing bathrooms your packing list will be different than that of someone who plans to stay exclusively in private hotel rooms. However, we hiked with a few different people who were staying in hotels, one who even had an agency pre-book them for him, and they all ended up spending at least a few nights in albergues at one time or another. So unless you are absolutely sure you will always have a hotel bed to return to, with real sheets and everything, you’ll probably want to make sure you have a backup plan (i.e. sleeping bag).
    Packing
    One of the first choices you need to make is what backpack to bring. Normally this is a very subjective discussion that is dependent on where you are going and what you will be doing. Well, in this case we know both of those things. So I’m going to come right out and say that you do not need a 70-litre backpack! I don’t care if you are travelling alone (and therefore can’t share toiletries and such), or have a large sleeping bag, or a cute and fluffy favourite jacket, or plan to really stock up on free grapes along the way. If you can’t fit everything into a 50-litre pack you have too much stuff. And that is being generous. Realistically, a well-packed 50-litre bag weighing 10 kilograms (22 pounds) or more is only going to be manageable for a large man in better shape than most of those showing up every day in St. Jean. You should shoot for 30-40 litres and 7 kilos (15 pounds). Nothing has more bearing on how much you enjoy your hike than the size and weight of your bag. On our hike I carried just under 10 kilos and Laynni around 7 and we found our bags to be reasonable. But if I could have found a way to drop another 2 or 3 kilos from my bag you’d have seen me dancing naked in the streets (sober this time). But everyone has their own list of priorities and things they “can’t live without”. Some of the things we carried that some people might be able to go without were long underwear, e-readers and chargers, rain pants, extra sunscreen and a set of lounging clothes (pajama pants, and at least one shirt not stiff and crusty with trail sweat).
    Now, after a considerable amount of observation and experience I have come up with