How long does it take to walk the Camino Frances?
Walking the French Way of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela starts in Saint Jean Pied de Port and takes you to Santiago. The amount of days walking differs wildly from pilgrim to pilgrim, in this article I share my experience. And what you can expect. My Camino Frances took 33 days Of those 33 days, we spent one day not hiking, and one day just hiking 7 kilometers due to an injury in my group that required a short day. Other than that we hiked anywhere from 20 to 35 kilometers in a day. With days more than that or less. When starting at around 8 in the morning,…
Trail Meal | Herb and Olive Oil Crackers
Crackers, Knackebrod, and other forms of those products are an excellent substitute for bread while on hiking trips. You can dunk them into your soups and trail meal stews or enjoy them sweet or salty. These crackers you can make at home and carry with you on your next adventure! As with a lot of different options, you can quite easily get these types of crackers in the supermarket. If you are like me however you can also choose to make them yourself. That way you know what you put in them and they can be enjoyed just a tad more. Ingredients For these Herb and Olive Oil crackers you…
Do I need cash on the Camino?
The answer to the question; Do I need cash on the Camino? Is yes. You need pocket money to pay for incidentals and your daily needs. In this blog post, I share my points and experience. On the Camino you can run into shops, cafés, and more importantly Albergues that do not have a card payment option. When your tired after a long day on the Camino, and you would have to hunt for a ATM or Cash machine you can have a big peace of mind that you have some cash on hand. It will save your butt when you need it most. Spain, Portugal, France, Europe, home of…
Prick cartridge Gas stoves
There are lots of stoves that would look strange in a hiker’s backpack in current times, an old-school prick cartridge gas burner is one of them. Let’s look back on the popularity of these burners, and why they have been replaced in the modern-day backpack from virtually any hiker. Especially in Europe, these prick cartridge stoves from the brand Campingaz or Campinggaz have been immensely popular from the 70s until the early 2000s. Their design makes them easier to use than many other white gas stoves, and more accessible to the general camper. They came in a variety of sizes and outputs. And had a few different gas cartridges. The…
Fancy Feast Cook kit
Since discovering the Fancy Feast alcohol stove I have become a big fan, this is the first alcohol stove I tried that ticks all the boxes that I prefer in a backpacking stove in general. Let’s discuss my cook kit setup that includes everything I need and like when cooking outdoors. The Fancy Feast alcohol stove is like any alcohol stove not the best fit for longer-distance hiking for most hikers, because of the fuel needed to reach the same capabilities as a gas canister stove like the MSR Pocket Rocket 2. It is however still an option that many more experienced hikers take because of the wide range of…
What are Albergues and how do they work?
Albergues are what you’ll most likely be sleeping in on the Camino de Santiago. There are other options, but the Albergues bring you the whole experience. Albergue or Albergues are the Spanish terms for hostel singular or hostels plural. There are two kinds of Albergues on the Camino de Santiago, Municipal and Private. Municipal are maintained by volunteers most of the time and are supported by the government. Privately owned Albergues are run for profit and, most of the time, a bit more expensive, but are known to offer more luxury than the Municipal ones. In this blog post, I share all the information and tips that I learned on…
Can you hike the Camino solo?
The Camino de Santiago brings a lot to the table, you will feel highs and lows and everything in between. Often the question is asked if you can hike the Camino solo or alone, in this article I share my experiences with starting out solo on the Coastal Camino in Portugal and hiking the Camino Frances with 2 people. Quick jump guide Advantages of hiking the Camino Solo As with many things, there are both sides of an argument, below I list all the advantages that hiking the Camino solo or alone can bring. Hike your own pace Hiking your own pace is the number one advantage of hiking any…
MAM Iberica S knife review
The Portuguese MAM brand makes traditional-styled knives that are very affordable, and often mentioned as an Opinel alternative, I had to test them out for myself. Here is my review of the MAM Iberica S. I was looking for a new lightweight knife without a locking mechanism for hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland. Since knife laws are a bit stricter in the UK, I was looking for a knife that fits the criteria and could be carried without issue. The MAM Iberica S is a short and small knife that can be used as an all-around camp knife for smaller tasks, and could mainly serve as a food…
How to boil eggs while hiking
Eggs are great, and a good source of protein that is often badly needed for any long-distance hiker. The egg stands in front of many houses out in the country are often my favorite stop along different hiking trails. Here is how to cook fresh eggs while saving both Fuel and Water. Boiled eggs are a great no-mess way of cooking eggs out in the woods. As frying an egg is often impossible due to the need for fat and an ultralight frying pan. Both items are often not in a hiker’s backpack. But leaving your stove burning for longer results in more fuel loss. With this method, you still…
Camino Frances route map
The Camino Frances is the most popular Way out of all the different Camino’s, as such, you have a lot of options for navigating it. In this post, I share the options that I personally used and had a great experience with. Let’s get started! During the actual walking of the Way, you will be guided by the many Yellow arrows and waymarkers along the trail. Look out for any shells and yellow arrows, and you will be okay for 99% of the time. The navigation apps or guidebooks are more for your day-to-day planning and getting a real feel of how long the rest of your day is gonna…