The Camino Routine

Day 21  Astorga to Rabanal

Miles: 12.8

Elevation gain:  945’

Descent:  56’

Walking miles:  235.4

Total Camino miles:  349.9

To Travel is to Live – Hans Christian Andersen

Doing the Camino is a lesson in routine. Your day demands some structure and routine in order to accomplish what needs to be done, day after day.

I see the Camino as the following basic steps:

WALK

EAT 

DO LAUNDRY

SLEEP 

REPEAT

CAMINO!

The walking part is simple....you must walk each day if you plan to walk the 500+ miles from St Jean France to Santiago Spain. Some days are relatively easy, others are long walks, and many have steep climbs. Each day is similar, yet very different in many ways.

Eating is a constant focus. You snack, you hike, you drink lots of water. You plan on either carrying things for lunch or you hope to find a cafe to buy lunch. Dinners are late in the day and are often the 3 course Pilgrim Menu. And you eat a lot....a mean a whole lot. We figure we each need 3500-4500 calories per day to stay even. I would say we have each lost some weight in spite of the huge breakfasts we can usually enjoy at most of our accommodations.

Daily laundry is an essential and normal chore for us. You wash some of you items every day and others a bit less frequently. Washing is usually done in the small sink in the bathroom of our rooms. (Blaze has some bizarre technique in which he washes his clothes in the shower...Chum and I have chosen not to witness that event). You use shampoo or bath gel or whatever you have available. Drying is started by rolling clothes in the shower mat, the hand towel, or a camp towel. You want to save your bath towel for your shower. Then clothes are hung anywhere in the room where you can find a spot...from the curtains, over the TV, on light fixtures, over doors, from the ceiling vents, or from a makeshift parachute cord clothesline. With the right clothing materials everything dries easily within hours.

The sleep part is easy. Start early. Wear earplugs. Hope your roommate does not snore too loudly.

Next morning you start all over—that is the routine of the Camino!

Our hike today was the shortest of the trip so far. Rain had been forecast, but we intentionally started late and enjoyed cold temperatures but mostly sunshine and zero rain. A cold headwind set in after lunch and we powered onward to stay warm and reached Rabanal very early. Rabanal is a very small town of only 50 people and has a rustic, charming feel to it. One of our favorite small towns.

Tomorrow we climb to the high point of the entire Camino at 4970’ and expect to walk about 19 miles. It could snow!!