Walking with a baby

[kwatters]

Hi there, I would like to walk part of the El Camino next spring April to mid May 2010 with my partner and baby (3-4 months old). Does anyone have any experience doing this or have any advice for our journey?

[grayland]

I don't know about a baby.
I have wondered about children (10 to 12 years old) on the Camino. I did not see any. What is the policy in the Alburgues? Not that I have any...but just curious.
I did see a family 2 adults and 3 kids biking. I saw them several times so they were sleeping somewhere.

[Sil]

I would think that walking with such a young infant will be easier than walking with an older baby. 3 month-old babies don't weigh much, they need between 16 and 20 hours leep a day - spread out over the 24 hour period and they don't need to be entertained!
You can have extreme weather in April and should be prepared for snow, heavy rain and muddy paths.
I'm sure that you are not planning on staying in the pilgrim refuges? They are often cramped, noisy and full of exhausted pilgrims who would not take kindly to a baby's feeding routine!

Here is a forum where hiking in the Pyrenees with a 3 month old baby was discussed.
BackpackingLight.com Forums -- General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion Thru-hiking with a 3 month old baby?

"El Camino de Santiago. La Ruta Xacobea Paso a Paso". (The Way of Sanitago, the Xacobean Route, Step by Step) is a lovely French documentary that focuses on the pilgrims' experiences, reasons for undertaking the pilgrimage, and spiritual changes felt. It shows some ingenious means created by pilgrims with children, such as carts fashioned with mountain bicycle wheels. The documentary, is available only in French and Spanish. It is distributed by DVD Spain: www.dvdspain.net

http://pedallingpilgrims.blogspot.com/2008/08/set-in-stone.html Pedaling with children

http://terragalice.blog4ever.com/blog/lirarticle-45469-167723.html

[Debra]

hello
I read a post on a couple that did take a very young child with them and hope that the link helps

Bringing a Child Question - Camino de Santiago de Compostela forum

I wish you the best of luck

Debra

[nicola]

Hi there, I waked the camino last year with my 5 month old son. He was in a baby backpack - he couldn't have been any younger as he wouldn't have been able to hold his head up. When we had overcome things like inflatable cushions each side of his head for when he fell asleep, we loved it. We walked for 4 weeks from St. Jean to Leon & then went back when he was just a year old to carry on to Santiago. On the second part I had to send a separate bag on in a taxi every day as I'd carried 23/24 kilos for the first leg & knew I coudn't carry this again. He got more out of it the second tim eas he slept through most of the first 4 weeks. If there's 2 of you it will be far easier as you can share the load. 99% of people were very welcoming & freindly. Be prepared to stop regularly en route as everyone wants to take your photo. I had such an amazing experience I'm writing a book of it & now planning the Via de la Plata! It'll be hard & challenging but so's life. Being back home again will be a breeze. Go go go - well worth it x

[marrydavidson101]

I am starting the Camino on March 26th... do bed bugs prefer the warmer seasons or are they happy to camp out and cause problems all year long? Also, I read the thread on the 'bed bugs' and it was very informative, but one thing I didn't get from it was whether or not using a treated liner 'with' a sleeping bag would also work as well... i am going while it's colder so I definitely need to use a sleeping bag...

thx!

[Covey]

I have used a treated sleeping bag liner for each of my trips down the Camino Frances, and do not bother carrying a sleeping bag. I have done the route twice in July/August and twice in Sept/Oct.

The first liner I bought was cotton but changed to a silk one after the first year because they are warmer. Even in Oct I was warm enough on most nights, but if I got chilly, then I just wore my fleece and a pair of socks. The silk liner is only 10% of the size of a sleeping bag and much much lighter.

My bags were all pre-treated with Permetherin which is a chemical product that seems to kill all known creepy crawlies including bed bugs, but leaves the pilgrim alive and happy!!

In the better camping shops in the UK you can buy a can of spray on bug killer which is a 5 percent solution of Permetherin. The pre-treated bags state that they still offer effective protection after 10 washes, but I manage a full Camino without having to wash it once!

Bed bugs are always around on the Camino somewhere or another. They are carried between albergues in sleeping bags and clothes. If you are buying a bag liner, buy the rectangular one, NOT the mummy one, and sew a set of tapes into the corners so you can anchor the bag to the corner posts of the bunk beds.

If you are really spooked by bed bugs, always sleep in the top bunk so they don't drop down on you!!!

Some people react badly to insect bites and they swell up and weep, and then start itching like mad. If you have this problem, buy an ointment with anti histamine properties before you go. My son got so badly bitten he had to go and get an anti histamine injection from the local hospital. Other people, like me, appear to be unaffected by the odd bite. The bug problem always seems to be worse in the summer months, but really are around all year.