finishing from Leon to Santi with my wee boy in April

[nicola]

Hola! I walked from St.Jean to Leon in Oct to Nov last year with my 5 month old on my back & it was fab (he was - of course,not only the best looking pilgrim ever, but the youngest official pilgrim from that destination!). I'm planning to go back & finish from Leon in April, allowing 3 weeks as the first 475kms took me nearly 4 weeks. My questions are: am I loco completo for going that month (I'm going to go the second half, allowing for the rush of the easter hols to subside) due to the weather - do you know a good website for average temps & rainfall? Also I need to lan it so much ore this time as he's heavier, so I will be unable to carry the 20 odd kilos I did then - are there taxi's to carry bags all the way from Leon? Also - can I get a list of Albergues that have single rooms for that distance? Know anyone wanting to be a packhorse for my gear???!!!

[Covey]

The bag service operates between most albergues and costs from ?5 to ?10 per bag depending on which albergue you are aiming for.

I have never come across a municipal albergue with private rooms and only came across a couple of private albergues last year which had a double room which you could use as a single by paying for both beds.

As for the pack horse......... I thought that was what husbands were for!!!

It is a rule on the Camino that when you see a couple walking, the husband has the large pack and the wife the very small pack. If they are just good friends, then each carries their own kit. In the days when I had a wife, I learnt from the very earliest time that the husbands role was to carry the kit, whilst Senior Management aka She Who Must Be Obeyed looked regal.

The other rule on the Camino is that if you see a lady wearing jewelery and with smart hair, she is French. No French lady ventures on to the Camino without a hair drier in her pack. One minor advantage of being single again is that I don't have to carry the hair drier!!!

[nicola]

Hi many thanks for the advice - I too thought thats what artners were for - hence I'm now single again!!

[Covey]

What you need is a Grandma!

Granny transports the wee fellow from albergue to albergue along with your bag whilst you walk the trail impressing all the guys with your natural wit and good looks and with a bit of luck you will have found a suitable partner by Santiago who understands the rules of the Camino ie: the fellow carries the kit! If the selected fellow enjoys the Camino then you have a shared interest and something to talk about for the rest of your lives!

I met an Austrian guy on the trail a couple of years ago who told me that some Austrian magazine had done an article on walking the Camino Frances and described it as better than a dating agency, however, you do meet all sorts on the trail, and last year a Spaniard I met said some Spanish males do parts of the CF each year because it is a good way to meet Da Ladies, on account of the fact that some 60% of the 100k pilgrims each year are female travelling solo!

Pushing a buggy is out as the wee fellow will be shaken to bits after the first kilometer so he either has to travel on your back, or go with Grandma in the taxi to the next albergue, or if you have a car and Grandma drives, she and he go by car, whilst you join the throng. If Grandma has a Pilgrim Passport, she will be able to sort out a bed for you prior to your arrival.

[Covey]

"?rgiva has a somewhat bohemian atmosphere since it is also a magnet for those seeking an alternative lifestyle; a well-established settlement of teepees is on the outskirts of town, while at the town′s weekly market a whole variety of New Age goods are on sale".


Sounds an interesting sort of place!

[nicola]

Unfortunately - my son has only 1 granny who is Spanish & thinks I was/ am crazy for taking him anyway. He goes in the pack with me all the way! One guy on the camino in October reckoned he should make it to at least Cardinal for doing the camino so young!

Orgiva rocks - check out where I work kaliyoga.com

[Covey]

I have seen a number of alternative ways of carrying kit on the Camino which do not involve back packs.

One was a guy who had an A frame which had a single wheel at the apex and the other ends clipped either side of a waist belt like:

http://www.kayak-canada.ca/Carrix/carrix.htm#features

I know it looks a bit improbable, but the little fellow will take up all the weight on your back plus you need to carry more in the way of supplies for him and you even if your main pack has gone on ahead. Even if he is plugged into a natural food suppyl you still need water + nappies etc.

[Covey]

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Do you serve large Bombay and Tonic's. I find on the Camino that an industrial strength Bacardi & Coke or Bombay and Tonic detoxes me at the end of a day on the trail!! Have a couple and you cannot feel the pain below the knees.