Hey folks, so my name is Lindsey Cowie. I've been making YouTube videos about the Camino
de Santiago for about three and a half years now. My first video I ever made was called "The
Camino de Santiago for Dummies", and I just kind of laid out a little bit of the basic
information about the Camino. I've gotten hundreds of questions from soon-to-be pilgrims all around
the world, and while I tried to make videos to address some of the most frequent questions,
I haven't been able to get to all of them yet, so I thought I would do a Camino de Santiago
for Dummies part two, in which I answer a lot of the most common questions that I get about the
Camino. So if you've ever wondered or wanted to ask me, what's the weather like in May? How much
does it cost? What kind of bag do I need? That kind of stuff, here we go, you finally get those
answers. Number one: do I need to know Spanish to walk the Camino de Santiago?Absolutely not.
Hundreds of thousands of people walk it every single year, and a good portion of those know no
Spanish whatsoever. However, knowing a little bit, enough to get by and to ask for your basic needs,
it's going to really enrich your experience and make things a lot smoother and easier as well.
So do a little bit of studying before you go, or bring a phrase book with you. Number two:
do I have to carry my pack the whole way to Santiago? Nope! While the majority of people
do carry their packs the entire way, there are plenty of services that are offered along the way,
especially on the Camino Frances, where they will transport your bag for you while you're walking
and your bag will be waiting for you at the next albergue. This is a great option on the Camino if
you find yourself injured and need like a little bit of a break, but the vast majority of people
carry their own bags. Number three: what do you eat on the Camino? This is something that's going
to be different for everybody but a lot of people have the "pilgrim meals" or like the daily menus
at the bars while you're on the Camino. This often comes down to things like pasta, a big salad,
lentil soup, a stew, and a plate of beef and chips, or fish and chips, or chicken and chips,
and then some flan to finish it off for dessert. But this is something that you can customize a
lot if you stay in places that have kitchens and you can make whatever you want. Number four: how
much training should I do for the Camino, or how fit do I have to be to walk the Camino? Really,
you should try and do as much as possible before you go, especially if you're someone who doesn't
do a lot of walking in your day-to-day life. However, the Camino is quite an extreme physical
undertaking for most people, you just can't replicate the conditions that you are in on the
Camino at home, so you can do as much training as you want and you still might end up with issues,
but the more prepared you are, the less likely you are to have issues, so make
sure you're comfortable in your pack and make sure you've broken in your shoes. Number five:
can I walk the Camino alone as a woman or should I find friends to go with? Hey, I'm a woman,
I've done by myself! You meet a lot of people on the Camino who are doing it by themselves, or with
people. It's really up to you. But if you want to go by yourself, don't let any of the stories
that you've heard scare you away from doing that. This is one of the safest places to be traveling
by yourself as a woman in the world I would say. I felt very comfortable the whole time and so will
you. Number six: what size of pack should I get for the Camino de Santiago? This really depends
on the person, and I would say focus more on the fit of the bag and the weight of the bag,
than the actual like liter size of the bag. But typically most people carry somewhere between like
a 30 and 45L bag. You can go bigger than that or smaller than that, but just as long as it fits you
and it's comfortable and it's not too heavy on its own, you can wear whatever you want! Number seven:
should I bring a floor mat in case the albergues are full or in case I have to sleep outside or
something? No. While these are possibilities, honestly, the weight and the burden of carrying
that floor mat the entire way, just in case to maybe save you the discomfort of one night's
sleep, don't bother. In that situation, just spring for a pension or a hotel or something, that
would be the same price as actually buying a floor mat. Number eight: what about bed bugs? Bed bugs
definitely happened on the Camino. I mean, you're staying in bunks with tons and tons of people,
and you put your stuff down on the bed, you can be transporting bedbugs from albergue to albergue.
Bed bugs typically are only active during the summer months on the Camino between like June
and maybe September, until they kind of die and go into hibernation, or whatever it is bed bugs do.
I have not actually ever experienced them because I've only walked in April or May, so I don't have
any tips on how to like, treat for them, but if you're walking during those times of the year,
maybe read up on them a little bit and figure out how to prevent that. Number nine: what are my
options on the Camino is a vegetarian or a vegan? The concept of vegetarianism is mostly unknown in
Spain, especially the rural areas that you're in. If you ask for like no meat, "sin carne",
they'll probably ask you if you want chicken or fish. If you ask for no meat, chicken or fish,
it's likely that whatever you get might have been cooked to gain some sort of meat broth. Vegans,
I'm sorry, you're pretty well probably gonna have to cook for yourself the entire way, so make sure
you stay in places that have grocery stores and kitchens. That's just the nature of Spain. Spain
as a meat-centric country, you're going to see hawks of ham hanging from the ceilings and bars
a lot. It's good for the rest of us... not so for you, my apologies. Number 10: what's the weather
like in May, or October, or April, or July? So I get questions about weather all the time. Here's
the breakdown. May, you can have really hot days or really cold days, all at once. Same with April,
lots of rain, could be really hot. Same with October, could start really hot,
could get cold by the end you could have snow in some places. I had snow in May. In the summer,
it's gonna be hot, it's gonna be real hot. But you're still gonna need pants and like some sort
of long-sleeve shirt in case it rains and for the evenings, because it does get cold. Number 11:
how much does the Camino cost? Well it depends how fancy you want to be while you're there. Most
people I would say, you can get away with about 30 euros a day including all your food, the albergue,
pretty much everything you need, but obviously you're going to need a little bit extra in case
like your boots break, or in case you get sick and you have to be in a hotel, or things like that.
But that's a kind of rough estimate, times thirty euros by however many days you expect to be there,
by your local currency, and your airfare, and there you go! Total cost. Number twelve:
how do I choose which route to do on the Camino? Kay, this is for real tough. You have to figure
out what your main concerns are, and what you are most hoping to get out of it. Most people start
with the Camino Frances, but there's definitely no rule to that, so pick whichever one you want.
If you want privacy and to be walking alone a lot of the time, don't do the Camino Frances. If
you want a pretty flat route, the Portuguese or the Frances will be good. If you want something
that's not too hot, even in the summer, walk the Norte. If you want lots and lots of people around
you all the time, walk the Frances. Just do as much research as you can, look at some photos,
see "yeah that looks nice, I can do that" and go from there. Good luck. And finally:
are you planning another Camino? Hi, sorry to interrupt, past Lindsey, future Lindsey checking
in here. Since I've recorded this video, my answer to this question has changed slightly. I was in
the planning stages, I am now in the planned stages. I have booked my flight and I am flying
out of Canada into Lisbon to walk the Camino Portuguese on May 1st. I can't believe that is
happening again, but it is the perfect time for me to do it, and I really need to do it right now so,
you guys will be seeing a lot more from me in the coming days. I'm gonna try and film
a lot while I'm there, as well as a lot of videos about like packing, and everything that's kind of
relevant to my life right now, like finding new boots and a new backpack, which you had seen,
it was sitting right there when I filmed it, it's over it's over there now. But yeah, I have a lot
to talk about now and I'm very very excited. So thank you guys for being on this journey with me
for the last three and a half years, and off we go again! I'll talk to you guys very soon. Bye!