If you're serious about getting to Santiago de Compostela, then you need to prioritize
foot care. After this video, you'll have the exact method that I used to walk the entire
Portuguese Camino without getting a single blister. For the best Camino de Santiago advice,
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Hi, I'm Alex. And on my blog, Backpacking Brunette, I've shared loads of advice for
walking the Camino de Santiago, from what to pack to how to avoid bed bugs, you can
find lots of information about getting to Santiago de Compostela. In this video, I'm
sharing the shoes, the socks, and the seriously simple trick that allowed me to walk from
Porto to Santiago de Compostela without getting a single blister.
Let me just start off by saying that blisters are a serious problem on the Camino. When
I think back to my time on the trail, I have a lot of good memories, and one of them is
not watching my walking buddy, Vanessa, spend every evening lancing her blisters with a
hypodermic needle. Yuck. Even if you're someone who doesn't normally deal with blisters, I'm
guessing you're also not someone who normally walks 15 miles per day. When you're putting
that much wear and tear on your feet, stuff like this just tends to happen. But don't
take that as blisters being an inevitable part of the Camino. There are things, there
are steps that you can take to prevent them.
It all starts with the socks. Prior to walking. My second Camino, a friend of mine, a fellow
pilgrim, recommended that I look into getting a pair of Injinji toe socks. And I am not
going to lie, when I first saw these, I wasn't too sure about them. They looked kind of weird,
but the minute I tried them on and saw the way and felt the way that they kept my toes
separated, I knew that, that was going to be a game-changer. For the Injinji toe socks,
there are a lot of different kinds out there, but the ones that I used are linked in the
description below, and it's important that you get a thin pair. They're kind of like
a liner and you don't want to go too thick because with my two-sock method, yes, you're
going to be wearing another pair of socks.
And that second pair of socks is a pair of Balega hiking socks. The ones that I used
on the Camino were about quarter crew length, they went up a little bit above your ankle,
and they were very cushiony, but still very breathable. Like I said, the Injinji toe socks
are linked in the description below and so are those Balega hiking socks.
Now this next bit is essential to making the two-sock method work for you. When I walked
by Camino, I brought a little tub, just about this big, of Vaseline and that stuff was gold
to me on the trail. Every single morning, after I would get dressed, I would head down
to the [inaudible 00:03:06] kitchen, grab a chair and Vaseline my feet up. I mean, just
going wild with this stuff, putting it between my toes, putting it around my nail beds. Really,
you cannot use too much. If you need to buy more, there are always places, like pharmacies
and grocery stores, that you can pick it up along the trail. Once my feet were all slippery,
all Vaselined up, I would pull on very carefully the Injinji toe socks. Now you're pulling
them on carefully because a wrinkle could mean a blister. Once I had the toe socks on
over my Vaseline feet, I would pull on the Balega hiking socks. And yes, even though
they were two pairs of socks, my feet weren't never overheated on the Camino.
Same goes for the Balega hiking socks. As I said for the Injinji toe socks, you want
to put them on carefully to avoid any little wrinkle because again, that could mean a blister.
While I really genuinely think that the two socks plus the Vaseline were the reason I
didn't get a blister, I should also mention the shoes I wore on the Camino. I opted for
a pair of Altra running shoes and the design, which incorporates a super wide toe, I think
probably had a little bit to do with my blister-free Camino. I will go ahead and link those shoes
in the description as well if you are interested in checking them out.
And that is it. That is the two-sock method. That is my secret to walking the Camino without
getting a single blister. While I managed to avoid blisters on the Camino, don't take
that as I didn't have any struggles on the trail. I had absolutely the worst shin splint
and ended up having to take a rest day because of it. Since then, I have learned a lot about
preventing and treating shin splints when you're hiking. If you are interested in seeing
a video about that, let me know in the comments.
Now you know my secret to walking a blister-free Camino, but what about training? If you're
worried that your busy schedule won't leave you with any time to train, then head to the
link in the description and grab the completely free P.I.L.G.R.I.M. Approach. This video and
PDF resource will show you how to walk the Camino even if you don't have time to train.
I'm Alex from backpackingbrunette.com. Thanks for watching, and buen Camino. If you found
this video helpful, give it a thumbs up, subscribe and share it with someone who has walking
the Camino de Santiago on their bucket list.