Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago

that there are no hard and fast rules, just hard and fast girls.
    Things Everyone Should Bring
    Sleeping Bag
    If you invest in a good quality light sleeping bag that packs down nice and small you will pat yourself on the back every single day. The most common mistake we saw was people carrying heavy bulky sleeping bags that took up a lot of room in their backpacks (or didn’t fit at all and had to be tied to the outside), were a pain to pack up every morning and weighed a ton. I know that good lightweight sleeping bags aren’t cheap but I don’t know of anyone who regretted theirs. Some of the albergues provided sheets, and a few more would reluctantly hunt some down if a person cried, begged and promised suggestive backrubs, but I wouldn’t recommend that you count on that.
    My biggest problem was that my sleeping bag was actually too warm. It is rated to 0 degrees Celsius and considering they tend to only be comfortable to a few degrees warmer than their rating and we were hiking in the fall when the temperature routinely hovered around freezing at night I assumed that would be perfect. But even though many of the albergues were not heated, or at best only minimally heated, I guess the fact that we were indoors at all, and on beds rather than in a tent on the cold ground, made a bigger difference than we anticipated. I don’t even like to think about how many times I woke up in the middle of the night drenched with sweat, thrashing and panicking to try to get my sleeping bag zipper opened before I spontaneously combusted and destroyed my only pair of clean underwear, frustratingly interrupting fanciful dreams about becoming a renowned hip hop artist with white guy dreads routinely getting invited to party at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s place. Over time I learned to leave my bag completely open (as much as a mummy bag opens) and just kind of drape it over me no matter how cold it felt when I first laid down, but that is also a sure fire way of ensuring that all of your body parts are completely different temperatures. A simpler solution, I think, would be to bring a thinner sleeping bag. A two-season bag good to 10 degrees Celsius would probably be fine if you don’t mind sleeping in clothes occasionally, or 5 degrees would probably be ideal for those who prefer sleeping nude even in a room full of strangers, or maybe especially in a room full of strangers. It will be more comfortable and, maybe more importantly, a lot smaller and lighter. And in the summer I daresay you could probably get by with nothing more than a sleep sheet (silk is the best and lightest).
    Good Hiking Shoes
    This may be the single most influential item you will bring with you on the Camino. A high quality pair of (at least partially) waterproof hiking shoes that offer support without weighing too much, and are well broken in (don’t even think about bringing brand new shoes), can be the difference between having the greatest experience of your life and simply enduring five weeks of torture. A little later I will go into more detail about the various physical ailments and challenges one faces when hiking 800 kilometres in one go but suffice to say good footwear is the cornerstone of any good hike.
    There is no one shoe style that will work for everyone or every situation but there are a few criteria I would suggest considering. First of all, the Camino is more a test of stamina than a strenuous and demanding technical hike. So you don’t really need boots. Now, if you prefer boots, or have a good pair of well broken -in boots already, there is nothing wrong with using them. Personally, though, I find them to be heavy and bulky and would only wear them in the most extreme conditions. Second of all, while we encountered a number of pilgrims who hiked in cross-trainers fairly successfully, we also know of a number who regretted that decision mightily. In general, they don’t have the necessary support to deal with the more rugged sections of trail without putting unnecessary strain on your feet, which may not be too big a deal when day hiking with healthy rested extremities that resemble those in a tube sock commercial, but it is a whole different matter when your battered, bruised and blistered feet are into week three of a grim regimen of daily abuse and damp socks.
    The latest craze in active footwear seems to be those barefoot sports shoes with the individual toes and no soles to speak of. Let me just say, we saw several pairs of those on