How do you pack everything you need into a backpack that must weigh only 10% of your weight for 6 days on the Camino and another 6 days away from home? Travel light and carry as little as possible. Even though I consider myself a minimalistic packer, I learnt on the Camino that even what I carried was too much – so don’t overburden yourself.
I was happy we had our emergency repair kits, needle and thread, nappy pins, but what we really needed was duct tape and sticker labels. Read my book to find out why! We packed everything in labelled ziplock bags, to protect from rain and to find it again quickly. Backpacks are messy things and get annoying to pack and repack!
Practicality Rules
We were going to carry our backpacks all the way, but we got practical. While I had no problems carrying my backpack, by day two it was a problem for my husband. Correos ported his backpack for the rest of the way, and he was able to complete the walk and enjoy it much more.
Correos is run by the Spanish Post Office. It picks up your backpack in the morning and delivers it to the next one. That means that it is waiting for you in the evening. This is like magic at the end of the day! So slap a bright yellow Correos label on the backpack, call the Correos phone operators who speak good English, and get on your way.
Nappy Pins to the Rescue
Why carry nappy-pins on the Camino?
However, maybe I should have invested in a new backpack, or should have packed more carefully, The plastic sleeve in which I stored a few printed copies of our documents actually ripped the edge of the zip, so by day two we were hunting for duct tape, a word we hadn’t come across in our DuoLingo app!
Find what you must take and what you mustn’t take to stay within that magic 10% of your body weight, just grab the book!