Three Camino Essentials
A Spanish albergue on the Camino Frances.
Declarations about three Camino essentials should always be followed by the one that could have been left at home. No, I’m not talking about my 15-year-old son. He was one of my better decisions that first Camino, so much so that I was humbled and delighted when he asked to join me for a second walk five years later.
Less necessary was an 8 1/2” x 11” hard cover journal with enough paper and room to document seven Camino pilgrimages. By about halfway through our Camino in a pueblo called Sahagún, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León and the province of León, I decided to unload that hard cover journal and send it home along with a sleeping bag, a phone, some items of clothing, and the unused half of Erik’s backpack. I would have had more to send, but I’d mailed two other boxes, one before we even left St Jean Pied de Port, the starting point in our walk on the Camino Frances.
For reasons I can’t quite explain even now, I found that journal in my backpack at the cafe we hit on the way back to our albergue from the post office. I was probably distracted by the smell emanating from us as we emptied our backpacks on the floor in front of a line of Spaniards, or by the woman from the Canaries who argued with the clerk at the counter while we sifted through our belongings.
On our second Camino I made no post office stops, but I did bring along a set of watercolors. Definitely not one of my top three essentials.
When I asked the American Pilgrims on the Camino Facebook group what three items they would not leave home without, the first response was toilet paper, the second Faith, Hope, and Charity, and the third was my passport, my credit card, my phone (by the same person who was also packing faith, hope, and charity). I do wonder how the pilgrim who recommended Motrin, aspirin, and pain relievers got through airport security. If I followed Facebook advice by pilgrims in the know, I would have to carry two backpacks next time.
Your essentials are not mine obviously. Still, sandals or flip flops, a water bottle, rain gear, earplugs, a sarong (doubles as a robe on the way to the shower), cycling arm warmers, an Opinel knife with a cork screw, a quart-size zip lock bag for a daily hunk of break, cheese, and ham, fresh socks, and a compact day pack for trips to the store after the day’s walk are mostly lightweight and great additions to a backpack for any long walk.
My top three essentials are a 20-oz stainless steel water bottle by Camelbak, the multi-purpose pañuelo or handkerchief, and … toilet paper in its own gallon-size zip lock bag. Never leave home without it. What makes your top three essentials list?