First of all... Did I get lost? Yes, but it is NOT hard to find the trail at Camino Frances, and not if you get lost either. The trail is over-painted with arrows like the one you see on the picture.

It is not only on small stones, but everywhere in the cities, signs, on the pavement and so on. So why did I get lost?

It was only because I started in the middle of the night in a city. Then the arrows can sometimes be hard to find, because sometimes they are on a tree, and sometimes you are standing on an arrow without noticing.

What did I do? I continued walking. This is always the solution on the Camino if you get in trouble. Of course not if you have really bad blisters, but I will tell you about that later.

Does it work with GPS on the trail? Yes, but I walked the whole Camino Frances without using my phone, and it was lovely and satisfying!

I prefer a minimalist lifestyle when I walk, and thus I also walk in my barefoot shoes. I did not do that to begin with. I will also tell you about my shoes in the next short story.

Back to the first question. Is it hard to find your way? No. I tell everybody that, but you can get a little lost. My brother did as well. It is often if you walk by night or in your own thoughts and forget to look for arrows.

Should I bring my smartphone on the Camino?

It is all up to you. Everybody has a different experience when they walk the camino. The first one I did not use my phone much, but it did come in handy. I walked Camino Portugues a year after, and I just had a new phone. Some might say I used it to much.

The thing is.... That I have far better pictures from the one where I used my phone, but better memories from the other one. I don't know if it has anything to do with each other, but I recommend bringing a phone, because they can be Helpful in many situations.

If you need to find the perfect smartphone, I always recommond to see some reviews on: http://smartphonesrevealed.com/ and click here, if you want the see the top 30 best: The best smartphones on the market

This is one of the questions I get the most. How long does it take to walk around 800 kilometers. I actually did not count the days, but my Camino-group said it was 26 days.

If you divide 800 with 30 it is around 26,5 days which means, that you have to walk around 30 kilometers every day if you want to complete the whole trail in 26 days.

For some it sounds like a lot, for others, not so much.

Some days I almost walked 50 kilometers, but I also had days where I stayed to days in the big cities to explore, party and wait for my fellowship.

with bad hangovers, I only walked 10K sometimes. There is also many others things to do there besides walking :)

How much training do I need to get before walking the Camino?

This is of course also a factor. How much do you really need to walk and workout, if you want your body to be strong enough to endure the whole trip. A lot of people don't make it the whole way because of injuries, blisters, lacking motivation and so on.

It is a huge advantage if you come to the Camino in good shape. Before I went there, I was used to sitting in front of a computer 10 hours a day and was in a pretty bad shape. Still better than most others though....

So it is actually very hard to walk, because you walk in mountains and with a heavy backpack. Bonus info: Your backpack should only have a weight between 10-15% of your own body weight. Most people bring way to much and heavy stuff... Myself included.

It is a great idea to come in good shape before walking the Camino. I got in way better shape when I was walking there, and my running was also improved a lot when I got back home.

I did not loose much weight because I maybe drank to many calories. But I did get in really good shape, and before I went to Camino Portugues, I also worked out a lot before I went there. There is some really nice and cheap training equipment on https://www.billig-fitness.dk/ which also fits to get in shape for a long long distance walk.

You can have a much better experience if you come in good shape because you can enjoy all the good things without to much pain. It is nice to push yourself and get out of your comfort zone, but you can still do that even though you come in good shape.

The legendary pilgrim network Camino de Santiago also has deep roots in Scandinavia. There are fantastic hiking trails all over Europe, and the "Camino" is much more than just a hike in Spain.

When people talk about the Camino, reference is most often made to the Camino Frances, which in Danish is also called Jakobsvejen. This route is about 800 kilometers long and starts in the south of France in the city of Saint Jean Pied de Port and ends in Santiago de Compostela.

There are also various Camino routes in Denmark, where the most recognized is Haervejen. However, one should not forget the Gendarme Path and the new Camoenoen, where one can also see the famous yellow arrows and the famous seashell.

This summer I tried VesterhavsCaminoen, and it was also pfffff…. Amazing.

For now, I will provide some more information about the Camino in the North!

St. Olav trail

St. Olavsleden is the northernmost pilgrimage route in the world, and the route itself is about 580 kilometers long. The route stretches from Trondheim in Norway to Selånger in Sweden. If you would like to hike from coast to coast through Norway and Sweden this is the obvious choice.

You may encounter an excessively beautiful nature where you cross large beautiful forests and mountains, which is something we can not experience at home. In addition, the route is characterized by historical monuments, and it is called the Scandinavian Camino, which we are of course a little envious of here in Denmark.

If you are going to walk a Camino in Norway or Sweden you should check out St. Olavsleden closer. Would you like to get a little smarter on other Caminos?

Stay tuned for more information, and also remember: Don’t forget your yoga mat https://billigfitness.se/collections/yogamatta

Are you going to travel with a backpack? I tell you, it is not a real Camino without! You can quickly get a close relationship with your backpack, but you can also get tired of it if you have chosen the wrong one. Today I give you some recommendations for how big and how heavy it should be.

How much should my backpack weigh? If you are going hiking, it is best that your backpack weighs as little as possible. It is recommended that your backpack should weigh between 10-20% of your body weight, so if you can hit about 15% of your body weight and have all the essentials with you, this is preferable.

If you weigh 100 kilos, it is reasonable if your backpack weighs 15 kilos. We have often seen people of 60-70 kilos pack a 15-kilo backpack and take on the Camino de Santiago. This is not recommended as it can ruin the experience of hiking if one has a too-heavy backpack.

Backpack, how many liters should you choose?

The size of a backpack is stated in liters. This means that the more liters your backpack have, the more spacious and large it is. I always recommend traveling light, and pack as little as possible, but it also depends on how many days you are out traveling.

So, how many liters I recommend, depending on how many days you have to travel, but everything is of course individual in relation to what equipment you need when you travel.

If you need to hike a lot, you can easily use a multi-day backpack for the Camino. Here, people with too big and heavy backpacks quickly become jealous when they see people with small light backpacks overtake them on the route. Therefore, an Expedition backpack is not always necessary, even if you have to travel for more than five days.

Daypacks: Backpack for 1 day (20-35 liters)

Weekend Backpacks for 1-3 days (40-50 liters)

Multi-day backpacks for 3-5 days (50-70 liters)

Expedition backpack for more than 5 days (80-100 liters)

Conclusion: It is of course individual, but the above are some good guidelines and recommendations to follow when figuring out how many liters your backpack should be and how heavy it should be (between 10-25% of your body weight, max 20!)

Stay tuned for more information, and also remember: Don’t forget your yoga mat https://billigfitness.no/collections/yogamatte