Sleeping Bags?

[Ross Sheeran]

Hi all. my wife and I will be walking from late October until the end of November. Will we need sleeping bags or will blankets be supplied? We want to carry as little as possible. Also, we have 32 days to complete our Camino starting at SJDP as we have a flight booked to Madrid on December 1. We are in or late fifties and reasonably fit. Have we given ourselves enough time to complete our Camino. Looking forward to any options.

 

[mspath]

Weather in late autumn can be cold. Some albergues do have blankets but not all. I would take a sleeping bag and a silk or polyester liner. 32 days for your walk should be JUST enough time. Most guide books suggest 35 days. Remember to start out slowly and do not carry too much or try to go too far at first. Ease into it and you will gain strength as you progress.

Buen camino!

 

[Jan_D]

Yes I'd recommend a sleeping bag… Even if the albergues have blankets they're not always the cleanest, and maybe it's just a personal preference but there's something very comforting about snuggling up in your own sleeping bag after a long day's walk, especially in winter. x

 

[Ross Sheeran]

Yes I'd recommend a sleeping bag… Even if the albergues have blankets they're not always the cleanest, and maybe it's just a personal preference but there's something very comforting about snuggling up in your own sleeping bag after a long day's walk, especially in winter. x

We've been wondering about the cleanliness of the bedding that is supplied. I think we'll now take sleeping bags. We are also concerned about bed bugs. I don't know whether its overkill, but we'll probably wear rubber flipflops on our feet (called thongs in Australia) in the shower.

 

[Ross Sheeran]

Weather in late autumn can be cold. Some albergues do have blankets but not all. I would take a sleeping bag and a silk or polyester liner. 32 days for your walk should be JUST enough time. Most guide books suggest 35 days. Remember to start out slowly and do not carry too much or try to go too far at first. Ease into it and you will gain strength as you progress.

Buen camino!

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to try and control myself re starting off slowly. I do a lot of walking and hiking and seem to want to walk fast all the time. My wife says she'll probably have to jog the Camino to keep up with me. She's quite short, so her steps are a lot smaller than mine. I'll try to walk at a pace to suit both of us.

 

[Jan_D]

We've been wondering about the cleanliness of the bedding that is supplied. I think we'll now take sleeping bags. We are also concerned about bed bugs. I don't know whether its overkill, but we'll probably wear rubber flipflops on our feet (called thongs in Australia) in the shower.

There's a huge variety of bedding, some cleaner than others, and I don't think you'll have a problem in the shiny new albergues. Most albergues provide a fitted sheet or plastic cover on the bed, sometimes a pillow, and blankets (either on the beds or in a cupboard somewhere). I have worked in a couple of hostels and the general rule of thumb is that bedding is replaced if it 'looks' used. And the blankets were never even considered! Which sounds pretty manky, but it's mostly because the (non-private) albergues are run by a couple of volunteers who only have an hour or two to do all the cleaning, shopping, washing, etc, before the next wave of pilgrims arrives!)

Lots of folk use flip-flops in the shower, although just make sure they have some sort of 'grip' - don't mean to be paranoid (I actually don't even use them), but one of my 'camigos' last year had quite a nasty fall because of his slippery flops!

 

[MechEngr69]

Have we given ourselves enough time to complete our Camino.

Ross, do a distance trial at home to see how many km you and your wife can walk in two hours. If you can do 5 km per hour, you should be able to walk 30 km per day on the flat stages. That's only 6 hours per day not including breaks. Burgos to Astorga (10 stages in the Brierley guide) is 230 km and relatively flat. You should be able to do that in 8 days.

If you need to save a day (or need a rest), take the bus from Mansilla de las Mulas to Leòn. In Leòn, take city bus 1A from Plaza Guzmán to La Virgin Del Camino to bypass the urban section on the west side. Plaza Guzmán is about 400 m (1300 ft.) west of, and across the river from, the Leòn bus station (Estacìon de autobuses de Leòn).

There are other buses that can help you get back on schedule if you get behind. For instance, there is a bus from Samos to Sarria. Note that some local buses do not run on holidays.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Yes to sleeping bags. Consider spraying the OUTSIDE of them with permethrin to protect from bedbugs.
Yes to flip flops or some footwear for shower = more so as not to get a fungus in my opinion. Some of those showers are scary!
I've used my flip flops for after hours as well - or Crocs knockoffs -(for shower also)

 

[smj6]

... My wife says she'll probably have to jog the Camino to keep up with me. She's quite short, so her steps are a lot smaller than mine. I'll try to walk at a pace to suit both of us.

Ross, since you're an experienced hiker you may already know this, but might I recommend you look at a thread about walking with a companion, and especially check out advice by @Tia Valeria & her husband.
Buen Camino,
Suzanne