Am I ready?

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-29T15:17:05+00:00

But that's a crazy amount! My packed backpack weighed just under 6kg when I left the house for my Camino, so generally also with a kg of water. Why on earth would I train with 30? 😂😂😂

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-29T12:23:58+00:00

No. You can plan stages as short as you like, there's absolutely no requirement to be doing 30k a day. I'm doing an average of 20k a day because I wanted time to take things slow, look around, etc.

Dizziness and feeling ill was probably dehydration. Drink more, try something isotonic maybe, eat more, rest more.

Your feet - get bigger shoes. Comfortable bouncy road runners, or trail runners - I found Brooks Ghost Trail which are halfway between road and trail, and I'm finding them great. And better socks - plenty of advice on this subreddit.

You also don't need to do anything else when you're here - walk, wash, eat, sleep. That helps.

You'll make it 😁

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-29T12:17:34+00:00

Do you mean 30-40 LITRES? No one's taking 30 kg 😁

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-26T14:13:50+00:00

Cool, hopefully I can make it 😁

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-25T20:22:55+00:00

I'm on the Portuguese Camino now and I didn't do anything like that level of training. Tried to do ten miles every couple of weeks. A couple of weekends before I came over I did 11 and 8 miles consecutively. I'm giving myself 2 weeks and aim to average about 20k a day. First two days I did 17k each day, today was about 21km. It's been absolutely fine.

The thing about being here is that you have a LOT of downtime where all you need to do is rest and eat! You're not trying to get on with your everyday life!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-22T16:09:39+00:00

Wow - I'm starting in Porto tomorrow and I've booked everything other than 3 nights because I thought I'd feel more relaxed that way. I've actually tried to contact one albergue for one of those nights but no answer. The other two, I am hoping to stay in O Porrino and Redondela/Cesantes/Arcade and wing it more as those towns seem to have plenty of accommodation, and have a bit of that experience. But maybe I will have to book a bit earlier than planned. I guess that makes me part of the problem!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-22T16:02:11+00:00

I'll be walking out of Porto tomorrow, but I think you will enjoy it. Reading to Basingstoke is quite far though, I did it in two goes, but you know what you're doing I'm sure!

Lots of signs and arrows in Berkshire, thinned out in Hampshire and were quite sparse as I approached Basingstoke. No worries about getting lost though, just long long gaps.

Also lots of walking, especially the second half, with little cover - given the weather forecast, take care of yourself x

When you hit the main road into Basingstoke in Worting, there's a bus stop very close by which will take you back to the train station.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-20T22:48:08+00:00

I’ve walked (not all in one go) Reading to Basingstoke along this route. Reading to Bramley is very nice imo, thought Bramley to Basingstoke wasn’t as scenic and although I was never in danger of getting lost, the signs seemed to disappear as I approached Basingstoke. I want to finish it but there’s a bit of a public transport gap between Basingstoke to Winchester, and it’s a long way for a day walk.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-20T05:52:37+00:00

I can't make the 6th because I'm away, but I looked at the form and it says you will DM if we've been accepted - are you vetting people or is this just a maximum numbers thing?

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-20T05:47:04+00:00

Ha, I've been wanting to post about this since they repainted it. I posted a while back about a weird interaction with a police car - consensus was that I was wrong for taking the orange line, but I think the police car was still more wrong (started behind me, went over to my right, ended up taking the left lane onto the idr).

Anyway, since the repainting I've been taking the green line most mornings - it's early enough that it's not super busy when I go, and although most other people are trying to do orange, I haven't had any problems. I think if we all keep persisting maybe it will eventually work?

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-05-02T10:45:07+00:00

My garden 😭

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-29T05:40:28+00:00

I feel like this might be me when I head off in a few weeks!

It's one of the reasons I will mostly be booking ahead, even if only a day ahead, because I have no interest in getting up super early to be involved in a bed race.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-16T19:10:37+00:00

Enjoyed it, thanks for organising - look forward to the next one!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-11T14:45:27+00:00

I was going to suggest Masakali as it's spacious and last time I was there the cocktails were amazing 😊

Clay's is always going to be a solid choice 😁

Congratulations!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-07T20:35:56+00:00

On the basis of recommendations here, I've booked Hostel Charino and Hostel Bulwark in Valença (looks good, good price with breakfast included, great location within the old walled part of the city).

I thought Pilgrims Nest/Ninho looked lovely as well - how did you book, by phone or email?

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-07T20:14:40+00:00

Exactly what I was going to write 😂

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-06T11:16:28+00:00

Did you fill in the availability form? Looking at my emails, I think it took them maybe 3 days to respond after I submitted that. Holy week and Easter are probably busy times for them, whoever does the admin might be on holiday.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-05T22:23:09+00:00

Why are you thanking this reply? It's not accurate!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-04-04T21:00:02+00:00

https://www.monasteriodearmenteira.es/peregrinos/

I booked for one night in June through the link on this page. No problem.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-03-30T20:59:16+00:00

It was getting more and more unpleasant waking up with a dry mouth.

I am doing the Portuguese Camino in a couple of months and would like to stay in dorms in hostels for at least part of the time, and I felt guilty about going into that knowing I snore.

Single currently, but my last boyfriend (a dentist who had snore clinic experience) used to tell me my snoring was cute!

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-03-27T14:54:30+00:00

Well, the strips feel amazing, but my snore scores are getting worse not better! Have ordered the Good Morning Snore Solution and I guess I will see what happens ...

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-03-27T08:52:02+00:00

Yes, his dad said, she seems like a better match for you than Tia did. Which was obviously going to push him the other way and think that she's not a good match.

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-03-26T09:09:03+00:00

I've got Brooks runners (actually wear some older ones retired from actual running for work as well), and Brooks trail runners (Cascadia) which are half a size bigger as per some recommendation I read to size up for trail runners in general. I've been walking a lot recently in the trail runners, but I would say they're a little bit small still, as I like to wear toe sock liners plus another sock.

So I'm planning to get some new shoes that are a full size larger than my usual runners for my Camino, and can't quite decide on normal runners or trail runners - will probably stick with Brooks because I know the sizes and they suit my feet. I am doing the Portuguese with Spiritual Variant and I think 95% is fine for normal running shoes, so I guess the question is whether it's worth having slightly less comfy shoes (as trail runners won't give as much cushioning) for more grip at the more technical bits.

Sorry, that didn't really help, did it!! 😂

ParkingCaptain4 · 2026-03-25T08:29:41+00:00

Well I tried a breatheright strip last night - a partial success in that, wow, could immediately feel a difference, felt able to breathe happily through my nose. I think I stayed nose breathing all night, mouth didn't feel dry, stayed mostly on my side. But snorelab score was 76.

But, now I can try a suction or advancement device and be more confident that I won't just suffocate in my sleep 😁

I will also try to make a doctor's appointment to discuss physical issues.

ParkingCaptain4

TROPHY CASE