I walked the Camino Primitivo in May of 2011. It's the oldest route, which starts in Oviedo, and can be completed in less than two weeks.
I have not watched the film yet, but I know that it depicts the Camino Frances, which is the most popular route as others have stated. As far as I know, the northern routes are the coldest ones, and they get rain year round.
I did not have much time to plan the trip, so I just brought a 35L backpack with some basic outdoor things (poncho, bug spray, biodegradable soap, emergency blanket, small first aid kit).
As for the clothes, I didn't bring anything special...I brought jeans, swimming shorts, a heavy wool sweater, two track jackets, one long sleeve shirt, two polo shirts, and two t-shirts. (The city clothes were needed because I flew to Madrid afterwards.)
Most of the time I wore the shorts and sweater/track jacket, as the weather was in the high 50s/60s F, 13-17 C but warmed up towards the end (sunny 23C-25/73-77F) of the route. It really depends on the sun.
I was walking eight hours a day, so shorts were fine for me, though they are dangerous if you go off path (as I did) through woods, for obvious reasons.
The poncho was useful as I ran into some heavy storms for two days. The rain is rough, it's akin to a severe thunderstorm.
I ended up mailing some of my clothes back home and just washed the shorts and t-shirt on a daily basis. I kept the sweater and one jacket, I think they were the most useful.
I also brought my laptop and wish that I hadn't. A smartphone or a tablet will suffice, but if you don't have them, don't worry. It really took away from the experience, but I had no other choice.
Towards the end of the route there are services which deliver your baggage to Santiago for 8 euros or so, but don't expect it if you're more than 30km away.
May is still considered off-season; I only saw a handful of pilgrims throughout the route, most from Germany and France, but once I reached the Camino Frances a lot more people appeared.
All in all, I'd say less is best.
Regarding accommodations, I mostly stayed in pensions because I am a late riser and was worried about full hostels. The Camino Primitivo still lives up to its name, so I didn't want to gamble on sleep (the albergues are not always in locations which you may walk). It really was a last minute trip, but I've wanted to go for a long time. I will definitely do it again, and bring less clothes.
reply
share