My Biggest Issue Regarding the Distance I Walk!

JUST HOW ARE DISTANCES CALCULATED ON THE CAMINO ?

Imagine sitting down and looking at your guidebook to plan or even get a rough idea of just how many Km you want to walk the next day.  It seems like a simple task, BUT IT IS NOT!

Let me tell you that if you plan to walk 25 Km, you ONLY want to walk 25 Km! Why is it that we always walk way more Km than planned?

There are many Official Camino Guidebooks you can buy. Most pilgrims use the Brierly Guidebook. This book actually suggests a daily walk of anywhere between 20 – 25 Km daily. It gives detailed maps as well.

The Germans tend to use the Red or yellow Guidebook. Rumour had it that these books were excellent! They give VERY DETAILED directions, route alternatives, and list many details regarding albergues, and hostals, and other important details. (FYI – the Yellow Outdoor Guidebook was translated into English and I use it on my Kindle app on my phone).

There is even an Official Camino Guidebook with an App! It has great elevation maps!

As detailed as they are, as well written as they are, and as informative as they are, they all have one consistent common flaw. NONE OF THEM HAVE RECORDED THE SAME WALKING DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SAME 2 TOWNS!

Let me give you an example:

My Guidebook lists the walking distance between Castrojeriz to San Nicolas as 9.2 Km. Another will list it as 8.7 Km, and a third one will list it as 9.4 Km. WHICH IS IT? Well you would need to use a crystal ball to really know!

What makes things really frustrating is that posted signs on the trail DO NOT MATCH any one guidebook!! The Camino signs said 10.4 Km from Castrojeriz to San Nicholas! Why is this such a big deal?

When your feet ache, you are sweltering and thirsty, and when you have your mind set that there are only 3 Km left in your 25 Km day, you curse when the actual distance walked is 5 Km longer than you thought!

We tend to use Alison’s GPS and it is accurate but only after finishing the walk!

Our group just laughs and takes in stride. At the end of the day. You still have 823 Km to walk to reach Santiago OR is it 924 Km?

We will let you know when we get there!

KEEP WALKING!