Learning Spanish for the Camino

Whether you’re planning to walk the Camino Francés in its entirety, the final 100 kms from Sarria, or you’re planning one of the lesser travelled Caminos such as the Via de la Plata which starts in Seville, in Andalucia, you might be wondering whether you should learn some Spanish to help you along the way and what are the best ways to go about it.

There are so many ways to learn a new language that you should be able to find a way that works well for you.

I moved to Spain in 2017 and, naively as it turns out, thought that I would have no problems learning Spanish. My favourite subject at school was French which I studied until I was 18, and I also speak some Italian, so I thought this would give me an advantage as they’re all Romance languages.

Not really the case at all! While it has been a help at times – some Spanish words are similar to either French or Italian (sometimes both) – in other instances it’s been nothing but a hindrance. I’ve lost count of the number of times when I’ve known the French and Italian words so thought I could guess the Spanish only to find that it’s totally different

Just look at the verbs to eat – manger (French) and mangiare (Italian) but comer (Spanish). See what I mean?!

Obviously after living in Spain for so long I am making progress in learning Spanish (although fluency still eludes me) so thought I would share the best ways I’ve found if you want to get beyond ‘un café con leche por favor’.

But first, the million dollar question.

Do I need to learn Spanish before walking the Camino de Santiago?

It’s certainly not essential and you most definitely don’t need to be fluent but it’s worth having some basic sentences and handy phrases up your sleeve. It’s a common courtesy when visiting another country to make at least some effort to speak the basics of their language and while you might be able to get away with speaking only English in the bigger towns and cities, you shouldn’t bank on it and certainly not when you’re passing through small towns and villages away from the tourist trail.  

If you make an effort, no matter how basic, you’ll find that you’ll generally meet with positive reactions but, please, don’t be one of those people who resorts to simply speaking louder and slower in a bid to be understood.

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The best ways of learning Spanish

There are plenty of ways of learning Spanish but these are my favourites.

Download an app

Language learnings apps are a popular way to pick up the basics of any new language.

The first one I downloaded was Duolingo and, although it took a while, I did eventually finish the course and still use it daily for the practice sessions. If I’m honest this is more because I have a big streak (1,432 days at the time of writing) that I would feel hard of losing than anything else but, for a beginner, Duolingo makes learning fun.

I spoke in the Guardian about my Duolingo streak in this post ‘Don’t Break the Streak! How a daily ritual can enrich your life – or become an unhealthy obsession’.

However, there are limitations to it. For starters, it’s primarily standalone words that you learn at the beginning and once you do progress to sentences they tend to be quite random based on the words you’ve learnt and not ones that you’re likely to use on a day to day basis.

I appreciate that the reason is so you’ll get to grips with grammar concepts and understand how to structure sentences correctly but if you’re busy planning your grand walk across Spain it can seem counterproductive to be learning how to say ‘the cow cleaned the dog’s ears’.

Another drawback if you’re using the free version is that, once you’ve lost your lives, you have to keep watching adverts to replenish them so you can continue learning. You can, however, pay for Super Duolingo which gives you unlimited lives and, if you’re serious about your learning it may be worthwhile. There are monthly and annual plans so you can select the one that’s best for you.

Duolingo is also based on South American Spanish so some of the words that you learn aren’t ones that are used in Spain but that’s a minor point, particularly if you only want the basics for the Camino.

Babbel is another good app. You can tailor lessons to suit your needs (an upcoming trip is one of the options for wanting to learn Spanish) and, while you do have to pay for anything beyond the basics, there are often good offers to be had. Learning Spanish with Babbel is much more based on real life conversations that you’re likely to have and each lesson is short so there’s no chance of getting too overwhelmed. Babbel also offers live online classes in addition to the self-study app.

The downside to learning Spanish through an app is that it lacks the human element – repeating words and phrases back to a computer is never going to be as helpful as learning from an actual person, particularly when it comes to getting the pronunciation right.

However, if apps are used alongside another form of learning then they’re certainly worth it even it only in terms of increasing your vocabulary.

Take a language course

I took an intensive beginner’s course when I first arrived in Spain as I knew I wouldn’t progress far enough solely using apps, and studying in a small group of others at the same level was a great way to properly get to grips with the basics.

Some language courses place a lot of emphasis on learning the grammar which doesn’t suit everybody. Personally, that was always one of the things I loved about my language lessons at school but now that I live in Spain it’s more important that I get the conversational basics right so, for that reason, I also joined a conversation class where the emphasis was on being able to function in normal everyday situations rather than on learning all the associated grammar. That can come later and I’ve never had anyone not understand me purely because I used the wrong tense when talking to them.

One of the positives of attending a class is that it’ll teach you the importance of all the accents over various letters which is really important in Spanish when the absence (or otherwise) of a tilde over the letter ‘n’ can make a huge difference in the meaning of a word! Read this article if you don’t believe me!

Listen to podcasts

Listening to a Spanish conversation can feel overwhelming at first with everyone seeming to talk nineteen to the dozen and, when you’re very much at the beginner stage, you do wonder if you’ll ever manage to understand what’s going on or even be able to contribute.

Podcasts are useful here as they get you used to hearing real spoken Spanish in action. They’re a great resource as, not only can you find one tailored to the level you’re learning at, but you also get used to the speed of speech as well as the intonation and pronunciation.

Of course, the best thing about a podcast is that you can listen to it anywhere whenever you have some free time. If you’ve got a busy schedule and can’t commit to attending classes at a specific time each week, you can at least listen to a podcast on your way to and from work, or on one of your Camino training walks.

There are even podcasts geared solely towards the Camino de Santiago so you’ve got no excuse!

Immerse yourself

Watch TV, listen to music, or read a book or newspaper.

It’s best to resist the temptation to fall back on your favourite shows and try instead to watch genuine Spanish programmes and use the subtitles (until you don’t need to!). If you do decide to watch English programmes that have been dubbed into Spanish it’s worth remembering that some words and phrases don’t translate well between the two languages, not to mention how strange it can be to hear your favourite characters with another person’s voice.

Netflix has plenty of Spanish TV shows and films to choose from so you should find something that suits you.

Reading in Spanish might seem daunting at first so try it online. Find a news site and see how much you can understand. Then click the translate button in your toolbar and see how you got on.

Don’t worry if it seems as though you’re not making much progress. Learning another language, especially as an adult, isn’t a quick fix. You won’t be fluent overnight but don’t worry about it. As long as you’re consistent and are doing something most days to achieve your goal then you’ll eventually be having conversations, so forget spending hours hunched over books and go for little and often.

Make your learning bitesize (like tapas!).

Spanish on the Camino

Once you’ve mastered the basics remember that if you don’t use it, you lose it. So, once you’re on the Camino, make sure you find any opportunity to speak it – the more you practice, the better you get.

Bars and restaurants are the best places to start, as are shops and local markets, as these are the places you’re more likely to spend time. It’s also a more relaxing atmosphere as, trust me, having that first conversation in another language is stressful so it makes sense to do it for something straightforward like ordering food.

When I’m in a new situation I always rehearse what I’m planning to say and hope that the person I’m speaking to a) understands me and b) doesn’t talk back too rapidly.

‘Más despacio por favor’ (‘slower please’) is a very handy phrase to have for your first forays into actual interactions with others!

If all else fails there’s Google Translate to fall back on but it does have its limitations so isn’t really to be relied on unless it’s an emergency.

Useful Resources

These are all the resources that I’ve used in my quest to speak Spanish.

Apps

Duolingo

Babbel

Books

AULA Internacional 1 – This was the textbook from my intensive course so is probably most suitable for if you’re having some form of tuition rather than trying to learn yourself. There are further texts in the series as your Spanish improves.

15 Minute Spanish – This book has got 12 themed chapters with each chapter made up of five lessons (so in theory you could study Monday to Friday and complete one chapter per week). It has vocabulary, handy phrases, and a practice section in each lesson plus conversation tips.

Spanish Phrasebook – This Lonely Planet phrasebook is so handy as it’s small enough to carry around with you to help if you get stuck and covers a whole range of situations you’re likely to encounter as a learner.

Podcasts

Coffee Break Spanish

Websites

This website was recommended by my first Spanish teacher and, although I don’t use it religiously, it’s handy to dip into.

Habla Cultura

Useful words and phrases for the Camino

The following are just some of the words and phrases that you’re likely to come across, or use, on your Camino.

Basic Spanish words and phrases

• Yes – Sí
• No – No
• Please – Por favor
• Thank you – Gracias
• I don’t understand! – ¡No entiendo!
• Do you speak English? – ¿Hablas inglés?
• I only speak a little Spanish – Solo hablo un poco de español

Greetings

Let’s start with the most important greeting of all – Buen Camino. Its literal translation is ‘good way’ and you’ll hear it everywhere as you walk from people wishing you well.

You can read more Camino lingo you need to know before you go here.

• Hello – Hola
• How are you? – ¿Cómo estás?
• What’s up? – ¿Qué tal?
• I’m fine/I’m good – Muy bien
• Good day – Buenas días
• Good night – Buenas noches
• Goodbye – Adiós
• See you later – Hasta luego
• What’s your name? – ¿Cómo te llamas?
• My name is – Me llamo
• Where are you from? – ¿De donde eres?
• I’m from England – Soy ingles/inglesa

Food and Drink

These are probably the words and phrases you’ll be using the most along the way so it’s definitely worth learning the basics.

• Menu – Carta
• Menu of the day – Menú del día
• Breakfast – Desayuno
• Lunch – Almuerzo
• Dinner – Cena
• The bill, please – La cuenta, por favor
• I’m a vegetarian – Soy vegetarian/a
• I’m a vegan – Soy vegano/vegana
• Food – Comida
• Meat – Carne
• Chicken – Pollo
• Ham – Jamón
• Pork – Cerdo
• Fish – Pescado
• Seafood – Mariscos
• Prawns – Gambas
• Squid – Calamares
• Vegetables – Verduras
• Salad – Ensalada
• Fruit -Fruta
• Cheese – Queso
• Dessert – Postre
• Drink – Bebida
• Beer – Cerveza
• Wine – Vino
• Red wine – Vino tinto
• White wine – Vino blanco
• Sparkling wine – Cava
• Coffee – Café
• Coffee with milk – Café con leche
• Tea – Té
• Orange juice – Zumo de naranja
• Water – Agua
• Sparkling water – Agua con gas

Directions

• Where are you going? – ¿A dónde vas?
• Where is the hostel? – ¿Dónde está el albergue?
• Where is the bathroom? – ¿Dónde está el baño?
• Is there a supermarket around here – ¿Hay un supermercado por aqui?
• On the left – a la izquierda
• On the right – a la derecha

Medical phrases

Hopefully you’ll never need these phrases but sometimes things can go wrong on the Camino and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

• Where is the pharmacy? – ¿Dónde está la farmacia?
• Where is the health centre? – ¿Dónde está el centro de salud?
• I need a doctor – Necesito un medico
• I have blisters – Tengo ampollas
• My feet hurt – Me duelen los pies
• My legs hurt – Me duelen las piernas

The most important piece of advice for learning Spanish for the Camino is to just go for it. If you make a mistake don’t worry. Even after living in Spain for so many years I still have frequent mental blocks but no one has ever laughed at me for getting it wrong.

I hope this helps and, if you’ve got any handy tips that have worked for you when learning Spanish then let me know in the comments below.

Buen Camino!

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