The three mistakes I made on the Camino de Santiago

After walking the Central Route of the Camino Portugues in April 2022 I was keen to get back to Portugal and walk again, this time on the Coastal Route.

When planning and preparing for my first Camino I’d devoured everything I could get my hands on – I read books and blogs, joined Facebook groups, and read countless internet forums eager to learn everything I possibly could.

When it came time to do my second I, naively, thought I knew all that I needed to know. And that, dear reader, was my downfall. Just because last year I successfully walked 170 miles with only one tiny blister that I caught early and that gave me no trouble whatsoever, it didn’t mean that I was going to have another ‘buen camino’. In fact, quite the opposite.

By day three of walking the coastal route, having walked just 45 miles from Porto to Viana do Castelo, my feet were in such a sorry state that I knew that I wasn’t going to be walking into Plaza del Obradoiro with a spring in my step any time soon. In fact, I wasn’t going to be walking into Santiago de Compostela at all.

If you want to know what it’s like to walk the Central Route of the Camino Portugues you can read all about it here.

Read on to find out the Camino mistakes I made this year, what I’ve learnt from this disastrous attempt to reach Santiago for the second time and, importantly, what I’ll do differently to make sure that when I head back to finish what I started I’ll make it to my destination hopefully intact.  

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended I may receive a commission. While clicking these links won’t cost you any money, it will help to keep this site going. Thank you for your support.

Mistake Number One. Having a tight schedule

On my first Camino I had time on my side and, although I planned my itinerary and stuck to it, I did have five or six days after reaching Santiago until my flight home which meant that if I’d needed to stop and rest for a day or two along the way then I could.

This year I was limited to just two weeks off work so knew that I had to complete it in a specific timeframe which gave me no margin of error.

The Coastal Route of the Camino Portugues is roughly 170 miles long and as I had only 13 days to walk from Porto to Santiago, it meant that some of the days were longer than I would particularly have liked. I’d also factored in a rest day in Vigo so that I could visit the Cies Islands so that meant walking more miles over fewer days.

Although I hadn’t taken any rest days on my first Camino I had walked more short days than long ones. Of the fourteen days I’d spent walking, the majority were between 10 and 12 miles with only three being more than 15 miles.

To me, these were ideal distances. It meant that I could take my time along the way at a nice pace and generally arrive at my destination with enough energy to get out and do some sightseeing. On the three days where I had walked longer distances I’d been too tired to really do anything other than lie on my bed resting my feet!

Lesson Learnt: Even though I’ll still be restricted to just two weeks off work it does help that, having already walked for three days, I’ll obviously have more time as I’ll start where I left off in Viana do Castelo and just continue to collect stamps in the credencial that I bought this year.

I still want to visit the Cies Islands but, if it means too many long walking days, I’m happy to leave this for another time and make it to Santiago with energy to spare.

Although I met many pilgrims, both this year and last, who were walking long distances each day I would highly recommend planning your itinerary with lower mileages. As well as meaning there’s less chance of injury (be it blisters like mine, muscle strain or ankle sprains) it also means you can enjoy the journey.

Walking ten to twelve miles a day, or less, gives you the chance to stop and smell the roses, both literally and figuratively. When you’re not on a tight schedule you can stop to admire a beautiful view, have a paddle in the ocean, enjoy an impromptu coffee and cake, not to mention take as many photos as you want.

If you’re walking in excess of fifteen to twenty miles a day, especially if you haven’t pre-booked your accommodation, you have to keep your head down and motor on, potentially missing out on all the things I mentioned above, not to mention the camino camaraderie of walking and talking with fellow pilgrims.

Mistake Number Two. Not checking my walking shoes beforehand

I have absolutely nobody to blame but myself for the state that my feet got into as, foolishly, I didn’t do any practice walks this year in the shoes that I took. I know, I know. Just because they got me from Porto to Santiago last year didn’t mean they were up to the job to do it all over again.

If I’d even just gone out on one or two walks wearing them I’d have realised that I should replace the insoles to give me more cushioning. By the time I managed to find a pharmacy that had replacement insoles in stock it was already too late and the damage had been done.

Lesson Learnt: Even though I’ve put new insoles in my shoes I’ll be treating myself to some new footwear, possibly some Hokas which I noticed where extremely popular this year. I’ll also be getting plenty of miles under my belt to make sure that my new shoes are up to the job and I’m aware of any potential blister hotspots before I go.

Next time I also plan to send my luggage ahead each day and just walk with a daypack.

As with last year I had my packing down to a fine art and my backpack weighed in at less than the recommended 10% of my bodyweight. It didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of walking with a backpack but, inevitably, it would have put pressure on my feet (which were already lacking sufficient cushioning) and been a contributing factor to the blisters that I had.

I noticed this year that there were far more pilgrims walking with only daypacks compared to last year and, to be honest, there are no medals for walking with all your worldly Camino possessions on your back so if you can ship ahead for less than €10 each day then why not?

Mistake Number Three: Not training enough

This was partly my own stupidity but, this year, the weather also played a big part in my failure – both before and during the Camino.

I walked the central route in April/May which meant that it wasn’t too hot and there were even a few days of rain. I’d been able to train throughout winter and spring and, living in Andalucia, these are wonderful times of the year for getting out and enjoying the great outdoors.

This time around I was walking at the end of September and, although I expected similar conditions to walking in Spring, this year the weather was unseasonably hot.

Living as I do in Andalucia I’m used to long hot summers and plan for them accordingly. That means that, throughout the summer months, I limit my exercise to early morning and late evening when, although it’s still warm, the sun isn’t relentlessly beating down. This summer, however, we had one heatwave after another so I didn’t get the miles under my belt beforehand that I really needed.

On top of that, I wasn’t expecting such high temperatures in Portugal for the time of year and, due to the mileage I was walking each day, there was no chance of much respite.

Lesson Learnt: There wasn’t much I could do about this one. Even if I’d set off before sunrise I’d have only got part of the way to my destination before the sun was fully out. Hats off to anyone who walks during the summer months – I know I couldn’t do it!

Obviously I was extremely disappointed not to be able to finish, and heading home with my tail between my legs wasn’t on my list of things to do this year.

However, the Camino is all about reflection and, having now been home for ten days, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the mistakes I made. I did consider staying in Portugal and Spain to salvage some of my holidays, taking public transport between stages to at least experience some of the Camino spirit even if I wasn’t walking. In the end though I decided to return home to lick my wounds in private. The pain I was in from my blisters meant that I could only really hobble about in my walking sandals – not ideal for sightseeing and having an enjoyable break.

Do I have regrets? Obviously I’m not happy with the way things turned out but I’ve learnt from my mistakes and, while 2023 wasn’t my year, I will be back to do it all again.

Coming Soon! I made not have made it all the way but I’ll be writing daily reports of the stages that I did manage to complete.

If you’ve made any mistakes on your travels pop a comment below – I’d love to know that I’m not alone!

Buen Camino!

Why not pin this for later and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more inspiration, photos and updates?