A day in the life of a pilgrim

How does it actually work when you're on the Camino? Is there any kind of daily routine when you're in a different place every day?

The daily routine of pilgrims who sleep in hostels versus those who sleep in hotels and guesthouses differs mainly in flexibility.

For non-morning people, this is quite a challenge before the first coffee. However, you quickly get into your routine, and although each hostel is a bit different, the basic processes are the same. Eventually, packing up even works half-asleep.

Sleeping in is not an option, as you're typically kicked out of the hostel by around 8 a.m. Some hostels may allow you to stay until 8:30, but that's more the exception than the rule.

For late risers, hostels might not be the best choice. In a bed in a hostel, you'll still be woken up early by your roommates, but you can roll over and doze off again until they've left and the bathroom is free.

However, you will miss out on the stunning sunrises…

Those staying in private rooms, whether in a hotel, pension, or hostel, usually enjoy a much quieter start to their day. If desired, they can even sleep in until 9:30.

Additionally, those who enjoy the luxury of a private bathroom don't have to worry about urgently needing to use the facilities in the morning only to find them all occupied. Since rooms usually don't need to be vacated until 10 a.m. or later, hotel pilgrims generally have the freedom to manage their morning schedule as they wish.

This means you can take another shower in the morning (which is technically possible in shared bathrooms but considered very rude to others), go out for breakfast, and then pack your things at your leisure.

As a hotel pilgrim, however, you have the disadvantage that breakfast often starts late. It rarely begins at seven, usually not until half-past seven or eight. So, if you're an early riser, you'll often have to skip the hotel breakfast.

Here, the difference between hostel sleepers and hotel sleepers isn't all that significant.

You start walking, most people in the morning tend to go a bit slower, but some have the most energy then and manage to cover quite a few kilometers in the morning coolness.

You walk through forests, across small villages, along country roads, through field paths, through slowly awakening towns, or along the coast.

Depending on the time of day, you may have more or fewer other pilgrims around you, and depending on the section, you may have more or fewer opportunities to settle down and have a coffee served.

Whether you feel like chatting with other pilgrims while walking or prefer to withdraw into yourself during the journey is entirely up to you. Most pilgrims prefer to remain alone for at least most of the way.

And so you spend your day walking. Just one step after another, typically covering between 15 and 35 kilometers a day.

The body usually only hurts in the morning. You don't have to walk for long before you stop feeling sore feet or muscle aches. After a longer (midday) break, you might groan a bit again, but it goes away even faster than in the morning until you hardly notice it anymore.

Some days, walking is fun right from the first step; the mood is great, the view magnificent, the air pleasant, and you'd like to bottle up the moment. Other days, you wonder what the hell you've voluntarily gotten yourself into.

Sometimes you walk through landscapes that are so unbelievably beautiful that you can't stop taking photos; sometimes you trudge through an industrial area in the rain. Mostly it's something in between, but with a clear tendency towards beauty – country roads, forest paths, little villages.

Once you've reached your destination for the day (whether you've planned it beforehand or decided spontaneously is a matter of personal preference) and snagged a bed, there comes a point where there are two types of pilgrims:

One type tosses their backpack next to the bed (throwing it on the bed is forbidden to prevent bedbugs) and heads straight for a beer or a glass of wine. Everything else can wait; it's time to reward oneself! This approach is a lot of fun, but there's a risk of bumping into other pilgrims and getting stuck. When the atmosphere is so convivial and the white wine in the sun so delicious, and you know there's still more to do, what can you do when it's just so enjoyable?

The other type of pilgrim wants to get everything done that's still on the pilgrim's duty list before clocking out for the day.

That means: out of the shoes (which often need to be taken off beforehand and aren't allowed in the dormitory, for olfactory reasons, which is a good idea), out of the sweaty clothes, and hoping a shower is available.

Or, for those who aren't keen on company, they grab their diary if they keep one and find a nice spot by the water, if available.

At some point, they check the pilgrim guide to see what's on offer for the next day and where they want to stay.

Eventually, hunger sets in, and here, hostel sleepers can indeed feel some stress.

However, hostels close in the evening, typically around 10 p.m. If someone isn't back by then, whether because they didn't remember the time, the meal took too long, or they miscalculated the length of the walk back, they'll find themselves facing closed doors and, in most cases, won't be let in.

But as always with pilgrimages, you find a way, something works out. It's almost unheard of to go to bed truly hungry. Sleeping on the street is also very rare.

(In hostels, you often have the option to return late, but this has the disadvantage that the entire dormitory is repeatedly awakened when people trickle in at different times, often quite tipsy.)

If you've already reserved your private room in advance, you can usually arrive whenever you want.

But if you're looking for a bed on the spot, you'll have to start by searching for a room. “¿Tienes una habitación privada?" should be memorized if you're walking through Spain and haven't booked in advance.

If you not only have a private room but also a private bathroom, there's no immediate need to rush to the shower, but from experience, I can say: no matter how tempting it is to just sit down “briefly" on the bed first, it's a bad idea. You won't get back up.

Here, too, it's important to replenish supplies afterward if necessary, although you can also do this the next morning. However, it seems to have become established among almost all pilgrims that after arrival, they look for a small store. Often enough, there isn't one, but that's not a big deal because the bars provide well and affordably.

It's tiring and uncomfortable. But that's okay because it somehow comes with the adventure.

Even as a pilgrim who sleeps in hotel rooms, you live well below the comfort level of your everyday life. Okay, if you don't carry your backpack yourself but have a suitcase transported from hotel to hotel, then it doesn't feel so different from a regular vacation after a while.

But most pilgrims consciously choose a pilgrimage adventure where they carry all their belongings on their backs, have to get by with only 2 T-shirts for weeks, wash their clothes by hand every day, and stay in budget dormitories or very simple private rooms.

Because you quickly realize that it's not as bad as you thought. You don't really need much to have a good time.

You realize that it's much more important to meet great people from all over the world, spend time in nature, have time for yourself to think, and get so many impulses and inspirations.

It's not uncommon to stand in front of your closet after returning and be a little shocked to realize that you own much more clothing than you actually need to be happy. That you own so much stuff, stuff you thought you needed to be happy. But the Camino de Santiago has shown that you don't need all of that, that you were rarely as happy as when you were hiking with your backpack among other people over endless paths.