La choice of footwear to do the Camino de Santiago It is without a doubt the most important decision of any future pilgrim and it must be taken very seriously and with care, since our feet will be one of the parts that will suffer the most during the Camino. It is therefore essential to check and take care of our feet throughout the walk.
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TREKKING BOOTS OR SHOES
Our shoe advice to do the Camino de Santiago, depending on the time of year, is to wear winter-autumn trekking boots Not very hard sole and, if possible, rubber to provide greater grip on the ground. That they are light and medium cane to walk more comfortably. Another fundamental element is that they have a Gore-Tex membrane to achieve greater perspiration from our feet. Keeping sweat off our feet is crucial to avoid blisters.
En summer and spring if the low trekking shoes. They are lighter than boots and give us more freedom of movement without having to lose grip and grip on the ground.
WHAT SIZE TO CHOOSE
If you are going to buy a shoe to do the Camino, when you try it in the store, buy it 1 number larger than the one you usually use, because when you walk for a long time, your feet expand. The trick is that you put a finger through the back, and that the fingers are not touching the end of the shoe, since on the way down they can be annoying for the nails.
YOU MUST NOT BRAND NEW FOOTWEAR ON THE ROAD !! AT LEAST WALK AND TRAIN WITH IT FOR 1 MONTH.
FOOTWEAR THAT WE SHOULD AVOID
We must avoid walking with sports shoes even if they seem comfortable, since part of the route of the different Camino de Santiago itineraries They run on asphalt, gravel, concrete, stony ground. Also, in case of rain or mud they are not practical at all.
Although closed sandals are comfortable and cool for summer, they are not recommended for doing the Camino, since we have exposed our fingers and feet and the gravel of the road; just as some small stone can cause us unnecessary injuries. Sandals, esparto espadrilles, or flip-flops if they would be appropriate at the end of the stages in order for our feet to breathe and rest in the open air.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE BEST FOOTWEAR TO DO THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
If you want footwear that works for you at any time and weather, we can recommend the MERRELL brand shoes (MOAB 2). They have evolved their flagship MOAB shoe, which has been the best-selling of all time, and have improved it to delight the most adventurous. It is one of the most complete shoes on the market.
As we have already said in our post of “Physical training”No special personal training is required, although it is important that a month before starting, you train a little while going out to walk with the boots / sneakers that you will wear during the Camino. If you have bought them new you will have to walk much more, since they have to be as adapted as possible to our feet.
If you start walking the different stages of the Camino de Santiago with brand-new boots, you will suffer serious discomfort, possible injuries and without a doubt the dreaded and annoying “blisters” and “chafing”.
Both footwear and taking care of our feet during the Camino they are crucial elements to enjoy the trip.
ADVICE TO DRY YOUR FOOTWEAR
One of the problems that we can have on the routes of the Camino de Santiago organized, when we have had a period of a lot of rain (mainly winter-autumn), it is the drying of the footwear (sneakers or boots) that we have used.
We want to give you a very effective and cheap advice so that the next day we have the footwear in perfect condition to use it completely dry.
This “trick”, which perhaps someone already knows, is using newspaper. We wrinkle and make some balls of paper with the newspaper sheets and we are introducing them into the footwear, until it has been completely filled.
You will observe, logically, that it is absorbing the humidity, when this happens, we are removing the wet paper by another dry one and, thus, until it has dried completely.
The next day, with total security, we will have our footwear available and dry.
We advise, on the contrary, not to use a heat source close to the footwear, for drying, as the boots or slippers deteriorate. This is the case of radiators, stoves or hair dryers.
Once you have seen our advice, if you still have doubts about choosing the footwear to do the Camino de Santiago from Sarria organized Contact us and we will help you with your questions.
