Lydia Sanchez and her friends have walked the Camino de Santiago last November, and she has shared her experience with us.

Which section of the Camino have you walked? I have done the Camino from O Cebreiro to Santiago de Compostela. (160 Kms)

When did you walk the Camino? End of October /Start of November

For how many days? 7 Days

How many times have you done the Camino de Santiago? This was my second time. The other time was from Sarria, when I was 16 years old.

How many people walked? 4 People

Have you and your friends trained for this hike?  Not at all.

After the experience, what is the best thing of all?  I liked the fact that we have met many people from many corners of the world. Different people, many of them were walking alone carrying a story behind.

What were the purposes for doing the Camino of the people you have met along the Camino? Some were walking for religious reasons, but most of them as a way to find themselves. Some even had some traumatic stories from the past, and they were trying to find an answer to their doubts and insecurities.  Others, like as, were just walking for fun.

From which countries were the people you have met? Many of them were from England and we have also met people from Canada, France, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, China…

How old were the people you have seen walking the Camino? They were in between 18 and 40. Most of them were from 25 to 35 years old though. The percentage of men and women was pretty close.

You have walked in a season that is considered pretty rainy in Galicia. How was the weather during your trip? Some days very sunny, and other days very rainy. It wasn’t cold though.

Did you find the walk hard? For me, it was psychologically very hard, for my friends, it was hard physically. Even though it was 4 of us, I have walked many sections alone, because each person walks at a different peace. One of my friends for example used to get in the hotels an hour after me. To me, it was hard psychologically because I had so much time to think. Also, everybody has a point on the trip when they want to give up. But, even though all of this sounds like it is not fun,  it was, and I am really happy I had done this section of the Camino.

How many hours did you walk per day? We would walk around 6 hours per day. We generally started walking at around 9 a.m.

Did you or your friends get any injuries? Yes, most of us had blisters on our feet. One friend had torn fibres on her calf the third day, but she could continue walking until the end.

Which was the best part of this section? The 2 days we walked from O Cebreiro to Sarria. It was incredibly beautiful and it was the Real Galicia 100%. There was also more nature, areas of stones and rivers… It was incredible!

Lets talk about the food: The food was very easy to find. There were even houses offering meals for 4 Euros, or you could find very easily bars selling the Peregrino Menu for a very cheap price. This bars are all along the way. I have never eaten as well as on the Camino!

How much money did you spend in total? I spent 100 Euros in total in one week.

Did you find locals friendly in general? They were VERY friendly. They helped us a lot. People offered food and water from their homes.

Have you felt scared, threatened or insecure at any time along the way? Not at all.

Would you recommend to do the Camino de Santiago? Of course! I think is an experience that everybody should have.

Would you recommend to do it alone or accompanied? Both. I have never done it alone, but after all that I have heard from the people I have met and that I know who have done it, seems to me like a really special experience.