Camino de Santiago Hike
11 May to 30 June 2023
The Pilgrimage, An Overview
In English "The Way" or "The Way of St. James", the Camino de Santiago is one of the world's most iconic hikes and pilgrimages.
Please search the internet there are hundreds of pages. Here is one, which has all information including advice and packing.
Elise and her family have hiked parts of the Camino on 3 previous years, each time via a different route. There are many alternative routes for the Camino de Santiago. The French route is by far the most popular but not a route that we have done previously.
With Zak and his brothers the last one that we did was before Covid, the Camino Portugues.
If planning to hike
If you are planning to join Elise for some days of hiking please:
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Contact well in advance - there are not many dates left
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Do your own research such as packing and training
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Make your own travel and accommodation arrangements
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Understand that Elise cannot wait or stop her own hike
Please do search the internet:
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Request the spreadsheet to see dates and locations
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Pack very light - only hiking clothes are needed
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Many towns are difficult to reach please research
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Do some training - you need to be able to do at least 20km per day carrying a backpack and with almost no pauses
The outline plan
Elise has a very detailed spreadsheet sent on request.
It has the itinerary, dates, accommodation and rest days.
On average 20km per day hiking, and you need to carry your own backpack. Pack light!
Ensure you have good hiking socks and shoes and first aid kit
Elise will be working remotely from 06:30 - 10:00 and from 15:30-19:00 most days. This will vary.
Check weather forecasts, but always bring both sun-cream and rain coat and waterproof cover for your backpack
Accommodation is difficult to find in some towns so the earlier you book the better.
If you have particular dietary requirements, you may need to carry provisions especially for smaller towns and villages.
Please bring muesli bars or any similar back-up food for your hike. You will of course also need to carry water.
About Samaritans
The Samaritans are a long-established UK registered charity that offers a 24/7 helpline for anyone in emotional crisis or need. The service is anonymous and available for anyone in need not just those who have reached the point of feeling suicidal.
Please visit their website for more information or follow the link from the donation page for this fundraising hike.
About Zak
Zak as a child
So very loved but always "different"
As anyone who knew him will tell you, Zak was an extraordinary child. He was so attractive with his gorgeous smile and blonde curls that people would stop in the street to exclaim over him. He was very cuddly and loving and close to his family. He loved to dance, play piano, do art and anything creative.
However, he struggled to make friends. He and his interests were "different" from other boys his age and he was an introvert in public, made more challenging by his level of deafness as a child, his hearing aids and issues with his kidney that meant for example that he could not do all sports.
This did not really change for him as he became a teenager, inexplicably. He was adored and popular with every adult who met him and with the friends of his older brothers. But in his own age group, he was mainly shunned, ignored or bullied. Not a single person his age came to his funeral.
Zak the teenager
We must honour with kindness
Zak was 14 when he killed himself without warning in panic over an internet blackmail. The story of what happened to him and the events that led in the space of just three weeks to his sudden death are written on the donations page of Just Giving.
But what is more important is how Zak lived. Even as he got older, he remained the same happy, loving, funny, caring, kind boy that he had always been. Although he was quiet around people he did not know well, at home he felt able to give full expression to his creativity and his playfulness. A truly loving son and brother, he was so very deeply loved.
We must go on. The best way to honour Zak's life and way of living is through happiness and kindness. Raising money for Samaritans is part of that, combined with the hope that the funds play a small part in getting help to anyone in crisis.