I might be taking just a 6kg backpack (and taking it as a carry-on), which doesn’t sound like much to non-walking travellers, especially for nearly three months, but the full truth is that’s not all I’m taking.
When you’re travelling on your own, security is All Your Own Responsibility. We have always carried money and passports and phone in a bumbag, which I wore at all times (yes, even to bed at night on caminos in shared lodgings). When I took it off to go for a shower, I would give it to one of the children to hold until I returned. Every year there are stories of pilgrims leaving their valuables unattended on their bunk and coming back to find they have vanished. So this time, being on my own, I wanted something that would be easy to keep on my person At All Times, even in the shower.
I could have come up with something lighter, but I recycled some old jeans to make a wee bag with internal zipped compartments for credit card, money stash, passport and phone, and an outer zipped pocket for the day’s cash. Even though a little chapstick could easily be slipped in a number of other places, I made a wee elasticated pouch for it so it will always be handy. It was a very satisfying project – all stitched entirely by hand.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not taking a bumbag! I have downsized from when I was carrying gear for four kids as well as myself, but I’m still taking one.
Amazing what you can fit in it! All my creative luxuries along with a pocket knife, spork and chewing gum (for the flights):
Journal/pens/pencils/watercolour pastels/watercolours/ink/stamps/viewfinder/pencil sharpener/clip
Knitting
Crossstitch
Battery pack/charger/Keyboard (note to self:remember charging cable)
That keyboard is such a nifty wee thing – makes writing on an old phone so much easier. The phone sits in the cradle but I couldn’t take a photo of it in there…obviously.
All of these things would actually fit easily in my backpack, but I like to distribute the weight AND I can leave my pack in the albergue and go out with just these things if I want to.
So there’s another 2kg!
solowalk 2024 