We had another fantastic day. We took a trail from the Coastal route over to the Central route. The first few miles ran along an old aqueduct which was very cool.

Since we were on a transitional trail, we didn’t see many pilgrims. We stuck together all day and had a blast. We talked about faith, food and everything in between.

Hiking Poles

You may have noticed that all my friends use hiking poles but I don’t. They’re weirdos.

Actually, lots of people swear by hiking poles. They relieve pressure on the legs and help with balance and footing, particularly on downhills.

I never really liked them much, so I have chosen to not use them. From my experience their use is about 50/50 on the Camino.

One of the challenges with poles is getting them to Europe. You can’t carry them onto planes, although sometimes people sneak them through. This time, TSA confiscated Tess’ and Rory’s poles, but Cyrene carried hers on without incident. Karen checked hers, but a lot of pilgrims don’t like to check their backpack, because losing it would be a major setback for their Camino. Many pilgrims buy them when they get here, then donate them or check them when they head home.