Hola! Glad you pulled this back up. I've been feeling a little "fat" lately and perhaps this will inspire me to get back into shape. Any of you interested in knowing, the camino will put you into superb shape for about 2 years! No joke! (especially on the ascent to pun-ferrada, that's for rgf)
Anyway, Calibasco, to give you some cost tips... the refugios were either free-500 pesetas a night. Food can be cooked in the refugio for a minimal cost. Many times you can get with other peregrinos and make a big meal (200 pesetas a person plus 100 pesetas for wine)! Gotta love Spain. If you don't buy anything except the necessities, you really can do it on 1000-1500 pts. a day. As for Cathedrals etc., they tended to be free to 250 pesetas. Not all charged a fee, some were just abandoned or semi-abandoned and part of the camino's history. Bigger cities such as Burgos, León, Astorga, and Santiago, charge a fee but I'm sure guidebooks could help you out with current costs. Put it this way, I spent more on café than I did on entrance fees.
I would allow for a night in a hostal/pension/hotel every so often. If you go during peak months, you may experience difficulties finding a spot in the refugios. In September this happened to us 2 times in 3 weeks. We also opted to stay in hostales/hoteles a couple of nights when we weren't (or shall I say I wasn't) quite up to staying in the available refugio. Santiago was one of those places. After three weeks of biking, finally reaching our destination, I had no desire to see another refugio! It was my treat, shall we say, to stay in a nice place!
Here's a tip- when you get to Santiago, go directly to the "Pilgrim’s office" to get your official Compostela. They will give you an official certificate for having completed the ruta. Go and get photocopies made and take them to the Parador de los Reyes Católicos. If you're one of the first 10 registered, you qualify for free meals in the worker's quarters. You can get hearty meals and you don't have to pay a dime. When we were there, there weren't even 10 people signed up. You can eat for three days if I'm not mistaken.
As for gear, here's a list of what I took:
*Two pairs biking shorts (padded) You can buy the underwear with a pad and just wear it under regular shorts. You'll have to wash it daily though!
I took one pair of the padded shorts that weren't the stretch kind. They were nicer because I could just wear them around while sightseeing and didn't look as funny. But, everyone expects that you're doing the ruta so it really doesn't matter. I got mine at REI for about $35. They have an annual sale in August (I think) and you can get some great deals.
*One pair of long biking pants (lycra)
*tee-shirts
*biking gloves
*sunglasses
*biking shoes- I ended up wearing my biking shoes all the time. I thought they were more comfortable than regular shoes.
*shower shoes
*biking helmet
*wind and waterproof jacket (I took the Anorak type that fits nicely in the pouch- also from the REI sale).
*lip balm
*sunscreen
*First-aid kit Make sure you take something for sore muscles and for blisters!
*cotton socks
*towel
*Swiss army knife (with corkscrew and scissors)!
*something for cold nights such as a blanket or sleeping bag. Not all refugios provided blankets and it does get cold.
*Flashlight (I took the kind that fastens to the handlebar and is removable so it didn't take up space in my panniers).
*bike racks ($20-30 each)
*panniers- I spent the most money on these. I purchased them a couple of years before the trip and wanted to buy the best. I bought (what I thought were the best) the Jandd Panniers made in Santa Barbara. They were quite pricey at the time. I'm guessing on the prices as it was so long ago but...oh, you're in luck, I just found my receipt (it’s from 1995). I bought the handlebar pack ($50), two front panniers (the no-frills ones at $60/pr) and two of the Jandd mini mountain panniers at $72/pr. I highly recommend the handlebar pack because it conveniently holds your documents in a handy clear compartment on top, has mesh pockets on the sides for wet, gooey items, a front pocket for stuff, and then the large compartment for things you’ll need during the day. Once you pack those large panniers up for the day, you don’t want to have to go back and fish items out of them. You can remove the whole thing when visiting monuments and just leave the other rack panniers on the bike. The Jandd panniers conveniently snap together and have a leather “handle” so they can be carried together, which makes it nice when turning in for the night. I found that they were very “peregrino” friendly because you’ll be packing and unpacking daily. They are also water-resistant which is a plus in Galicia. I never had anything damp at the end of a rainy day. Also, they have reflective strips for easy visibility. Obviously you can find much cheaper panniers and it’s really up to you. Also, you don’t have to get both front and back panniers. Since I was unsure of how I would fare with the weight distribution, I decided to go with both front and back. My husband only used back panniers and he didn’t seem to have a problem. Just make sure you take some bungy cords along to strap things to the back rack. Another handy item is the stuff-sack. I used those for my clothes and just dropped them into the pannier. That way your not fishing around for loose items and you can really pack the stuff in. Also, you can strap one to the rack when you get overloaded. I recommend taking two.
Here are some more items you’ll need:
*spare innertubes
*spare spokes with spoke key
*spare break cables
*pump
*lock
*flat repair kit
*tools
*the usual clothes and toiletries.
*BIKE- any decent bike will do. As I stated earlier, my husband’s bike was a piece of junk and he survived. I’d take something sturdy but it doesn’t have to be fancy.
I hope I didn’t leave anything out.
[This message has been edited by nevado (edited 02-11-2001).]