Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

[John Montgomery]

Greetings peregrinos!
I am planning my pilgrimage for next May ( berginning last week of April ) and can't decide whether I should pack some short gaiters....is it worth the weight?
Also, here in Canada the woods are full of mosquitoes and black flies during that time od year.Is this the case on the Camino?
Thanks for your help.
John

[sillydoll]

Hi John,
If you can find a light pair of gaiters they could be useful because if next year follows the same pattern as the past few years you could have snow, rain and mud at the end of April. Mozzie spray? I don't think so. I have never been bothered by mozzies on the camino.

[omar504]

I was very glad I took my ankle length gaiters this year.They are invaluable for keeping out dust as well as minimising water wetting socks when going through wet grass.Lastly they prevent those damn grass seeds sticking to socks and finding their way into boots.

[John Montgomery]

thanks Sil and Omar
John

[gerrypm]

Hi John. It is hard to believe, but there are no biting bugs on the camino - at least during May and early June. I am a Canadian also - I wear a bug jacket when I work in the yard at this time of the year. It is amazing, as a resident of rural Ontario, to walk in deep forests in the summer and not need a thick coat of DEET to survive. This fact alone, should entice more Canadians to walk the Camino. I don't recall the guidebooks even mentioning the subject. Buen camino. Gerry.

[viajero]

I walked in March/April of this year and did get two or three bites on my face and neck. They looked and felt like mosquito bites but I'm not sure. I carried a couple of packets of repellant (Deep woods Off but in the moist towelette form in a small packet). I figured that way I would have something if I needed it immediately --until I could buy repellant at a store. As it turned out, I didn't end up needing them.