Few pilgrims who attempt the Camino have heard of the Via de la Plata, fewer still have walked it. At 620 miles (1,000 km), it is the longest and loneliest of the Camino routes, crossing the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela. As much of it is under the baking sun of southern Spain, it can also be the thirstiest, as I discovered last summer.
Each day I had to carry more and more water, until I had about four or five litres of water weighing down my rucksack and afflicting my sorry back and knees. After previously doing nearly 2,000 miles of extended Camino during pandemic lockdowns, I had learned the hard way that you pay for every unnecessary ounce you carry (an old army friend won’t let me forget that I carried a 1.5-kg tent more than 1,000 miles before actually using it). I thought I had finally got my rucksack’s weight down to the optimum minimum level (which included ditching that tent). The Plata had other ideas, because you can’t take short cuts with water on the Plata. You can do a day’s 20-mile stage – some were longer – and not encounter a single village or watering hole. Just lots of Spanish bulls on deserted ranch land appearing unfazed by the blistering heat while looking at you sweating your heart out.
