Today was our 2nd day of taking on extra kilometres (in following with our plan to arrive in Leon on Saturday instead of Sunday). It was gruelling and we're all feeling exhausted and a bit frayed around the edges.
Our guidebook, "A Pilgrim's Guide to the Camino de Santiago" by John Brierly, usually suggests taking on between 20 and 30km a day. We've noticed that it's one of the more popular Camino reference guides amoungst the group we've been hiking with and most seem to be handling the pace well. The few times we've strayed from the recommended route and taken on extra kilometres, we've always found it to be a challenge - our additional effort rewarded with a new blister, or a new foot or leg ache, or feeling extra tired for the next day or two.
It's all relative though. We've met many peregrinos who travel at a more leisurely pace, regularly hiking 10-15km a day. At the other end of the scale, we sometimes cross paths with a peregrino who travels at a notably quicker pace that the rest of the pack. Most notably, we met a Swede who usually knocks off about 60km a day - almost keeping pace with some of the slower bikers and runners.
The distance each hiker covers on a daily basis is just one straightforward example of how we're all traveling our own Camino. There are of course a million other ways each of us is having their own Camino experience. It's not my place to tell others' stories but as luck would have it, I don't have to. Here's a few links to blogs by folks whom I've met while hiking the Camino:
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