juniper

Which shoes to wear on the Camino (Part III)(With free Camino shoes spreadsheet!)

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Enjoying my Nike Juniper trail shoes

Which shoes should I wear on the Camino? This is arguably the most asked question by folks preparing for the Camino. Everybody who has walked the Camino has an answer and is happy to tell you all about it. But nobody who has walked the Camino has your feet. So you can only answer the question.

Not surprisingly, one of the most viewed posts on my blog tackles precisely this question, you can read it here: Which shoes to wear on the Camino?

But I am nothing if not professional, and I noticed the spreadsheet on that post was from 2022; with the mad advancements in shoe technology and rampant Capitalism, I should do a new one. So I did, voila.

There is little to add to that original post, but I do have some thoughts that I did not elaborate on back then:

Some pilgrims are more prone to blisters and foot issues than others. I am not a specialist, but it might depend on how much training you have done in those shoes, how appropriate those shoes are for your particular circumstances, weight, stride, mileage, etc.

The shoe is only 50% of the equation; your socks are the other 50%. I use mostly wool with no stitching or seams. I still wear some Darn Tough socks from my first Camino in 2017! Then I got some Icebreakers from New Zealand, which are 60% Merino wool. You want the socks to fit properly to eliminate friction between the shoe, the sock, and your feet.

Sam, the first (and only) person to tell me about Camino prep, told me to lather Vaseline on my feet before putting on my socks. It works for me, in 4 full Caminos I have only gotten a couple of blisters, and they were my fault, not the shoes nor the socks…

During my Camino Aragonés, I walked some stages with Juan Gameros, a hardcore Mexican mountain guide (follow him on Insta: juan_gamerosmx). He wore Injinji toe socks, and he swore by them!

So you must find your magical shoe/sock combo that works for you.

In the attached spreadsheet, I only ranked 25 shoes by going to some random Internet rankings. The number of shoes and the number of criteria prove that there are shoes for all types of feet.

I was delighted with the Nike Pegasus Trail 3 from last year (read about it here); So this year Celia gave me a pair of Nike Juniper Trail II. I have already taken them out a couple of times and I can’t wait to walk the Camino this Summer!

Buen Camino

  • The spreadsheet is in Excel format so you can sort, add, or manipulate it as you want, enjoy!
Which trail shoes 2024 – 2025Download

Xoriguer

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Chapter I

Otto is a hilarious and chatty Cuban rugby player who defected to Spain during a tournament tour in the 90’s. He ended up being a barman in the hotel in Mallorca where we go every Summer (see previous posts).

Chapter II

Years ago, wild mint grew in the garden of my mom’s country house. My sister and I put it to good use making Mojitos during the Summer months when we were at the house. One Summer the mint disappeared, maybe due to the desertification of Spain because of climate change. Ever resourceful (and lazy) we switched to easy Gin and Tonics for our nightcaps on the porch, where we chatted and reminisced.

Chapter III

In 1701 the Hapsburg king of Spain, Charles II, had no children. This brought about, a massive war of Succession between the Hapsburg loyalists and those who wanted the French Bourbons to take over the Spanish crown. Just about every country in Europe got involved one way or another. Britain took advantage of the mess to take over Gibraltar (which they still hold) and the Mediterranean Balearic island of Menorca, which they returned to Spain eventually. Before leaving, they stole the recipe for a sauce made by whipping eggs and olive oil (and garlic). The sauce, Mahonesa, is called after the city where it was developed, the capital city of Menorca: Mahón. The linguistically challenged Brits changed Mahonesa to Mayonnaise. To get even, some enterprising locals copied the formula for the spirit the British sailors and their Dutch friends where distilling: Jenever in Dutch, Gin for the Brits. That stolen formula would become Xoriguer Gin, to this day made in Mahón. (There is another version of the story in which the French General Richelieu, copied the recipe when he liberated Menorca from the Brits, but it does not have the same poetic justice for our purpose)

Rich with juniper berry flavor, this is not a subtle gin. These are Mediterranean smells and flavors, not a randomly chosen “floral and botanical bouquet with hints of cucumber” for some 50 Euro bottle of ultra-premium gin. Xoriguer is like taking a walk on a Mediterranean island.

Xoriguer is a small family run distillery, so good luck finding it in most shops. In fact, I only know three bars in Madrid that serve it (and believe me, I know more than three bars in Madrid). One is Bar el 32 in Lavapies, Del Diego, which as I have mentioned before is a temple of spirits. The Del Diego brothers make a light and airy Xoriguer Gin Gimlet which just transports you to Menorca. And miraculously, Marcelino in La Navata (see previous post).

Chapter IV

A few years ago, Otto introduced me to Xoriguer, made just one island over. I fell in love (with the gin, not with Otto, although I do love him, but in a different way).

Note: Always drink moderately and responsibly.