Water On The Camino

Hello everyone. New member here from California. My step-son and I are heading out on Camino Frances on Sept. 15 (wow, after 3 years of talking about it we are now down to two months!). Anyway, I have a ton of questions so I will probably be posting a lot in the coming weeks. First question I have is in regards to water. We both have the bladder in our backpacks to fill up but I was wondering how good is the water along the way. Can we just fill up out of faucets at our stops or should we be buying bottled waters and filling up the bladder that way? Thanks in advance for any advice you may share.

 

Hey Chuck - First, welcome to the Forum. The tap water in Spain is fine to drink. You'll have no trouble filling your bladders from faucets at cafe/bars or other spots as you walk. There are only a couple of long stretches on the CF where there is considersble distance between watering holes. Generally, you'll find a spot to get water every 3-5 kilometers, so it won't be any problem for the two of you. Keep in mind that a liter of water weighs 1 kg or 2.2 pounds. If you have a large bladder, you won't generally need to fill it to capacity as it will add extra weight you don't want or need to carry. I picked up a 1.5L bladder for my wife, but we never fill it more then 2/3s full. Buen Camino!

 

Chuck, I had the same concern before my first camino and purchased a Steri-pen to ensure the water was safe. However, based on feedback on this forum, I decided it was not necessary, so did not bring it along. Several Camino Frances guides show where there are public water fountains on the stage maps and you can always refill in a bar, restaurant, or albergue. We had no problems last time. For our upcoming camino, I am going to hydrate more by drinking agua more often. My brother, his wife, my wife and I will be one week ahead of you on Camino Frances.

 

Thank you for the very helpful info. I have been walking 5-10 miles everyday with the backpack on and it does seem like a fine line between filling the bladder but having that weight and only partially filling it and saving on the weight. Based on your info I will follow your advice on just filling it around 2/3.

 

Thank you Bob for the info. Unless you are taking longer than us to walk the Camino (we are walking 32 days with a rest day in Leon) we won't catch up to you so hope you and your family have a safe & fun walk.