So my Camino Finistere has been planned – the flights have been booked – I have an idea where to stay where I arrive in Santiago on the 1st of September. I’m getting the hang of putting a Camino together, eh? But I always find putting together the packing list the most fun part. I mean you could have walked 10 Caminos, but you will always have the temptation to try something new. If it works, excellent! If it doesn’t, so be it.

With 5 months to go before my short trip, I can’t see what I will carry changing drastically. I am keeping the same backpack. I have bought a new sleeping bag with next year’s Camino Ingles in mind and I have a new Montane wind jacket which works a treat. I have however made a few changes bearing in mind that I am not checking in my backpack. So I will need to abide by the 100ml liquid rule. I hope to have a lighter pack this time around as I will be away for 8 days. My previous trips have exceeded 2 weeks. So during the Easter break I bought a few things taking into account the 100ml rule and where I will be walking.

• Dr. Bronner’s All Purpose Soap Bar

Since I decided not to check my bag in, I knew that I would need to replace the Lifeventure liquid soap that I had been using for the last 3-4 years. Now 50ml (pictured) would be too little to carry for washing your body and clothes, but Dr. Bronner’s soap bar, cut in half, is perfect. Now, I just hope the smell is not overpowering!

• Bart’s Basic Beanie

The weather in Galicia throughout the month September is unpredictable to say the least. You could be on the tail end of a rainstorm, while the sun could be super-nice to you the next day. So I will bring along a beanie. This only cost me €10. This is a departure of sorts for me as I have always been a fan of the traditional baseball hat along with a buff around the neck. I think I’ll pass on them for this trip but the next time I’m wandering over the meseta I’ll go back to the baseball hat.

• Adventure Medical Kits Blister Medic

Ok, so some of you may think there is not much of a difference between the Medical Kit and the Compeed brand. And you may be right! However, I have been unfortunate enough to receive blisters in 2012 and last year. Compeed has never worked for me, so I’ve moved onto Plan B – Moleskin. If this doesn’t work, it’s back to Compeed. However, I feel confident enough that I won’t get any. And this leads me to my next purchase.

• Smartwool Men’s Hike Ultra Light Crew

Aha, the dreaded sock conundrum! I have tried every brand known to man at this stage, but I seem to have issues – whether it be blisters or pains in the ball of my feet. After May of last year, I wanted to move away from the 1000 mile sock, so I chose the well-recommended Bridgedale Speed Demon ankle sock. I thought “ok..I’ll try these” but after a 20km walk, I had a lot of pain on the base of my feet. It could be a shoe problem though? Possibly! So I decided to by a pair of Smartwood socks to find out if it is. Maybe I just need more protection on those protection points?

• Osprey Washbag Carry-on

And lastly (but probably not the last before I leave in September), I added this handy wash bag to the kit. In the last 4-5 years, I have usually put my toiletries in a dry bag along with my quick dry towel, and you can generally get away with that. However, as I will carry on my backpack, I want to be a little more organised. So I would recommend this.

So that’s it for this shopping spree. Time to put the credit card away for a little while longer. In the next few weeks, I hope to talk about packing lists in more detail.

So now Christmas and 2013 are both well and truly over, we can look forward to 2014. Four days into the new year, I haven’t come to terms with that one extra digit after 13 and when writing dates, I am still writing 04/01/2013. I’ll get used to it soon.

Anyhow, today was a good day. Ever since I made up my mind of going back to Spain, I have been quietly planning but today I visited town and bought a few things. The Great Outdoors is a fab store to visit if you want to buy clothes, accessories and footwear to wear outside of the home for walking, trekking, or whatever. They have some great staff too. Receiving vouchers over the Christmas period was enough for me to pay a visit. I haven’t walked down Grafton Street in a while but it is still crowded, filled with people taking advantage of the post-Christmas sales. 

I bought a decent pair of shoes, Colombia Peakfreak Enduro. Not the shoe I was looking for but I was tempted into buying them based on the fit and also from advise from a guy working there who happened to walk the Camino twice before. I just need to get used to them and break them in. My North Face Hedgehogs have served me well over the last number of years but I needed to say goodbye to them. 

I also bought a lightweight Snugpak sleeping bag, another brand I was recommended. The bag I brought in May was far too big and very awkward to put in it’s sack in the early hours of the morning. Hopefully this will save some space.

I booked my flights to Biarritz and from Bilbao on Thursday and all I need to do now is find some where to stay in St Jean Pied de Port. I think I will wait until I arrive there as I hear the small town is not short of cheap rooms, bed and breakfasts and albergues. Next on the list is to get walking again.

Before I finish up, I spotted this man on Grafton Street on my way home. Quite a few people were looking on, scratching their heads in bemusement, including myself for a while.

There is a secret behind this levitation. You can read up how he conjures up this “magic” here.