Experiment in barefoot walking, pain-free hiking on the Camino Portugues, the Portuguese Way of St. James.

Just try to experience your time off differently, throw your fears and prejudices overboard, don't buy your vacation with your hard-earned money. Live at least the few days a year not planned and structured. Just live into the day. This book is not a travel guide. Why barefoot? Quite simply. For some time now, we've taken a liking to long hikes but time and time again we've been painfully reminded during or after hikes that it's not that easy; especially for the bones. The only solution: More and more expensive equipment. I want to share with you this adventure, experiment, with all the experiences and knowledge I have made. I am not a doctor or a healer, but an engineer, however I know a lot about mechanics and forces. So I look at the influences of barefoot walking from a purely physical point of view, just as the engineer does. I, on the other hand, want to systematically strengthen the walking apparatus and thus ensure that I get fewer complaints when walking. After a short period of training, I felt the effect and was fit enough to feel good for the Camino. I had no significant discomfort, neither during, nor after the hike. The taped knees, the limping people and the stories of painkillers encouraged me to implement the decision I had made earlier to put the experiences in writing. The stories are written in the form of a diary, and in retrospect I realize how much the Camino has changed me. But there's something else, I started out to walk a well-maintained, easy trail that had good infrastructure. But I discovered the Camino. Humanity, humility and a closeness that I had not experienced in this form for a long time. An experience that is difficult to convey, but so exhilarating that I decided to walk the path regularly.

Oliver Schael, Fotograf und Autor, Schwerpunkt sozialkritische 'Street Photography' und Landschaftspanoramen.