Where I slept

Lodging cost me ₪2,276 across the whole trip. Eleven of those nights were in hotels or in huts in towns. Thirty-eight nights I slept with nothing — a sleeping bag and a mat on the ground. I gave up on the tent fairly quickly, once I saw I was managing without it. When my friend left, about a third of the way in, I sent the tent home with him. Would I recommend that to everyone? Not necessarily. It limits you, and it makes finding somewhere to sleep much harder. I was willing to take the risk and it worked out for the whole route — but it is a risk. If you do sleep out, three things: Sleep as low as you can. It is warmer and it is easier to get going in the morning. Find somewhere sheltered from the wind. And above all, check the forecast. On a night that was going to rain I would aim to reach a hut by the end of the day, or get lucky and find something covered on the way. On the huts. In most places a bed in a dormitory is 30 euros a person. Breakfast is a fairly simple buffet and dinner is three courses. Do not expect anything grand — these are huts that usually have no real road to them, and their supplies arrive by helicopter or by a goods lift. And if you were thinking of taking a room: there is almost no such thing. You are in a room with six to ten people, usually shoulder to shoulder, sometimes on mattresses laid out in a row. That turns out to be the most interesting part of it. You meet people from all over the world, and I would recommend it to anyone.