I love pieces of jewellery to remind me of my travels. Travelling is, as you are probably more than aware, my biggest passion. Whenever I travel anywhere I love picking up bits of jewellery as mementos from my trip and over the years have exhausted the relevant Pandora travel collections. Needless to say, I was over the moon when I discovered El Camino Bracelets.

Initially this brand stuck out to me as I adore the name. The concept for this gorgeous little brand was thought up by travellers Tom and Candace whilst en route from Barcelona to Monaco. If you know me/follow me/have read my little about section you will know that I am super qualified in the old Spanish lingo. For reference El Camino translates to way/route/path/road/journey – catch the drift? And I think it perfectly encapsulates everything that the brand stands for!

The story behind El Camino is adorable. A concept that started as just an idea among a travelling couple blossomed into a wonderful business venture. The first bracelets made by hand were given to close friends and family who completely supported the idea. Each bracelet was complimented with beads engraved by a local guy to show the destinations of the wearers adventures. Although now a worldwide business, each and every bracelet is still handmade in the UK with all the love. The steps are engraved by the same man just down the road from Tom and Candace and each glass region step is handmade in the British countryside.

Right, shall I talk you through the steps and how you go about building your own El Camino?

Choose Your Bracelet

As I said before all of the bracelets are handmade in the UK. They are a macrame type pattern, woven with four different cords. The bracelet has been designed this way to be super strong to withstand all the exciting travel activities on your adventures. You can choose to have either a single or a double bracelet, in four different colours and sizes. Now if you have read my travel bucket list, you will know that I have crazy ambitious travel plans. Wanting lots of room to collect the steps on my journey, I went for a double black bracelet (36cm).  

Check out all the El Camino Bracelet options here.

Choosing your ‘Steps’

So you have chosen your bracelet. Now you need to start adding those steps. El Camino have a great variety to choose from to help you put your journey together:  

Country Steps 

Pick your countries. You could probably fill an entire bracelet just with the country steps. I know I could give it a good go. There are 240 different country steps to choose from, so there’s a high chance you will be able to get the one you are after. I went for the Japan country step as you may have noticed *yes I am going to mention it again*, then I recently spent two weeks travelling there and I fell head over heels for the country. As you also know I adore Spain (particularly Valencia) and the Spanish language so I also went for a Spain country step!

Small Steps 

Not only can you pick your favourite countries but you can also choose from a selection of popular destinations. Whether that be London, New York, Amsterdam or Angkor Wat there is a good selection. I went for Cornwall as, over the last few years I have grown incredibly fond of this glorious stretch of the UK. Needless to say I couldn’t not have my favourite UK spot on my bracelet. 

Region Steps 

These gorgeous glass region steps are a wonderful colourful chapter to add to your El Camino. Choose from Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania, Scandinavia and South America. Unlike the other silver steps each region is represented with a different colour. I chose the Asia region step as it is a snazzy shade of blue and my path has led me through a couple of countries in Asia. It’s also the region I am most excited to head back to on my travels. 

Custom Steps 

I am already thinking about ordering a custom step for my El Camino! You can order your step, country or small, to say anything within the 32 character limit. Currently, I am trying to decide whether to go for Bangor – my uni city and second home or Porto – my favourite city break last year. I love that there is a customisable option as it is such a fabulous way for people to add more chapters to their tales of wanderlust. 

Spacers 

Add spacers to your El Camino. These are great for breaking up the silver steps as it will stop the little devils rubbing against each other. I was more than impressed to read that all the spacers used in making the bracelet are hand cut and made sustainably with coconut. I received a spacer with all of my silver steps.

Wear your adventures on your wrist. Keep adding steps to your El Camino as you tick more places off that bucket list. It was all the fun picking the steps that I wanted to start my journey with and I am more than excited to add more to my El Camino. Have you already started your El Camino? Are you thinking of ordering for yourself or someone fabulous in your life? Let me know in the comments! 

Thankyou as ever, for reading. Happy travelling! 

Just a quick fyi, my El Camino and Steps were gifted to me by the lovely Candace at El Camino Bracelets but all the love for my bracelet is very much my own! 

If you fancy you can follow El Camino on Twitter and Instagram!