Yes Davis, gone are the days of Telex, Slide-rulers, Kodak films, Walkman's, Betamax (and VHS too), Polaroid, etc., etc......and of course the internet cafe. Obsolete. The remaining few coin-operated computers in albergues, loaded with virus (both physical and virtual) are of another time. We live in 2015....at least for another few months. accept it.How available are so-called Internet cafes where one can rent a computer by the hour and log onto the web to check email, etc.? With the advent of smart phones, are Internet cafes a thing of the past?
How available are so-called Internet cafes where one can rent a computer by the hour and log onto the web to check email, etc.? With the advent of smart phones, are Internet cafes a thing of the past?
Yes Davis, gone are the days of Telex, Slide-rulers, Kodak films, Walkman's, Betamax (and VHS too), Polaroid, etc., etc......and of course the internet cafe. Obsolete. The remaining few coin-operated computers in albergues, loaded with virus (both physical and virtual) are of another time. We live in 2015....at least for another few months. accept it.
Buen camino
Thank you peregrina2000...
Another communication questions: I plan to buy a Spanish SIM card after arrival and install in my unlocked phone. If I then buy a plan that is talk and text only (no data), is it possible for me to connect to the internet where there is free wi-fi?
Sorry Wayfarer, but all airlines these days use and work with electronic boarding cards (this being to their own advantage) and it worked well for me also with Renfe, several times.The internet cafe is still handy for printing boarding passes or train tickets.
Not where I come from.Sorry Wayfarer, but all airlines these days use and work with electronic boarding cards (this being to their own advantage) and it worked well for me also with Renfe, several times.
Sorry, I am under 60. What is an "internet café"?How available are so-called Internet cafes where one can rent a computer by the hour and log onto the web to check email, etc.? With the advent of smart phones, are Internet cafes a thing of the past?
Sorry to you too, Gerardcarey, but I correct this in the interest of this community. When you book online (especially with the low-cost carriers favored by most peregrinos) you either get electronic confirmation and/or boarding card, no need to print-out. Spain* is not part of the Middle Earth.Not where I come from.
Still need to print them out.
Sometimes technology takes a while to reach Middle Earth.
No, not all but they are getting there.Sorry Wayfarer, but all airlines these days use and work with electronic boarding cards (this being to their own advantage) and it worked well for me also with Renfe, several times.
Pano, if you use Ryan Air you must print your boarding pass, not an option, unless you want to,pay more,at the registration desk.Sorry Wayfarer, but all airlines these days use and work with electronic boarding cards (this being to their own advantage) and it worked well for me also with Renfe, several times.
I am waiting for "Star Treck" type transporters where I will be beamed to STJPDP and my bag will be beamed to Romulan sector.I have to say that I was getting a bit worried about boarding passes for my return journey to the UK. The marvels of technology allow me to book through my phone using the EJ App and also using an electronic boarding pass.
Where will it all end!!
I am waiting for "Star Treck" type transporters where I will be beamed to STJPDP and my bag will be beamed to Romulan sector.
Sorry to contradict you too, Anemone; with a very few exceptions (and not concerning the Camino-relevant airports), Ryanair uses mobile boarding cards (see https://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/does-ryanair-have-a-mobile-boarding-pass-service/)Pano, if you use Ryan Air you must print your boarding pass, not an option, unless you want to,pay more,at the registration desk.
MM I just upgraded from an old flip phone to a Smartphone (now all it needs is a smart owner). It's a Nexus 5 so it came already unlocked. What I am thinking of doing, is removing the sim card and just using it for email and perhaps sending a photo now and then when I'm in a wifi zone. I'm still trying to determine if I really need a phone during my time in Spain…… MaggieLike many pilgrims I use my smartphone as a computer generally via a local wifi connection. Nevertheless after 10 years/10 CF caminos I am constantly conscious of changes both architectural/spatial and social along the way. Thus if you wish a list of those albergues remembered as still offering computers for pilgrim use as of last autumn (2014) just ask via a private conversation link.
MM
The only 'i' product I have is an iMac desktop. My phone is a Nexus 5. I chose this because it is the only phone that came unlocked. All carriers (I'm in Canada) require a minimum 90-day period before the phone can be unlocked. I didn't have 90 days. I'm quite happy with it.If you have an iPhone, and you can find wifi, you can call for free to another iPhone. You don't need a Sim card.
They are not a thing of the past, but they are dwindling rapidly. I succumbed to the iphone forces and have carried one for the last two caminos, so I now don't need to go looking for an internet cafe. Wifi is everywhere, virtually. I can't believe the tiny unpopulated little places where the bar offers wifi.
There are still a number of "locutorios", which provide phone services mainly to immigrants who want to call their distant homes. These places will also likely have computers that you can use for a couple of euros an hour. But they are decreasing -- I just learned that my favorite little place in old Santiago on the Rua Nova has closed. It had great sentimental value to me because it was there I learned my daughter was pregnant, and also where I got the news of my son's engagement. No stopping the change, I guess.
The other place you may still find computers for public use are in a "casa cultural" or a "hogar del jubilado" or some other government-run place in a small town. It's these small towns with high percentages of elderly, frequently unconnected people, and the government makes an effort to provide them instruction and opportunities for getting online and on email, etc. etc. Buen camino, Laurie
Knowing this is so reassuring. Thank youIf you have an iPhone, and you can find wifi, you can call for free to another iPhone. You don't need a Sim card.
Good luck being stuck at the Santiago airport, and with all people reading your advice being stick there as well. One of the key services offered by Pilgrim House is just that. Print your boarding pass and pack your poles: the 2 Ryan Air in Santiago rules.Sorry to contradict you too, Anemone; with a very few exceptions (and not concerning the Camino-relevant airports), Ryanair uses mobile boarding cards (see https://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/does-ryanair-have-a-mobile-boarding-pass-service/)
I don't know why some try to confuse this community so persistently.Good luck being stiuck at the Santiago airport, and with all people reading your advice being stick there as well. One of the key serives offered by Pilgrim House is just that. Primt your voaridng pass and pack your poles: the 2 Ryan Air in Santiago rules.
I don't know why some try to confuse this community so persistently.
In the last two years passing a half dozen times through SdC airport using Ryanair, Vueling and Swiss Air, I never had a single issue using mobile boarding passes, but here you go: MOBILE BOARDING PASS: it is an electronic file with a bar-code, the flight number and (usually) a seat assignment, looking very much like a printed boarding pass. It has to be specifically claimed at the time of the online booking and is usually sent 24hours before departure to your email address or by SMS. Ideally, it is stored on an app like "Passport" (IOS) or a similar Android app so that it can be produced on screen anytime and quick.
An e-ticket, an email with a flight confirmation, a payment confirmation, a flight itinerary.....all this is NOT A MOBILE BOARDING PASS. With the proliferation of smartphones, e-boarding has rapidly become a general standard and it saves airlines big money, this is why they have a strong incentive to promote it.
But I consent to Anemone's advise: If you are not familiar with these rapidly progressing innovations of modern traveling....or if you simply like paper in your hands (not meant ironically), the print-out is an option, be careful that you don't loose it
Sorry to you too, Gerardcarey, but I correct this in the interest of this community. When you book online (especially with the low-cost carriers favored by most peregrinos) you either get electronic confirmation and/or boarding card, no need to print-out. Spain* is not part of the Middle Earth.
*and Australia neither, from what I heard lately.
So, here goes, from the horse's mouth - Ryanair: "Mobile boarding passes are available to EU/EEA Nationals. Eligible customers must hold a valid passport or national identity card issued by the government of a European Economic Area (EEA) country and must be departing from an airport that will accept a mobile boarding pass"
https://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/who-can-avail-of-a-mobile-boarding-pass/
While I have Spanish citizenship I do not live in Europe so I do not have EU/EEA ID. I cannot use a mobile boarding pass.
Also: "
Once a passenger has checked in online the boarding pass can be reprinted up to 2 hours before the scheduled flight departure time. Click here to reprint your boarding pass. Passengers who arrive at the airport who have lost/forgotten their printed online boarding passes will be required to pay a Boarding Card Reissue Fee in order to receive a new boarding pass at the airport (Business Plus customers can check-in free of charge at the airport) . This facility is available up to 40 minutes prior to the scheduled flight departure."
http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/i-have-forgotten-lost-my-online-boarding-passes/
Not sure I am trying to "confuse this community so persistently" but rather just sharing a bit of reality that may not be that of someone living in Switzerland. Mind you, I'm assuming that in this case like in many others the Swiss are getting lumped in with the EEA citizens).
Hello PANO,
This past summer when I flew back to Dublin from Santiago I needed a print-out of my ticket. Had I not had this paper ticket Aer Lingus would have charged me 50 euros. I sure am glad I read the fine print. I couldn't find anywhere along the way to print it and had someone post me print-out of my ticket to the Santiago Post Office. Airlines are strange and wondrous entities seeking our coin in creative ways having nothing to do with proximity to Middle Earth.
Sorry to you too, Gerardcarey, but I correct this in the interest of this community. When you book online (especially with the low-cost carriers favored by most peregrinos) you either get electronic confirmation and/or boarding card, no need to print-out. Spain* is not part of the Middle Earth.
*and Australia neither, from what I heard lately.
Just an added tip re mobile passes and phones. If your device is out of battery and cannot be turned on, to prove it is 'just' a phone or tablet, it may well be confiscated as a possible security threat. Not sure if this is just a UK ruling/EU or different carriers, but be safe and make sure the device is well charged.
It's nice to see that this thread has returned to the original question - as someone who doesn't bring a phone on my camino, I have two possible choices with Ryanair - pay extra to reserve my seat more than seven days ahead and print off my boarding pass before I leave - or find an internet cafe on the camino to print off my boarding pass
On the Norte, I found computer shops that sold internet with printer access on the couple of occasions that I needed them - once in Laredo and then in Gijon - but they are certainly a dying breed - though I did find internet access at a couple of hotels along the way in Cadavedo and Navia
So you expect somebody (else) has a computer and a printer ready just in case you walk by? Not an attractive business plan and not many enough of you, mate.I don't intend buying a smartphone anytime in the future - occasional access to my email and a printer is all that I need on the camino
I don't intend buying a smartphone anytime in the future - occasional access to my email and a printer is all that I need on the camino
@mountaingoat999, I am afraid that your reasoning (which of course is absolutely correct) may be futile. There is a category of people that simply cannot be accessed because they are, -for whatever reasons-) not ready to accept that things change, requiring a certain amount of curiosity to learn. Many have somehow missed the chance to acquire knowledge and understanding of new technologies incrementally and now they are lost because the learning-curve to catch up seems too steep for them. Consequently, they are in a state of denial and often hide their lack of competence with an attitude.I rea
Spursfan
I for one respect your stance
with a phone you can have "occasional access to mail "and most smart phones are able to print from..
you can keep it off when not needed...if you had a serious fall and out of sight or sound of other pilgrims at least your phone location enabled will help you even when your not 100% sure exactly where you are when you call the emergency services...they will locate you because of the modern features now.
you can even send a location sms so they can see where you are......all you need to do is ask any young person and before you know it your up to speed........I found that aspect practical and a potential life saver.
They also save you loads of money .. you can book on line when BARGAIN flight comes up with out being attached to a PC.
I do this by simply disabling the "work-"email account and by setting-up one exclusively for the camino; practical when I give that one to my co-peregrinos as it keeps the precious correspondence with them separate. Voila.The truth is rather more prosaic - I spend the rest of the year never far away from my email so people can get hold of me through that - so part of the attraction of the camino is getting away from the otherwise ever-present email
Please don't sneer at those of us who pefer to walk without certain modern technology. Part of our Camino is to be away from its pervasiveness. We carry simple 'talk and text' phones. The relief from constant contact gave time for reflection etc. Our family are happy with that, they too go 'out of contact' when in Namibia or Botswana and in the bush.
We too for the camino have a seperate e-mail address (family only) so even if we do access a library computer we are not accessing all the other e-mails which have accumulated.
Please don't sneer at those of us who pefer to walk without certain modern technology. Part of our Camino is to be away from its pervasiveness. We carry simple 'talk and text' phones. The relief from constant contact gave time for reflection etc. Our family are happy with that, they too go 'out of contact' when in Namibia or Botswana and in the bush.
We too for the camino have a seperate e-mail address (family only) so even if we do access a library computer we are not accessing all the other e-mails which have accumulated.
We chose to keep it turned off and if that is the OPs desire then hopefully he will find an internet cafe, or a library open, with computer access and a printer. I believe printing passes is also one of the services offered to pilgrims at Pilgrim House.We found very few internet places this year. For the first time we had a wi-fi enabled phone. We did the following to avoid excessive charges/data usage:- Turn off data on the phone side and put into airplane mode. Then turn on wi-fi and enable wi-fi data. How you do this depends on the phone. Then you can access the internet with wi-fi without incurring phone/data charges on the account or using your data allowance. We only used it occasionally and then only where the wi-fi was secure and required a password.
Aged solidly at the wrong side of seventy myself, I hate to think that it is also a sign of age; my curiosity still is fully intact and I am frequently being asked for help in all things IT by people half my age.
What I'd like to say to @spursfan and others: You are embarrassing yourselves by "proudly" publicizing your denial and tech-phobia. You say that you don't want to be disturbed on your camino; fine, these "thingies" have a switch-off button. You don't want to spend money to be connected; sure, put your phone on airplane mode and use it for free when you have WiFi signal. You say that you don't need a smartphone; well, but not having one you don't really know, do you? The camino and your lifestyle in general are NOT contradictory with the (intelligent-) use of a modern smartphone; on the contrary, not carrying one is unreasonable and foolish.
Utreya!
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My solution has been to type the password in "Notes" where I can see and edit the entry.
I then copy the password from "notes" and paste in the password box.
Works for me.