fleas and other vermin

[leslie]

last weekend i went to hospitalero training with jan and mariluz
(the hospitaleros at eunate)

they said that there was a flea epidemic in the albergues in 2005
the spanish government was very anxious to contain the epidemic
so they went around and sprayed all the albergues

they also said that most of the albergues now have mattresses covered with "sky" (resembles naugahyde)

i got fleas in 2000 in some little mountain town after leon

unlike american fleas, which live on furry creatures and only bite humans when the opportunity arises, european fleas actually live on people

i had to wash everything in my pack every day for two weeks to get rid of the fleas--fortunately at that end of the camino most of the albergues had washing machines

i was glad i had my polarfleece "sleeping bag" because it was easy to wash and quick to dry

while we're on the subject--watch out for those black and white striped flies
they bite!

 

[ivar]

Hi there,

I think the fleas that you mention from last year are what was talked about in this thread:
viewtopic.php?t=404

Hopefully these new mattresses will help...

Un saludo,
Ivar

 

[norfrid]

I just wonder if mosquitos might be troublesome along the camino. They happen to prefer my blood...
Norfrid