Plastic bags and snorers

[KiwiNomad06]

There's just been a report prepared about visitor reactions to a very scenic New Zealand wilderness walk- a 53.3km trek along the Milford Track in one of our National Parks. Officials were worried that overcrowding might be spoiling the experience. But it seems that the notorious sandflies in this area were a major issue, "The Austrosimulium – aka the sandfly – has been singled out by Milford Track walkers as their least favourite New Zealand species, and the one most likely to blight their wilderness experience. "

But they were closely followed by- wait for it- snorers, and people who get up early and rustle plastic bags! "Sandflies were mentioned by almost everyone in the dislike category, while snorers, early-risers and backpackers endlessly rustling plastic bags while others were trying to sleep also rated a dishonourable mention." http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5877106/Sandflies-and-snorers-mar-Milford-Track-experience

Now, where have I heard that exact complaint before? Surely not from my own lips, and the lips of others on the Camino???!!! The sandflies- which are flying creatures not related to bedbugs- may not be universal, but it seems like snorers and annoying plastic bag rustlers are!
Margaret

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hahahah!

 

[Abbeydore]

Have had the NZ sandfly experience for 25yrs & sampled the Scottish Midge; they're both horrible.
No :lol: matter in either case.
Milford Track is wonderful too, counted 47 salmon in the river in one day, very beautiful;
Scottish mist in Glencoe is wonderful too.
Big Days outside will always breed big snorers

 

[renegadepilgrim]

I've had the discussion with pilgrims about my "perfect" albergue and all of them love my idea of a room just for snorers!!! They also like my idea of not having a set time to have to leave by...

 

[JALAN JAUH]

Hi Margaret,

The whole 94 page report is on http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents ... entire.pdf.

It goes beyond the physical aspects of the track, it looks at the social aspects and how matters are resolved as there are conflicts.

This is a professionally done report with a list of good references.

Christchurch Joe

 

[sillydoll]

Renegadepilgrim - if your peregrinos could sleep in as late as Hape Kerkeling did you'd never get the dorms ready for the next influx of pilgrims!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If you have an aversion to snorers, go get your own room! Don't sleep with the hoi polloi, if you are too good for them.

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Renegadepilgrim - if your peregrinos could sleep in as late as Hape Kerkeling did you'd never get the dorms ready for the next influx of pilgrims!

Ha! That is true, but then if it was "my" albergue, I'd put them to work if they stuck around past 9a or so!

In the current albergue, the cleaning ladies shoot arrows out of their eyes at pilgrims that stay past 8a.

And falcon, I personally don't care about the snorers, but if I could design my "perfect" albergue (an exercise I did in my hospitalero class), then yes, there would be a separate sleeping space for them. But I don't live in a perfect world, so I bring earplugs and pray I won't be next to one who brings the house down...

 

[+@^^]

ha
i must admit i got a bit excited when i saw the subject line
i thought this was going to be a sugested method of dealing with snorers
.
you know
as in
"place plastic bag over the head....."
.
ah well next time

 

[Abbeydore]

If you have an aversion to snorers, go get your own room! Don't sleep with the hoi polloi, if you are too good for them.

You mean you like snorers :lol:
sorry,
my way of dealing with it is try to breathe to their rhythm, it works until they change :roll:

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Well, yes; I do like snorers. I wear earplugs so that what they do does not disturb my sleep, but I like them. Now, Austrians, there's another subject ... :mrgreen:

 

[jpflavin1]

I do not understand why people complain about others who snore. It is not a controllable act and usually managed by ear plugs.

The plastic rustlers, on the other hand, at 5:30am are a very controllable action. These folks could either pre-pack at night or wait for a more reasonable hour.

In regards to biting bugs, I remember camping on the beach in Belize and being woken by bites from what the locals called no-see-me's. A very unpleasant experience.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[jennysa]

The plastic rustlers, on the other hand, at 5:30am are a very controllable action. These folks could either pre-pack at night or wait for a more reasonable hour.

This is something for which every pilgrim needs to prepare as this insane rush to leave before light so as to get to an albergue by noon can become quite stressful. My first experience with the plastic bag rustlers was at Cesor Minor; I was quite astounded to be woken up at 5.00 am by the rustling of bags for at least 20 minutes. I innocently thought that they must have a heavy day ahead to get up so early when it only got light at 7.00 am, so I was extremely surprised to overtake them at noon to find that they had already called it a day. I got caught up in this daily stressful pressure to secure a place at an albergue but fortunately after the first week I met a lovely Dutch pilgrim who urged me to trust and to have faith that the Camino would provide. I simply let go and from there onwards they ceased to bother me.

 

[pal]

My experience was that earplugs that deadened snorers' noise also deadened rustling plastic bags. I was usually surprised when I woke at 6:30 to see how many spaces were emptied already. I slept right thru their leaving.

 

[johnofthex]

I have been in the road travelling NZ for the past 3 months & must admit sandflies require long sleeved shirt & trou by 5pm if one doesn't want to itch for a week. Question is, are there sandflies or other such on the Camino?

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Not usually. When I walked in France in places where there were trees and a lot of wet mud after rain, I struck mosquitoes a few times- ouch. But otherwise, no, nothing like sandflies. Bedbugs are usually the only bug complained about by some on the Camino.

 

[RENSHAW]

I've had the discussion with pilgrims about my "perfect" albergue and all of them love my idea of a room just for snorers!!! They also like my idea of not having a set time to have to leave by...

Aaaaah , but some albergues do have snoring rooms but this may depend on the hospitaleros or how busy it is.
Obanos , Puenta la Reina , Santa Domingo , Tosantos , Naverette , Beldorado , Burgos( old park albergue) are but a few where I have been given a snoring room.
ONLY ONCE DID I EVER SHARE THE SNORING ROOM WITH A FELLOW SNORER!

 

[johnofthex]

Thxs Kiwinomad
I was looking for the like button but ofcourse this isn't FB. Lol

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Aaaaah , but some albergues do have snoring rooms but this may depend on the hospitaleros or how busy it is.
Obanos , Puenta la Reina , Santa Domingo , Tosantos , Naverette , Beldorado , Burgos( old park albergue) are but a few where I have been given a snoring room.
ONLY ONCE DID I EVER SHARE THE SNORING ROOM WITH A FELLOW SNORER!

I was a hospitalera in Santo Domingo. I can assure you we did not have a snoring room. We were under strict orders on how to fill the rooms. It might be different based on who the hospitaleros are but we did not want to rock the boat. That's the deal. Every person has a different experience because the players are always changing!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Gnats can be very annoying during certain season. I have a hat with drop-down mosquito netting that works very well.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I was a hospitalera in Santo Domingo. I can assure you we did not have a snoring room.

Another one has a separate room:

Casa del Santo

• Dirección: C/ Mayor, 38 bajo
• Localidad: Santo Domingo de la Calzada (La Rioja)
• Teléfono de contacto: 941 34 33 90

Nº de camas: 6 camas en la planta de arriba. Se utilizan para roncadores

No. of beds: 6 beds in upstairs. They are used for snorers

 

[RENSHAW]

Another one has a separate room:

Casa del Santo

• Dirección: C/ Mayor, 38 bajo
• Localidad: Santo Domingo de la Calzada (La Rioja)
• Teléfono de contacto: 941 34 33 90

Nº de camas: 6 camas en la planta de arriba. Se utilizan para roncadores

No. of beds: 6 beds in upstairs. They are used for snorers

Thanks Falcon - this will be of great benifit to me - another piece of info that I would not have known if it were not for our Forum

 

[Anniesantiago]

Well, now that menopause is making me fatter, I snore.
Who would have thunk it?
I guess I'm on the other side of the fence now - looking for private lodging.
:::sigh::: Those darned snorers!

 

[pilgrim b]

I see your dasterdly plan Renshaw, to announce at these albergues your are a "very loud snorer", and so as not to make too great a disturbance the hospitalera will if possible push you away into a separate room where you can sleep in peace!!!!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Well since Santo Domingo is no longer donativo, maybe they've changed the rules. Too bad. I really liked that place. Especially the old albergue.

 

[Dee Evans]

The only shadow cast on my camino planning for October 2014 is reading so many adverse comments about snorers (not necessarily all on this forum). I snore. And I really do not want to have my camino experience spoiled by impatience/intolerance from all the non-snorers out there. Should I be carting a big bag or earplugs around to hand out at bed time? Or do most people heed the advice of seasoned pilgrims and PACK EARPLUGS? On a slightly more serious note, any tips to help curb snoring would be most welcome.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I really do not want to have my camino experience spoiled by impatience/intolerance from all the non-snorers out there.

They cannot spoil it; only you can spoil it!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

They cannot spoil it; only you can spoil it!

Yep. Tis true. It wouldn't hurt to carry earplugs to hand out but I doubt you'd want to carry the weight!

Walk your own walk. I try to stay away from too much information. All it does is cloud your experience. I'm thankful I didn't read too much about the Camino before I walked.

 

[Icacos]

Occasionally I snore, only occasionally …. and I am told it can be very loud. (I wish I knew what triggers it – it’s not wine because I practically never touch the stuff.) The possibility of my snoring disturbing fellow pilgrims was my biggest worry while on the Camino. The only time that I know I disturbed anyone was when my traveling companion and I were in a private room and she woke me up because my snoring was so loud. I learned next morning that I had awoken the people in the adjacent room. If I ever do the Camino again, on my own, I would opt for albergue / dormitory accommodations; that way, hopefully some blessed soul would wake me if my snoring got out of hand, and save me the embarrassment of having people look daggers at me the next morning.

That said, I am very grateful to all Forum members who are tolerant of snorers.

 

[Anniesantiago]

The only shadow cast on my camino planning for October 2014 is reading so many adverse comments about snorers (not necessarily all on this forum). I snore. And I really do not want to have my camino experience spoiled by impatience/intolerance from all the non-snorers out there. Should I be carting a big bag or earplugs around to hand out at bed time? Or do most people heed the advice of seasoned pilgrims and PACK EARPLUGS? On a slightly more serious note, any tips to help curb snoring would be most welcome.

Don't drink wine?
Nawwwww… forget it.
Just go and have a good time.
If people don't like the snoring, they will have to get a private room.
Buen Camino!

 

[RobertS26]

The only shadow cast on my camino planning for October 2014 is reading so many adverse comments about snorers (not necessarily all on this forum). I snore. And I really do not want to have my camino experience spoiled by impatience/intolerance from all the non-snorers out there. Should I be carting a big bag or earplugs around to hand out at bed time? Or do most people heed the advice of seasoned pilgrims and PACK EARPLUGS? On a slightly more serious note, any tips to help curb snoring would be most welcome.

I too snore. That is why I chose to stay in albergues that had private rooms in addition to sleeping dorms. When I couldn't find one of those, I stayed in a cheap hotel nearby. Some people I walked with teased me about being a "soft" pilgrim. Ironically, many of them sent their backpacks ahead every day by one of the luggage services. I often thought about teaching them a lesson by staying in the sleeping dorm with them, but I just couldn't subject them to one night of my snoring.

One final note. Many people who complain about people who snore do not realize they snore themselves. Almost everyone does it every now and then. But as someone has already pointed out, snoring cannot be controlled. The 5:30 am plastic bag rustlers on the other hand can be completely stopped.

 

[Icacos]

This snoring issue and albergue versus private room will go on forever. I will admit that I laughed out loud at this post I just read from a few years back ….

ha
i must admit i got a bit excited when i saw the subject line
i thought this was going to be a sugested method of dealing with snorers
.
you know
as in
"place plastic bag over the head....."
.
ah well next time

…. Warped sense of humour …..

 

[Dee Evans]

Thanks for all the positive input, I am relieved to know there are fellow snorers out there; I shall now continue with training and forget about this little issue