Water question

[Tina M.]

Is the water along the camino safe to drink or would it be better to bring my steripen (a UV light to treat water)? The steripen isn't heavy but I would need to bring a couple extra batteries and it's weight I would rather not have to have.

I leave in 1 week (oh my goodness) and am so excited. Thank for any advice.

Buen camino!!!!

 

[dougfitz]

There are fonts marked non-purificado or similar, and places with non-potable signs, but generally I don't think carrying a Steripen would be that much of an advantage. While there are issues about fonts drying up, and I found in spring that some were dry, there are generally enough water sources not to have to contemplate collecting from beside the roads and tracks. Like you, I have a Steripen and use it on bushwalks here in Australia, but for my pilgrimage walks in Europe, I carry puritabs. I never had to use them in Spain, and infrequently in Norway.

I use a 2 li bladder, but some people are prepared to walk with less. My general strategy was to refill at lunchtime wherever I was having lunch. If you carry less, refilling more frequently, eg when you see a font or stop for a coffee, is an option.

 

[Mark Lee]

Two Caminos Frances walked where I drank nothing but water from the fountains (and albergues, bars, cafes, etc) along the Way. Zero problems. It's safe to drink.

 

[KinkyOne]

Is the water along the camino safe to drink or would it be better to bring my steripen (a UV light to treat water)? The steripen isn't heavy but I would need to bring a couple extra batteries and it's weight I would rather not have to have.

I leave in 1 week (oh my goodness) and am so excited. Thank for any advice.

Buen camino!!!!

Hola, Tina!

Regarding "water" I suggest Search option which will give you (at least) this one last thread:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/safe-to-drink-the-tap-water.33293/

Ultreia!

 

[SYates]

Is the water along the camino safe to drink ...

Yes, thousands of pilgrims and 100,000 of locals drink it daily ;-) SY

 

[MTtoCamino]

Well said everyone, I. Can only remember washing out my bottle once in 35 days. Many times the bar man when I stopped for coffee filled it at the bar & at 1400 when I really needed a Cervaca. Life is so good on the Camino.

 

[grayland]

Water is simply not a problem in Spain.
Bottled water is available everywhere and is cheap.
Tap water from bars, restaurants is as safe as it is anywhere.
Save the weight and cross that worry off of your list.

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Is the water along the camino safe to drink or would it be better to bring my steripen (a UV light to treat water)? The steripen isn't heavy but I would need to bring a couple extra batteries and it's weight I would rather not have to have.

I leave in 1 week (oh my goodness) and am so excited. Thank for any advice.

Buen camino!!!!

There are usually bars every 5-10 km with bottled water and beer, tap water is safe and tastes great. I personally would avoid the drinking fountains etc. Burn camino

 

[newfydog]

incidentally, the new Sawyer filters are lighter than that steri-pen, use no batteries, and actually filter the water.

Neither of which are needed on the Camino!

 

[Tina M.]

Thank you so all so much for your replies. This relaxes my mind in one area. I think I'm starting to get nervous as I leave Monday and will be going solo. I am so excited that I can hardly wait. I only have 2 more work shifts and then it's me and the camino.
Buen camino to all!!!

 

[newfydog]

I think I'm starting to get nervous as I leave Monday and will be going solo. I am so excited that I can hardly wait. I only have 2 more work shifts and then it's me and the camino.
Buen camino to all!!!

We see so many nervous people ....and so many end up having a great trip. You will too.
buen camino!

 

[KerrySA]

I bought one of these in Pamplona. Best thing ever! I attached it to a 1.5 litre Vittel bottle which went in a pouch on the side of my pack. Didn't have to take the pack off to drink. Filled it up at fountains. Replaced the bottle every now and then. Didn't have to worry with Camelback bladders etc. It fits all types of store bought mineral water bottles. Has a second cap to fit the wider sports bottles. Loved it!

 

[george.g]

15e ????

 

[KerrySA]

Worth it! You can probably get it cheaper if you shopped around. I'd never seen it before and saw it in a Camino shop in Pamplona. Really glad I bought it.

 

[Jo Jo]

Tina, just a word of caution. If you even know what a Steripen is, let alone have one, you have probably done some backpacking. The Camino is not a backpacking trip, and some of the assumptions I had formed backpacking served me quite poorly (almost disastrously) on the Camino. I've attempted to summarize my mistakes here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...orked-what-did-not-for-a-summer-camino.31137/

Lest you repeat any of my mistakes, and are therefore free to invent your own.
Buen Camino.
Jo Jo

 

[3walkingtoSantiago]

The water is fine unless it's marked otherwise. We drank from fountains all the time, no problems.

 

[whariwharangi]

I wouldn't take water other than from a fountain or a tap. Your steripen only kills nasty critters in the water. It doesn't deal with industrial farm waste likely found in almost all surface water. Purified cow piss is still cow piss.

 

[Introibo]

When I walk on the fells I usually take a bladder system and carry around 2+ litres of water. You rarely get a chance
for a refill.

On the Camino, after having read about the ease of being able to get fresh water, I opted for a Camelback Eddy bottle
( 0.75 ltr ) and replaced the bite vale on the bottle with a Camleback hands free adapter. This gives you the convenience
of a tube and bite valve you'd get with a bladder.

During the day the bottle lived in an outside pocket on my rucksack with the tube clipped to the shoulder strap. I refilled
at every fountain, giving me cool fresh water all day long with the benefit of carrying less than a kilo of water. Only on
stretches where water was in short supply did I carry an extra litre of water. As it was on the outside of the pack it was
so easy to fill, particularly if you were walking with someone.

At night, as a semi-professional snorer, my mouth tends to dry out. The bottle stood on the floor or was clipped onto
the bed with the tube under the pillow. I could get a mouthful of water whenever I needed one.

It was by far the most satisfying piece of kit I took with me.

 

[newfydog]

Purified cow piss is still cow piss.

Good clean cows don't bother me.
I've had to drink more of that than I care to talk about. I draw the line at those pig pastures,

 

[Tincatinker]

I was advised, long ago, by a fell-walker of some then renown on the subject of drinking from streams: "never drink below the sheep line" this helpful advice confined my consumption to emerging springs. Not an always reliable decision in limestone country where it is perfectly possible to find, an 100 metres higher, a sheep peacefully decomposing in the dry bed of that limestone stream you filled your belly / water-bottle from.

My rule, unreliable but mine, is only to drink from sources the locals drink from. This rule is useless in Delhi, Bogota and much of the Hindu Kush but works extremely well in Spain.

 

[Tina M.]

Tina, just a word of caution. If you even know what a Steripen is, let alone have one, you have probably done some backpacking. The Camino is not a backpacking trip, and some of the assumptions I had formed backpacking served me quite poorly (almost disastrously) on the Camino. I've attempted to summarize my mistakes here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...orked-what-did-not-for-a-summer-camino.31137/

Lest you repeat any of my mistakes, and are therefore free to invent your own.
Buen Camino.
Jo Jo

Thank you for your link to your pack list. And to answer you about the Steripen, I do have one as I've done mission trips to a remote area of Panama and it was needed. I actually love it and use it often when I'm there. I hope to learn from your experience. Thanks again. Buen Camino.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

15e ????

£4.95 or €6.80 including postage inside UK from eBay )