Now for the important stuff--corkscrew?

[Susan Teigen]

Thanks, all, for the invaluable advice on packing. We leave on Sunday for our Sarria-Finisterra (only) Camino. I feel pretty well organized and packed with gear, clothing, etc. But should I put in a lightweight corkscrew, or will the albergues have them to borrow?

 

[whariwharangi]

Most albergues are not equipped with corkscrews or any other utensils.

I usually ate Menu Peregrino ... which includes sufficient wine for a day and so a corkscrew was not often needed.

Si yo fuera tu ... drink in the bar and sleep in the albergue.

 

[Susan Teigen]

Most albergues are not equipped with corkscrews or any other utensils.

I usually ate Menu Peregrino ... which includes sufficient wine for a day and so a corkscrew was not often needed.

Si yo fuera tu ... drink in the bar and sleep in the albergue.

Thank you!

 

[tyrrek]

Lots of other pilgrims will have corkscrews etc on penknives so you'll rarely be stuck. Same applies for bottle openers.

 

[Houlet]

There are also enough good wines with screw caps available.

 

[David]

For me it is definitely carry a corkscrew! You may not be near a kitchen when you want one - and why rely on others when you can be the person offering to others?
Also a spoon. You will most likely buy yoghurts and so on - so tricky without your own spoon when you are sitting under a tree somewhere!

 

[Scott Sweeney]

If you find yourself in need of one buy one there. Like was said earlier most albergues have them available. Hey, it's a wine drinking country and its not an issue.

 

[kmrice]

Opinel #10 knife with corkscrew. Legal in Spain, weighs the same (2.5 oz) as my usual "waiter's friend," excellent knife as well as a good (5 screws) cork screw. Available mail order or in many places on the Camino. Surely available in Sarria but I don't know for sure or where.

Karl

 

[MaryLynn]

Take a spork for yogurt and forkable foods, and buy cheap but quite good screw-top wines.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Life is too short for screw-top wine, even in Spain. Carry a Swiss Army knife with a corkscrew and a pair of scissors, (check it with your luggage, you can't take it carry-on) and you are set.

IMHO, people obsess too much about pack weight. Make sure you have a corkscrew of some kind, because a wine-free camino is, well... You can imagine.

 

[Jochen_Schmidtke]

Thanks, all, for the invaluable advice on packing. We leave on Sunday for our Sarria-Finisterra (only) Camino. I feel pretty well organized and packed with gear, clothing, etc. But should I put in a lightweight corkscrew, or will the albergues have them to borrow?

Hi Susan.
For you my advice comes to late. But for other new pilgrims my hint may be useful.
I found this Swiss army pocket knive for my various outdoor activities very useful.
Buen Camino
Jochen

 

[DurhamParish]

Corkscrew. Don't leave home without it.

 

[kiwiDavid]

O Yeah

 

[nidarosa]

Bring (or buy) your own. Don't rely on someone else always bringing the corkscrew - be the person who has brought one!

 

[Arn]

Corkscrew...you don't need no stinkin" corkscrew
http://www.mirabeauwine.com/how-to-open-a-bottle-of-wine-without-a-corkscrew/
I've tried it and drank the results.
With the extra support of just one hiking boot...voila!
Buen "keeping my pack light and my wine glass full" Camino
Arn

 

[JoeNYC]

Corkscrew...you don't need no stinkin" corkscrew
http://www.mirabeauwine.com/how-to-open-a-bottle-of-wine-without-a-corkscrew/
I've tried it and drank the results.
With the extra support of just one hiking boot...voila!
Buen "keeping my pack light and my wine glass full" Camino
Arn

I'm sure the albergue will just be positively THRILLED for you to use their wall to open your bottle.

 

[Arn]

Joey,
Your hard head is a good second choice.
Arn

 

[JoeNYC]

Joey,
Your hard head is a good second choice.
Arn

Buen "ouch" Camino.

 

[scruffy1]

"Be Prepared" the Scouts say. Any decent pocket knife will give you a corkscrew, a blade sharp enough to cut bread, a screwdriver, can and bottle openers, all in a device the size of you thumb, a slightly upgrade Victorinox also has hidden tweezers and a toothpick! Now thats something you might really need!

 

[Kanga]

Stick to champagne and you don't need a corkscrew.

 

[annelise]

Well, glad to say that once I became the heroine of the day (in the albergue in Zariquei). Seated around the dinner table (dinner provided by/bought from the owner - no access to kitchen) - there were bottles of unopened wine on the table. Panic was on the rise. Luckily I then recalled where I had stored my Victorinox knife - and harmony was restored ...

annelise

 

[marbuck]

In our 42 days wandering the Camino we never came across a screw cap wine bottle. Thankfully I had my Victorinox army knife with a corkscrew. A Camino without wine would not be the same. Some of the best wine I have ever drank cost me less than 5 euro on the Camino.

 

[Stephen]

I like the oblique reference to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
I carry two corkscrews. One on my penknife and the other is mostly plastic and weighs hardly anything. In some cases it is better to have too much rather than too little.

 

[Jabaldo]

Thanks, all, for the invaluable advice on packing. We leave on Sunday for our Sarria-Finisterra (only) camino. I feel pretty well organized and packed with gear, clothing, etc. But should I put in a lightweight corkscrew, or will the alberques have them to borrow?

I agree with you Susan, one of the first things I packed was my Swiss Army knife with a corkscrew. I don't leave home without it. I also know that wine on the Camino makes everything better.
Buen Camino

 

[DurhamParish]

Stick to champagne . . . . . .

Or beer.

 

[Houlet]

Or beer.

I did not discriminate and drank both, beer in the afternoon, and wine in the evenings.................oh and water during the walk.

 

[DurhamParish]

I did not discriminate and drank both, beer in the afternoon, and wine in the evenings.................oh and water during the walk.

I leave water alone. I know what fish do in water.