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Leftover gear in Santiago? Bring it to us please!

SYates

Camino Fossil AD 1999, now living in Santiago de C
Time of past OR future Camino
First: Camino Francés 1999
...
Last: Santiago - Muxia 2019

Now: http://egeria.house/
Hi everybody,

Lately there were a lot of threads regarding what to do with "leftover gear" here in Santiago, here on the forum and also in various Facebook groups. Ann from Pilgrim House and I came up with an idea - bring it to us and we will clean it, do minor repairs if necessary and then hand it over to the Franciscans that run the homeless shelter here in Santiago. These men that live on the streets need the same things as pilgrims do: backpacks to transport their belongings, rain gear to stay dry, clothes to stay warm etc. So if you want to leave things behind in Santiago, you can bring it to:

Pilgrim House is closed for the winter now, so please contact me
(see below) https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/contact/ (scroll down for opening times)

or, if Pilgrim House is closed, you can contact me, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and either bring it to my place or I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY
 
Last edited:
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Such a super idea, S!
So the camino can be another potential source of joy - knowing someone's life is a little less harsh as a result of us letting go of gear we don't need, and you doing whatever is necssary to make it serviceable.
May many people be more comfortable thanks to this generosity and kindness. This is the Camino in action, walking the talk....
 
Hi everybody,

Lately there were a lot of threads regarding what to do with "leftover gear" here in Santiago, here on the forum and also in various Facebook groups. Ann from Pilgrim House and I came up with an idea - bring it to us and we will clean it, do minor repairs if necessary and then hand it over to the Franciscans that run the homeless shelter here in Santiago. These men that live on the streets need the same things as pilgrims do: backpacks to transport their belongings, rain gear to stay dry, clothes to stay warm etc. So if you want to leave things behind in Santiago, you can bring it to:

https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/contact/ (scroll down for opening times)

or, if Pilgrim House is closed, you can contact me, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and either bring it to my place or I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY

Indeed a wonderful way to give back! I left a fleece buff that I found in an albergue in Atapuerca and saved me from the cold. Pass on that which you no longer need or can do without.
 
What a great idea...may see you at the end of April...
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Hi everybody,

Lately there were a lot of threads regarding what to do with "leftover gear" here in Santiago, here on the forum and also in various Facebook groups. Ann from Pilgrim House and I came up with an idea - bring it to us and we will clean it, do minor repairs if necessary and then hand it over to the Franciscans that run the homeless shelter here in Santiago. These men that live on the streets need the same things as pilgrims do: backpacks to transport their belongings, rain gear to stay dry, clothes to stay warm etc. So if you want to leave things behind in Santiago, you can bring it to:

https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/contact/ (scroll down for opening times)

or, if Pilgrim House is closed, you can contact me, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and either bring it to my place or I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY
Fantastic idea ..... the Camino in action, yet again ..... ❤️
 
I have been bringing stuff to Pilgrim House for several years now. In fact, I go through my closet at home and select surplus-to-needs clothing that has a potential use to a pilgrim. For the past three years, I have been checking an extra bag of stuff to donate there.

I also donate items after my Caminos if it is something that I decided I do not need, want, or something I tested and found not suitable to MY needs. I do this regularly.

Yes, I could donate these items locally. But, here in South Florida, people do not generally wear as much clothing as they do on Camino. Besides, it is a better way to get stuff to people who I KNOW can use it, as opposed to 'bottom shoppers,' people with means who shop in charity shops, as opposed to people in need who have no alternative...but I digress...

It's just what I do... Our friend Sybil has very kindly expanded her ministry to include partnering with Pilgrim House to undertake this joint donativo effort. So, if you are going that way, take your extra, Camino-capable clothing items and post them ahead to Santiago. The cost is nil.

Once there, donate them. Also, donate the items you carried or wore into Santiago and will no longer need or want.

It frees up space for souvenirs...;)
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Hi everybody,

Lately there were a lot of threads regarding what to do with "leftover gear" here in Santiago, here on the forum and also in various Facebook groups. Ann from Pilgrim House and I came up with an idea - bring it to us and we will clean it, do minor repairs if necessary and then hand it over to the Franciscans that run the homeless shelter here in Santiago. These men that live on the streets need the same things as pilgrims do: backpacks to transport their belongings, rain gear to stay dry, clothes to stay warm etc. So if you want to leave things behind in Santiago, you can bring it to:

https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/contact/ (scroll down for opening times)

or, if Pilgrim House is closed, you can contact me, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and either bring it to my place or I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY
Thank you, Sybil. This is a wonderful idea. In fact, lately I have been wondering what happens to all the gear many pilgrims say they leave behind in Santiago. Specifically, I wondered about trekking poles because, unlike clothing and packs, who in Santiago could use them. So, does anyone know what happens to trekking poles that are left in Santiago? or confiscated at the airport?
 
...Specifically, I wondered about trekking poles because, unlike clothing and packs, who in Santiago could use them. So, does anyone know what happens to trekking poles that are left in Santiago? or confiscated at the airport?

I let @t2andreo answer that one ;-) but I keep always a few leftover poles at my place for pilgrims that arrive here in Santiago and walk, for example, to Finisterre/Muxia.
Buen Camino, SY
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Thank you, Sybil. This is a wonderful idea. In fact, lately I have been wondering what happens to all the gear many pilgrims say they leave behind in Santiago. Specifically, I wondered about trekking poles because, unlike clothing and packs, who in Santiago could use them. So, does anyone know what happens to trekking poles that are left in Santiago? or confiscated at the airport?
There’s a box to leave trekking poles in the courtyard of the building where you get your compostela. We always leave our poles behind there, and we have also gotten poles there.
 
To pick up on the exchange with my friend Sybil above regarding trekking poles...

Many pilgrims abandon their trekking poles and staffs at the Pilgrim Office. Many are wooden staffs ranging from dead branches to commercially sourced and nicely decorated staffs. Other pilgrims deposit their segmented aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber, trekking poles as well.

The reasons are simple:
  • The staff or poles is / are now surplus to needs, and no longer wanted, for any reason.
  • It is problematic taking on an airplane in most cases. People who know this avoid taking them to the airport.
  • At the airport, confiscated hiking poles disappear. I do not know where they go. I presume they end up in the trash...or recycling if we are lucky.
At the Pilgrim Office, there is an informal scheme to recycle all the abandoned hiking staffs and poles:
  • Wooden staffs are periodically collected by a local charity that strips the staff of metal bits and cuts them to stove lengths. There are still folks living around Santiago who use wood or coal for heating and cooking, the cut wood staffs become kindling or stove wood.
  • Pilgrim Office staff or volunteers (like me) may triage the abandoned metal and carbon fiber poles to pick out the best quality and condition sets. These are taken to Pilgrim House for their donativo. Occasionally some go to Sybil at Egeria House. However, this is maybe only 1 out of 20 abandoned sets of poles. Only the best are recycled this way.
  • Outside Santiago, at the Contemporary Art Museum up on the hill, there is an evolving sculpture made entirely of abandoned trekking poles. When abandoned, if the pilgrim tagged the staff of trekking pole with a white card ticket (provided there) as a sign requests, these items are not recycled but are periodically picked up by someone from the museum for eventual addition to the sculpture. This 'dump' is at the Pilgrim Office.
  • Trekking poles or staffs not skimmed off for local donativo purposes, taken for firewood, or tagged for use in the sculpture, are generally placed in the recycling pile, adjacent to the trash. Here, they are periodically disposed of. One hopes they are in fact recycled...
Any pilgrim arriving at the Pilgrim Office who NEEDS trekking poles, needs only to ask a volunteer or a staff member if they can have something from the discard pile. Volunteer wear blue ACC camisetas (t-shirts). Staff members wear regular clothing.

I have never heard a 'no' answer. In July and August when I am there, I often help pilgrims find a good set of poles. People only have to ask. There are plenty to go around, especially in summer.

Hope this helps.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hi everybody,

Lately there were a lot of threads regarding what to do with "leftover gear" here in Santiago, here on the forum and also in various Facebook groups. Ann from Pilgrim House and I came up with an idea - bring it to us and we will clean it, do minor repairs if necessary and then hand it over to the Franciscans that run the homeless shelter here in Santiago. These men that live on the streets need the same things as pilgrims do: backpacks to transport their belongings, rain gear to stay dry, clothes to stay warm etc. So if you want to leave things behind in Santiago, you can bring it to:

https://pilgrimhousesantiago.com/contact/ (scroll down for opening times)

or, if Pilgrim House is closed, you can contact me, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and either bring it to my place or I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY
God bless you
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Five big and heavy bags full with shoes/boots, clothing, toiletries and other goodies have been delivered to the Franciscans today. Thank you all ever so much for making that possible and remember to bring us your unwanted gear instead of binning it!

BC SY
 
To pick up on the exchange with my friend Sybil above regarding trekking poles...

Many pilgrims abandon their trekking poles and staffs at the Pilgrim Office. Many are wooden staffs ranging from dead branches to commercially sourced and nicely decorated staffs. Other pilgrims deposit their segmented aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber, trekking poles as well.

The reasons are simple:
  • The staff or poles is / are now surplus to needs, and no longer wanted, for any reason.
  • It is problematic taking on an airplane in most cases. People who know this avoid taking them to the airport.
  • At the airport, confiscated hiking poles disappear. I do not know where they go. I presume they end up in the trash...or recycling if we are lucky.
At the Pilgrim Office, there is an informal scheme to recycle all the abandoned hiking staffs and poles:
  • Wooden staffs are periodically collected by a local charity that strips the staff of metal bits and cuts them to stove lengths. There are still folks living around Santiago who use wood or coal for heating and cooking, the cut wood staffs become kindling or stove wood.
  • Pilgrim Office staff or volunteers (like me) may triage the abandoned metal and carbon fiber poles to pick out the best quality and condition sets. These are taken to Pilgrim House for their donativo. Occasionally some go to Sybil at Egeria House. However, this is maybe only 1 out of 20 abandoned sets of poles. Only the best are recycled this way.
  • Outside Santiago, at the Contemporary Art Museum up on the hill, there is an evolving sculpture made entirely of abandoned trekking poles. When abandoned, if the pilgrim tagged the staff of trekking pole with a white card ticket (provided there) as a sign requests, these items are not recycled but are periodically picked up by someone from the museum for eventual addition to the sculpture. This 'dump' is at the Pilgrim Office.
  • Trekking poles or staffs not skimmed off for local donativo purposes, taken for firewood, or tagged for use in the sculpture, are generally placed in the recycling pile, adjacent to the trash. Here, they are periodically disposed of. One hopes they are in fact recycled...
Any pilgrim arriving at the Pilgrim Office who NEEDS trekking poles, needs only to ask a volunteer or a staff member if they can have something from the discard pile. Volunteer wear blue ACC camisetas (t-shirts). Staff members wear regular clothing.

I have never heard a 'no' answer. In July and August when I am there, I often help pilgrims find a good set of poles. People only have to ask. There are plenty to go around, especially in summer.

Hope this helps.
And, of course, a donation to the Pilgrim House (there's a box on the wall) for the rental of poles is always a good idea!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
To pick up on the exchange with my friend Sybil above regarding trekking poles...

Many pilgrims abandon their trekking poles and staffs at the Pilgrim Office. Many are wooden staffs ranging from dead branches to commercially sourced and nicely decorated staffs. Other pilgrims deposit their segmented aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber, trekking poles as well.

The reasons are simple:
  • The staff or poles is / are now surplus to needs, and no longer wanted, for any reason.
  • It is problematic taking on an airplane in most cases. People who know this avoid taking them to the airport.
  • At the airport, confiscated hiking poles disappear. I do not know where they go. I presume they end up in the trash...or recycling if we are lucky.
At the Pilgrim Office, there is an informal scheme to recycle all the abandoned hiking staffs and poles:
  • Wooden staffs are periodically collected by a local charity that strips the staff of metal bits and cuts them to stove lengths. There are still folks living around Santiago who use wood or coal for heating and cooking, the cut wood staffs become kindling or stove wood.
  • Pilgrim Office staff or volunteers (like me) may triage the abandoned metal and carbon fiber poles to pick out the best quality and condition sets. These are taken to Pilgrim House for their donativo. Occasionally some go to Sybil at Egeria House. However, this is maybe only 1 out of 20 abandoned sets of poles. Only the best are recycled this way.
  • Outside Santiago, at the Contemporary Art Museum up on the hill, there is an evolving sculpture made entirely of abandoned trekking poles. When abandoned, if the pilgrim tagged the staff of trekking pole with a white card ticket (provided there) as a sign requests, these items are not recycled but are periodically picked up by someone from the museum for eventual addition to the sculpture. This 'dump' is at the Pilgrim Office.
  • Trekking poles or staffs not skimmed off for local donativo purposes, taken for firewood, or tagged for use in the sculpture, are generally placed in the recycling pile, adjacent to the trash. Here, they are periodically disposed of. One hopes they are in fact recycled...
Any pilgrim arriving at the Pilgrim Office who NEEDS trekking poles, needs only to ask a volunteer or a staff member if they can have something from the discard pile. Volunteer wear blue ACC camisetas (t-shirts). Staff members wear regular clothing.

I have never heard a 'no' answer. In July and August when I am there, I often help pilgrims find a good set of poles. People only have to ask. There are plenty to go around, especially in summer.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for satisfying my curiosity!
 
, it is a better way to get stuff to people who I KNOW can use it, as opposed to 'bottom shoppers,' people with means who shop in charity shops, as opposed to people in need who have no alternative...but I digress...

I am a "bottom shopper" and proud of it. One of the reasons I am a person of means is because I am willing to buy used stuff instead of having to have NEW NEW NEW. There is so much stuff donated to charity shops that I know my purchases are certainly not taking away from those in need. My purchases also support the charity shops. In preparing for my upcoming camino I have been pleased to purchase pants, tops, jackets, hat, many of said items for under $10 each, instead of $80 (for a pair of pants). (I do draw the line at used underwear ;>} ) I have been able to test out a lot of gear for very little cash outlay and do not feel guilty in donating back the items that have not worked out. Being a bottom shopper will also allow me to give more at the Donativos, which I will happily and whole heartedly do.

SYeats- If womens clothing is also welcome, I will find you when I reach Santiago.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
:) No slight taken ! I did want to use your mention of shopping at thrift stores to promote finding stuff for walking the camino. Seriously, I have saved mega bucks by taking the time to hit my favorite stores on a regular basis and have found some barely used clothing, (and some brand new, with tags still on them) for amazing rock bottom prices. I am talking big name brands like REI, Columbia, etc. It does give one a chance to test various items before taking them on the Camino..... Now, if I could only find that perfect Merino wool item :p
 
...

SYeats- If womens clothing is also welcome, I will find you when I reach Santiago.

Women's clothing is also very welcome, just bring over what you don't need anymore when you arrive. Buen Camino, SY (who also shops mainly at thrift/second hand shops ;-)
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Women's clothing is also very welcome, just bring over what you don't need anymore when you arrive. Buen Camino, SY (who also shops mainly at thrift/second hand shops ;-)
Me too! If I'd known there were thrift shops in Santiago I'd probably miss my flight home. ☺
 
Me too! If I'd known there were thrift shops in Santiago I'd probably miss my flight home. ☺

Hola Chris,
Well, you didn't really miss anything! ;) Thrift shops aren't as much of a thing in Spain as they are in the US. I've only known of 2 in Santiago and they were both tiny and far away from the center. I much prefer the Salvation Army and Goodwill shops!
 
Yes, I also frequent both of those in the US, too, and they are quite large with lots of merchandise. Every time I go, I bring with me a bag of items from home to donate.
My original comment was rather tongue in cheek. 😉
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
As Pilgrim House is now closed over the winter, any leftover gear can be brought to my place and I sort/wash etc and bring it to the Franciscans. As I am not always at home, please contact me before you come by, see http://egeria.house/contact/ , and then we can sort out if you want it to bring to my place or if I pick it up from you.

Buen Camino, SY
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
And, of course, a donation to the Pilgrim House (there's a box on the wall) for the rental of poles is always a good idea!
I've wondered if leftover/donated poles (and possibly other items) could make their way to SJDP for pilgrims to use or purchase with the proceeds going to a charity?
 
I've wondered if leftover/donated poles (and possibly other items) could make their way to SJDP for pilgrims to use or purchase with the proceeds going to a charity?
It's been mooted before - it's a problem of logistics mainly.
 

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