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Recent content by katkins_in

  1. katkins_in

    The one thing I should have done before I left for the Camino

    A friend advised me to get a debit/credit card that does not charge, or absorbs ATM fees (in my case, Charles Schwab). Using that card in Europe, and refusing the "do you want to exchange for local currency" query, I have NO fees for any of my cash withdrawals. Just Euros withdrawn at the rate...
  2. katkins_in

    The one thing I should have done before I left for the Camino

    If you are a "pee a few times before flushing to save water" person... Flush the toilet! (I forgot once. Eww.)
  3. katkins_in

    The one thing I should have done before I left for the Camino

    If you have a tank water heater, turn it down or off, but be sure to leave at least one hot water tap open, so when the water cools, the tank won't implode/crumple.
  4. katkins_in

    What do you wish you had worried less about?

    I walked my first five 12-15 day camino sections with friends from France, who did all the bookings... so when we separated on the 12th day last year (they all had other plans after that), I worried that with essentially no French and no Spanish, I would find myself on the streets or in the...
  5. katkins_in

    What do you wish you had worried less about?

    <hugs> That's a lot of fears/concerns, and many sound well-founded, for you. There are cathedrals in almost every town, so wherever you are on Sept 11, hopefully you will find a peaceful place, probably a mass you could attend, or just a calm place to be and reflect. You reminded me of one...
  6. katkins_in

    Update on The Way 2

    (except it led to a redemptive and "insider" moment to an insular culture...)
  7. katkins_in

    What should I do about calluses?

    I basically file my callouses down twice a day when I stop for breaks and let my feet out of the shoes and socks... if I don't, they get very rough and start "catching" the socks and causing friction. Last walk I just used a lightweight flexible disposable nail file for this, and it lasted the...
  8. katkins_in

    Quiet pole tips?

    Thanks to you I also bought a couple pairs, and I used them for about 750km in September/October (Chemin du Puy on into Camino Frances to Pamplona), and I really liked them. I just brought the tips, in carry-on, and acquired poles in France and they fit just fine and never came off... They're...
  9. katkins_in

    Women's sandals for plantar fascitis

    I've only suffered PF once, a few years ago... I tried the various boots and straps and socks and wraps and insoles.... then a tri-athlete who had also had it and struggled showed me a simple calf self-massage (the area all around where the Achilles tendon meets the calf muscle, and the bottom...
  10. katkins_in

    Carry-on packs

    They took your poles? I thought that was never an option for carry on...
  11. katkins_in

    You can invite a companion on Camino, but you can't make them walk (in preparation)!

    I've been practicing by walking with my pack over-weighted... and this year (in new shoes that I've been breaking in for two months), I noticed something new... 15kg... hot spots and blisters start to form around 5 miles of hills... 10kg... no problems (and if I got to 10kg by dumping out...
  12. katkins_in

    Portable bidet - would you use it?

    Ah, but that "brrrr" is refreshing when one has any condition that causes a burning sensation. You get used to it quickly. Well maybe I just have a hot... tuchus.
  13. katkins_in

    Portable bidet - would you use it?

    Oh, I would, and I do! It makes life so much less sh*tty. :) It weighs very little. The water in it can come from a stream, etc. since you're not getting it inside of you (of course you'll go far from said water source to do your business). A lifesaver some days. I use a small backpacker...
  14. katkins_in

    What’s up with the rail connection between Spain and Portugal?

    Ah -- I just noticed this thread from a couple of weeks ago ... could it be related (i.e. something happening again this month)? https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/rail-line-closed-between-santiago-and-ourense-services-to-madrid-disrupted.82571/
  15. katkins_in

    What’s up with the rail connection between Spain and Portugal?

    A friend last year in July had the experience of buying a ticket online for that route for sometime early afternoon, and then finding out that there was no such train as the one she had a ticket for. She was able to get a bus ticket and a refund for the non-existent train. I just mention it...
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