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Recent content by thirtyeyes

  1. thirtyeyes

    Pilgrim passport for CP

    Has anyone used the back of a guide book as a credential for stamps? The Brierley maps book has 4 pages of 10 squares each near the back. I'm going Porto to Santiago, so shouldn't need much more than 5 for the first few days and maybe 2 per day for the last 5 or 6 days. Right? I already have...
  2. thirtyeyes

    How's the Pyrenees?

    I am great on the flats but have no up gear. The climb kicked my butt. It was tough but I did it in a reasonable time. I went from SJPDP straight to Roncesvalles. I took a lot of breaks. The down hill at the end was tough due to the rocks so, you might take the alternate road route down...
  3. thirtyeyes

    First Albergue experience ever - What is the norm?

    I walked the first half of the CF in early September and we only booked in advance once. The rest of the time we just played it by ear. The one time we did reserve a bed, the place had no wifi and the hospitalera was a bit...unpleasant. We switched and ended up with a slightly more expensive...
  4. thirtyeyes

    Military Report on Carrying Pack-loads over distance

    The trailers look interesting for the Camino, it's just too bad that most Rangers in US National Forests would consider them a vehicle and thus they are generally not allowed on most trails. In the Army the packs often weighed about 80+ lbs, luckily other than a few marches done mostly for the...
  5. thirtyeyes

    Petty theft

    When I read things like this I think of Victor Hugo's epic novel and the wonderful musicals that came from it. When Valjean is caught after stealing the silver items, the Bishop tells the police that he gave the items to Valjean and then gives him an additional two candlesticks acting as if he...
  6. thirtyeyes

    Alternative to Modern-Day Backpack?

    Ha! On one training run in full gear the M60 gunner hurt his ankle and I ended up carrying the 60 and the PRC77. I was not a big guy but the rest of the squad was full of light weights. I wish I was in that sort of shape still.
  7. thirtyeyes

    Alternative to Modern-Day Backpack?

    Luckily, I spent most of my time in Armor. We dropped a duffle in the bustle rack and attached the rucks to the outside of the bustle. So, always had room for the bag (and pretty much anything else you wanted) but found we often just wrapped up in the poncho liner at night. I still have one I...
  8. thirtyeyes

    Alternative to Modern-Day Backpack?

    When I was in the army we'd go out with a poncho and a poncho liner when it was summer and if we were doing longer range patrolling. The poncho liner was a very thin quilt with strings on the corners which you tied to the corners of the poncho. You pulled the neck strings tight and twisted the...
  9. thirtyeyes

    The pretending to be deaf scam

    Have yet to walk the Camino but lots of panhandling experience from living in a big city. If you are willing to do a bit of acting, there are a few things that work: 1. The "No habla Espanol" angle. May need to follow up with "No speak the English". It helps if you google a few rare...
  10. thirtyeyes

    Smuggling Hams back to the USA

    As I understand it, in order to import pork products into the United States the processing plants in the foreign country (Spain) need to be approved and certified by the USDA after undergoing a very thorough examination. The first such for Spain was in 2005 or 2006 or so with the first jamon...
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