For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
Unsurprisingly, I second what @jungleboy said about the importance of comprehensible input. The next question is, where to get that input?
Since I have been able to understand native-level material in Spanish for many years now, I don't have first-hand recommendations for lower-level materials...
Hmm, I'm related to a Linda White Gulledge on my Dad's side (the Werneth side) of the family, but I can't think of a Linda Werneth at the moment. But we must be related somehow. All the Werneths in Mobile are descendents of two brothers who emigrated from Germany in the 1860s. If she's descended...
Welcome @Darby ! I left the States many years ago, but I was born and raised in Mobile and occasionally go back there to visit family.
I don't think I've ever met another Alabamian on the Camino before. Most of them tend not to stray far from home, so I'm glad to meet another exception to that...
As of this year I have received compostelas with four different variants of my name. Usually it's the untranslated "Wendy", or "Vondam" or "Vandam". This year, though, I got something new: "Guendolinam"!
I always thought the name "Wendy" was invented by the author of Peter Pan in the early 20th...
Hi wrote a fairly detailed description of the shoes in this recent thread started by @Stephan the Painter . I was really happy with how the shoes performed! They were the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn on any Camino.
Hi Stephan,
I'm glad you enjoyed the podcast episode! Hmm, well the uppers of the New Balance shoes have "Toe protect" written on them up near the toes, so they do seem to have some kind of feature there. I'm not sure exactly what you need.
I compared them now, just feeling around the toe...
Thanks so much, it was indeed a great adventure! We have recorded a podcast episode about the Caminho Real 23, which should drop within a few days. I hope you enjoy it!
I also suffer from plantar fasciitis, and I've had a similar experience with Hokas, in that the cushioning was great for my plantar fasciitis, but they wore out very quickly.
About a month ago, I purchased a pair of New Balance Fresh Foam X More Trail V3 trail runners to replace my Hokas. This...
Yes, the shoes definitely have lots of cushioning and have been working out great so far! They are a pair of New Balance that I got on the advice of a running gear store owner in Lisbon just a few days before this adventure. I forget the model name, though.
Actually the locations in Madeira...
As the other half of "we" in @jungleboy 's post above, I second this recommendation. Here is my "refer a friend" link that you can use to sign up for a Wise account and get a fee-free transfer of up to €500.
Thanks very much, @trecile ! Since I use a Wise card when traveling I generally don't have to worry about this stuff, but I'm about to lead a tour group around Portugal, made up mostly of Americans, so it's good to be able to advise them correctly.
This is true. I suspect what happened is that the transaction went through without the conversion both times, and unfortunately the first time no one ran after the OP to give them their money.
Now I'm confused, @trecile 🙃 I thought the general advice on this forum has been to pay in your home...
We will be podcasting about it on the Spirit of the Camino podcast, and I imagine Nick will also post an article or two on the Spirit of the Camino website, but in the meantime there is a Brazilian pilgrim who has written daily route descriptions in Portuguese of the Caminho do Mar, along with...
The "Captivating History" series does a good job of writing interesting, non-technical history books for laypeople. I've not read it, but I see that they have a title called History of Spain on Amazon.
A couple of small corrections:
"I want" is "yo quiero". "Quieres" is the second person conjugation, i.e. "tu quieres" means "you want".
While "cama" is the general word for "bed" and would be understood, a bunk bed in the context of an albergue is called a "litera".
While "jugo" is the word...
As a semi-nomad, I have found SafetyWing to be the best option for travel insurance. It's very easy to sign up, even if you're already travelling, and the policy is reasonably priced and includes COVID coverage. It's valid for pretty much any country in the world; the only caveat is that I can't...
Like many others on this forum, I highly recommend the Variante Espiritual, especially the section known as the Ruta da Pedra e da Auga (Stone and Water Route). It was one of the top highlights of my Caminho Português.
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon