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My wife and I did something similar in July 2022 on the Coastal/Littoral. It was her first Camino (my second) and we soon learned her maximum comfortable daily distance, even with occasional bar/cafe/lunch breaks, was 20k due to long-term foot problems.
Our longest day until that point was...
Marmot fleece jacket most of the time when chilled, lightweight (no lining/insulation) Outdoor Research rain jacket with hood for rain and/or wind. Combine both with a merino long sleeved base layer on colder days.
I did the CF in Sep/Oct 2021 and it was close to Zero C several mornings on the...
The only bug issue I had on the CF in Sept/Oct 2021 was the occasional swarms of midges or gnats that would fly around my head while walking. I don't recall getting bitten, but it is unpleasant when they get into your mouth and nostrils! The ones around where I live (Pennsylvania) tend to bite...
ATT does the same except calling and data are at the same speed/volume as my home plan. However, it’s capped at $100/month. That was worth it to me to avoid getting a Spanish SIM and number and making sure family members knew it, not to mention additional cost to them to call a Spanish number...
I picked up a couple of the nylon bags in 2021 and 2022. I'm afraid I'm guilty as charged, having used them for laundry and shopping and taking them home as souvenirs!
I usually carry plastic waste bags for picking up trash while hiking trails and back roads in Pennsylvania, and plan to do the...
In 1972 I was 17 and my brother was 16. My older sister had a boyfriend who was 19. He and another student who was 21 were driving back from NJ to Nebraska for college at the end of the summer break, but taking a detour to visit the older fellow's brother in Boulder CO. The boyfriend asked if my...
Thanks Trecile. I stand corrected. It’s the rest of the Apple lineup still on Lightening (AirPods, some iPads) that I was thinking of that are expected to change eventually.
Only those sold in EU countries, where it was mandated. In the rest of the world all iPhones still use the Lightening connector, but that is expected to change to USB-C eventually.
I don't know of the legalities or policies on minors under the age of 18. But as for meeting younger people, I met an 18 year old German the first day out of St. Jean Pied de Port and saw him almost every day through Santiago. He had just graduated from high school and was uncertain about what...
I left Burgos on 4 October 2021, and it was 1°C at 0730! It warmed up within a couple of hours, but the sun doesn’t rise until around 0830 that time of year so there were many days I’d start out in the dark, and cold! It was like that for most of the meseta, and I took 7 days between Burgos and...
If you hike from Le Puy, be aware that Ascension Thursday in 2024 is 9 May, and it is a public holiday. In 2023 it fell on 18 May, when I walked that route. It was extremely difficult to find lodging as many French hikers made it a four day weekend, or scheduled additional vacation time around...
I have to agree with everybody who said don’t try to speak Spanish with the Portuguese, (although I did see some Spanish visitors doing just that in Porto). I found English to be widely spoken by the Portuguese people I encountered, and on a fairly high level. I did find that my Spanish language...
I took the steep forest route in September 2021 on the recommendation of Joseph from Beilari. It was indeed beautiful, and I had never experienced problems with steep descents - until that day!
I developed a twinge in one of my knees that never really left me during subsequent descents on that...
Same! I never sought out a hamburger in Spain, but a German friend and I walked into a terraza upon arriving in Estella (just to the left after crossing over a bridge - don't remember the name), looking for a cold caña. The place was packed with all tables full, but a couple of American ladies...
I vaguely remember reading about the movie when it was being filmed, but somehow got the impression that it was a documentary. I was aware of the Camino and knew a few acquaintances who had walked it. I had already decided to do it myself in April 2020, and had been actively training when COVID...
I was chastised by my Argentinian Professor for calling "Oiga, profesora" after a university class in the '70s. She explained that "Disculpe" would be the more polite way of attracting her attention. I thought I was doing well using the 3rd person singular!
In my defense, "Oye" was commonly...
I learned vosotros in high school Spanish, but it completely disappeared in my university Spanish courses which were heavily Latin-american-oriented. And while in university, I had the opportunity for total immersion for several weeks in Ecuador and Guatemala, where you always start with Usted...
When I walked into the Pilgrim Office in SJPP in Sep 2021, there was a volunteer wearing a University of Dublin sweatshirt. I said "Oh, Irish?" to him. He looked at me quizzically and said "Frances? Español?". Fortunately, I do speak Spanish and was happy to start using it to register my Camino...
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