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I would really invest in a lighter backpack, even standard models weigh under 2 kgs so that is a big gain straight away. As for total weight, 15kgs is doable - last year we walked a 1000 km through trail in Western Australia averaging 19 kms a day. My pack weighed 14 to 16 kgs, and I am not a...
At least borderline racist but waspishly hilarious as ever, the great Noel Coward: “When the White Man rides every native hides in glee, because the simple creatures hope he will impale his solar topee on a tree”. Mad Dogs and Englishmen.
I know this is little comfort after the event, but Spain has recently passed legislation making it illegal to allow a dog to roam so if you have a bad encounter you could report it to the local police.
This is not about camping. If you look at the original question, it is someone asking if it is worth taking a tent on the off-chance that an albergue might be full. The poster clearly has no intention of using it unless they have to.
The most popular answer is ´no, it isn´t worth carrying an...
This forum has pretty well zero leverage with the local authorities. Public toilets would be extremely expensive. One way to finance them would be to charge 10 euros to issue a compostela. Now there’s a controversial proposal if ever there was one.
Let´s leave aside the various situations where someone has got away with it (whatever ´it´ is, be it poles in carry on, backpacks in the cabin, overstaying Schengen or camping wild in countries where it is frowned upon if not actually illegal) and coldly and without agenda consider your options...
You´ll probably know if you get bedbugs. Washing won´t get rid of them, nor will it do the item any harm. If you suspect bedbugs you should give the item the heat treatment dry (30 mins+ at 55ºC+), then wash it. You can wash down items (and I have), but you have to do it carefully i.e. get the...
Merino wool is generally odor resistant; however, if any odors appear, presoak your merino wool item for 30 minutes in cool water mixed with 1/4 cup of plain white vinegar. Rinse before proceeding with laundering...
Hi, I´ve edited the thread title to read ´Paving, etc´ This is because the word ´pavement´ can be misunderstood. In the UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ and other English speaking countries it will be understood as what North Americans refer to as ´sidewalk´. i hope you don´t mind.
https://www.goodmeat.com.au/animal-health-welfare/mulesing/
For those of you unfamiliar with the practice of mulesing, here is a webpage from an organisation that represents sheep farmers. Read it and decide what you think.
Not really an issue as you will end up doing what most of us do, shower, change and wash your clothes as soon as you arrive at your albergue. My advice is take a loose hiking shirt and 2 or 3 merino shirts. After a few days you´ll know what is working for you.
We are talking about merino, are we? A material with a legendary ability to keep you warm in cold weather? Admittedly it is sometimes cold in Spain, but a lot of the time it is hot.
I wear a hiking shirt to walk. I wear a merino shirt under it if it is cold but I generally have to remove it...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24498754/
Apparently, DEET (and picaridins if used in sufficiently high concentrations) are fairly effective at repelling bedbugs. Above is a link to the abstract of one of a number of articles (with links to others) that have come to a similar conclusion...
Just to summarise:
permethrin will not prevent you being bitten by bedbugs - it is simply not quick enough. There is a good chance it will prevent you spreading bedbugs to other places, e.g. your home or the next albergue you stay at, if you soak your bedding and backpack in it before you...
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