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  1. V

    What do you wash your clothes with

    I used Dr. Bronner's Soap - 1 bar for everything. And then celebrated when I stayed in the occasional Pension or Casa Rural that had REAL shampoo! I hadn't known about the washing "sheets" before I left, and had a I known, I'd have taken some. As others have said, they weigh almost nothing...
  2. V

    Two backpacks?

    I used two packs, much as you're describing, but my little pack turned out to be very uncomfortable and so I would stuff as much as I could into each day, ship it, and wear the bigger pack with more in it than I needed. If you're going to use two, make sure your day-pack is comfortable (i.e...
  3. V

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

    So many great suggestions here. I'd add: 1. Write a note on a piece of paper that says: IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL _____________. Then take a picture of it with your phone and make it your phone's screensaver. If someone finds your phone, they'll know what number to call so you can arrange to get...
  4. V

    Stamping process

    I kept these two together as well. Then you aren’t searching your pack at check-in. AND I frequently got stamps on the inside of my hat. I’d usually ask if I could do it myself because I was trying to get a lot of ink transfer and get the stamps close too e another so I could fill the brim...
  5. V

    Take my vitamins?

    Clearly not the majority opinion, but I wouldn't leave home without my most crucial supplements. As a vegetarian, who found the Camino "diet" very challenging, I'd have been in big trouble without them. That coupled with multiple required meds meant a fair amount of space in my pack. I was...
  6. V

    The Three Wise Men

    I loved that mural. I called it the mural of great thinkers. It reminded me, which I really needed at the time, that great ideas take time, and I’d need to be patient with myself, as I was hoping to figure some things out on my Camino, and at that point, I hadn’t.
  7. V

    The Camino Will Provide

    I would add "and those who walk it" ...
  8. V

    Memorable Places

    Loved all the huge old books in the library at Museo de San Isodoro, in Leon. A bible there is more than 1,000 years old! And there's a challis there that is believed to be "proven" by a research team, to be the one that Christ drank from at the last supper. And the murals all along the...
  9. V

    Accommodations suggestions

    I would recommend La Perla Negra in Azqueta. Helena, the owner, made us a huge, and delicious homemade meal, and there’s also a private room that you can request. Second recommendation: Albergue Gaia, in Mansilla de las Mulas. Hosts were absolutely lovely, caring individuals. Rooms are...
  10. V

    Where in Camino Frances (800km) Route Do I need to Spend more Time exploring the Cities/Towns?

    I sure wish people would stop refering to 33 stages as if they’re the “gospel” or the “rule”. It’s one guidebook’s recommendation/idea. For many of us, trying to do that entire route in 33 days would ensure we don’t get the time to explore all the lovely places so many have mentioned in this...
  11. V

    Listening to music while on the camino

    I had a similar experience. A friend and I took the bus from Santiago to Fisterra, and had a taxi meet us there to return us back to Santiago later that day. When I got in, I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) was playing on the radio in the taxi. I started laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. My...
  12. V

    Credencial Question

    I think it's great to use them in more than 1 place. I got them on my credential and also on the inside of my hat, so I'd have my Camino hat as a souvenir. Sadly, most folks didn't have enough ink in their inkpad for the stamp to show up well in my hat. Still, it's a nice souvenir. :)
  13. V

    Zubiri or Larrasoana?

    I, too, stayed at Pension el Peregrino In Larrasoana. It was a lovely place and the fellows who run it were very nice. I had a private room, and shared a bathroom. The cafe/bar/store across is run by a very nice man, though to be honest, the food choices are, as I recall from September 2022...
  14. V

    Nicknaming the People You Walk With

    There was a Spanish fellow walking with his wife who spoke limited English, but always said hello and asked how I was doing, and we managed to have short pleasant conversations fairly regularly for a couple weeks? on the CF in the early fall of 2022. We called him Mr. White because he looked...
  15. V

    I really wish I knew that!

    Two prices on menu items in the NorthEast part of Spain. I couldn’t figure it out. Thought it might be am vs. pm pricing, but despite there being two prices, I always seemed to be charged the higher of the two prices. And then, when we got to Burgos in late September and we were eating a meal...
  16. V

    Solo walkers - what kinds of food do you buy at grocery stores?

    I frequently bought what Canadians call Wraps (aka tortillas). They keep for many days and take up little room in my pack. As a vegetarian, I would buy humus, or guacamole, or peanut butter and add a half a banana, then wrap it up and take it along for a meal-on-the-go. I also bought small pkgs...
  17. V

    Communal dinners

    I always let the places I was staying know I was a vegetarian when I booked. That way, if it wasa communal meal and they were able to prepare something vegetarian we both felt good. It's hard to be a vegetarian on the Camino. Some people think "there's plenty of bread and pasta", but...
  18. V

    Question: camino frances

    First, I think lots of people are very reliant on Guidebooks, but would find that they don't necessarily need one, and that not having one also prompts you to engage with others more often. Second ... If you feel you really need a guidebook, ask at the first or second albegue you stay in...
  19. V

    "bathers" sculpture(s) in Sarria river

    Saw those "sculptures" last year, and thought "it must have been a hot day for someone to have spent all that time in the cold, running water".
  20. V

    Bad experience with Orange International Travel phone plans

    I too, had a terrible experience with Orange last year. Bought a physical SIM card delivered to my home in Canada, through Orange France, as that was where I was starting my Camino. The bar code had been damaged by their own labeling such that I couldn't make it out. It took weeks to get the...

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