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  1. Albertagirl

    LIVE from the Camino Camino de Invierno mid-April 2024

    This thread has been a wonderful inspiration for me. I have decided that the two caminos which I really want to walk again are the Aragones and the Invierno. Health issues and an invitation to a family wedding have stopped me from going on camino this year. But I have hopes for next year...
  2. Albertagirl

    What to do during long layover in Dublin?

    This thread brings back memories from my graduate studies (Anglo-Irish literature) at UCD many years ago. If I had most of a day to spend in Dublin, I would take a bus into town, confirm the return location and time for my return ride, then wander off through the city to see what memories I...
  3. Albertagirl

    Guardia Civil returning lost passports to owners

    I bought a long-sleeved Pategonia brand shirt some years ago, for international travel. It has two button-up breast pockets, plus a large zip-up breast pocket which can contain vital documents, including my passport (in a small plastic bag for protection). I wear this shirt as a jacket, buttoned...
  4. Albertagirl

    Camino de Madrid

    I walked the Madrid last autumn, for the second time, and found it somewhat challenging. I was staying at a hostel in Madrid and getting organized for my walk when I looked for a restaurant in a large square near the albergue. I was warned by a man in the square to watch out for thieves. As I...
  5. Albertagirl

    Alert WARNING: Sexual predator near Tuído on Portuguese Central

    I am considering the need for the company of a man for me to be safe on camino. I walk my own pace and I always walk alone, but nonetheless I am of ordinary female strength and advancing age. I find myself not wanting to walk a route where I might be in physical danger from a local male. For...
  6. Albertagirl

    Are you 70+ and still walking Caminos?

    My last camino, autumn of 2023, did not go well. I did not want to return. Now, looking into my future (my 76th birthday is two days from now), I am wondering if I shall change my mind and plan for another camino. It looks unlikely, with (minor) health issues to deal with for the next few...
  7. Albertagirl

    Stages from Oloron-Sainte-Marie

    Reading this thread has aroused in me a strong urge to return to the Aragones and to see San Juan de la Pena once more. I do not know whether this might be possible for me: certainly not for 18 months or so, and I am not getting any younger. If you feel this calling, do not put it off too long.
  8. Albertagirl

    Shower/bathroom etiquette in the albergues?

    I prefer gender modesty in showers, but will sometimes choose not to shower at all if the shower room is very cold. Ancient dormitories in monastic settings will sometimes necessitate a choice between bodily cleanliness and simply freezing. I generally tell myself, "I can shower in tomorrow's...
  9. Albertagirl

    Bears

    Some years ago, wild boar were imported into Canada by persons who thought that they were a good investment for placement on hunting preserves. This project did not succeed as a profit-making business for very long. After that, the idiots who owned the land removed the fences so these...
  10. Albertagirl

    Bears

    Rapid breeding.
  11. Albertagirl

    Bears

    I recall being warned about meeting bears on the trail when I was beginning my solitary climb up the Somport Pass on one of my earliest caminos. I never caught sight of one there, but have some familiarity with grizzly bears from my many years of walking in the Rocky Mountains. My preferred...
  12. Albertagirl

    Walking a camino after knee replacement

    Enjoy your walk, but don't overdo it. If you are walking a pilgrimage to Santiago, you may need to decide at some point to take public transit to a 100 km point (there are several options) in order to be able to to finish your pilgrimage on your new knee officially in Santiago. Or are you...
  13. Albertagirl

    What are the Do's and Don'ts of Albergue Etiquette?

    These many posts about being able to sleep, and doing what one can to let others sleep, remind me of an incident which happened in a large albergue in a town about halfway through the Frances. There were two dormitories, available to whomever might choose a bed in either room. The dormitory...
  14. Albertagirl

    Respectful donativo amounts in 2024

    I have no idea. I put a fair bit of energy into not knowing. Just once, I saw a young man put one coin in the payment slot, then go across the road to a restaurant and buy an expensive breakfast. I am still working at not making that any of my business. I tell myself that he might have to walk...
  15. Albertagirl

    Respectful donativo amounts in 2024

    As an experienced hospitalera, I have always been most comfortable in those albergues where I could not see the amount that any pilgrim put in the box (for example, a slit in the wall to which I had no key, and would tell pilgrims to insert what they could when I was not present). But I have...
  16. Albertagirl

    Carry your backpack please.

    I have always carried my pack and have chosen the less-busy routes when I can. I think that these things may go together, as it is more financially feasible for persons who transport backpacks and other luggage to do so when making a profit from the larger mass of luggage which they may fit into...
  17. Albertagirl

    Hospitaleros & The Pilgrim

    Najera is a large albergue and has undergone various changes over the years. My first visit was as a pilgrim. As an older woman, I was given a lower bunk to sleep on. In those days, hospitaleros sometimes decided who got which bed, in what was then a large room crowded with numerous beds and...
  18. Albertagirl

    Hospitaleros & The Pilgrim

    I have volunteered as a hospitalera half-a-dozen times, including twice at Najera and last spring at Easter at Calzadillos de los Hermanillos. I found it both challenging and rewarding, and quite different, depending on which albergue I was serving at. Last spring was both the first time that I...
  19. Albertagirl

    How best to get to Oloron-Sainte-Marie or??

    When I walked the Aragones, I flew from home to Paris to Pau, took a bus into town from the airport in Pau, then a local train from Pau to Oloron Ste Marie, where I had a reservation for my first night. This journey, from landing in Paris in the morning to arriving in Oloron Ste Marie, was...
  20. Albertagirl

    Man arrested for sexual assault on a peregrina in Nájera

    I had to explain myself to the Guardia Civil recently when two of them came to the albergue where I was spending the night and inquired at length about an incident which had happened to me earlier in the day. I had been walking along what I thought was a pilgrim route (a walkable path a few...

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