• 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)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Advanced search…

Search results for query: *

  1. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    Haha. I think the issue with plastic bags is not that they exist but that they have been free and freely available for so long that people don’t think about alternatives and so abuse their use. I use reusable bags for supermarkets etc but plastic bags are still useful in some situations. I use...
  2. Alister M

    Walking after arthroscopic knee surgery

    I had arthroscopic surgery on 4 February and was hiking the VDLP in late March. My condition wasn’t as bad as yours sounds, an infection rather than a tear, but I still worried about the recovery process. I walked as much as I could and was glad that although I was still restricted at the start...
  3. Alister M

    Safety on the Salvador

    Leon to Pola de Gordon, then Pajares, then Mieres and then Oviedo. It was my 3rd time walking the Salvador/Primitivo, which I finished on Wednesday. Days 1 and 4 are easy but days 2 and 3 are hard. From Buiza, a bit after Pola de Gordon, it’s a solid climb and then another toughish climb later...
  4. Alister M

    Safety on the Salvador

    I walked the Salvador from 22-25 September this year. Accommodation was not an issue
  5. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    Thankyou to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. There are those who find it an affront to be asked to be as considerate as possible to their fellow walkers and there are others for whom this might just alert them to something of which they were unaware in their habits and for whom a...
  6. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    Would it not be equally valid to suggest that it is those who wish to engage in behaviour that reasonable people consider inconsiderate should be the ones to go to private accommodation?
  7. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    I have bags that came from a camping shop years ago that I find very practical
  8. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    I have tried earplugs on a number of occasions and find them very uncomfortable, particularly as I sleep on my side or front rather than on my back
  9. Alister M

    Crinkly Plastic Bags

    A pet peeve, particularly as a regular Camino walker who starts early and goes to bed early. Increasingly, walkers are packing their gear in crinkly plastic bags and both packing their bags late in the evening or early in the morning, disturbing others in dorms. This is a plea for walkers to use...
  10. Alister M

    Shipping a parcel from Porto to Santiago

    I have just used Eurosender for my suitcase from Irun to Casa Ivar in Santiago and declared that it contained my laptop. Cheap and no issues. You need to deal with packaging to your standard but beyond that the process is simple
  11. Alister M

    The need to prebook accommodation for the first few nights from Seville in September?

    You are starting at the end of the season. I don’t know how far you like walking but I walk longish stages where available and Seville-Santiago via Sanabrese took me 31 days earlier this year. Most people want to finish hiking by the end of October because it’s getting cold in Galicia by then...
  12. Alister M

    LIVE from the Camino @runboyrun on the Norte

    Today was day 7 of my 2nd Norte, starting in Irun and today at El Pontarron. It has been humid, wet, hilly and muddy but I survived the hard bit to Bilbao and from there it is much easier. Slog it out to Bilbao and enjoy the rewards after that 😛
  13. Alister M

    Need opinions please from those that have done both routes...coastal and central Portugues

    I have done the full length of both options from Porto. They are 2 of the 11 Camino routes I have hiked. The most memorable of the Portuguese is the coastal route from Porto to near the Spanish border. It may not be an option for you this time but I recommend it in the future. The coastal bit is...
  14. Alister M

    New travel requirement - US (and other countries) to Europe, 2024

    For the Americans engaged in this thread, a comment on collection and retention of information. I was in the US 3 weeks ago and saw a clear sign that under US law information including biometric data on US citizens (I think it also applied to permanent residents) had to be deleted within, I...
  15. Alister M

    Question about Via de La Plata from Merida starting November 02, 2023

    I should also say that by the time you plan to start there won’t be many hikers so keep an eye on Gronze or whatever for information about accommodation that has closed at the end of the ‘season’.
  16. Alister M

    Question about Via de La Plata from Merida starting November 02, 2023

    One of the features of the VDLP compared with busier routes in the north is that there are fewer towns with accommodation, which of course controls the distance you get to walk each day. I like walking longish distances but often found I was limited to around the 20k mark because the alternative...
  17. Alister M

    New travel requirement - US (and other countries) to Europe, 2024

    I think that would be possible in most places but you would need to go through the (probably longer) process of the ‘all other passports’ to be assessed by a border official rather than the quick and easy automatic passport reader entry
  18. Alister M

    Quieter Routes to SDC: Departing from the CF

    I don’t know how hard/long you might consider as a diversion but I will just add my favourite route as a possibility. From Leon, take the Salvador to Oviedo and then the Primitivo from Oviedo to Santiago. Recognised as the hardest combination, it is also quieter and very beautiful
  19. Alister M

    New travel requirement - US (and other countries) to Europe, 2024

    At the moment people from the US don’t require pre-approval but the UK has announced a scheme similar to that of the EU to be rolled out on a similar timeline. I assume the process started pre-Brexit and the UK has simply developed its own version in the changed circumstances
  20. Alister M

    New travel requirement - US (and other countries) to Europe, 2024

    I am just surprised it has taken this long to get the system ready to go. The ESTA is the model. My last 2, in 2017 and 2023 were approved in 20 and 15 minutes respectively. A simple way of pre-approval of visitors and it made entry into the US very fast and painless on arrival. A quick passport...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Latest posts

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
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top