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I've used Black Diamond carbon poles for many years and thousands of miles. I've broken about 3, always my fault and from a strong sideways blow. Once I tripped over my own poles, kicking one and breaking it (they still moderated my fall). Once by sticking it in a hole in the ground and pushing...
One very important thing if you are female or any gender if your name on your passport does not match your name at birth. At the center in Paris where we got our pcr tests they ask for name at birth as well as passport name. They also entered passport number. However the final certificate shows...
I wrote a long post on this. Do the online form and get your dossier number. The response has a link so you can check for errors. Here is thread Thread 'Got French Health Pass after arriving in Paris from USA'...
Short answer is online form works if filled out properly. It also has a way for you to message your examiner. I had home address instead of destination address. Changed that online once we got to Paris and messaged the examiner that I had made a change and needed the pass immediately to get on...
Our date is 9 Sept. I use gmail, and it usually doesn't like more than 3 attachments, so used 2 and checked the size of every image. I have Adobe Acrobat Pro and was able to edit the email field to make it bigger, but wouldn't think the initial acceptance would even look at that level of detail...
I got a reply back a few hours after I submitted it - acknowledging receipt. I had put the passport, vaccine certificate and return flight info in one pdf, and the French Health Pass application in another pdf, filled out digitally, and digitially signed. Attached these two to a brief email with...
My memories are circa 2012, but at that time you really needed the little yellow guidebook, as almost all accommodations were in private homes, and you had to call in advance: https://www.compostelle-france.fr/2020/06/13/guide-jaune-du-chemin-de-compostelle-de-geneve-au-puy-en-velay/
I would carry both app and paper. Devices can and will fail. One trip, my phone was dead for three days. When the battery was finally down to zero, then a recharge brought it back to life. Another trip I was using the Whitson Northern Caminos guidebook, and lost the book. Luckily, had the Kindle...
The santiago.nl is an excellent resource and not just for routes in Spain. It is my go to place for Vezelay route info also in English. Books gps info and so on.
We did this in 2015 and 2016 and are in 70s-80s. Here is link to 2015 stages. A little complicated as we had to leave and come back. We finished Norte and did Primitivo in 2016. You could google Susan Alcorn writer for more info...
One heads up if you switch to T-Mobile. We do use it and like it. However, for this plan and any other where you use your United States number, for someone calling you from Europe, it is an international call. If you leave a message on phone mail for a hostel or some place where you want a call...
The Dutch site above has both the guidebook and the facilities guide as downloadable pdf documents in English: https://www.santiago.nl/english/guides-as-pdf-files
We have similar limited distance capabilities, and when we find a case where the next accommodations are too far for us, we will...
What worked for you on the Primitivo will work on the Francés. The ultralight packs are essentially bags with shoulder straps, so no structure other than your folded foam pad slid vertically in the pack to protect your back from sharp objects. The manufacturers sometimes sell small pads for...
I was just looking for the ALSA bus schedule from Pamplona to St. Jean, and couldn't find anything. What is the season for that route? Also, on the bus from the airport, is that Madrid or Pamplona?
I think the Moon guide is the best Camino guidebook out there, by quite a bit. The knockoff is that it is heavy. Solve this by getting the Kindle version. I would still use the apps for day to day use, but if I want to read up on a stage, Moon is my choice.
A couple of things. Use the Omnifix for full foot wraps on large areas such of ball of foot. On toes, use a stretchy breathable tape and do several wraps so your little toe is padded where it hits the next toe. Also try just using a thin liner sock as your only sock. It will keep your feet...
gronze.com is in Spanish, but sufficiently self explanatory ai==so that you do not need Spanish to use it. It has route maps, and lists accommodations. We used Booking.com quite a bit. We also left our hardcopy guide behind by accident, but were able to order a Kindle copy and proceed using it.
From Castro Urdiales, we had lunch in Islares, and then took the highway variant to Liendo. We used the Whitson Northern Caminos guide, the Wise Pilgrim app, and frequently checked gronze.com. This is a beautiful route if you take time to appreciate it. On any route in Europe or the United...
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