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I’ll throw two pieces of information on the pile I think are vital. Absolutely no cotton anything belongs on you or in your packs. Merino wool or quick dry space-age material are better in my humble opinion. Shoes and packs get mentioned often and that’s good information, but don’t scrimp on...
I plan on doing the CF starting right after Easter Sunday next year. Since my last Camino I’ve walked parts of the Jakobsweg/Camino in Germany, France, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania because they are all so amazingly different from Portugal and Spain.
That is so me. I ride my bike 12km to my gardens, work a bit, walk completely different trails before riding home. All while listening to podcasts … I only listen to podcasts when I walk and garden.
You are correct about the monthly passes in Germany. I'm a German resident, but an American citizen and do not have a German bank account so was unable to sign-up for the new passes whereas the 9 euro monthly passes from last summer allowed me to use my debit card to purchase them through the DB...
Last year I bought the two month pass for 50% off and visited 16 countries instead of walking the Camino Frances this past Spring (2023). Now as I am making plans for the Spring of 2024 my Deutsche Bahn app keeps referring me to Interrail because it is a cheaper way to get to southern France...
I didn't really have one on the Camino, but apparently lots of people referred to me as the guy from Nebraska so often that my Camino family referred to me as the Legend while we were in Santiago. LOL
The redhead and I were in Braga a month ago. Our hotel was next to Bom Jesus do Monte and there were lots of tourists, but I didn't see any recognizable pilgrims while we were there.
BTW, there's only 577 steps ... we walked them twice because we discovered the answer to a geocaching question...
I walked the Camino Portuguese a few months ago with a half empty Talon 44 because the Talon 22 was just a wee bit too small for my gear. It weighed 6.1 kg (13.44 pounds) without food or water.
Now that Osprey came out with a much lighter Talon 26 (24 liters) and I replaced some of my heavier...
I did the coastal route in October and I carried a poncho liner sometimes nicknamed a "woobie" ... it's like a quilted blanket and it's not particularly heavy. Not very expensive either. I think it cost me somewhere around 25 euros.
The second card is an absolute must in my world. I'm American, but live in Europe and have a ton of difficulty with being flagged for fraud even while at home. Thinking I'd get ahead of the problem I called both banks and filled out the forms on my online banking accounts notifying them I was...
You've gotten plenty of answers already, but let me throw a couple cents in the pot ... I noticed AFTER buying my carry-on only ticket that they didn't allow trekking poles in a carry-on bag so left them behind. As luck would have it I ended up checking the bag for free at the boarding gate...
That's plenty early, the office opens at 9:00. I had planned on getting there at 8:30, but got caught up in conversation with someone on the way ... getting there a bit later got me number 146 which didn't take particularly long to get me to the window to get everything I needed.
There's three pairs of flip-flops living under my bed because I found lighter ones and they aren't the only items that have been exiled from my backpack in order to keep my pack under 6kg ... my one luxury is a bamboo bath towel ... it's heavier than the last couple of microfiber towels I...
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