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  1. Jo Jo

    Lightweight Tent Recommendations

    Look at the American cottage manufacturers (I'm not sure about import fees to N.Z.). Zpacks (the standard), but I prefer Tarptent. Also Lightheart Gear. Yuma Gear. Hyperlight Mountain Gear. Mountain Laurel Designs.
  2. Jo Jo

    What's the one thing in your pack, that you absolutely CANNOT do without...and why?

    Only two luxury items I consider "essential": a native american flute (you cannot believe how great it sounds in those old churches), and a camera with a huge image sensor. The flute is often how I pray, and the camera is my art because I can't draw or paint. iphone cameras just cannot...
  3. Jo Jo

    Avoiding the breakfast trap?

    Spain just does not do breakfasts. The night before I load up on portable foods from whatever grocery store or tienda is available: eggs (if I can hard boil in the alburgue), pan, jamon, salami, whole fruit, sometimes even the grocery store tortillas. Just about anything that will not go bad...
  4. Jo Jo

    Has anyone ever considered a Camino "round trip"?

    I've seen gobs (a technical term) of people walking back on the CF. Maybe only one percent of the west-bound crowd, but usually I'd see one or two every other day or so.
  5. Jo Jo

    CHoosing the time

    Possibly you hit the time the botafumero was out of commission. See this thread https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/cathedral-services-disruption-in-2018-for-building-work.51700/#post-567962. However, either of those services (Easter or St. James day) should see the Botafumero...
  6. Jo Jo

    Are mosquitos & other insects an issue?

    Depends on season. On the CF, lots of flies during the summer (I try to maintain a disciplie of nose-breathing because I suck them in if I try mouth-breathing). Not biting flies for the most part, just lots and lots of house flies. I walked the CP in late October with nary a mosquito (or fly)...
  7. Jo Jo

    Bed bug confusion

    Permethrin is very good (my wife, who dermotologically reacts to everything does not react to it). We spay the sleeping bag liners (and backpacking quilts, if we are taking those) and the INSIDE of the packs and all pack pockets (bed bugs don't really go for a exterior surface exposed to sun...
  8. Jo Jo

    top tips for a first time walker

    Before my first Camino, I worried mostly about what was on my back. While keeping the weight down to a minimum really helps, that turned out to be secondary. Before my second Camino, I worried mostly about what was on my feet. I did much better the second time. The first time, footwear...
  9. Jo Jo

    Route Napoleon France/Spain border - Farmer's van selling hot drinks

    We saw him the first time we walked. But the second time (Sunday in mid-September 2016) we saw him driving down the road before we got to him (there was only egg shells by the side of the road to mark the spot). And we had foregone lunch at Orisson because we thought he had better food. A...
  10. Jo Jo

    Beating the heat in the Pyrenees - need help with backup plan

    I agree with what has been written before--leave early and you'll be fine (based on walking July/Aug. 2014). I write only to explain that early is, at the latest, 6:00 am. Often 5:30 (with headlamps on). When we first started, we thought early was 8-9am (it was vacation after all). Don't try...
  11. Jo Jo

    Drain plug size

    Drain holes are all different sizes. Bandanna worked well enough for me, and one size fit all. I personally try to make all of my gear do double or triple duty--no single use items (like a drain plug) unless they are indispensable (sun hat, sleeping bag liner, etc.). Buen Camino, Jo Jo

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