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On my iPhone, I have “GPS Tracker” and use it often. It tells the time and distance of tracks recorded, but also, I can save its GPX files and use other tools to tell the distance (such as https://gpsvisualizer.com). I don’t know whether Android has it, but I’m sure Android, like iPhone, has...
I have a one-liter Grayl with built-in filter. Filled it from pools and ditches two or three times on a hot day with no ill effect. There are other competing water filters available. This one: https://thegrayl.com
I keep reading this accusation here, yet when I walked, it was not true of most of the cyclists that passed me. Yes, there were a few jerks, but a small minority.
There’s nothing I wish I had worried less about. Maybe I’m weird, but I am not a worrier.
There’s one thing I wish I had worried more about: water. Several times I was a dehydrated enough to be somewhat ill by the time I got “back to civilization” from side trips. Just kept forgetting to...
I do the same, but I just have it playing softly and pause when close to others. I have nothing against headphones but just don’t like them—especially when traveling. And earbuds? They keep falling out!!
An alternative is a temporary change of address to have it sent to that friend. But there are confirmation letters, so you might want to do it two weeks before. (The form has a start date on it; it doesn’t start the day you turn in the form.)
I had an iPad Pro with Apple’s smart keyboard. Almost the same as a laptop plus it has a touch screen. “Apple Pencil“ for a mouse. Much lighter and thinner than a regular laptop. My sister had “Microsoft Surface” which was similar—significantly bigger and heavier than the iPad Pro but still...
It was in Spain (as hospitalero) that it seemed like God was saying that it was time to stop nursing the pain of losing my wife eight years earlier. My response was, “OK, but if You want me to re-marry, You have to arrange it.” I kept the whole matter to myself. Upon arriving back in the USA...
Our showers were sort of “double stalls” so you could hang your clothes in the outer stall to stay dry while you shower. The door was opaque and enclosed both parts.
You mention "regular social norms," but those vary from country to country—and hundreds of countries have sent pilgrims to Santiago. I've personally checked in people from at least 45 countries. In another albergue, the door to the shower stall was broken with nothing between it and the door...
I got on a train in Barcelona to go to Pamplona. Somewhere along the way, it split, and when it stopped next, we were in Logroño in the middle of the night. I wandered around till a bike shop opened and bought a bike. My actual destination was Villamayor de Monjardín, so taking a bus wouldn't...
One place I worked as a software engineer had an “abbreviation policy.” One of the items I objected to (without success) was having us use “BNDSHFT” for “BANDSHIFT.” Later, working for healthcare, management ignored my request to prohibit writing S.O.B. for "shortness of breath” in view of the...
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