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  1. billmclaughlin

    All of a sudden no motivation to start the camino

    Make the short trip to Le Puy and see if the camaraderie after morning Mass in the cathedral doesn’t give you a jump start.
  2. billmclaughlin

    Travel and Health Insurance

    This topic is fraught with confusion. There’s medical costs, reimbursement for travel changes and cancellations, and then the item you highlighted: medical transport. For the first I have US Medicare Advantage plan (not plain Medicare, of course). For the second I take my chances because the...
  3. billmclaughlin

    Hornillos Albergues - Paella Battles?

    Dinner at Meeting Point last fall was pretty good. I remember my new companions: Annie the toirtoise and Imelda and Julie from Arlington and the duo from the Twin Cities. There was also paella I'd call more solid than memorable.
  4. billmclaughlin

    bed bugs

    Did they advise you against staying there? In a place that "had" a problem (past tense)? Any place can have a problem. It's the response that matters. How far are you from Navarrete? in what sense are these competitors?
  5. billmclaughlin

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

    I'm less enthusiastic than others about launching your Camino and more especially your kids' Camino with what sounds like a grueling introduction. (I had a great trek over the Pyrenees in high winds with some ice underfoot, but I have a real phobia when in comes to unrelieved sun, so that...
  6. billmclaughlin

    Peaceloving American...

    While hiking in France I learned that many of my fellow hikers called me "the American" because I was pretty much the only one around. When we talked politics I said that my US left politics would probably put me somewhere in the center in France. That always produced laughs and cries like "But...
  7. billmclaughlin

    Prepaid Credit Cards?

    I just reconciled myself to carrying at least a week's worth of cash. Always kept most of it securely wrapped with my passport, which I guard resolutely and am never without. I never thought about using a card except for an occasional hotel break and my weekly withdrawal. On the Camino cash is king.
  8. billmclaughlin

    Is the Camino losing its identity

    I'm sympathetic but this? "Also, the number of new albergues and guest houses springing up all over the place as entrepreneurs seek to make a quick Euro out of the pilgrims purse. " Who's exploiting whom? Through the miracle of international currency exchange, many "pilgrims" take advantage of...
  9. billmclaughlin

    What's your average pace?

    Setting aside all the mathematics above... The 36 days you've planned should be fine. Listen to your body. Worst case, hop some public transportation.
  10. billmclaughlin

    Are camino tours causing 'our' overcrowding?

    The "problem" with groups is their groupness. If everyone walked alone or in groups of two/three/four it would be easy to spread out. But get a few groups of 10 or 12 on the path and that just increases the odds that they'll move in synch at some point and increases the possibility of...
  11. billmclaughlin

    Are camino tours causing 'our' overcrowding?

    And perhaps those on the Frances for the first time wish those repeating the route would give someone else a chance.
  12. billmclaughlin

    First Lesson Learned.....

    Bussing!
  13. billmclaughlin

    Are There Really That Many More Pilgrims?

    Well OP koilife continues to call this a Jubilee Year. If everyone misunderstands what the Year of Mercy is about, then we should expect Holy Years numbers this year, despite the Pope's attempt to make it clear that this Holy Year is not about generating tourist income for Rome or any other...
  14. billmclaughlin

    Are There Really That Many More Pilgrims?

    I too rather like your thinking/questioning. Wouldn't it be interesting if the Camino adopted the technology used at major marathons and we got a chip to attach to a shoelace. Then we'd have great data! And just to repeat something I've said elsewhere: this Holy Year declared by Pope Francis...
  15. billmclaughlin

    Did movie: "The Way" motivate you...

    Sheen and his grandson and another relative walked the camino with minimal planning after attending a relative's funeral in Ireland. They had a car that they took turns driving, so each had every third day off. Don't know how much anyone carried. Then came the idea for a film and the script...
  16. billmclaughlin

    Thoughts? - people getting a compostela without walking the final 100k

    I wonder why anyone cares. Go ahead and get two, one for each foot. It's not like the number "in circulation" changes the value or significance of anyone else's.
  17. billmclaughlin

    Is the Camino like Yoga?

    camino:yoga::treadmill:mat
  18. billmclaughlin

    Double check when you call your banks to inform of travel...

    It would help to know what country your credit cards are in, but I think you didn't complete that part of your profile.
  19. billmclaughlin

    Should I do a Camino Course beforehand??

    Was this necessary? "especially from those of you from that paragon of the free enterprise spirit - the United States." Bill
  20. billmclaughlin

    VIII Centenary of the Pilgrimage of St. Francis of Assisi to Santiago de Compostela ( 1214-2014 )

    Even photographs of Francis of Assisi on the beach in Barcelona wouldn't stop the unholy alliance of Money and Mythology that drives the faux anniversary industry. Scholarship doesn't have a chance.

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