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  1. oursonpolaire

    Cancelling Camino - Soliciting Advice

    Walk what you can at a pace which suits you best. You may not be able to reach Santiago this time, but there is often another year to finish it-- this is very common practice among Europeans. Or, as others have sugggested, start closer to Santiago. Unless your confessor wants you to...
  2. oursonpolaire

    Pilgrim passport in Canada?

    There is also a Vancouver chapter of the Canadian Company of Pilgrims which holds weekly practice walks where you might be able to pick up some practical tips, especially if you have not done a Camino previously. (https://www.santiago.ca/chapters-local-contacts/).
  3. oursonpolaire

    Computer/ laptop for rent on Camino

    I saw a few locutorios on the del Norte, catering primarily to African and Latin American expats. Check with your search engine for locutorio placename. For example, Estella has three, Logrono seven, Sahagun five, etc... But for a job interview, you might be better placed with a private...
  4. oursonpolaire

    Bourbon and cigars

    While a militant non-smoker, I have talked with US pilgrims who expressed their delight and wonder at the cigar selections in most estancos. One said that Estella had a better cigar selection than his home town of Athens, Georgia. I don't know if that means something, but I just hand it on for...
  5. oursonpolaire

    Advice… please… 🙏🏻 (About starting time each day)

    Go Gronze.com, which will give you the latest. Before my first Camino, I would have thought that the early-rise etc was barbaric, but I soon found that: 1) there was little choice in the matter, as everyone in the albergue was up and moving well before closing, and 2) the early morning walking...
  6. oursonpolaire

    Listening to music while on the camino

    I have often been on backroads caminos with no distraction from conversation, but generally did so unplugged, especially in the morning. Later on in the day, when pushing through to my destination, I found the random selection on my iPod very helpful. Some pilgrims seem quite inspired by...
  7. oursonpolaire

    Not everyone happy about pilgrim/tourist pressure.

    I would not assume that the article represented the opinions of more than a very few people in Santiago. They may well be those who are outraged at the rain falling in Galicia. Their complaints remind me greatly of Inspector Renault in Casablanca who, greatly distressed, expressed his shock...
  8. oursonpolaire

    Orthodox Churches along the Camino

    Here's an update of my 2014 list. You'll see that there's quite an increase in the number of places where one can find Orthodox churches- there are now about thirty churches along the various Caminos-- most of these are Romanian, serving the 600,000 strong community. If you can't get anywhere...
  9. oursonpolaire

    Sello (stamp) Obsession: Is there a medical term for this?

    I obsess over sellos and quite enjoy it. But as my GP said of my caminoholicism, there's worse addictions; it's cheaper than heroin and better for you.
  10. oursonpolaire

    Dress Code (esp. Shoes) in Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian

    Perhaps I should have mentioned that I've been to two Michelin restaurants on lesser Caminos, and my Royal Robbins shirt (with neckscarf as a cravat, but I usually do that in restaurants anyway), Tilley technical pants, and Keens or similar on my feet. All passed muster and in one my...
  11. oursonpolaire

    Dress Code (esp. Shoes) in Michelin restaurant in San Sebastian

    Your proposed tenue de pèlerin sounds just fine by me. When you make your reservation, mention your pilgrim status. Most Spanish restauranteurs (in my experience) will be very understanding of the restrictions of pilgrim life.
  12. oursonpolaire

    Shaving,......probably more for the men!

    For my past few caminos I have embraced the town barber for a no. 1 beard trim, which saves me the bother of carrying my beard trimming machine and injects a few extra euro into the local economy. I have had some great chats in my execrable Castellano, and in Tapia de Casariego held two patrons...
  13. oursonpolaire

    Do you collect a Compostela?

    I'm another of these. The families of the Vicarie Pro candidates have the scrolls and were extraordinarily grateful, to the point where I was embarrassed..... all I had done was walk and light candles.
  14. oursonpolaire

    When using booking.com, double check a city location first... it can be confusing...

    It always helps to check. Looking for accommodation in Agreda on the Castellano-Aragonese, Booking.com sent me to Vozmediano, about 9km away. It worked out fine, as it was on the way and I was tired of walking. It had a good collection of franquista street names, possibly one of the last...
  15. oursonpolaire

    Nicknaming the People You Walk With

    I have no idea what I might have been doing on my dozen Caminos that I did not run into much nick-naming. The only one I recall was of a young Saxon pilgrim who was clocking 7-8km/hr, whom we named The Roadrunner.
  16. oursonpolaire

    New long-term French visa possibility for some UK citizens

    I remember passing through a village north of Nantes and the church's concierge told me that only about 10 parishioners regularly attended mass, and that the majority were English. While this was before Brexit, an officer in a Breton mairie described to me the special school programme they had...
  17. oursonpolaire

    Camino at the beginning of Spring 2024 from the UK with my dog.

    As well as the challenges mentioned above, on my two Primitivos, I noted that not all dogs were chained-- shepherds' dogs usually were loose-- and the dogs of Asturias are large and effective work dogs, protective of their territory. While most of the Primitivo is asphalt, some long stretches...
  18. oursonpolaire

    Menu del dia - options to customize?

    I am among the dessert-avoiders, preferring fruit; one can always ask for queso, but expect to pay another euro for this. I have always ordered coffee in addition, as the 1.50 is a gesture to the restaurant which is providing a very-small-profit service with the menu de dia.
  19. oursonpolaire

    Private rooms availability?

    You have lots of useful advice here. As @Bert45 notes, Booking.com only keeps a few rooms on t heir books-- often the innkeeper likes it that way. As the booking agencies likely don't have their lists for the spring yet, contact the business directly-- the Spanish seem to prefer Whatsapp or...
  20. oursonpolaire

    Student Research into the Camino de Santiago

    I wonder if your religious categories could have been broken down; Christian may have been too broad. I think you would get some interesting differences between RC, Anglican/Lutheran, Protestant/Evangelical, Orthodox. The breakdown of gender identity may produce useful results-- on my past...

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