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  1. vinotinto

    Did ANYBODY take crappy equipment

    I brought a pair of chintzy gaiters that I got rid of quite quickly. My boots were also too heavy, and I ended up replacing them with a light Spanish pair in Logrono. I had a non-breathable rain jacket that I left in SJPP because it was like a portable sauna. And my neck wallet ended up being...
  2. vinotinto

    Items I overlooked, but wished I had

    Way to bust a rhyme, homes! Say, if you stagger across one of those never-ending vino bottles, let me know! But then again, the Spanish bar economy would suffer, and we can't have that... :mrgreen:
  3. vinotinto

    Smart Packing and Unexpected Backpack Items

    How ironic, considering that my favorite cigar bar is in Portland (one of the few places in the US where one can still enjoy a nice stogie and port in public)...but as long as you avoid the seedier bars on the Way, you won't inhale any of my smoke! :P :arrow: VT
  4. vinotinto

    Rain gear...

    Congratulations! Wow, you made pretty good time. Any favorite Spanish vino to recommend? :) Buen post-Camino, VT
  5. vinotinto

    NEW! Revised Techno Geek’s Guide to the Camino

    Re: Techno Geek’s Guide to the Camino So...what I want to know is: Who will be the first pilgrim to walk the Way with an iPad...? :wink: VT
  6. vinotinto

    beard or razor?

    Some Spanish folks towards the end of my Camino at the San Xulian albergue (one of my favorites due to the winery-type atmosphere, welcoming staff, great communal dinner, and a sweet German girl I shared good conversation and orujo with) compared me to a monk (due to my beard and...
  7. vinotinto

    Smart Packing and Unexpected Backpack Items

    I brought a tin of Romeo y Julieta small cigars that were quite soothing after a hard day's walk when I couldn't find any puros de habana for some stretches...:mrgreen: VT
  8. vinotinto

    Sleeping mat

    I brought a short REI self-inflating pad and never used it. That said, some Germans I walked with for awhile had foam pads that were quite handy for sitting down or relaxing along the trail for a break. I wished I had one like theirs on those occassions to keep dirt off (I was afraid my...
  9. vinotinto

    The Free Box

    Well, I certainly left a bunch of stuff in the Freebie Piles that I shouldn't have brought in the first place. But I did find one thing in the take-away box from the excellent albergue in Rabanal that I use to this day - a lime green plastic soap-bar container. Much better & less messier for...
  10. vinotinto

    beard or razor?

    Yes, it does! You'll get shaggy towards the end of the Way, but a beard will protect your skin from the sun and you'll have to worry less about acne breakouts. Plus, you'll like like a hardcore peregrino! :wink: I hit a great barber shop a couple days outside of Santiago and got the full...
  11. vinotinto

    Unmentionables

    I wore black ExOfficio underwear and found them to be quite comfortable, w/no chafing. They were also easy to wash and dried quickly. However, I wore them at bedtime as well, and that was somewhat of a mistake. It's not that the ExOffico's were uncomfortable, but they were a bit too...
  12. vinotinto

    Camera batteries

    I used the Energizer Lithiums for my Canon camera. I brought an 8-pack with me. After 30 days of use, I changed them even though they were still working fine. I gave 2 away to another pilgrim whose batteries died, and never used the last 2. :arrow:
  13. vinotinto

    clothes pins/clothes line

    I recommend carrying clothspins - I used mine at almost every stop. As other posters have said, they can be hard to come by at the albergues. Plastic clothspins are lighter than the wooden ones. You can get them at supermercados along the Way. Safety pins are good as well, for repairs and...
  14. vinotinto

    Sleeping mat?

    That's a matter of debate. I brought along a self-inflating short mat, but I never used it because I always got a bed. However, many Euro folks had a foam mat. The ones I walked with reclined on their pads during breaks on the trail. It was a good way to keep from getting dirty or poked by...
  15. vinotinto

    Can anyone recommend a bivi bag?

    I never used mine outside - just a couple of times on a couch to try it out. I knew after my first day on the Camino that it would be useless to me. I wasn't going to sleep outside if I could help it, and even if I did, the weather was warm enough so that I'd be OK without it. And I didn't...
  16. vinotinto

    Can anyone recommend a bivi bag?

    You can have the red REI-brand bivvy sack I left at Roncesvalles last summer, if it's still on the freebie shelf...heck, I must've abandoned around 5 kilos worth of stuff between St. Jean and Najera...oh, the agony! :wink: :arrow:
  17. vinotinto

    Mediaeval attire

    I get it...kind of like wearing a Klingon outfit to a Star Trek convention: for True Believers only (hehe). Well, Iive long and prosper, m'man (extends Vulcan hand salute)! :arrow:
  18. vinotinto

    reading lamp

    I used a Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp. It has a couple of brightness settings (and one for flashing on and off). It tilts so you can find the right angle, and runs on AAA batteries. Great for hands-free reading, along with walking in darkness - whether on the trail or in the albergue during a...
  19. vinotinto

    Ankle-support: highly important or not

    Good point (but of course you could always check them w/your pack - unless you're doing the carry-on thing). I got my gel inserts in Spain at a farmacia, and they were fairly spendy at about 30 Euros. In the end the 8 Euro foamish inserts I got at a small sports store, combined with maxipads...
  20. vinotinto

    Ankle-support: highly important or not

    Be careful with the Superfeet. I have flat feet, and I bought a pair of the orange ones for use on the Camino. However, I soon discovered that the arch on the Superfeet was hard enough to cause blisters on both of my insoles. I eventually got rid of them in favor of a softer pair of inserts I...

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