bunkroom etiquette/storage

squeezefrog · Apr 2, 2010

Hello! I just posted a note in the introductions sections saying how wonderful it has been to have all my "first-timer" questions already posed & answered, even the more off-beat ones. Thanks so much to all of you!

There is one thing I have not come across here or in books: after you arrive & are set up in the night's albergue, I take it one leaves one's backpack in the room while heading out to dinner or walk around town? Of course you always keep your passport, cash & card stash with you, but your pack is okay just sitting next to your bunk?

I appreciate your thoughts on the matter,
Rebecca

cecelia · Apr 2, 2010

Hi Rebecca,
Yes - everyone leaves their backpacks in the albergue while they go out to eat and look around. That's not to say there haven't been incidents but generally it's very safe. However - as you said"Never leave money, passport, ID, credit cards tickets, camera or anything else that you would be lost without" You are in a foreign country and need to be able to have money and identify yourself. People have had things stolen. I once left my sunglasses on my bed and they were stolen. But to repeat. Stuff is generally very safe.
Buen camino
Cecelia

Deleted member 3000 · Apr 2, 2010

On etiquette, I suggest:

1. half the space is yours - one end of the bunk, or one-half the end if there is only one end
2. half the space under the bunk is yours - divide laterally or longitudinally
3. a chair is for everyone, not for storage, particularly of your pack
4. hang your pack on one corner of the bunk; that will provide some bug protection
5. try to get a consensus on lights on/off; if a brazen person turns the light on or off at a ridiculous time, try to work it out amicably, but it is not his/her unilateral right to control the bunkroom; be reasonable at all times.
6. there is no maid service, so pick up, mop, scrub, and sweep after yourself
7. don't waste energy on things you cannot control, such as gas passing, snoring, others' conversations, other people using electronic devices unobtrusively, sharing cookware, etc.

I am betting there are other suggestions!

lynnejohn · Apr 2, 2010

Wholeheartedly agree with all the above.

Additionally -

If you plan to retire to your bunk to make and receive phone calls after lights out, dont! Please be considerate enough to go outside to avoid disturbing the rest of the entire room.

If you are healthy, limber and strong, be aware of those who might have more difficulty navigating upper bunks. Consider offering your lower bunk. (I'm not talking about me, even though I'm a senior :wink: ), but I have seen folks who seem a little frail struggling to get up and down from upper bunks and have witnessed a frightening fall. Just seems right to let them have a lower bunk.

lynne

annakappa · Apr 2, 2010

Please don't put your pack on the bed. Just think of all the places it has been on the floor during your hours of walking! Most people lay out their sleeping bag, just to show possession. Anne

Anniesantiago · Apr 2, 2010

Consider TAKING an upper bunk because it's better protection from the bedbugs! They more often attack the lower bunks in my experience. :::laughing::

Josefine · Apr 2, 2010

Anniesantiago said:
Consider TAKING an upper bunk because it's better protection from the bedbugs! They more often attack the lower bunks in my experience. :::laughing::

Annie!! Are you serious or just making a joke? Because if this is true I will ALWAYS take the upper bunk.

Anniesantiago · Apr 2, 2010

I'm serious!

They drop down on people ::cackling:: :I swear to you it's true!

In Leon, I had the bunk above this pilgrim. I did not get one bedbug. He, on the other hand, fought them all night long... here is a photo of him in the morning and the dead bugs he killed during the battle all night:

Mediana · Apr 2, 2010

Just curious. How common are bedbugs? My sister walked the France route last September and had to stay an extra day in Leon to wash everything she had because of bedbugs. I thought that was an exception, but perhaps not?

Anniesantiago · Apr 3, 2010

Bedbugs are no longer the exception.. they are the rule. They are spread all throughout the Camino. I saw them in almost every town.

Unfortunate, but true. Luckily, there are ways to avoid them, some better than others.

lynnejohn · Apr 3, 2010

If you'd like more information (and there has been a lot) on bedbugs, enter "bedbugs"in the Search at the bottom of the page. Actually there has been some discussion on albergue etiquette earlier as well if you'd like to review those entries.

lynne

Mediana · Apr 3, 2010

lynnejohn said:
If you'd like more information (and there has been a lot) on bedbugs, enter "bedbugs"in the Search at the bottom of the page. Actually there has been some discussion on albergue etiquette earlier as well if you'd like to review those entries.

lynne

I did do a search before posting and came up with 13 pages. A lot about how to treat them but nothing how comman they are and if they accure more in some weather or not. I didn't read all the pages but a lot. I'm sorry, didn't mean to post an unnecessary question.

JohnnieWalker · Apr 3, 2010

Mediana - unfortunately they have been very common in some parts of the Camino Frances. Each year we hope that winter cleaning and fumigation will eradicate them. However whereever you get lots of people sleeping in different locations every night then there is a high risk of bedbugs. They tends to breed more in warmer weather. They have been around longer than pilgrims and al;l we cando is take sensible precautions.

lynnejohn · Apr 3, 2010

Mediana -

I'm very sorry - I didn't mean to imply that your question was unnecessary - just that sometimes it's easier to follow the flow of information on a topic when it's all together in a search.

I do hope you don't encounter any bedbugs on your camino!

lynne