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Perhaps unsurprisingly; my gender and physique renders my clothing undesirable unless in truly dire need.In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?
It happens occasionally. If you are concerned, then you'll need to watch it. Using safety pins or even ties that need to be undone will reduce the risk.Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?
I did have a shirt and pair of shorts stolen on day 28 of 30 on the Camino. I would say it is rare but not unheard of. Just to be clear I wasn’t the only one on that day in that albergue; it wasn’t a case of mistaken clothing. I would not worry about diaper pins or anything like that. If they are going to steal it they are going to steal it. I survived and you will too. Don’t fret about the risk. Odds are definitely against it happening.In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?
This is exactly what happened to a guy in Livinhac (Via Podiensis) this past May! He made it about 20 paces out of the gite thinking his feet had really swollen since the previous day. It soon dawned on him that he was wearing a smaller size of the exact same shoe as his, only it was a Woman's size. One couple had left 30 minutes earlier, and the gite owner fortunately had a mobile number from their reservation and was able to call them to find out where they were and drive out to meet them to make the swap!I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.
I always bring safety pins for tht same reason. No matter if it's windy, or I have precariously hung something ouside a window on an upper floor(see photoBring safety pins!
I use electrical tape yellow/green on my laces and also om my electric cords, plug and power bank. And at the back of my shoes and sandels i put some purple dots with nail polish ( purple being the only collor i have)I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.
Unless you are walking on a serious budget, then it might not be replaceable, or you might have to curtail your trip due to it. I've met people on camino who definitely couldn't replace stolen/lost items due to lack of funds, some that had very little money to survive on, for which having say shoes stolen would be the end of their camino.This is all just stuff. Stuff can be replaced.
And then your feet will smell like that forever......Unless you are walking on a serious budget, then it might not be replaceable, or you might have to curtail your trip due to it. I've met people on camino who definitely couldn't replace stolen/lost items due to lack of funds, some that had very little money to survive on, for which having say shoes stolen would be the end of their camino.
I was thinking the obvious way to avoid your shoes/boots being taken is to make them smell particularly noxious in some way. Maybe throw a piece of camembert in side them (in a plastic bag) for a day and get them smelling really cheesy. No one will ever touch them, let alone steal them if they smell bad.Asparagus has a particularly pungent smell or garlic might work as well.
I'd like to think that I would like to meet you on the Camino, but perhaps just a glimpse would be sufficient!I just walk naked. Nine caminos and I’ve not lost any clothing yet.
I have wondered if the safety pins put holes in hanging clothing?One place I stayed at last month had lots of clothes lines but few clothespins / pegs and many people had simply draped their clothing over the line to dry them. It got pretty windy and I saw several items of clothing blow off the lines on to the ground. Maybe some of those items even blew away. Bring safety pins!
I haven't had much luck with using safety pins on clothes lines because of gravity! Unless you can also pin through the line itself, the clothes will slide down.I have wondered if the safety pins put holes in hanging clothing?
While it happens, if it does, it occurs rarely. You are never too far from a pilgrim store where you can replace it.In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?
Yes, but the safety pins slow down any thieves, and keep things from falling in the dirt.I haven't had much luck with using safety pins on clothes lines because of gravity! Unless you can also pin through the line itself, the clothes will slide down.
We call them diaper pins in the US. I wanted them, but was unable to find any locally on my first Camino, so opted for safety pins instead. The nappy pins seemed to be a dinosaur, but someone mentioned you could find them on Amazon...ofcourse!Nappy pins! More robust than safety pins.
I had my (even after washing) disgusting socks nicked off the washing line at a campsite returning from a Camino - they must have been desperate...
Good reply. With large slim feet I can never get shoes to fit me in Spain and loss of shoes/ boots for me would be a Camino finishing event. As you say tying shoe laces together, adding small clips like carabiners to the laces, writing your name in indelible pen etc will all help.I think your biggest worry should be someone accidentally taking your shoes and leaving their smaller sized ones behind. It has happened. Put on fancy shoe laces or something. If you are walking with someone do what Peg and I did, tie the laces of our left boots together and the same for the rights and place the mismatched pairs away from each other.
You could also take out the insoles. I've heard of people doing that. A. It allows the insoles to air out. (Some people bring a spare set and alternate them.) B. Someone putting on shoes without insoles will know immediately that they are the wrong ones.Good reply. With large slim feet I can never get shoes to fit me in Spain and loss of shoes/ boots for me would be a Camino finishing event. As you say tying shoe laces together, adding small clips like carabiners to the laces, writing your name in indelible pen etc will all help.
I also brought a pair of closed toe walking sandals just in case, heavy but gave me peace of mind should the worst happen and my shoes disappear.
What? I don't live in a communal house where strangers can come and go. Someone would have to come onto my property and around to the back of my house to steal my clothes at home. Much more likely on the camino! The Camino is remarkably low in crime, but let's not overstate it!The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line back home are remote. The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line on the camino are much more remote.
I have zero stats to back up my comments, but I'd be willing to wager that statistically you are more likely to have clothing robbed from your home than from the camino. And that's most likely due to the fact that pilgrims in general are a more law-abiding group of people than homeless drug addicts etc that you find living in cities. I'd be willing to wager that all categories of crime - assaults, robberies, thefts, etc - are lower on the camino than they are off the camino.What? I don't live in a communal house where strangers can come and go. Someone would have to come onto my property and around to the back of my house to steal my clothes at home. Much more likely on the camino! The Camino is remarkably low in crime, but let's not overstate it!
The comparison was made to illustrate a point. You suggested that the chances of having clothing stolen on the camino is higher than at home. I completely disagree. Without stats there's no way to know which is correct. But I think even anecdotally it's pretty clear that clothing theft on the camino is relatively rare, and probably not worth being concerned about. Personally I've never had clothing stolen from home or the camino.Of course - if you live in a high crime area, you are more likely to be the victim of crime at home than you are on the Camino, which is not a high-crime area.
For the purpose of giving advice about managing your clothes on clotheslines on the Camino, this comparison with inner city homeless drug addicts is odd, to say the least.
A plethora of pilgrims will be using albergue clotheslines, and if not they will at least see them if staying at the same place. That could be ten to forty people taking a look at the clothes lines. Odds at home in a back yard probably nearly no potential thieves would ever see your laundry hanging out, even if you lived in a city.The comparison was made to illustrate a point. You suggested that the chances of having clothing stolen on the camino is higher than at home. I completely disagree. Without stats there's no way to know which is correct. But I think even anecdotally it's pretty clear that clothing theft on the camino is relatively rare, and probably not worth being concerned about. Personally I've never had clothing stolen from home or the camino.
It isn't a debate, and if it is it's a silly one. Crime along the camino is statistically small, and that's a fact. That's the point, not how many people are looking at a clothes line.I'm with @C clearly on this.
I fully agree...it is unlikely to have something stolen on the Camino. My only point was that due to the numbers of people, the odds are greater, but definitely quite slim.It isn't a debate, and if it is it's a silly one. Crime along the camino is statistically small, and that's a fact. That's the point, not how many people are looking at a clothes line.
I think we're pretty much all saying the same thing, and it's incredible how crime-free the camino is compared to the non-camino world.I fully agree...it is unlikely to have something stolen on the Camino. My only point was that due to the numbers of people, the odds are greater, but definitely quite slim.
I don't know how the statistics for the Camino might compare to elsewhere in the world, nor am I inclined to better inform this discussion by finding out. But I agree with @C clearly that the camino isn't some 'lalaland' where nothing bad never happens. On every long Camino I have walked, I have met people who have suffered some form of clothing or equipment loss that might more realistically be attributed to theft than to simple loss. Boots and poles have gone missing, in addition to items of clothing from drying lines. There weren't large numbers of these, but items where it would be difficult to contemplate this is just carelessness on the part of a pilgrim in leaving something behind.We all agree that crime is low and the Camino is very safe. However it is not lalaland where nothing bad ever happens and all people magically become wonderful. Clothesline theft is a rare "crime" of opportunity, and a more frequent "mistake" of carelessness. It is an absurd thing to compare with other crime stats.
I wouldn't say that you were particularly lucky. Clothing theft is exceedingly rare. Accidentally taking someone's identical socks or forgetting something on the line is more common (but still rare).I guess I was lucky then, as I didn't see or hear of any incidents of clothing theft. Hopefully my luck continues.
I almost took someone's shirt from the clothes line on the Camino I just finished. It was the same colour as mine and I pulled it off by mistake. Fortunately, I realized my error in time.The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line back home are remote. The odds of someone stealing your clothes from a clothes line on the camino are much more remote.
Not really. It happens rarely and there are lots of places to buy new stuff.In my limited Camino research, I came across a few instances where pilgrims had laundry misappropriated while it was drying in a communal area after being washed. This concerns me a bit, primarily because one carries so little to begin with. I've purchased a couple of items, like Smartwool tee shirts, during end of season clearance sales. I'd hate for those to go missing. I usually cut tags out of clothes but many items now have the tag printed directly on the garment. Is stolen laundry a thing to be concerned about?
I almost took someone's shirt from the clothes line on the Camino I just finished. It was the same colour as mine and I pulled it off by mistake. Fortunately, I realized my error in time.
I'm with C Clearly on this. Intentional theft from a clothes line may be rare, but the possibility of misappropriation is significantly greater than at home where we are the only ones using the line.
I agreeI've never had anything stolen on the camino
But I've occasionally left things behind.
Lack of mindfulness is much more of a concern than mistaken or intentional misappropriation.
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