flies on the trail

[vgen5122]

I am going to walk the Camino France again in late August. I've never hear of this topic being asked. While on the Camino in 2013 ( late August-September), I experienced many flies while on the trail. They wanted to get under my glass, in my nose, ears, hair and food. I shower everyday, just in case anybody thought that was an issue. I started to notice The flies while in Orisson. At the meal I noticed that there were flies trying to attack the bread, so I put a napkin over the bread. Then I got these looks like maybe I shouldn't have done it.
Does anybody know what I can do about this problem or should I just suck it up?

 

[Tincatinker]

In rural, livestock farming, areas there are lots of flies. Especially in warm humid weather. I can't see what might have been wrong with seeking to protect the bread you were intending to eat from fly-spot - though whether that bread had enjoyed any such protection before it landed in that little wicker basket is open to conjecture. Putting your napkin (you ate somewhere that did napkins ) over food might be interpreted as signalling that you had either finished eating and/or couldn't stand looking at the food. Flies are attracted by moisture and sugars. Some might argue that you are better off avoiding showers and cosmetics - the little buggers sure love sun-screen - but that's not an argument I would forward. Sucking-it-up - while avoiding inhaling - is probably the resolution.

ps. You will notice that most of the locals avoid those little bar-top snacks in fly-season. Perhaps they all had a good lunch.

Buen (again) camino

 

[Icacos]

.........though whether that bread had enjoyed any such protection before it landed in that little wicker basket is open to conjecture................................. (you ate somewhere that did napkins )

Oh @Tincatinker, you make me laugh!

 

[ranthr]

Bring a mosquito net to put over the cap to keep the flies away from your face.

 

[MileHighPair]

October 2012 - no flies. October 2014 - lots of flies. It was a much warmer fall in 2014. We did not take any corrective action, but a net is probably the lightest best preventative not involving chemicals.

 

[Mark Lee]

I never ran into that many flies on the Camino, and what few I saw were nothing like the clouds of them I've seen in the Middle East and Afghanistan. So bad at times one literally has a difficult time eating outside without fear of including one with the meal.....yuck.
suck it up....
ha ha

 

[zzotte]

Flies on the camino? at the cafe's? Albergues? oh my no I never notice any

zzotte

 

[Albertagirl]

I walked the Frances in October/November of 2015 and had two days in a row where there were many flies in my face. I can't remember where - possibly in Galicia, where manure smells were strong many places. Then they disappeared for good.

 

[Rob the Slob]

Bring a mosquito net to put over the cap to keep the flies away from your face.

This is the way to go, at least for while you're walking. Small and weighs virtually nothing.

Years ago I was preparing for a hike in Catalonia that would pass through a marshy area, and I bought a mosquito net just in case. It spent the next three years unused with my hiking gear until one day when I was walking in the Spanish Sierra Nevada by myself. The trail I was on seemed to pass through a band that was precisely the right temperature for flies, I think: flies and midges of all kinds were everywhere. Eventually I remembered my net, and the relief was immediate.

Of course then I got the hose of my hydration bladder caught in it, and forgot I was wearing it when I wanted to eat an apple. Still, on balance it was much nicer with the net than without.

 

[vgen5122]

Thank you for all your replies. They were all really helpful. I think I will take a head net and for the most part just suck it up. After all is said and done they are part of the Camino. At least they were part of my last Camino. Lol. Buen Camino

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Spanish flies - the reason they invented tapas (to stop the flies falling in the sherry)

 

[HilaryF]

Flies are a normal condiment on a summer meal in Australia!!

 

[Icacos]

Flies are a normal condiment on a summer meal in Australia!!

After my visit there, I can believe that!!!!