mistermike
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- SJPP to SdC May-July 2019
Port. Coastal Sep 2023
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Last time I had 3 cameras (phone, 360 degree camera and semi professional but compact video camera). I will just take the 360 degree and phone next time. I also cook many meals due to dietary requirements, so I have more food supplies on board. My exos got pretty full last time. I had every item accounted down to the gram.I wouldn't rely on albergues having blankets. It's an additional service some albergues offer, but it's not the norm.
A lightweight sleeping bag weighs maybe 500g. That's not much at all
Recently one network of albergues apparently published a statement that they expect pilgrims who want to stay in their albergues to bring a sleeping bag.
There are still albergues that offer blankets, but certainly not all of them. Some might have the blankets somewhere hidden, so you have to ask for them. Some might take a fee. Electricity ect. has gotten expensive, so I guess cost of washing the blankets is one factor why they're not available everywhere. It's also a lot of work for the hospitaleros (who are often volunteers).
Private rooms maybe are an alternative. Those usually include blankets and linens.
I can't imagine that it's impossible to squeeze a lightweight sleeping bag into any kind of backpack, though - even a daypack usually has enough space for that.
Happy planning for your second Camino!
I have been a Hospitalero several times at public albergues and only once did we have blankets for pilgrims. The expense of laundering blankets meant they didn't get cleaned often (this is understandable) Since Covid I would hope Pilgrims will travel prepared, appreciate shelter and hospitality. If your standards are different there are ample options. The camaraderie in public albergues cannot be measured.I did my first Camino in June 2019 and pretty much all private, municipal and donotivo albergues we stayed at had blankets. Except one night, where I wore my full thermals, long pants, all my top layers, gloves and warm hat. While I was cool, it was okay in my silk liner. I heard somewhere that covid times changed the ratio of albgerues that provided blankets? Can any repeat-pilgrims offer personal experieince on this?
I'm thinking of heading back in September if I can line everything up in time. I love camera tech so any weight I can save is very important. I dont however want my last pic to be of me freezing blue about to expire in an albergue. I also can't imagine any extra space in my pack for a sleeping bag.
Thanks!
Yes, I found a Xunta in Galcia that advertised a kitchen, and all but laughed in my face when I asked where are the pots and pans. Unfortunately I had just purchased provisions for us for the night and morning to use in that very advertised kitchen. Things go worse when I found the overcrowded stinky mould growing sleeping areas the dank air was funky and too effort to breathe,. And then it got worse in the black with mould showers which had windows facing the street so in side the shower folks on the street look at you showering. Albergue de peregrinos Arca at Av. Lugo, 30, 15821 O Pedrouzo, A Coruña was by far the worst albergue I stayed at. I developed a cough from those spores that lasted many months. The only way to save that place would require an act of God, or napalm.Xunta albergues in Galicia no longer provide blankets. On the VDLP at Lubian just before entering Galicia, the municipal didn't either.
Seems a policy, along with non-provision of equipment in their kitchens.
That is a nifty-looking device but it looks like it will take up a lot of room in your bag, though I know that you can stuff things inside it. It would certainly be great to boil some eggs for lunches and breakfast, boil water, steam stuff, and make soups, etc. If you are going to bring that, and are planning on sending your bag with a courier (mochila express), then packing a lightweight sleeping bag and sending it with your cooker and food is a good idea. The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal. Those that do accept luggage probably have a communal meal and blankets! It is a catch-22 dilemma. Where you need it, you can't send it, and where you don't need it you can send it!Yeah the more I think about it, the more I think I will have to try to fit one of my light down bags in. I'm probablly going to mochilla express my food forward each day so I can have a decent stock pile of food anyway. Also thinking of taking a small automed cooker (think a fancy rice cooker or instant pot) that is super light weight. With lid about 700 grams. I figure I can make a meal in any place that has a power point. It only holds about a 1.7L. But that should make some soups and stews. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005459341742.html
From what I've read, it is only suitcases that have started to be refused recently. If you send your backpack to these places you should be okay. That's not to say that every albergue accepts backpacks. But those that don't haven't for a long time. The new thing is about suitcases.The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal.
Yes - that is correct. It is suitcases that some Albergues are refusing as per recent policy - not backpacks.From what I've read, it is only suitcases that have started to be refused recently. If you send your backpack to thesexpkaces you should be okay. That's not to say that every albergue accepts backpacks. But those that don't haven't for a long time. The new thing is about suitcases.
I am sorry for your poor stay, please do not paint all public albergues with the same brush. We must all donate generously at public albergues so they will be able to maintain and improve things needed. Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars. Onward!Yes, I found a Xunta in Galcia that advertised a kitchen, and all but laughed in my face when I asked where are the pots and pans. Unfortunately I had just purchased provisions for us for the night and morning to use in that very advertised kitchen. Things go worse when I found the overcrowded stinky mould growing sleeping areas the dank air was funky and too effort to breathe,. And then it got worse in the black with mould showers which had windows facing the street so in side the shower folks on the street look at you showering. Albergue de peregrinos Arca at Av. Lugo, 30, 15821 O Pedrouzo, A Coruña was by far the worst albergue I stayed at. I developed a cough from those spores that lasted many months. The only way to save that place would require an act of God, or napalm.
Having a full kitchen, oven included, with no pots and pans never made sense to me. If you are going to invest in the appliances, invest in the rest that will make them usable. If you don't want to compete with neighboring bars and restaurants, or don't want pilgrims to do real cooking, have no kitchen, or just a fridge and microwave as some albergues do. But why spend money on appliances pilgrims can't use? Does the Xunta really think enough pilgrims are carrying cooking pots to warrant appliances?Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars.
I think they did, initially equip the kitchens with utensils etc, but over time these became broken or went missing one way or another (and had a nasty habit of not always being cleaned). Having invested, they needed a budget to maintain and this was often not forthcoming, so for cost reasons the Xunta and other authorities apparently decided not to carry on providing cooking utensils, and even went so far as to remove the ones they had. This leaves the anomalous situation we often find of a kitchen but nothing to cook with. But a lightweight billy and a spork is not going to be a massive extra burden if you want to save money and self-cater.Having a full kitchen, oven included, with no pots and pans never made sense to me. If you are going to invest in the appliances, invest in the rest that will make them usable. If you don't want to compete with neighboring bars and restaurants, or don't want pilgrims to do real cooking, have no kitchen, or just a fridge and microwave as some albergues do. But why spend money on appliances pilgrims can't use? Does the Xunta really think enough pilgrims are carrying cooking pots to warrant appliances?
This seems an odd rationale. When I have been in places like the Xunta albergues that have no cooking equipment, I have sometimes wondered about the scale of the stoves, ovens and other fixed equipment. Some seemed to be little more than domestic kitchens, others were equipped with catering grade equipment. It made me wonder if these larger kitchens were designed to be used to cater for local community activities. Does anyone know if they are?I am sorry for your poor stay, please do not paint all public albergues with the same brush. We must all donate generously at public albergues so they will be able to maintain and improve things needed. Kitchen supplies are generally missing because albergues do not want to compete with their neighbors the cafes and bars. Onward!
Henri Cartier-Bresson is generally reckoned to be one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. He carried a 35mm Leica. In his coat pocket. Robert Capa used to say ¨If your pictures aren´t good enough, you aren´t close enough.¨ So the moral of the tale is, maybe dispense with some of the camera gear? A light sleeping bag is a really good idea if you are starting your walk in September. It can get very cold even with blankets. Not sure if I see the logic of pack transporting food forward - if you can shop at the place you started from you can just as easily shop at the place you arrive at, or for the combined cost of food and transport, eat in a restaurant. As for cooking, there tend to be stoves or at least microwave ovens in the albergues. It is the pots and pans, knives, forks etc that are missing. An actual cooker would be dead weight when you could use a billy and a plastic plate.I love camera tech so any weight I can save is very important.
Yes, they did. I stayed in many Xunta refuges when they were new and there were pots and crockery etc.I think they did, initially equip the kitchens with utensils etc, but over time these became broken or went missing one way or another (and had a nasty habit of not always being cleaned). Having invested, they needed a budget to maintain and this was often not forthcoming, so for cost reasons the Xunta and other authorities apparently decided not to carry on providing cooking utensils, and even went so far as to remove the ones they had. This leaves the anomalous situation we often find of a kitchen but nothing to cook with. But a lightweight billy and a spork is not going to be a massive extra burden if you want to save money and self-cater.
That's a great idea. How do you know who does or does not accept a small bag being sent forward?That is a nifty-looking device but it looks like it will take up a lot of room in your bag, though I know that you can stuff things inside it. It would certainly be great to boil some eggs for lunches and breakfast, boil water, steam stuff, and make soups, etc. If you are going to bring that, and are planning on sending your bag with a courier (mochila express), then packing a lightweight sleeping bag and sending it with your cooker and food is a good idea. The only drawback is that many of the traditional Albergues are not accepting luggage services anymore and they are the very places where you would most likely need a sleeping bag and to cook your meal. Those that do accept luggage probably have a communal meal and blankets! It is a catch-22 dilemma. Where you need it, you can't send it, and where you don't need it you can send it!
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