Debbye Jean
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- May 1, 2017
Hello Everyone,
I am so excited to be leaving for Madrid on April 27, 2017. I plan to spend the night in Madrid and am still not sure if I'll start in St. Jean or just avoid the mountains all together and start in Pamplona. I feel surprisingly calm about my planning even though I am out of shape and a little round around the edges. I have been loading up my backpack and hiking almost on a daily basis and yesterday walked for hours uphill with about 18 lbs on my back. I plan to do more and more miles with about the same weight as I really don't want to carry more than that. Right now, that's about 10% of my body weight. I feel amazingly strong and can't believe I'm actually doing it as it's something I've been thinking of for a long time. My questions are as follows and please forgive me if some of them sound kinda dorkish and uninformed.
1. I read some old posts about how to get from Madrid to St. Jean but were so old that I'm wanting to make sure I've got it covered. Can someone please advise me of this. Also, if I decide against St. Jean, how I would get to Pamplona from Madrid.
2. I have an android phone with a really cheap phone service. I was planning to have my family and friends download What's App so that I can keep in touch with them by text and phone as I have a friend in Spain and that's how she and I communicate back and forth with each other. Will this be sufficient? I read about booking.com to book places to stay so am down with that, but will my phone suffice as far as having an internet connection over there if it works here in the United States?
3. Will an adapter be all I need to charge my cell phone? What about a portable battery???
4. Do I exchange all the money I plan to bring in advance here is the States or bring some American dollars with me and do it in Spain?
I have most of my gear together, just fine tuning my packing list a bit here and there. I bought the most amazing shoes and on my long training hikes I have zero complaints about them so happy about that.
Lastly, is there anyone planning to be on the trail the same time as I? If so, would love to hear from you and maybe meet up for some wine and cheese along the way. I'm a slow walker though and think I prefer walking on my own. We shall see, right?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Sincerely,
Debbye Jean
I am so excited to be leaving for Madrid on April 27, 2017. I plan to spend the night in Madrid and am still not sure if I'll start in St. Jean or just avoid the mountains all together and start in Pamplona. I feel surprisingly calm about my planning even though I am out of shape and a little round around the edges. I have been loading up my backpack and hiking almost on a daily basis and yesterday walked for hours uphill with about 18 lbs on my back. I plan to do more and more miles with about the same weight as I really don't want to carry more than that. Right now, that's about 10% of my body weight. I feel amazingly strong and can't believe I'm actually doing it as it's something I've been thinking of for a long time. My questions are as follows and please forgive me if some of them sound kinda dorkish and uninformed.
1. I read some old posts about how to get from Madrid to St. Jean but were so old that I'm wanting to make sure I've got it covered. Can someone please advise me of this. Also, if I decide against St. Jean, how I would get to Pamplona from Madrid.
2. I have an android phone with a really cheap phone service. I was planning to have my family and friends download What's App so that I can keep in touch with them by text and phone as I have a friend in Spain and that's how she and I communicate back and forth with each other. Will this be sufficient? I read about booking.com to book places to stay so am down with that, but will my phone suffice as far as having an internet connection over there if it works here in the United States?
3. Will an adapter be all I need to charge my cell phone? What about a portable battery???
4. Do I exchange all the money I plan to bring in advance here is the States or bring some American dollars with me and do it in Spain?
I have most of my gear together, just fine tuning my packing list a bit here and there. I bought the most amazing shoes and on my long training hikes I have zero complaints about them so happy about that.
Lastly, is there anyone planning to be on the trail the same time as I? If so, would love to hear from you and maybe meet up for some wine and cheese along the way. I'm a slow walker though and think I prefer walking on my own. We shall see, right?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Sincerely,
Debbye Jean
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