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Almost any Poundland, Home Bargains or similar. For more sturdy versions try Screwfix or Toolstation. A hi-viz vest with reflective strips will do the job. Look amongst the motoring or cycling accessories. Light and cheap.
A “gilet jaune” could prove controversial in France.
At the moment sunrise on the Camino Ingles is about 08:20 although there will be useful twilight for some time before that. In midwinter it can still be too dark to see the yellow arrows with confidence at 8am or even a little later.
That's about right. Remember that Spain is really in the wrong time zone. They should be in the same time zone as Portugal, where sunrise is at about 7:30 am right now.
www.timeanddate.com
This is news to me. Does it just apply to the Camino Ingles, or to all routes in Galicia, or all routes in Spain? Is it for any portion of the walk or only when one is walking alongside roads? I ask this as someone who often starts walking before sunrise (in June/July/August to avoid heat and in October because sunrise is later) and has never worn a fluorescent jacket and never considered the possibility I might be faced with an 80 euro fine.
Applies all over Spain apparently. When walking along public roads. Part of the General Traffic regulations. "Outside the town, between sunset and sunrise or in meteorological or environmental conditions that significantly reduce visibility, every pedestrian, when traveling on the road or shoulder, must be equipped with an approved luminous or retroreflective element." This is what the General Traffic Regulations explain, and non-compliance could result in a fine of up to 100 euros .
Another useful resource is Suncalc, here. The link is set up for Ferrol on 21 Dec, when sunrise is not until 09:03. It will give you a limited set of astronomical data when it opens up, but there is a link in the data box that will open up a full set of the twilight times, not just dawn and dusk.That's about right. Remember that Spain is really in the wrong time zone. They should be in the same time zone as Portugal, where sunrise is at about 7:30 am right now.
Here's info on sunrise/sunset in Santiago
Sunrise and sunset times in Santiago de Compostela
Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Santiago de Compostela – A Coruña – Spain for April 2024. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.
I'm wondering how much use a reflective vest would be from behind if you are wearing a rucksack. Better to have a reflective pack cover.
In general you should be walking on the side of the road facing towards oncoming traffic. In Spain that means on the left. So the principal concern is to make yourself visible to vehicles approaching from in front of you. But a high visibility pack cover is also a useful thing to have. Mine are bright yellow or orange.
True, but as already suggested, walking on the correct side of the road and facing on-coming traffic are also sensible precautions if one is walking in the dark.
You know I just re-watched the movie The Way last weekend and there is a short snippet of all of the four of them trying to twirl their walking sticks like drum majors.And as for the suggestion from @t2andreo that one could walk like some drum major twirling my poles in the air, I think I'll continue to focus on using them to help me walk
Or bells on bikes! Thought this a european law but cyclists on camino seldom use them!
Well it all depends upon who the cyclist is and the type of bell. I replaced the original dull bell with one with a loud ring sound. I would usually ring it 4 or 5 times as I approached a group of walking pilgrims. Some would turn and move over. More than a few had their ear buds music so loud they would not have heard a jumbo jet.
I know that forum members have discussed taping their poles or other approaches like hanging things off their pack, but it seems clear that the requirement is to wear an reflective vest. I doubt very much that any of the other solutions proposed here would go anywhere near meeting the minimum requirements for the size of either the background materiel or retroreflective elements required of the EU standard. There is a short discussion of these here.
And as for the suggestion from @t2andreo that one could walk like some drum major twirling my poles in the air, I think I'll continue to focus on using them to help me walk
You are on a country lane at least part of the way and part of the way on foot paths. It isn't a superhighway, but there certainly cars where people are traveling to and from their homes on the country lanes.
That’s what we had to wear for Hood to Coast Relay night stages. Works great for caminos as well.
Reflective Tape generously
The reason for this oddity is in 1940 a troublesome man from Austria via Germany travelled to the Spanish border and asked General Franco to join his efforts to rule the world. Having just gone through a terrible civil war General Franco declined but said he would set Spanish time the same as Berlin "in solidarity"
Try to ignore the law about lights in Denmark - the police love giving out fines for that exact violation. In fact - we have multiple laws concerning bikes.
We have done a lot of early morning, pitch black walking on paths and woods. We wear bright LED headlamps. With a pack, the vest really does not help much from the back as any decent size pack covers most of it. Since we face on coming cars/trucks when walking, it does really help with on coming traffic, especially since the headlamp enhances the visibility of the vest. In addition I put a small strip of fluorescent tape on my pack for insurance. Some mornings can also be foggy too. So if you are walking in the dark any visibility enhancements are in one’s best interest!I know that forum members have discussed taping their poles or other approaches like hanging things off their pack, but it seems clear that the requirement is to wear an reflective vest. I doubt very much that any of the other solutions proposed here would go anywhere near meeting the minimum requirements for the size of either the background materiel or retroreflective elements required of the EU standard. There is a short discussion of these here.
And as for the suggestion from @t2andreo that one could walk like some drum major twirling my poles in the air, I think I'll continue to focus on using them to help me walk
When I have felt it necessary to use a vest, I have hung it over the back of my pack, and faced the on-coming traffic. I also have lights fore and aft. I suspect most of us know it is always going to be a compromise. Like others I avoid road walking before sunrise wherever possible, but there have been times when I've left an albergue a good hour before dawn in the springtime when dawn was close to 8:00 am and civil twilight half an hour earlier.
