- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2019 - Frances & Portugues
July 2022 - Norte
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No! No packs on the beds at all. A couple of reasons - they can be dirty, because often you need to place your backpack on the ground when you stop for a break. And they can carry bedbugs. I have seen hospitaleros briefly "confiscate" backpacks that they see on the beds.I prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
No! No packs on the beds at all. A couple of reasons - they can be dirty, because often you need to place your backpack on the ground when you stop for a break. And they can carry bedbugs. I have seen hospitaleros briefly "confiscate" backpacks that they see on the beds.
You don't always have a choice in the matter! Some albergues assign bunks in numerical order as you arrive, so whether you get top or bottom is the luck of the draw.Durn. Guess I’ll be joining the bottom bunk race.
I wouldn't worry too much about your pack.
Just be sure to keep ALL of your valuables on your person . . .
This is what we do.
View attachment 56579
Packs are dirty. Please don’t put them on the bunks. Plan ahead or just hop down. I don’t know what a D.O is but there’s nothing you can’t just leave in the bunk with you until morning.I just like the convenience of having pack right there. To put away a guidebook I stay up reading, put on D.O. in am, etc. With pack on floor below, if you forget a single thing you have to climb down and get it.
Still looks hard to reach from the top . . .
This is what we do.
View attachment 56579
That's what I thought!Cool. Are most places OK with this approach? It's still kinda on the bed. As in...........bedbugs will easily transfer....
I just like the convenience of having pack right there. To put away a guidebook I stay up reading, put on D.O. in am, etc. With pack on floor below, if you forget a single thing you have to climb down and get it.
Nobody cares, in our experience.Cool. Are most places OK with this approach? It's still kinda on the bed. As in...........bedbugs will easily transfer....
But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.Keeping your backpack as far as possible from the beds is the main action you can take to avoid the proliferation of bed bugs.
I found the same in France on the via Tolosana a few weeks ago. Packs are left in large plastic crates downstairs, you take what you need in a small (provided) plastic box. Brilliant!The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
Hi, please, no!!! Bed bugs are mainly transported from one place to another hiding in backpacks (which you can't avoid), and hence backpacks should be kept in the box or on the floorI prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
Hi, please, no! Bed bugs are mainly carried from one place to the next hiding in backpacks (which you cannot avoid), so no free access to the beds, please! Keep your backpack on the floor or better, in a box providedI prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
Yes, but it can be uncomfortable. If you are in the bottom buck you can put it under the bunk.I prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
They did the same at La Rectoral in Priesca on the Norte. Everyone was given a basket for the things to bring into the dorms, and backpacks went into lockers outside the dorms.The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
Bed bugs are mainly transported from one place to another hiding in backpacks (which you can't avoid)
I have found that most do have some sort of common area.My neighbors who walked the CF in 2013 got me thinking about it by saying alburgues don’t necessarily have a common area to pack up in,
Brilliant idea! Hope a lot more albergues will take it up.The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
You strike me as a first-timer (and apologies if you're not). I'll tell you why. Once you've been walking a couple of weeks you'll have your routine which works well for you and you'll realise that all the things you worried about when you were planning now seem trivial.
No it's not allowed. If you have a rucksack liner you could take that up with you.I prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
I’m a first timer learning the ropes - prefer bottom bunk because I wear glasses and can’t see them without them on and there’s often nowhere to put them or anything when above! Stool or chair by bed = invaluable. Backpack on floor always - variable expectations everywhere- morning routine developing with each - but sleeping in next days clothes works extremely well- now to meet up with washing partner to share a load ....
I rarely experienced albergues that didn't have some indoor space apart from the sleeping area. Perhaps the albergue in Mombuey (Camino Sanabres) was just a barn full of beds, but most other places had at least a kitchen that you could use to get ready before going out.My neighbors who walked the CF in 2013 got me thinking about it by saying alburgues don’t necessarily have a common area to pack up in, it’s just out the door into the darkness.
Lol you got that right. First timer overplanner nerd. Packing now for 4 months out to include volunteer vet gig in Galapagos > hiking Machu Picchu > biking Mallorca > volunteer vet in Medina del Campo, Spain. Strategically diitching unneeded stuff as I go to culminate in walking the CF then exploring Portugal a little if I have enough time.
Forget the pack-on-bed-problem, you’re off to a fantastic buen camino.
Enjoy.
Lol you got that right. First timer overplanner nerd. Packing now for 4 months out to include volunteer vet gig in Galapagos > hiking Machu Picchu > biking Mallorca > volunteer vet in Medina del Campo, Spain. Strategically diitching unneeded stuff as I go to culminate in walking the CF then exploring Portugal a little if I have enough time.
Lol @nycwalking isn’t this what most people pack for the Galapagos?
That's why I spray my silk liner, inside my backpack, and all my cloth stuff sacks with permethrin - turning my backpack into a death chamber for bedbugs. They may get in, but they won't get out!
Someone recently posted a video of what happens when a bedbug is in contact with a permethrin treated surface. It doesn't repel them, and they don't die right away, but over the course of a couple of hours they slowly die.
I have found that most do have some sort of common area.
I have a waterproof silnylon bag that I use to take my things into the shower area. When I go to bed I use it for everything that I'll need in my bunk with me at night, and to get ready in the morning.
Also the bedbugs might travel with you all the way home.No! No packs on the beds at all. A couple of reasons - they can be dirty, because often you need to place your backpack on the ground when you stop for a break. And they can carry bedbugs. I have seen hospitaleros briefly "confiscate" backpacks that they see on the beds.
The chemicals are more dangerous than the bedbugs.
NO NO NO TO BACKPACKS ON ANY BEDS!. They are dirty, you never know what you bag is sitting in when you stop anywhere and there can be bedbugs or other creeper crawlers along for the ride.Thx all for the info and ideas. Gonna go with rolling everything up in the pillow compartment of my sleeping bag liner (so I can’t forget something, cuz I will) and not touching pack til morning. Spraying pack with Sawyer pyrethrin spray.
My neighbors who walked the CF in 2013 got me thinking about it by saying alburgues don’t necessarily have a common area to pack up in, it’s just out the door into the darkness. I’m pretty stealth and use a tiny LED light that hangs around my neck so can block the light with my hand. Now if someone would invent flip-flops that don’t make that sound.
The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
I don’t think I’ve ever sat on a cow pat but I agree that many dirty things come into contact with albergue beds. I cringe when I observe someone fresh off the trail, joyously falling back onto a bed in their dusty shorts, sweat-soaked shirt, and filthy boots.the same pants you sat on the ground to have a picnic in. Cow poop now on your bed.
OMG. Envy.volunteer vet gig in Galapagos
Lol @nycwalking isn’t this what most people pack for the Galapagos?
My thought of me trying to get dressed on a top bunk. No sense of humor?Hi Gloria
What does age and weight have to do with anything. Glad you are amused. And sorry for your imaginative hick ups.
Getting dressed in a bunk could be a comedy of errors at any size.My thought of me trying to get dressed on a top bunk. No sense of humor?
Most pilgrims will not say anything about how others store their belongings. It's hard to say if anyone cares or not. I don't think I would want to approach you and ask you to not hang your pack from the top bunk if I was the one sleeping below you.Nobody cares, in our experience.
I walk with my husband so I know he doesn’t care. I was referring to the hospitaleros. That is what the question asked was referring to as I recall. And I’ll tell you my thoughts to your face. Gossiping about people behind their backs is not in my nature.Most pilgrims will not say anything about how others store their belongings. It's hard to say if anyone cares or not. I don't think I would want to approach you and ask you to not hang your pack from the top bunk if I was the one sleeping below you.
Most just want to keep the peace then talk about you on the trail .
I agree, no packs on the beds.
I do not understand the logic behind the Salamanca policy. They force everyone to use 2 single-use plastic bags that are not even tightly enclosed. Everyone takes sleeping bags and clothes up to the dorm, where presumably the bedbugs will climb on board. We bring the stuff downstairs, and carry them on to the next albergue. Two plastic bags per pilgrim used, and I doubt it is very effective against bedbugs.The albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
Aren't the sleeping bag and your night clothes even more attractive to the bed bugs?Keeping your backpack as far as possible from the beds is the main action you can take to avoid the proliferation of bed bugs.
this is albergue life: challenging but worth it.
Medina del Campo is a nice wee town. The bar at Hostal Doña Alicia does a really good lunch. One of the best we had on the Levante.Lol you got that right. First timer overplanner nerd. Packing now for 4 months out to include volunteer vet gig in Galapagos > hiking Machu Picchu > biking Mallorca > volunteer vet in Medina del Campo, Spain. Strategically diitching unneeded stuff as I go to culminate in walking the CF then exploring Portugal a little if I have enough time.
The policy might not prevent the spread of bedbugs, but I think that storing boots and poles by the entrance and storing rucksacks in lockers rather than allowing them into the tiny dorms has a few benefits. It keeps dirty things away from bunks and it ensures that the dorm isn't filled up with large luggage.I do not understand the logic behind the Salamanca policy.
In 2017, stayed in the Albergue de peregrinos Casa de la Calera Salamanca Jacobea, copying the printing from their sello. I do not remember it like this at all. I don't remember any lockers and I never left my pack outside of the dormitory on the VdlP. Maybe there was a major change in policy. My memories of the Salamanca albergue were pleasant and friendly, except that we were all crammed into one small room, maybe to save cleaning for the hospitaleros; we were two women, who did not enjoy the heat of the crowded room and the loud snoring of most of the male inhabitants. One of the men who couldn't sleep in that setting asked a hospitalero to be moved and was put into a second dormitory alone. Maybe the experience of later hospitaleros gave rise to a revision of policy and regulations. I just do what the hospitaleros direct, but others who try to get conditions changed for their convenience may sometimes go too far, pushing the hospitaleros to bring in new regulations.The policy might not prevent the spread of bedbugs, but I think that storing boots and poles by the entrance and storing rucksacks in lockers rather than allowing them into the tiny dorms has a few benefits. It keeps dirty things away from bunks and it ensures that the dorm isn't filled up with large luggage.
If the albergue allowed early risers to leave early, it would have the added benefit of allowing them to exit the dorm without creating a disturbance for later risers.
I've got mixed feelings about the Salamanca albergue. It felt like Singapore to me. Clean, modern, convenient ... but the folks in charge fear that the pilgrims might descend into barbarism if we're not kept in check. Don't expect all of the rules to be logical. Just be obedient and never forget that you're being watched. Perhaps I was just unfortunate to encounter a Martinet of a hospitalero.
Yeah, I experienced that two weeks ago. And I survivedThe albergue in Salamanca on the Via de la Plata takes this very seriously indeed. Rucksacks are not allowed upstairs in the dormitories at all. Packs are left downstairs in plastic bins in special cupboards and only the items actually needed during the stay may be taken upstairs.
9 out of 10 let meI prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
Yes. We're talking about the same albergue. I was there in November 2017.In 2017, stayed in the Albergue de peregrinos Casa de la Calera Salamanca Jacobea, copying the printing from their sello. I do not remember it like this at all.
Just be aware, only a very small % of walkers are on this forum. We do not own the trail!!!! Some one will inform you about your pack. So put it on your pack bed and wait. Some one will most likely chew you a new one. Very embarrassing he. So sneak it in if you wish under you jacket as suggested BUT be prepared for the camino police to get ya. Lol the things we worry over bcI prefer a top bunk (for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them). I would like to keep my pack up there with me to facilitate quiet packing up in the morning - early riser. Would prevent stealing too. But I've read on here you're not supposed to keep your pack on your bunk. Can I?
Ewwwwww!!So into the kitchen they go in a little line. Took large salad/ pasta bowls and commenced to soak there feet. And one bowl for the soaking of socks and underwear. When finished one person emptied out the bowls. And put them back
Indeed!Ewwwwww!!
I was there in spring of 2017. The procedure was quite a production, involving everyone unpacking their backpacks on a couple of benches in the common area, plastic bags, etc. However, the hospitaleros were very nice, and they were clearly just following rules.n 2017, stayed in the Albergue de peregrinos Casa de la Calera Salamanca Jacobea, ... I do not remember it like this at all.
Certainly. But they went well beyond that.I think that storing boots and poles by the entrance and storing rucksacks in lockers rather than allowing them into the tiny dorms has a few benefits.
The question just asked if it is okay, no mention of hospitaleros. In truth I particularly would not want someone’s dirty pack hanging around my bottom bunk. Some people come off as gruff and kind of a badass. I would not approach such people. The gossiping remark was a joke.I walk with my husband so I know he doesn’t care. I was referring to the hospitaleros. That is what the question asked was referring to as I recall. And I’ll tell you my thoughts to your face. Gossiping about people behind their backs is not in my nature.
And I won’t mention the number of people who have seen our hanging technique and asked for help in doing the same thing.
I definitely understood it to be a joke.The gossiping remark was a joke.A joke!!!!
I am 68. If I pree-book I always ask for a bed "abajo" (down). Most often I get it.You don't always have a choice in the matter! Some albergues assign bunks in numerical order as you arrive, so whether you get top or bottom is the luck of the draw.
...(for privacy plus I have no trouble climbing up and down so can leave bottom bunks for those that need them).
Exactly. I keep nothing in an unattended backpack worth stealing and about half of what's in it goes to donativo tables just before Santiago or a trash bin in Santiago.Lol, just came across this old post.
Where in the world would you sleep if you had to share your bunk with your entire backpack??? Trust that no other pilgrim wants to pilfer your dirty socks and other laundry. Leave your backpack off your bed for many reasons. Keep a SMALL bag of essentials with you at all times. Don’t be afraid of your fellow pilgrim, even though they appear to be strangers. They are now your family.
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