lack of Internet

[sillydoll]

I found a lack of Internet Cafes on the Camino this year. Most pla
ces we stayed offered WiFi (wee fee) but no Internet facility. Many hotels now offer only WiFi and some private albergues advertise WiFi. I suppose one will have to carry appropriate technology in future if one wants to blog on the way.

 

[SabsP]

Hey Sillydoll, I didn't have any problems finding internet ( paid of course with coins ) on the Camino Frances this year.
Some public libraries have excellent facilities including free internet : I remember the ones in Estella, Obanos and San Justo de la Vega.
Vega de Valcarce has a lovely bakery / tearoom with a computerdesk. The kiosk / shed in San Juan de Ortega has a computer also. At the entrance of Redecilla del Camino you'll find the tourism office and internet facilities.
Free internet was available at albergue Aitzenea in Triacastela. Internet in the albergue of Mansilla de la Mulas was with a donativo, as the one of the Sisters of Espiritu Sancto in Carrion de los Condes.
The bar Ilarra next to OasisTrails albergue in Villamayor de Monjardin has internet too.
Only saw WIFI in the albergue in Ventosa...
The hostal El Peregrino in El Burgo Ranero has lots of pc's.
Idem for busstations in Mansilla de la Mulas and Leon.

 

[jirit]

I found walking the Camino the second time this past May and June, that there was really no problem finding an Internet enabled computer to use. Many of the albergues had one or were able to direct you to a place that had one or two machines. Most required you dropping a euro or two into a slot for a reasonable amount of time on the computer

However just as many places had free WiFi available too, so having an Internet enable mobile device might have been a better solution but I choose not to take such a device.

Maybe next time I will take something - seems everybody had a mobile internet/digit camera. I almost felt a little behind the times

Clearly technology is catching up quickly to the Camino

Neville

 

[sillydoll]

We only stayed in two private albergues (in private rooms) and only Hostal Jakue in Puente la Reina had two computers for internet. I must admit that we didn't try libraries but many of the towns we stayed in didn't have internet facilities.
Some internet cafes have closed down and our Pension landlord said it was because so many places were offering free WiFi. I saw many pilgrims with small, handheld notebooks and ipads.
I was able to post on the blog using my Blackberry but I had to pay €90 for a Spanish data SIM for the Blackberry. It would have cost less to use internet machines that charge about €1 per 20 or 30 minutes.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

WiFi is generally locked, so you have to ask for the "contrasena" to get access. There are a lot of broken internet computers along the way. There was internet almost everywhere, but there was not OPERATING internet everywhere!

 

[grilly]

I found a similar situation on VDLP, Sil, even though I had found a fabulous list here provided by Laurie. Possibly I was not looking 'ardently' enough. In Salamanca, for instance, it took us quite a while to find an internet cafe open. They seem to open later in the afternoons there, when they open at all.

While I find really tempting and enjoyable to write a blog on the Camino, I also find it comes into the way of a certain process taking place. As if I were somehow watching myself do the Camino to blog on it... So I am not sure what I will do next year.

Like you, I find that WIFI places are springing everywhere. How connected do we want to remain????

claire

 

[sun is shining]

I'm really surprised that you say that - I never had any problem finding a working computer to use the internet in about 80% of the albergues I stayed in on the Frances this year. Even if I did not stay in the albergue I was usually welcome to use the computer anyway when I asked at reception. Prices were fairly reasonable and most bigger cities had several internet points - just ask at the tourist information, they will usually point you in the right direction.

 

[tyrrek]

I found internet access easy enough for my limited needs, but I understand the point about bloggers who may want to write each day while their thoughts and feelings are fresh rather than writing up a couple of days later. I stayed in both hostals and albergues, and I thought the latter were more likely to have internet access. Many bars also have a coin-operated machine, but that can be half way through your day's walk and maybe not the best time to write your blog.

 

[peregrina2000]

I have always been able to find internet without too much hassle, except for Saturdays and Sundays. It has been my experience, like Sil's, that the number of internet cafes is dwindling, but they were only in the bigger cities anyway, and those cities all have libraries with lots of machines. In smaller places, I frequently found internet either in the casa de cultura, ayuntamiento, hogar del pensionista, job training places, or in ciber places funded by the regional government. In some places, I found a library next door to a regional government ciber office, both of which had lots of machines. Many of those sites close for hours in the afternoon, though, which is prime pilgrim time.

On the more remote caminios, like the Invierno and the Madrid, internet was really a life saver for me, as it was the only way I stayed in touch with my family, and it gave me access to newspapers, this forum, and email -- all of which were very welcome distractions in small places. I walked on the Vdlp last year with someone who had an iphone, and she had endless hassles trying to connect via wifi, but I am sure that situation is changing quickly.

I share the concerns about "how connected" we want to be, but having access to it gives me gret peace of mind. I surely hope that computers in public places don't go the way of the pay phone!

Buen camino, Laurie

p.s. Claire, your mention of Salamanca reminded me that when I was there, a friend went to the tourist office to ask about internet, and the employee sent her halfway across the city to find a ciber-cafe, even though the public library, with at least 20 machines, was right around the corner.