Lost laundry in Ronceveaux

[CaminoErin]

If using the laundry service at the monastery in Roncevaux be sure to double check that all of your items are returned. Volunteers take your clothes to wash and dry - you can’t use the machines yourself- but unfortunately they lost 2 of my socks (one of my merino wool hiking socks and a second thin sock) so I only have one complete pair of socks for my trek. I met another pilgrim who lost their towel the same night the same way. I think it was an honest mistake (they were just very busy) but when carrying so little clothing it is problematic to lose anything. Simply double check before you leave to ensure everything is returned. Buen Camino!

 

[naplesdon]

There is hand washing and lines for drying there aren't there?

 

[Flog]

I think it was an honest mistake

Of course it was an honest mistake.. what would the hospi or anyone else want with stealing two odd socks from you? Mix ups can happen. Always check your laundry is all present when you have it returned.

 

[dougfitz]

If using the laundry service at the monastery in Roncevaux be sure to double check that all of your items are returned. Volunteers take your clothes to wash and dry - you can’t use the machines yourself- but unfortunately they lost 2 of my socks (one of my merino wool hiking socks and a second thin sock) so I only have one complete pair of socks for my trek. I met another pilgrim who lost their towel the same night the same way. I think it was an honest mistake (they were just very busy) but when carrying so little clothing it is problematic to lose anything. Simply double check before you leave to ensure everything is returned. Buen Camino!

This is good advice, both when someone else is doing your laundry and even when you are doing it yourself. I am sure that there are spiteful little elves working in the back of washing machines and dryers that help your clothing defy gravity so that you cannot see it in the top of the drum when you unload your wash.

 

[good_old_shoes]

The good thing is that you can easily buy new socks in Pamplona There are several shops (including a Decathlon store) that should have some sort of sock that works for you.

Buen Camino!

 

[Pathfinder075]

There is hand washing and lines for drying there aren't there?

There are at most albergues.

 

[grayland]

There is hand washing and lines for drying there aren't there?

Indeed there is at almost every albergue along the way.

I think today that many newer pilgrims are not aware that hand washing virtually every night has been a normal ritual on the camino. I easily remember when I saw my first albergue with a machine available...in about 2011. There may have been some before that but I just wasn't looking for them or hearing about them.

Complaints about the washing machines and dryers not working or that they may have an inconvenient schedule is sad.

 

[alexwalker]

Unlucky mistake.

But here is the place to buy really good socks...

 

[SabsP]

Indeed there is at almost every albergue along the way.

I think today that many newer pilgrims are not aware that hand washing virtually every night has been a normal ritual on the camino. I easily remember when I saw my first albergue with a machine available...in about 2011. There may have been some before that but I just wasn't looking for them or hearing about them.

Complaints about the washing machines and dryers not working or that they may have an inconvenient schedule is sad.

The simple joy of handwashing. Albergue municipal Redecilla del Camino in 2011.

 

[dougfitz]

Indeed there is at almost every albergue along the way.

I think today that many newer pilgrims are not aware that hand washing virtually every night has been a normal ritual on the camino. I easily remember when I saw my first albergue with a machine available...in about 2011. There may have been some before that but I just wasn't looking for them or hearing about them.

Complaints about the washing machines and dryers not working or that they may have an inconvenient schedule is sad.

When I walked in 2010, I only recall one or two places with washing machines, and a secadora was a spin-dryer, not a tumble dryer. If you wanted a machine wash and dry, you needed to find a laundromat. They weren't all that common, and I don't recall any of them automatically dispensing detergent the way we see in most of them today. If you didn't have your own, it was a pretty steep price to buy some at the laundromat. Nowadays, its almost the reverse. I can only recall one or two places where I couldn't get my clothes machine washed either where I was staying or within a reasonably short distance from there.

 

[good_old_shoes]

Even when hand washing, no guarantee you won't lose anything.

I can't count how many socks (+ towels, shirts, underwear..) I've lost over the years because I forgot to take them off the clothes line or they fell off my pack when drying on the way.

The first pair of socks I lost on day zero of my very first Camino, forgot them on a chair in the albergue in St. Jean...

I've come to the conclusion that it's the camino's way of telling me my pack is too heavy!

 

[Saint Mike II]

I always hand washed, and if I had some special clothing items drying I would sit close by and write up my daily diary. I also bring a good supply of pegs and also some large safety/english/diaper pins. These latter items are useful for pinning sock to a backpack if they have not dried.

 

[trecile]

Thanks @CaminoErin for the reminder to check that you have all your clothing when using a washing machine/dryer. I remember losing one sock which left me with only three socks in total! It was towards the end of my Camino, and it was summer so I could wear my sandals in the afternoon so I was able to get by with only three socks.

 

[Natique2]

If using the laundry service at the monastery in Roncevaux be sure to double check that all of your items are returned. Volunteers take your clothes to wash and dry - you can’t use the machines yourself- but unfortunately they lost 2 of my socks (one of my merino wool hiking socks and a second thin sock) so I only have one complete pair of socks for my trek. I met another pilgrim who lost their towel the same night the same way. I think it was an honest mistake (they were just very busy) but when carrying so little clothing it is problematic to lose anything. Simply double check before you leave to ensure everything is returned. Buen Camino!

This may sound a bit Juvenile but I was thinking of ironing on my name onto my clothes so that other pilgrims don’t mistake them for their own when removing them from a clothes line. Any thoughts? I realize it sounds like how I would send my little daughter off to camp. I am chuckling myself right now but I am seeking opinions so fire away!!
Thanks!
Maryanne

 

[dougfitz]

This may sound a bit Juvenile but I was thinking of ironing on my name onto my clothes so that other pilgrims don’t mistake them for their own when removing them from a clothes line. Any thoughts? I realize it sounds like how I would send my little daughter off to camp. I am chuckling myself right now but I am seeking opinions so fire away!!
Thanks!
Maryanne

I have done this, labelling most clothes items and other possessions when I am going to be in shared accommodation. If it's juvenile, so be it.

 

[markie6]

I take a small net bag with me. I put my dirty stuff in there if any gets mixed together with other pilgrims in machine , it can hang off my back pack to dry stuff if needed

Bottom line is though.. machines eat socks

 

[dick bird]

I have a very good friend who is a washing machine repair technician. He informs me that he has found all kinds of things in the inner workings of a washing machine, but never, ever an odd sock. A couple of years ago, we were working in an albergue that had a spin dryer. Anyone under 40 just stared at it in dumb amazement. But impressed.

 

[Ianinam]

When it is very busy and when a hospitalero is not very, very attentive it occurs that one sock stays in the washing machine. I always tell new hospitaleros to check and doublecheck when they take out the laundry from the machine, otherwise the sock comes in the next laundry of another pilgrim.
In that case most of the pilgrims bring this sock back to us, and we put it in a visible place during the evening and the following morning, so if somebody has lost a sock he/she will find it hopefully.
We always feel very sorry when there is a sock accident, as we realise that socks are very important, and most of the hospitaleros do their utmost to avoid it. But ... mistakes are inevitable unfortunately.

 

[Ianinam]

@dick bird: yes, the spindryers we use for people who prefer handwashing their laundry are always a place of interest; especially people from the USA and Korean people have never seen a thing like that. And they are always amazed when they see how much water it takes out!

Or, how dirty the water is, in case they did not wash properly many young people do not know how to wash their laundry, so we regularly give washing lessons

 

[grayland]

This may sound a bit Juvenile but I was thinking of ironing on my name onto my clothes so that other pilgrims don’t mistake them for their own when removing them from a clothes line. Any thoughts? I realize it sounds like how I would send my little daughter off to camp. I am chuckling myself right now but I am seeking opinions so fire away!!
Thanks!
Maryanne

Excellent idea.
I have always marked clothes when on the camino.
Much less chance of being taken accidentally or intentionally.
I usually mark socks with a distinct colored thread on top that is easy to identifyy.
I put colored duct tape on my poles and a bit of tape on bottom lace of my shoes.
Less attractive to someone shopping or upgrading in the albergue.

The bottom line is everyone is carrying similar kit and it makes sense to be able to quickly find your own gear.

 

[Ianinam]

Some ideas about your shoes:
1. Put laces with a striking colour in your shoes
2. Bind your shoes together with your laces
3. Cut a piece of an old credit card (or similar), punch a hole through it with a hole punch and write your phone number on it with a permanent marker, so in case somebody takes your shoes by accident, he/she can call you. You can attach this with your lace.