- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF 2013, CF from Lourdes 2015, CP Porto 2022
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My spare phone is my old one which the current more capable model replaced. Being in the UK all new phones have been sold unlocked for several years now. I use my phone to book flights and ground transport during my trip. I don't usually book my return flight to the UK until I am a few days out from Santiago. So I may have limited access to a printer for hard copies. I usually have my travel tickets and boarding passes stored on apps. The peace of mind in having a backup instantly to hand feels worth the trivial extra weight and bulk of a second phone which I already own anyway.Two phones? Some would call that excessive but if you want to be 100% sure you could buy a cheap, second hand unlocked model online and back up your main phone.
I was very minimal compared to others my listHow do you manage the electronics you may take on your Camino?
Assume you are not taking obvious luxuries.
Phone? Tablet? Breathing device? Toothbrush?
What chargers do you bring? Batteries? Solar power?
What is our accumulated wisdom?
Yes, I also carry a paper back up for everything and discard the paper as I go or use it as scratch paper.Here is a slightly different slant on your query.
Elsewhere on this forum I had learned a very important lesson:
Don't take anything on a Camino that you aren't prepared to lose.
This is not to say that the way is rife with light fingered nare-do-wells, but that accidents happen. Things get wet, left behind, mislaid, forgotten and simply broken.
Of course i took my Android phone, but i am old school and used paper maps and paper copies of passport, tickets etc.
For important things like boarding passes, I will not just rely on online access and will have done a screenshot grab of the QR code etc so it is still a cessible when offline later. Also Email to my partner waiting at home.
I was very strict about pack weight for my first Camino. I had recently rejected the solar panel which I used to carry on the outside of my backpack in favour of a small rechargeable battery pack. It was about the same weight but experience in the UK showed that the solar wasn't sufficiently dependable.
Phone would last 3 days when boosted by the battery pack.
Charge the battery pack wherever possible and dump its contents to the phone during the day while walking.
I had carefully selected an MP3 player which used a single AAA battery with cabled earphones. The battery lasts a couple of days and then the last of its charge gets squeezed out by doing service with my little torch.
The torch has a translucent sleeve that I added and slides down to make the torch suitable for night time use in an Albergue.
My watch was a cheap item.
I like the idea of a second backup phone, but much prefer paper, perhaps it is a side effect of my age.
Good idea! I've done this several times in my life. I usually bring an extra plug. Although next time I need one, I think I'll just see if I can find a charger/power bank with the Spanish plugs. And then get an adapter for when I'm back home!If you are bringing a charger from home to use with an adapter to plug into outlets tape the two together. It is easy to pull the charger out but leave the adapter behind still plugged in.
Absolutely! I look forward to spending some time traveling with minimal internet.is a pilgrimage and the initial "boredom" of not being connected soon morphs into a calm joyful detached freedom and is an integral part of the process - you wouldn't take anything electronic into a monastery for a two week retreat? - a pilgrimage is the same.
Good idea! I've done this several times in my life. I usually bring an extra plug. Although next time I need one, I think I'll just see if I can find a charger/power bank with the Spanish plugs. And then get an adapter for when I'm back home!
I used this one that I bought on Amazon this year, and it worked great.Although next time I need one, I think I'll just see if I can find a charger/power bank with the Spanish plugs. And then get an adapter for when I'm back home!
If you might stop somewhere in North America en route to/from the Camino, the combo of home charger plus adapter is a good idea.I decided to splurge and buy a charger in Spain. Not sure why that hadn’t occured to me before.
I think they have been in widespread use for much longer than that. I bought my first handheld GPS receiver in 1997.Until 5 years or so ago GPSs were almost unheard of. By all means download a track in case you go off
I should have been more precise - they weren´t widely used by pilgrims and certainly not as apps in mobile phones until quite recently. The first time I saw one being used by a pilgrim was on the Norte in 2015 and the person using it was regarded as a harmless eccentric. I also think you would agree that one can (and many people still do) negotiate the more popular caminos without the aid of apps or a GPS for finding their way. Electronic guidebooks are a different matter, brilliant inventions.I think they have been in widespread use for much longer than that. I bought my first handheld GPS receiver in 1997.
Lots of good advice - and comprimises between weight, comlexity, security, etc...How do you manage the electronics you may take on your Camino?
Assume you are not taking obvious luxuries.
Phone? Tablet? Breathing device? Toothbrush?
What chargers do you bring? Batteries? Solar power?
What is our accumulated wisdom?
I took a universal power adaptor, using just the European prongs, with a single USB-C fast charger port and two USB-A ports.How do you manage the electronics you may take on your Camino?
Assume you are not taking obvious luxuries.
Phone? Tablet? Breathing device? Toothbrush?
What chargers do you bring? Batteries? Solar power?
What is our accumulated wisdom?
Thanks for saying "Good idea" but you've got a better one thinking outside the box, buy the European wall charger there and then use it at home with an adapter. I'll do that on my next trip.[In response to me saying tape chargers and adapters together.]
Good idea! I've done this several times in my life. I usually bring an extra plug. Although next time I need one, I think I'll just see if I can find a charger/power bank with the Spanish plugs. And then get an adapter for when I'm back home!
I used this one that I bought on Amazon this year, and it worked great.
I really like the combination charger and Powerbank from Anker that I use now ( although I wish it was smaller) But it does have North American-style plugs.buy the European wall charger there and then use it at home with an adapter. I'll do that on my next trip.
I have my Windows Phone, and a backup Android device (not technically a phone) -- the latter being used for WiFi stuff mainly, which works quite well.Two Android mobile phones - the one in active use being kept powered up but in airplane mode so I can use it as a camera or read saved documents without waiting for it to reboot. The other phone is backup.
Off to weigh 73 pieces of paper with all my route instructions printed out (or however many it would be) and a phone. The lightest option will win (assuming I can find an incredibly inexpensive second phone)I have my Windows Phone, and a backup Android device (not technically a phone) -- the latter being used for WiFi stuff mainly, which works quite well.
It's a good idea to have a couple of handheld devices as @Bradypus suggests instead of just one, even if simply as a safety net precaution.
Magellan's first handheld unit was introduced in the late 1980s. Friends of mine were using the first generation of the Garmin eTrex a decade later, and I bought my first handheld unit in the mid 2000s.I think they have been in widespread use for much longer than that. I bought my first handheld GPS receiver in 1997.
You can print on both sides and it doesn’t all have to be A4 sized.Off to weigh 73 pieces of paper with all my route instructions printed out (or however many it would be) and a phone. The lightest option will win (assuming I can find an incredibly inexpensive second phone)
Compare with half of the paper weight as you will be discarding pages as you go.Off to weigh 73 pieces of paper with all my route instructions printed out (or however many it would be) and a phone. The lightest option will win (assuming I can find an incredibly inexpensive second phone)
Oh no, I scribble so many things on my papers I can't bear to part with them! My kids will have to throw them away one day!Compare with half of the paper weight as you will be discarding pages as you go.
I’m sure you’re right,. I can’t imagine that these aren’t Available in the EU.@Stephan the Painter, the combination charger/ power bank is readily available here in Europe - including an Anker unit.
How do you manage the electronics you may take on your Camino?
The only electronic devices I brought were a phone, earbuds, and battery pack (for charging during the day). They were easy to charge at night with with a USB cable & power converter. No need for a voltage adaptor. I did find a short 3 foot extension cord useful in some situations.How do you manage the electronics you may take on your Camino?
Assume you are not taking obvious luxuries.
Phone? Tablet? Breathing device? Toothbrush?
What chargers do you bring? Batteries? Solar power?
What is our accumulated wisdom?
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