Methylated spirit and GPS on la plata.

[robert hailwood]

I am starting the Via de la plata on 21 April. I have decided to take my small Trangia spirit burner to have a regular brew as not so many cafes as other routes. What type of shop would sell methylated spirits?
Also my family are concerned re my safety (72yrs young). What is the GPS coverage like for using the Google location facility?

 

[MikeJS]

Don’t remember any problem with cafes but then I rarely stop so would not notice. However, GPS coverage is excellent as it is in just about every mountain top and minuscule hamlet that I have ever visited in Spain.

 

[Bradypus]

The Spanish equivalent of methylated spirits is alcohol desnaturalizado or alcohol de quemar and is probably to be found in a ferreteria (hardware shop) or possibly a decorator's supplier. In Spain it may be sold as a colourless liquid rather than the purple-dyed version we find here in the UK.

GPS coverage? That is pretty much universal over the surface of the globe now. Certainly not a problem on the VdlP. Mobile phone coverage is very good and I can remember very few dead spots along the VdlP though I did not actually spend much time each day checking.

 

[robert hailwood]

Thanks this helpful.

 

[dougfitz]

What is the GPS coverage like for using the Google location facility?

It's not the GPS coverage that should be your concern, but how you intend to 'advertise' your location. That will need an internet connection. Either phone data if you plan to use that, or a wifi service in cafes and possibly albergues. If you are using phone data, but plan to have your phone in flight mode to reduce your data usage, then it cannot update the Google location service until you turn flight mode off.

 

[Roger Hogstrom]

I am starting the Via de la plata on 21 April. I have decided to take my small Trangia spirit burner to have a regular brew as not so many cafes as other routes. What type of shop would sell methylated spirits?
Also my family are concerned re my safety (72yrs young). What is the GPS coverage like for using the Google location facility?

i bought it at a pharmacy, Farmacia and it was called alcohol de cuemar.

Good luck, Roger

 

[gschmidl]

I used OsmAnd for the GPS maps. It has a map layer that shows all camino routes in blue, with the shell. It never steered us wrong even once.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I've always found the right alcohol in supermarkets - look in the household/cleaning section.

 

[amancio]

Please beware it might be illegal to light your burner in the countryside, Spain has a severe fire risk, so I would recommend not using it in the outdoors. You will find cookers in most albergues, it might not be a good idea to bring it. The longest stretch with no services is 38 km, but that stage can be shortened

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I used OsmAnd for the GPS maps. It has a map layer that shows all camino routes in blue, with the shell. It never steered us wrong even once.

This is not the OSMAnd app I know. I think you may have gotten some app names confused.

This is not to say that OSMAnd can't be used on a camino but it is more complicated than you have described.

 

[lt56ny]

Another thing you should consider doing is downloading AlertCops app.

 

[mmmmartin]

There may be some confusion here. GPS units pick up signals from satellites so is universal, all over the world. Mobile phone coverage is a different matter. Generally in Spain it is very good, but it'll never be universal - and the vdp goes through some very remote countryside.
Beware of the meths: I bought some while cycling the vdp and it never burned. Eventually I threw it away and bought a different type of meths and that did burn. I think there is a percentage of alcohol phoned on the bottle, but it was a few years ago and I can't remember.
And your Trangia burner will need to go in the hold when you fly out. Even though it's clean etc etc you might find the traces of meths will put the kibosh on plans to take it into the cabin. You could always buy a brand new, unused one, I suppose.

 

[Heikki]

Farmacies are the places to buy alcohol. I have done it many times in several caminos. A small bottle costs 2 to 3 euros. I’m on the Camino del Norte right now, and 90 per cent of bars are closed, so only way to get a cup of coffee is to brew it yourself.

 

[RRat]

I am starting the Via de la plata on 21 April. I have decided to take my small Trangia spirit burner to have a regular brew as not so many cafes as other routes. What type of shop would sell methylated spirits?
Also my family are concerned re my safety (72yrs young). What is the GPS coverage like for using the Google location facility?

What is a "regular brew"? I never have "cafe con leche" at home but on the Camino, nothing could be better.

 

[gschmidl]

This is not the OSMAnd app I know. I think you may have gotten some app names confused.

This is not to say that OSMAnd can't be used on a camino but it is more complicated than you have described.

No, it is definitely the OSMAnd app on Android. You go to the map then choose Menu -> Configure Map -> Routes. This shows a pop-up in which you can choose what symbols to use from a drop-down at the bottom (apologies, I'm using the German version, so I don't know what it says in English). If you choose the OSMC symbols, all caminos in Europe (as far as I can tell) are outlined in blue and show the shell symbol. Here are two screenshots:

 

[dougfitz]

Thank you @gschmidl for this hidden gem. On the English language version, the Routes dialog box has options on the top part for a range of sports. Underneath that there is a section titled 'Hiking symbol overlay'. The first line underneath that title has a small drop down arrow on the right hand side. It offers three options. If you select 'Colouring according to OSMC', when you return to the map display, you will find the camino routes marked and Camino shells along the routes.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Hi Robert
bear in mind my VDLP was 10 years' ago..
I took a 'Pocket Rocket' gas cooker head. I saw a few gas cylinders that would fit it (for brazing torches) in hardware stores, but never needed to buy. In the end I posted the PR home shortly after Merida.
Sometimes I have some strange notions of what would be 'good to have': I also posted back at the same time a hefty chromatic harmonica, which I'd imagined learning to play as I strolled across the empty plain... but somehow I never got into that state of mind - the VDLP provided its own, and that was more than sufficient.
If you want to take the Trangia (as martin says, as carry-on luggage) then you'll probably have no problem finding sufficient methylated spirits. As well as pharmacies, small towns on the VDLP also have shops with 'stuff for farmers' which carry a mixture of hardware, tools and bigger machinery.
My view is that you should trust to albergues and local food/restaurant options (eating out with fellow pilgrims is part of the fun, surely?), but have a Plan B that will work with what's available around you. I take a large titanium mug (single wall) which fits a tupperware mug with lid just inside it. That way you can heat coffee or anything else on/in either an albergue cooker or a microwave - and carry leftovers for an unexciting midday snack the next day...
Others prefer to take a small immersion coil for boiling water - if it's purely that essential coffee fix that must be had before heading out the door at a tenebrous hour when the café shutters are still down.. (insert emoji for nostalgic sigh)

 

[gschmidl]

On the English language version, the Routes dialog box has options on the top part for a range of sports. Underneath that there is a section titled 'Hiking symbol overlay'. The first line underneath that title has a small drop down arrow on the right hand side. It offers three options. If you select 'Colouring according to OSMC', when you return to the map display, you will find the camino routes marked and Camino shells along the routes.

Thank you for the translation! I hope this helps some folks - the Sanabres part of the VdlP is extremely well signposted, but it can never hurt to double-check!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

No, it is definitely the OSMAnd app on Android. You go to the map then choose Menu -> Configure Map -> Routes. This shows a pop-up in which you can choose what symbols to use from a drop-down at the bottom (apologies, I'm using the German version, so I don't know what it says in English). If you choose the OSMC symbols, all caminos in Europe (as far as I can tell) are outlined in blue and show the shell symbol. Here are two screenshots:

View attachment 70166 View attachment 70165

Thank you. I moved my base map over to the area of the Camino Catalan that I walked a few months ago and I could see a red line for the track I took. I followed your instructions and a blue line with the shells appeared over most of my route (I walked off track some times).

I'm going to play with this over here in the USA and see what happens.

Edit: I discovered that the Appalachian Trail gets highlighted in blue and labeled with AT symbols.

Thanks for telling us about this feature.