Money and Bed Bugs Issues

[Peter-H]

Strange title, however the aim of this post is to clarify some questions that regularly appear on this forum.
We have just completed the Camino Francis. Important questions as follows:
I cash necessary on the Camino?
1. The old adage that 'cash is king' no longer applies universally. Most Cafes and Bars accept cards. Many private Albergues accept cards. Municipal Albergues generally do not, however the charges are so low that not much cash is necessary.
I raise this issue because I was robbed in a Municipal Albergue in Zubiri early in the trip (thread covering this was posted early April, thus I was carrying several hundred Euros and lost the lot; as did three others in the Albergue that night).
The robbery maybe couldn't be prevented, but the loss could have been reduced.
A couple of hundred Euros should be plenty of cash to start.
2. Bed Bugs
I have read a lot about Bed bugs on this forum. However I must say that we did not have an issue at any time.
The hygiene standards and general cleanliness of the Albergues (Municipal and Private) we stayed in was excellent.
Most supplied a single-use sheet and pillow slip. The blankets were clean and adequately stored.
3. Accommodation Problems
There is a current thread on this issue; that I have added to.
Suffice to say that whilst Accommodation can be an issue, I don't believe it is anywhere near as bad as some posts imply.
Simple advice would include; booking if you wish but be persistent with unanswered calls. Many Albergues are rum by a single person, thus they are often away from the phone.
Check out the many Albergues in small villages between the main towns highlighted in guidebooks.
Note that some Albergues , such as Municipals, don't take bookings in any case.
Trust these few comments help a little.
Buen Camino.
Use Booking.com as a last resort

 

[isawtman]

Here's my recommendation for accommodations. Book the first three nights. You don't really need to book Pamplona because there usually are enough beds unless there is a holiday/festival. If Zubiri is completely full on the night before Pamplona, then book the night after Pamplona at Puente la Reina. Then I started going off stage. I went to Ayegui the night after Puente la Reina. It is just beyond the end of the stage. I stayed at the San Cipriano Albergue, and they had 3 rooms of 12 beds each. They didn't open up the third room because they didn't have enough people. Meanwhile, every place I stayed at before that was completely jammed with pilgrims. You can see my whole list of accommodations at a link in the footer of my posts.

 

[OntheJourney]

I am currently on Frances taking a rest day in Zubiri as I began walking with a broken toe bone with plan to send on my pack for 2 plus weeks then reevaluate. Bc of sending on my pack, I need to make reservations ahead of time; not my original method wanting to walk. Huge wave on the move currently. Any suggestions on my next stop: avoid Pamplona? Taking rest day to possibly alter my anticipated stopping points to avoid crowds

 

[henrythedog]

Midweek Pamplona should be fine. It has an abundance of accommodation - and is your best chance for a physio if that’s still a consideration.

 

[OntheJourney]

Thanks for your reply

 

[Roland49]

Sad to hear that you were robbed.
But as many postings and all guidebooks I read stated: split your money to several caches and hide them in different parts of your belongings. I had 300€ at start, split them to 50€ for daily expenses and the rest hidden away in socks, underwear and toiletries.

The next ATM is near, no need to have a huge amount of cash on you.

The only encounter of bedbugs I had was in an Albergue in Hospital de Orbigo, as a fellow pilgrim came in and told the hospitalero that he was bitten multiple times the night before and there might be bedbugs in his belongings. The hospitalero did throw the whole rucksack in washingmachine, put detergent on it and after that he put it in a black plastic sack into the sun to heat up and kill the bugs.

Even in 2019, the last "surge" year before C19, I was turned away only 2 times. The first time in Triacastela and the second time in Portomarin. Both occasions happened because a bigger group (students) had booked the entire Albergue.

A few Albergues surely didn't make it through the crisis, so less options to get a bed for the night. But if you walked xx kilometres you are happy to rest and don't worry the surroundings and circumstances.

Buen Camino!

 

[512]

I second the booking.com comment. I've been told by more than one hotelier that they charge ~30%. I use booking to find a hostal/pension and then call the place directly. I usually get a room for 20% less than booking's price - especially if paying cash. Of course, spanish is required in most cases.

 

[Jodean]

I would never spread my money around in various places. That is what a money belt is for. That & your bank cards. Take it with you every place you go. Wearing it in big cities is advised too.
As forgetful as many people are, they might leave money somewhere. We forget phones, hats, poles, cables, books, bags. Keep your money on you!

 

[Rolotom]

Strange title, however the aim of this post is to clarify some questions that regularly appear on this forum.
We have just completed the Camino Francis. Important questions as follows:
I cash necessary on the Camino?
1. The old adage that 'cash is king' no longer applies universally. Most Cafes and Bars accept cards. Many private Albergues accept cards. Municipal Albergues generally do not, however the charges are so low that not much cash is necessary.
I raise this issue because I was robbed in a Municipal Albergue in Zubiri early in the trip (thread covering this was posted early April, thus I was carrying several hundred Euros and lost the lot; as did three others in the Albergue that night).
The robbery maybe couldn't be prevented, but the loss could have been reduced.
A couple of hundred Euros should be plenty of cash to start.
2. Bed Bugs
I have read a lot about Bed bugs on this forum. However I must say that we did not have an issue at any time.
The hygiene standards and general cleanliness of the Albergues (Municipal and Private) we stayed in was excellent.
Most supplied a single-use sheet and pillow slip. The blankets were clean and adequately stored.
3. Accommodation Problems
There is a current thread on this issue; that I have added to.
Suffice to say that whilst Accommodation can be an issue, I don't believe it is anywhere near as bad as some posts imply.
Simple advice would include; booking if you wish but be persistent with unanswered calls. Many Albergues are rum by a single person, thus they are often away from the phone.
Check out the many Albergues in small villages between the main towns highlighted in guidebooks.
Note that some Albergues , such as Municipals, don't take bookings in any case.
Trust these few comments help a little.
Buen Camino.
Use Booking.com as a last resort

I never saw bed bugs or heard of any on my 33 day camino Frances. But it is not the cleanliness etc of the hostels that bring them.....it's pilgrims! It can happen anywhere at anytime....picked up at airports/planes, hotels, trains etc. I recently read that 50% of the population has no reaction to the bite.....just pray you are one of them! Lol

 

[Anniesantiago]

Strange title, however the aim of this post is to clarify some questions that regularly appear on this forum.
We have just completed the Camino Francis. Important questions as follows:
I cash necessary on the Camino?
1. The old adage that 'cash is king' no longer applies universally. Most Cafes and Bars accept cards. Many private Albergues accept cards. Municipal Albergues generally do not, however the charges are so low that not much cash is necessary.
I raise this issue because I was robbed in a Municipal Albergue in Zubiri early in the trip (thread covering this was posted early April, thus I was carrying several hundred Euros and lost the lot; as did three others in the Albergue that night).
The robbery maybe couldn't be prevented, but the loss could have been reduced.
A couple of hundred Euros should be plenty of cash to start.
2. Bed Bugs
I have read a lot about Bed bugs on this forum. However I must say that we did not have an issue at any time.
The hygiene standards and general cleanliness of the Albergues (Municipal and Private) we stayed in was excellent.
Most supplied a single-use sheet and pillow slip. The blankets were clean and adequately stored.
3. Accommodation Problems
There is a current thread on this issue; that I have added to.
Suffice to say that whilst Accommodation can be an issue, I don't believe it is anywhere near as bad as some posts imply.
Simple advice would include; booking if you wish but be persistent with unanswered calls. Many Albergues are rum by a single person, thus they are often away from the phone.
Check out the many Albergues in small villages between the main towns highlighted in guidebooks.
Note that some Albergues , such as Municipals, don't take bookings in any case.
Trust these few comments help a little.
Buen Camino.
Use Booking.com as a last resort

Just so you know, bedbugs have nothing to do with cleanliness.
Some of the most upscale hotels here in the USA have gotten bedbugs.
They're carried on the Camino by pilgrims who either don't know what's biting them or don't care.
A place can be STERILE and still get bedbugs.
Bedbugs love clean sheets just like you do!

As far as cash, everything I've read here on the forum and everything I post in my own pages tell people to never carry more than €200-300 at a time and to KEEP IT IN A MONEYBELT ON YOUR PERSON AT ALL TIMES.

 

[Pafayac]

The robbery maybe couldn't be prevented

I think it could, as soon as you are able to sleep with a money belt on your skin.

 

[DwainS]

I leave for my first camino Monday. Three things will never leave me, Passport, cash and bankcards. They will always be with me whether sleeping showering or whatever.

 

[Pathfinder075]

Bed bugs are Russian roulette. They happen from time to time. They aren't to be feared, they just happen once in a while. My first Camino I didn't have any issues. My second I picked them up at a municipal and I might add probably because I took an air mattress and slept in the hallway of this particular sports centre type albergue after someone decided I should sleep on the top bunk in the dorm and I pretty much went straight through it on to the guy below (I weigh a lot so wooden bunk plus 130kg person = flattened person on lower bunk). But for some reason I got them. Didn't even realise until 2 days later when i had the familiar bite/rash all over my body. Took everything and put it through a boil wash. End of problem (pretty much).

Money I split. I tend to carry about 100-150 operational cash. It gets split, but by split I mean put a note in your shoes when walking and pull it at the end of the day. Hats sometimes have pockets, slip a 10 euro note in if it has one, plus a piece of card with any medical conditions you have. Your rucksack might have a frame, 20 euros somewhere in your rucksack is enough to get you on a bus if you get robbed or buy you a loaf of bread and some beer. I carry a wallet with nothing in it besides maybe 10 euros and any change I accrued. That is my day to day funds, like go into a shop and buy some cheese and beer. The vast majority of the cash is in a money belt strapped to my body, which is also where I keep my passport and credencial. That belt goes everywhere. Toilet, shower, etc. When I sleep it sleeps with me, inside the sleeping bag, strapped to my leg. Use a laptop cable lock to secure your rucksack to your bunk as well. This post could be many A4 sheets long, but have good OpSec when abroad. Don't know what that means, google it.

 

[David Tallan]

Bed bugs are Russian roulette. They happen from time to time. They aren't to be feared, they just happen once in a while.

For the most part I agree with this. Except I'm not sure I can agree with the metaphor.

Russian roulette has never happened to me and I don't expect it to. If it did happen, I'm not sure I could play without fear. If the metaphor is the bullet in Russian roulette, rather than the game itself, then, while it may happen from time to time, it is probably right to fear it.

Clearly I think too much about what has been written.

 

[Pathfinder075]

I expected bad when I got them. I am that guy that has the life threatening allergies that reacts to everything. The main annoyance was the itching. Throat didn't swell, I failed to stop breathing, so hey, could have been worse.

My advice when it happens. Find a chemist and get some Synalar Forte cream, they sell it OTC in Spain. If you don't have anti-histamines, get some of those too. My get out of jail card was a tub of Tiger Balm. No idea if it actually did anything in reality, but I read somewhere most bugs find camphor toxic and well it kills them. So Tiger balm has camphor in it. I literally covered my body in it, top to toe. Then went back to bed.

Reasoning. I have one sleeping bag and two sets of clothes, it's 2am in the morning and I need sleep. I know I have a bed bug problem, but can't fix it at 2am. I know the tiger balm might repel or kill the bugs. I have nothing to lose.

It's not about what happens, it's how you deal with it that matters the most.

I went to a campsite the next day via a supermarket where I bought a t-shirt, shorts and cheapo sandals. I still had my tent, so erected it. Then went to the washing area and filled a plastic bin with scalding hot water. Took all clothes, sleeping bag, bedding, etc and threw them in the water. Empty the contents of the pack into a black bag and sprayed some fly killer in and sealed it. Then threw the rucksack in the scalding water as well. Left for 10 mins, then hung it all out to dry. End of problem for the most part. Had to spend some hours in a hospital in Santiago the next day due to being allergic to the fly killer, but nothing is ever simple. If it's baking hot outside, you could empty all your stuff into a black bag, then throw the rucksack in, seal and let it bake for a couple of hours, instead.

When it happened I was really angry/annoyed. But looking back on it now, it was just part of the journey. Something sent to test me and something I look back on with a smile. If it happens this year, I will deal with it again.

 

[trecile]

I leave for my first camino Monday. Three things will never leave me, Passport, cash and bankcards. They will always be with me whether sleeping showering or whatever.

I would add your phone to that list.

 

[RobertS26]

Can you please stop using the words robbery and theft as interchangeable? A theft is where someone steals your property without your knowledge. A robbery is where someone puts a knife to your throat or a gun to your head and demands your money. By constantly referring to what happened to you as a robbery you are leaving people with the impression that guns are being put to the heads of pilgrims in albergues.

You were the victim of a theft. You were not the victim of a robbery.

 

[DwainS]

I would add your phone to that list.

At airport now, will add that to my list

 

[Peter-H]

Can you please stop using the words robbery and theft as interchangeable? A theft is where someone steals your property without your knowledge. A robbery is where someone puts a knife to your throat or a gun to your head and demands your money. By constantly referring to what happened to you as a robbery you are leaving people with the impression that guns are being put to the heads of pilgrims in albergues.

You were the victim of a theft. You were not the victim of a robbery.

Frankly, as a victim of this theft (as you put it) I don't much care for any debate about the difference between a theft and a robbery. I am sure the other three victims that night would concur. To claim that my post suggested that guns were put at my head is absurd and I doubt anyone reading it would have thought so. In any case I was fast asleep, so there's every chance the thief/robber was armed as a precaution against me waking up; believe me he'd have needed to be, had I done so!
To finish on a positive note, I completed the Camino Francis on May 5th and am now back home in Australia. It was a wonderful experience and one I'd recommend to anyone. Security is clearly an issue,but straightforward precautions are not onerous.
I picked up a great expression on the Camino: 'Trust in the Lord, but tether your camel.'
Buen Camino

 

[RobertS26]

Words have meaning. Theft is defined as the unlawful taking of property from another. Robbery defined as the unlawful taking of property with the use of force or the threat of force.

Having someone remove money that you carelessly placed under your backpack while you are asleep is one thing. Having someone put a knife to your throat and demand your money is another.

Your careless use of words could easily leave someone with the impression that knives are being pulled in albergues. They are not. Rather, opportunity makes the thief in albergues. You get careless with your valuables, and you can say goodbye to them.

As the Italians say, "Trust no one but your mother . . . and keep an eye on her."

 

[Flog]

You were the victim of a theft. You were not the victim of a robbery.

This

Frankly, as a victim of this theft (as you put it) I don't much care for any debate about the difference between a theft and a robbery.

You are clearly indignant about the liberation of your funds to an undeserving recipient, and rightly so, but if you were the victim of an actual robbery, you might appreciate the distinction.

 

[Peter-H]

Words have meaning. Theft is defined as the unlawful taking of property from another. Robbery defined as the unlawful taking of property with the use of force or the threat of force.

Having someone remove money that you carelessly placed under your backpack while you are asleep is one thing. Having someone put a knife to your throat and demand your money is another.

Your careless use of words could easily leave someone with the impression that knives are being pulled in albergues. They are not. Rather, opportunity makes the thief in albergues. You get careless with your valuables, and you can say goodbye to them.

As the Italians say, "Trust no one but your mother . . . and keep an eye on her."

To the extent that this warrants any sort of response, let me say this: I initiated the original thread following the events in the Albergue in Zubiri, in order to let others know of the robbery/theft and to provide a few details to enable them to perhaps assess their own approach to security, in light of my unfortunate experience.
That, I believe, is the objective of this forum,namely to assist fellow Pilgrims in a friendly manner with information and objective comments.
If you wish to indulge in semantics, or worse still, personal insult, I suggest you go elsewhere.

 

[RobertS26]

I have absolutely no problem with you passing along the objective information that you were the victim of a theft inside an albergue while you slept. That is the purpose of this forum. But what I and others have a problem with is you posting false and sensational information that you were the victim of a robbery inside an albergue on the Camino.

You were not the victim of a robbery. You were the victim of a theft. It is not an issue of semantics. The two words have different meanings. One involves violence, the other does not. That is a huge difference.

So please stop using the words theft and robbery as being interchangeable. They are not. And their use as being interchangeable on this forum is misleading at best. People coming here for information do not need to be left with the false impression someone put a knife to your throat in an albergue and demanded your money. Instead, you slept peacefully through the entire event.

If you had ever been the victim of an actual robbery you would appreciate the difference.

 

[David Tallan]

I have absolutely no problem with you passing along the objective information that you were the victim of a theft inside an albergue while you slept. That is the purpose of this forum. But what I and others have a problem with is you posting false and sensational information that you were the victim of a robbery inside an albergue on the Camino.

You were not the victim of a robbery. You were the victim of a theft. It is not an issue of semantics. The two words have different meanings. One involves violence, the other does not. That is a huge difference.

So please stop using the words theft and robbery as being interchangeable. They are not. And their use as being interchangeable on this forum is misleading at best. People coming here for information do not need to be left with the false impression someone put a knife to your throat in an albergue and demanded your money. Instead, you slept peacefully through the entire event.

If you had ever been the victim of an actual robbery you would appreciate the difference.

Formally, you are correct. And that is a common definition of the word. However, language evolves and there are other meanings of the verb "rob" that are much broader.

For example, it can mean overcharged. If you tell me that you were charged 500 euros for your hiking poles and I say "You were robbed!", no one is going to think that the shopkeeper held you up with threat of violence.

Or it can be a synonym for "steal" as in "he accused her of robbing the cream out of his chocolate eclair".

Or it can mean "deprive (someone or something) of something needed, deserved, or significant" as in "poor health has robbed her of a normal social life". Poor health is not threatening her with a knife or gun.

If it helps, perhaps you could think of OP's use of the verb "rob" in this last sense. I don't think there was any intent to mislead.

 

[Flog]

If it helps, perhaps you could think of OP's use of the verb "rob" in this last sense. I don't think there was any intent to mislead.

Initially misleading or not, to my thinking, the OP's continued and intentional use of the word is emotive and sensational and is right to be challenged.

 

[Peter-H]

Formally, you are correct. And that is a common definition of the word. However, language evolves and there are other meanings of the verb "rob" that are much broader.

For example, it can mean overcharged. If you tell me that you were charged 500 euros for your hiking poles and I say "You were robbed!", no one is going to think that the shopkeeper held you up with threat of violence.

Or it can be a synonym for "steal" as in "he accused her of robbing the cream out of his chocolate eclair".

Or it can mean "deprive (someone or something) of something needed, deserved, or significant" as in "poor health has robbed her of a normal social life". Poor health is not threatening her with a knife or gun.

If it helps, perhaps you could think of OP's use of the verb "rob" in this last sense. I don't think there was any intent to mislead.

Thank you !

 

[Victoria65]

Just so you know, bedbugs have nothing to do with cleanliness.
Some of the most upscale hotels here in the USA have gotten bedbugs.
They're carried on the Camino by pilgrims who either don't know what's biting them or don't care.
A place can be STERILE and still get bedbugs.

Absolutely correct! I am one of the unfortunate people who will be found by bed bugs! I got bitten at 2 different albergues, one AirbnB in Paris and let’s not forget the Marriott Hotel. Do check out the : Bedbugregistry.com.
I figure those little critters hitchhike on mochillas and just wait for me!

 

[David Tallan]

Initially misleading or not, to my thinking, the OP's continued and intentional use of the word is emotive and sensational and is right to be challenged.

I'm sorry but I am going to have to disagree with you here. I don't think it is sensational. I don't think it is unduly emotional. And the fact that it is not misleading is not only true "initially" but throughout his use of the verb.

Linguistic nerdery ahead. You have been warned.

It seems to me that the confusion stems from assuming related words in different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) carry their meanings across when that is demonstrably not correct.

Peter never claimed to have been the victim of a robbery. Peter claimed to have been robbed. Some members of the forum are assuming that these are equivalent. They are demonstrably not, as I showed in post #24.

English has a number of nouns for when someone takes something that doesn't belong to them. Robbery, and theft are two of them and seem to be the bone of contention here. No one is disputing that robbery means taking by force or threat of force (usually with a gun or a knife) while theft is taking without that. If we want to be broad and include both, we usually use the gerund of the verb steal, which can be used as a noun, for example "Stealing is wrong".

We also have a number of verbs. Not unusually for English, these tend to be related to the nouns. So we have "to rob", "to thieve" (which you rarely hear anymore and which is also related to the noun "thievery"), "to steal" etc. You'd think these would nicely match up with robbery, theft, stealing and clearly some members believe so. Unfortunately, it isn't quite so simple. If it were, you'd see:
- "I was robbed" (someone held me up at gunpoint)
- "I was thieved" (someone snuck into my house and committed a theft)
- "I was stolen" (someone took something from me either by robbery or by theft)

In fact, anyone fluent in English will know that the second and third of those examples were just wrong. That's because the grammar attached to each of these three verbs is different. They can all be used as transitive (with a direct object) or an intransitive (without a direct object). When they have a direct object, in the case of "to rob" the direct object is the person. In the case of both "to thieve" and "to steal" the direct object is what was stolen. This is important.

What it means is that, if you want to talk about what happened to you, putting yourself as the subject of the sentence, it is much easier to do so with "to rob", which has you as the direct object, the victimized person rather than the stolen item(s). You just put it into the passive tense. So English has evolved to use "to rob" more broadly than just for a robbery where we are using passive constructions and want to focus on the victim of the crime (for example "You were robbed" when talking about overcharging which involves neither force nor the threat of force or "poor health has robbed her of her social life", which seems to me more like theft than robbery, both examples which I took from a dictionary definition and which weren't equated with robbery).

To get back to Peter's usage. He is not using the noun. He is using the verb in the passive construction which we know has a much broader meaning. Because it is a passive use and has a broader meaning, I really don't think it is fair to call it sensational. There may be some emotion involved in centring the sentence on himself as the subject, rather than the person who was stealing or what was stolen, but in this context I don't think that centring on one's own experience is unwarranted.

Or so it seems to me. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Flog]

I'm sorry but I am going to have to disagree with you here. I don't think it is sensational. I don't think it is unduly emotional. And the fact that it is not misleading is not only true "initially" but throughout his use of the verb.

Linguistic nerdery ahead. You have been warned.

It seems to me that the confusion stems from assuming related words in different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) carry their meanings across when that is demonstrably not correct.

I started to read your post but I'm afraid it got too boring for me after the first three paragraphs, linguistic nerdery doesn't do it for me at all, but thank you for the warning!

However, there is no confusion or misunderstanding on my part, I speak and understand english quite well, what with it being my first language and everything. And I will stand over what I said, but we can agree to disagree.

Peter never claimed to have been the victim of a robbery.

If you re-read his posts in both threads, I think you'll find he did and he does.

 

[David Tallan]

I started to read your post but I'm afraid it got too boring for me after the first three paragraphs, linguistic nerdery doesn't do it for me at all, but thank you for the warning!

However, there is no confusion or misunderstanding on my part, I speak and understand english quite well, what with it being my first language and everything. And I will stand over what I said, but we can agree to disagree.




If you re-read his posts in both threads, I think you'll find he did and he does.

You are correct.

I was focusing on

I raise this issue because I was robbed in a Municipal Albergue in Zubiri early in the trip

and missed

The robbery maybe couldn't be prevented, but the loss could have been reduced.

Although, as I think more on it, I suspect that the meaning of "robbery" has also broadened. For example, we talk about grave robbing rather than grave theft, although nobody is taking stuff from graves with intimidation or violence.

Maybe if Peter edited his post so that the latter read "The theft maybe couldn't be prevented...." we could all move on from this.

 

[Flog]

Let's just move on anyway, life's too short!

 

[naplesdon]

According to an ancient "urban legend" there was a monastery/hospital somewhere east of Moratinos where the monks regularly stole from pilgrims and then disposed of their victims' bodies in an unmarked graveyard. Reb Scott has been researching this "myth."

 

[Peter-H]

You are correct.

I was focusing on

and missed


Although, as I think more on it, I suspect that the meaning of "robbery" has also broadened. For example, we talk about grave robbing rather than grave theft, although nobody is taking stuff from graves with intimidation or violence.

Maybe if Peter edited his post so that the latter read "The theft maybe couldn't be prevented...." we could all move on from this.

Thank you David for your detailed explanation. Not really Linguistic Nerdery, indeed some authors would take a chapter to cover what you have succinctly explained in half a page. One thing we'd all agree, is that the English language is complex. It is to be hoped therefore that anyone who is inclined to be judgmental about aspects of its usage, takes the chance to learn when the opportunity presents.
Regarding the suggestion that my aspects of my posts were emotive, contrast them if you will, with terms like 'knife at your throat' and 'gun at your head'.
Finally, with respect, I do not intend editing my posts. To do so would be to yield to what is little more than mild bullying. This is especially so given that the explanation provided by David so clearly questions the premiss of the initial criticism.
I agree with 'Flog' that it's time to move on. From the outset the objective for including this issue in the thread was to highlight the fact that cards are now widely accepted on the Camino and the old adage of 'cash is king' no longer applies as it once did. The amount of cash that needs to be carried is thus diminished and the rewards for theft (there I've done it!) are likewise diminished.