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I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones
Of course it is possible. There are still many people (but very much a minority) who conduct their lives without cell phones. Try it at home for a month and see how it goes.is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication?
There are still working payphones in rural central Portugal, but not that many. It may be difficult to use them for long distance calls outside Portugal.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
These are vanishing at a fast rate all over Europe ...I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK.
It's possible, yes, but sometimes inconvenient. GPS mapping apps are extremely useful, and even if you're not booking ahead (I only ever do so by rare exception), finding out by phone which places have beds after you get into town can be of help.My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible.
Without a single typo, I might add. I wish I could say the same.All my posts here are written on the phone. I am using it now to write this.
I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK.
I do love this idea. I am looking forward to a very stripped down, minimalist experience. Like so many others, my family has strongly requested that I bring it with me.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
How old? I walked my first Camino before digital mobile phones and the world wide web reached the general public. If either had been available then I would probably have made use of them as I do very gratefully these days.That said, a question comes to mind. Would the pilgrims of old taken tech with them if it was available to them?
I was forever sending postcards (put into an envelope for better assurance of delivery) to myself...keeping my diary entry accumulation to a minimum.Of course it's possible--you've got me considering doing it too! I would add that on my first and only Camino (so far) I sent many postcards and letters from several points along the way. An exercise for sender and receiver in patience! People were always happy to direct me to the post office. And, in every case, the post office worker was very friendly and quite helpful.
Buen Camino!
I was thinking old old (technically speakingHow old? I walked my first Camino before digital mobile phones and the world wide web reached the general public. If either had been available then I would probably have made use of them as I do very gratefully these days.
OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
No need for tech gadgets.. I do not prebook accommodation. In 11 caminos, I have only had a problem once. The routes are very well marked with arrows and shells. Doing the camino is a great adventure and you have to take whatever the camino throws at you and solve it.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
It is possible, but I really wouldn't count on encountering payphones. You may need to send postcards. That's what I did on my first Camino before cellphones and Internet.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
Same -- though I tend to be as minimalist as I can, and especially be in control of the device rather than the other way 'round.How old? I walked my first Camino before digital mobile phones and the world wide web reached the general public. If either had been available then I would probably have made use of them as I do very gratefully these days.
I tried to go without a cell phone at home. I got lost and nobody could give me directions (they all use Google Maps). I went to get tacos at a food truck and their menu was a QR code on the side of the truck. Then I was invited to a friend's house, but she lives in a gated community and I didn't have the gate code and I couldn't call her to let me in. When I ended up on the other side of the wall behind her house, yelling her name without results, I realized it's really hard to go without a cell phone.Of course it is possible. There are still many people (but very much a minority) who conduct their lives without cell phones. Try it at home for a month and see how it goes.
I admit to being somewhat of a Luddite. I don't have a phone and for years used an iPod while pilgrimaging to take photos, and check email occasionally--until someone at church walked off with my little darlin' at church last March. Apple stopped making iPods in May of last year, so thinking of years to come, I knew that after awhile, I would not be able to update the device. Instead I got a cheapo Moto smartphone (lots of swearing while trying to learn how to use Android), but without a subscription to a carrier, I can use it in essence like my iPod. So, as others above have mentioned, I can get online at the albergues in the evening, check my route for the next day, and sort my photos. I just got a personal beacon so I can send out a shout if somethings happens to me en route.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
That's easy. (Well, at least in Portugal it is).You could probably do the Camino without a cell phone. But I challenge you to do it without an ATM card.
You could probably do the Camino without a cell phone. But I challenge you to do it without an ATM card.
I'm not sure there is any reason to think that they wouldn't have used whatever was available to make their journey easier. But what was the technology of the day that would have been affordable for individuals, portable enough to carry and able to be sustained and maintained for however long they needed to use it? What were the innovations and inventions that appeared in the Middle Ages and Renaissance that would have made a pilgrims life easier? There were no doubt many useful things invented over that time, but were they useful to pilgrims?Would the pilgrims of old taken tech with them if it was available to them?
Travel via canals ; the reintroduction of horse posts for changing horses and faster travel ; public transport ; renovation of the roads networks ; improved ship technology. There are probably others, but off-hand that's good to start with.What were the innovations and inventions that appeared in the Middle Ages and Renaissance that would have made a pilgrims life easier?
I've walked from SJPDP to Santiago without using either. But it was quite a long time ago! Personally I have no regrets at the demise of travellers' cheques or having to carry a pack stuffed with banknotes to change in banks along the way. A pain in the posterior.
Same.My first introduction to "tech" was punch cards which you loaded into the machine in an air conditioned room. If you wanted to run an "app" you'd go to an office with rows and rows of punch card operators in two banks. Ones to punch and ones to verify the punch was correct.
This seems a relatively narrow conception of what 'tech' might mean, limiting it to information and communications technologies. It seems to me that there is a vast range of technology that we use everyday as pilgrims that we would not consider being without. Some of these might rely on ICT developments to enable them, but there are many other technologies involved. A couple that come immediately to mind are:My first introduction to "tech" was punch cards which you loaded into the machine in an air conditioned room.
Responding to:Travel via canals ; the reintroduction of horse posts for changing horses and faster travel ; public transport ; renovation of the roads networks ; improved ship technology. There are probably others, but off-hand that's good to start with.
What were the innovations and inventions that appeared in the Middle Ages and Renaissance that would have made a pilgrims life easier? There were no doubt many useful things invented over that time, but were they useful to pilgrims?
My first introduction to "tech" was punch cards which you loaded into the machine in an air conditioned room. If you wanted to run an "app" you'd go to an office with rows and rows of punch card operators in two banks. Ones to punch and ones to verify the punch was correct.
I miss those days
I think a framed pack is "tech", whatever the frame and pack are made from. If you really want to go lower tech, you wear a satchel rather than a backpack.In the meantime, the pilgrim walking without 'tech' will be wearing homespun cloth made from wool sourced from sheep raised in their local area, wearing felted rabbit fur or woollen hats and carrying a wooden framed pack made from animal skins.
Thread detour warning...I think a framed pack is "tech", whatever the frame and pack are made from. If you really want to go lower tech, you wear a satchel rather than a backpack.
Oh, come on, Doug.This seems a relatively narrow conception of what 'tech' might mean, limiting it to information and communications technologies
I have looked at the OP, which clearly does not do any such thing. It is only those who see the only 'tech' as information technology that have taken the same narrow approach as you did. Here is the text:Oh, come on, Doug.
Look at the OP and don't be so darn pedantic.
Info tech was what the original question was about, and if you'd read it you'd have understood that.
I suggest it is perfectly reasonable where the OP has asked about 'any form of technology ...' that other forms of technology were contemplated, otherwise they might have been more specific about that.without any form of technology or communication?
Doug, the context makes it plain the OP is talking about communication technology, not clothing or footwear or modes of transport.I have looked at the OP, which clearly does not do any such thing. It is only those who see the only 'tech' as information technology that have taken the same narrow approach as you did. Here is the text:
I suggest it is perfectly reasonable where the OP has asked about 'any form of technology ...' that other forms of technology were contemplated, otherwise they might have been more specific about that.
There were and are many more pilgrimage Ways than just the Spanish ones. Waterways in France were certainly used for travel in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The major canals are later than the Renaissance, but the canal lock is a 15th Century invention.I'm not sure how much travel by canals would have improved the medieval or renaissance pilgrims' experience, had they chosen to use it because I'm not so sure how much of it was actually available on camino routes.
Exactly what you're doing. In spite of the OP's context that makes the question perfectly clear, meaning smartphone, or indeed any phone.I'm surprized at the number of people who use the Humpty Dumpty defence from Alice in Wonderland:
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK.
Today, me will live in the moment unless it is unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie.I'm surprized at the number of people who use the Humpty Dumpty defence from Alice in Wonderland:
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
I have never considered 'tech' to be a synonym for information and communications technology or its variants, and I hope I never lose sight of the many areas of technology in which humans have been innovating and inventing over all our history.
You ask: is it possible? Of course it is. It simply takes a firm agreement that the communication will be from you to whomsoever. You have a phone, keep it to yourself till you choose to connect.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
That's true, but at least I am using a meaning consistent with the word's English language meaning: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology.Exactly what you're doing.
Take a mobile with Polar Steps. that way family can follow you and know that all is well.OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
OK. I did the C.P last year with every intention of not using my phone. However, my (grown up) stepchildren insisted I stay in some form of contact so I took my phone (from U.K), anyway I fell into the trap of using it for other things, from scrolling Twitter to booking accommodation (something I really didn't want to do). I'm doing the C.P again this year and I explained to my stepkids that I'm really not taking any technology this year. I assume there are some payphones still in existence, or I could possibly use accommodation phones to occasionally let them know I'm OK. My main question though, is it even possible to do a Camino in 2023 without any form of technology or communication? I assume, and would like to think it's still possible. I mean it went on for hundreds of years without it. I'm wondering if anyone has done it recently, and what experiences, both positive and negative they had. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Bom Caminho.
I was fundraising when I did the CF so I updated on my just giving page every few days. And I just put the link to it on FB. I didn't have any apps which helped (it's too easy to open and app and before you know it you're doing scrolling FB etc!).Today, me will live in the moment unless it is unpleasant, in which case me will eat a cookie.
Surprise.
You ask: is it possible? Of course it is. It simply takes a firm agreement that the communication will be from you to whomsoever. You have a phone, keep it to yourself till you choose to connect.
I offer this oblique bit of zany wisdom:
from the cookie monster:
View attachment 153498
100% agree.This seems a relatively narrow conception of what 'tech' might mean, limiting it to information and communications technologies. It seems to me that there is a vast range of technology that we use everyday as pilgrims that we would not consider being without.
Can I steal this phrase?surgically connected to your smart phone
This sounds like the perfect balance. One way to make that easier is not to stay in towns that end stages in all the guidebooks, but a bit before or after that. There's often plenty of space even when it's crowded elsewhere. And often those places are smaller, so you miss the party scene. An added advantage.To compensate for the over-thinking at least for now, I'm thinking I will stop the planning once I board the plane. I'll fight the urge to make reservations to albergues and/or restaurants, we'll walk until we stop and stay where there is room.
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