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Yes, of course you are not the only one1. Is there anyone these days who is like me and hikes the Camino with no cell phone?
Public computers are not common, but you could probably find one weekly if you spend the time and effort.2. I heard there used to be computers for pilgrims accessing email/Internet at some auberges, but now they are becoming less common. I'm thinking of trying to check my email once a week. How hard will that be without a smartphone? How common are public computers these days in auberges, cafes, and/or public libraries?
I saw a communal computer in a few places eg the albergue I stayed in at Zubiri, but wasnt looking for internet cafes etc so couldn't comment there.I am planning on hiking the Camino Frances in May/June. I don't plan to bring a cell phone. I don't wish to be persuaded otherwise, nor am I expressing judgement for those who find their mobile phones enhance their experience. (I know I'm unusual -- I rarely use a cell phone in my home country. I prefer being disconnected when I'm out and about. So, I'm used to being without a phone, and I'm not worried about the adjustment.)
However, I am wondering about the following:
1. Is there anyone these days who is like me and hikes the Camino with no cell phone?
2. I heard there used to be computers for pilgrims accessing email/Internet at some auberges, but now they are becoming less common. I'm thinking of trying to check my email once a week. How hard will that be without a smartphone? How common are public computers these days in auberges, cafes, and/or public libraries?
Thanks for any input.
I don't own a smartphone. I have a simple Nokia 100 which enables me to make and receive calls and texts. It is usually switched off. I take it on the Camino to reserve accommodation and in case my house burns down/someone dies/my wife crashes my car.1. Is there anyone these days who is like me and hikes the Camino with no cell phone?
Don't know about this, but I have a Kindle Fire which enables me to send emails, surf the web (e.g. for bus and train times) and, of course, read a book. Every bar/cafe/restaurant in Spain has free wifi.I heard there used to be computers for pilgrims accessing email/Internet at some auberges,
Pilgrims have walked the Camino from 800 AD to 1980 without cell phones.
Sure, and I hope you have done better than I. I barely got to the part where Helen runs off with Paris when my memory failed.The Camino for me was an exercise in "Contemptus Mundi"
If you look that up on your smart phone you will get the incorrect Latin translation of "Contempt for the World"
The Benedictine monks taught me in third-year Latin that it means
"Detachment from the World"
The Camino taught me not so much about what to know, but rather how to be.
Would anybody like to hear the long poem I just memorized?
Terence Callery
(Responding to "Pilgrims have walked the Camino from 800 AD to 1980 without cell phones.") Even longer than that. None in 1990. No Internet either. Or Orisson. Or Jacotrans. Or Brierley. I do not have a mirror handy to confirm it but I think I lived to tell the tale.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...f-you-lose-your-smartphone.59625/#post-697220Sure, and I hope you have done better than I. I barely got to the part where Helen runs off with Paris when my memory failed.
A few but very few albergues have computers. I have found that it tends to be in the final stages presumably to allow pilgrims to book flights home and/or print out boarding passes. I have no need for them as I do not check my email at all nor do I care to have access to social media. I do bring my phone for two simple reasons. It is a camera and I can text my wife every night to let her know I am safe. Other than that, the only other use is to book a flight home and get phone numbers of albergues in Santiago. So, to all intense purposes, I hike without a mobile phone. Never comes out of my pocket except to take a picture. I dont even listen to music on it, everI am planning on hiking the Camino Frances in May/June. I don't plan to bring a cell phone. I don't wish to be persuaded otherwise, nor am I expressing judgement for those who find their mobile phones enhance their experience. (I know I'm unusual -- I rarely use a cell phone in my home country. I prefer being disconnected when I'm out and about. So, I'm used to being without a phone, and I'm not worried about the adjustment.)
However, I am wondering about the following:
1. Is there anyone these days who is like me and hikes the Camino with no cell phone?
2. I heard there used to be computers for pilgrims accessing email/Internet at some auberges, but now they are becoming less common. I'm thinking of trying to check my email once a week. How hard will that be without a smartphone? How common are public computers these days in auberges, cafes, and/or public libraries?
Thanks for any input.
Exactly my thoughts!But just because I can walk without a smart phone, doesn't mean I wish to.
Same here. But just because I can walk without a smart phone, doesn't mean I wish to. I've brought mine on more recent caminos and been very glad to have it
Hmmmm.....am I sensing a little ambivalence here? I'm having trouble understanding why there is so much reluctance to carry a 6 oz. phone (as well as angst about finding an internet cafe) when said phone can be kept off except for weekly wi-fi sessions to check email. I rarely carry my cell phone anywhere (mostly because I forget to take it) but I don't hate it that much. LOLI prefer being disconnected when I'm out and about....
I'm thinking of trying to check my email once a week.
One reason: $$$I'm having trouble understanding why there is so much reluctance to carry a 6 oz. phone (as well as angst about finding an internet cafe) when said phone can be kept off except for weekly wi-fi sessions to check email.
But can you walk perfectly well without one? Yes, because in case of need, others will have one.
OK, the weight thing may be an issue but second hand phones are cheap, and free from T-Mobile in the US. And T-Mobile works great all over Europe with free data.One reason: $$$
Second & third reasons: lost, theft
And then there are people who cut the labels off their clothes.
Your new profile photo, and this comment are CRACKING me up!Even longer than that. None in 1990. No Internet either. Or Orisson. Or Jacotrans. Or Brierley. I do not have a mirror handy to confirm it but I think I lived to tell the tale.
Yes, I agree. You have the option to ask for a favor, and borrow the cell phone... if you want to return the favor, just buy them a cafe con lecheI walked the Camino in 2014 without my phone. Loved it! If in dire need, you will meet friends and you can always borrow their phones for emergencies.
A few albergues have computers with internet connection (eg. Triacastela) but you'll find way more in hotels. (I started sleeping in albergues but made the switch to cheap hotels because of the snorers.) Some towns even have internet cafes, although the opening hours are at the whim of the owner (except for the amazing internet cafe in Sarria right across from King Alfonso Hotel, they even had food and coffee).
Exactly what I did....but, I get that someone might want to do it the old fashioned way. After all, we are walking 500 miles in order to have an experience. It's up to the individual to define that experience, just the way they want to. If you change your mind and want to make a call, check email, or send a text- borrow a cell phone, be genuinely grateful and return something of value as a thank you (like buy them a beer or coffee)! It's not a big deal. You could even make a friend, who would do this on a regular basisI walked the entire Frances with my smart phone in airplane mode. I can take good photos with it and when I got to wifi I uploaded to the cloud. I kept the battery in max saving mode so I only had to charge my phone about every 3 or 4 days.
If you have your phone you can access Gronze.com and maps me etc offline as they link to satellites like GPS in a car. I use for checking where I am as well as reviews of albergues etcIf you want to be disconnected but wish to be able to connect occasionally, here is an option. Bring your mobile phone but turn off cellular data and keep it powered off. You could even remove the SIM card, making it a WiFi only device. Only turn it on at those once a week times when you want to check email. Keep it buried in your pack. Internet cafes have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird.
True that. I ran into a couple of Canadians who boasted about not carrying a phone, then said it would be great if I walked with them so they could call a taxi when they got to the next village. I ended up not walking with them and there was nothing open in the next village as it was a Sunday. Then it started to rain.Walked CF in 2018; saw ZERO Internet cafes or public PCs in albuergues, but wasn’t looking for them so perhaps a few relics exist. Our cell phone was used for everything EXCEPT as a cell phone: camera, guidebook, gps, etc. bringing one does not mean you have to have it on, surfing the web, watching cat videos, etc. It’s simply a tool like all the others you’ll bring - use it sparingly and only as needed.
I think purposefully NOT bringing one as a point about “disconnecting” but then hoping to use someone else’s is a bit disingenuous.
But as a GPS, map holder, albergue/hotel database, camera, e-reader, ...........
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