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Thanks for the reply. It turns out it's a hostel - Hostel La Codorniz, in Sahagun.
They had the sleeping bag for hours to dry it already. That's why she thinks that it's somehow ruined. The jacket is dry, was dry hours before the sleeping bag, but it's stained badly.
Only relaying what I've understood, to kill bedbugs, which were definitely badly infesting the very first albergue she stayed in at SJPDP (I think that's the abbrev), everything has to be washed hot and dried really hot, for hours. Of course that's close to the worst possible practice for down, but you have to kill those bugs once you've had major exposure, else you carry them with you and spread them. Both jacket and bag survived that surprisingly well the first time (I think it was in pamplona). Who knows what they did at Sahagun.
I don't expect anyone to be able to troubleshoot fixing her physical items. It is very disturbing that hostel staff can ruin equipment casually and then simply brush it off as your problem. Is there anything she can do about that...I can't imagine what it might be, but in Spain what does one do when items are ruined like this?
ThanksJames I will report the name of the SJPDP albergue here once I know which it was.
Yeah, I would cancel. I would also tell Ultreia why am I cancelling, including that it was topic of discussion at a public forum.I'm booked into Ultreia at the end of Sept. should I cut my losses and find somewhere else or buy some bug killer?
Hmmm where do you get lavender mist spray??
Exactly. Move on and enjoy the rest of the Camino. These things happen all of the time, don't let one small thing detract from the adventure.I agree, and I think it would be good to no let this incident color/ruin her camino experience, but rather just buy a new sleeping bag and move on. I don't think the intention of the hostel was malignant. They probably thought they were doing her a favor, despite their apparent inexperience with washing sleeping bags. In my experience, stuff like this happens on the camino and you just have to let it go. I'm very sorry that it happened to her though, and I know how upsetting it can be.
I agree with you Michael.These are times when really unfortunate things occur, but we can learn from them and move on. The Camino really is not a place for down products. We stay in communal facilities that are not equipped to properly handle such items. If we do choose to take such items and highly value them, then we need to seek out professional services that are qualified to properly clean and dry them.
Down products should, in general, never be washed.
The natural grease on the feathers is what makes the product a superior insolation product.
Yeah, but which one crossed the road first?Hola
Thank you for this information.
It is confirming me in thinking twice when choosing between down/synthetic product for packing for a Camino, where bedbugs may force one to hard wash all inventory.
Not to split a hair or start an argument about what came first. The egg or the hen...
But without goose grease, no loft, no insulation.
Buen Camino
Lettinggo
Hi Sara, Wow!!!! I did a search on that DreamLite bag and it is getting some really good reviews! I'm gonna order one tonight and give it a try this November when I do a 9 day hike around Lake Okeechobee in south Florida. Seems that the night time temps will be about right for this bag. If it works well, I will add it to my pack for the Camino in May 2014. Thank you for the link. EdMany of us, including myself, are allergic to down (the feathers, other animals, etc). It isn't necessary to have down sleeping bags, coats etc etc as some of the synthetics are very warm and easy to wash. I live in a down free home (couches, comforters, etc). I can recommend the hypoallergenic Deuter DreamLite . Down free and good for lower temperatures and has a hood. It weighs only 1.5 and rolls to the size of a 1 liter water bottle. It may be a thought for another time. Another hypoallergenic bag I have is an LLBean rated for 20F but twice as heavy but worked for summer camping. Anyway, my point is the cleaning is much easier. For jackets, Gortex as warm as down .
Yeah, but which one crossed the road first?
well, theres overreacting and overreacting, people who think other people overreact may not know how costly and difficult it is to get rid of bedbugs. So while I can live with the 2-3 weeks of itching after an encounter I hate to think of what my 8 closest neighbours would say if I came and told them that they had to have their apartments fumigated.
Always enter your home naked after having walked the Camino is my motto
.....which will be just another overreaction that you are describing.....just not to you. Why not let it go and avoid further conflict on the camino...it's your choice.You don't need a sleeping bag at this time of year in any case unless you are planning to sleep outside.
On the subject of bedbugs I encountered them for the first time about 10 days ago and have had no new bites since then. Unless you react really badly to them just think of them as mosquitoes without wings. People overreact to all kinds of stuff down here. A friend of mine walked ahead for a couple of stages and met a new group of people who ostracised him when they learnt that he had encountered bedbugs a few days earlier. Unfortunately there are people like this in the world and the Camino is no exception. If I see them before the end I look forward to talking to them about their behaviour.
.....which will be just another overreaction that you are describing.....just not to you. Why not let it go and avoid further conflict on the camino...it's your choice.
Feedback is important in life. They are hopefully not aware how they made this young chap feel. These were mature adults (at least in years), not kids. I am not looking for conflict, but sometimes you have to care enough to do something. If I saw your wallet being stolen should I let it happen to avoid "conflict"????
Ludicrous comment imho.
I'm a Bed-UnTucker also!!! How many of us are out there I wonder?I to was considering at first getting a down bag as they are lighter than their synthetic counter part. Then this post made me reconsider. I'm now looking at bringing a synthetic blanket (since we will be sleeping on mattresses, I don't think we need to have the bag on the bottom) and rectangle silk liner. I found this blanket to be the lightest/warmest so far: http://www.rei.com/product/848566/therm-a-rest-tech-blanket at 1 lb. 15 oz. and at only $70, an affordable, light option. I'm also not a fan of the mummy sleeping bags as I'm a side sleeper and find the mummy bags restrictive. When I go to hotels, I always completely un-tuck the beds (the poor room attendants, they have to keep re-tucking). I also sleep very hot, so again, having to deal with a sleeping bag for a month sounds uncomfortable for me. I might have to add snaps or something to attach blanket to silk liner so the blanket does not end-up on the floor in the middle of the night (my husband tells me I have "thrown" blankets off of me in the middle of the night)
Have any others used a blanket rather than a sleeping bag? I have yet to have seen this option mentioned on this forum...
Just make double sure that it truly IS your own home and not the neighborswell, theres overreacting and overreacting, people who think other people overreact may not know how costly and difficult it is to get rid of bedbugs. So while I can live with the 2-3 weeks of itching after an encounter I hate to think of what my 8 closest neighbours would say if I came and told them that they had to have their apartments fumigated.
Always enter your home naked after having walked the Camino is my motto
I am not "reaming" anyone. This would be feedback as already stated.Well, considering we were *not* talking about witnessing theft of critical property but, rather, going back to "correct the behaviour" of some folks that are paranoid about bedbugs.....I guess we differ on our thoughts of what is ludicrous.
Those people may have had a bad experience with bedbugs...you never know. But, go ahead and ream them out if it makes you feel better. My guess is that it won't be as satisfying to you as you think. Or, maybe it will be. We all have different needs.
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