- Time of past OR future Camino
- VdlP(2012) Madrid(2014)Frances(2015) VdlP(2016)
VdlP(2017)Madrid/Sanabres/Frances reverse(2018)
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Paul
There may be a better way but I do this :
Enter the person/albergue etc as a contact first. - the go to WhatsApp and search for that contact and call .. hope it works for you.
You’ve got a record !In print?
Dumb? C'mon! Only newborns know their way around technology! Don't beat yourself up. And isn't it great how immediately the camino (or forum) angels were hovering around to tilt you in the right direction?I'm feeling really dumb. I've succeeded, and it was extemely simple. I merely opened "chats", clicked on the pen/message icon in the top right corner. This opens up a page offering a "New Contact". Very straight forward after that.
The internet search resulted in very confusing advice!
I agree with Kirkie, not dumb. I find Whatsapp an absolute pain. I dont use it unless like now, I will need to. Ive tried lots of times O/S and never had any luck. Im hoping seeingvI added the contacts, Ill be good to go on the Camino.Dumb? C'mon! Only newborns know their way around technology! Don't beat yourself up. And isn't it great how immediately the camino (or forum) angels were hovering around to tilt you in the right direction?
Maybe if you Enter the albergue number in your contacts. Then you can access the number when you open What’s app.Help! I want to message an albergue. I've been on the internet and they tell me to open the app and click on the green icon on the bottom of my screen. I don't see it - I'm on iPhone. How do I enter the phone number?
I don't consider that to be a useful benefit of WhatsApp, at all. The real benefit is being able to contact many albergues by text (rather than by voice) to find if you have a place to sleep. They may not receive the messages you send from your phone's Messages app.The only real benefit I have seen so far is the larger number of people that can be contacted in a group message, compared to my Messages app that came with the phone.
It may come in handy when you are sitting in the evening contemplating where you will stop the next night. Since many albergues are accessible by contacting someone to get a key, you may want to send a message the night before to arrange the bed?As I don't think I'll be trying to contact people from on the trail, only maybe at the evening in places with wifi, I'm not sure how useful it would be to me while walking the Via de la Plata. Anyone who has a thought about that, feel free to reply!
I don't text message anyone in Spain from my phone. Too complicated to set up foreign use of the account. I am not sure the "spain phone" has texting, either. Your point is good here.I don't consider that to be a useful benefit of WhatsApp, at all. The real benefit is being able to contact many albergues by text (rather than by voice) to find if you have a place to sleep. They may not receive the messages you send from your phone's Messages app.
That is how I do it.Paul
There may be a better way but I do this :
Enter the person/albergue etc as a contact first. - then go to WhatsApp and search for that contact and call .. hope it works for you.
Like @C clearly, I do not see this as an advantage at all. For me the incredible advantage of WhatsApp is that it allows me to contact albergues, hotels, pensiones, and people directly. In addition, it leaves me with a written record of the conversation I have had, which is helpful in case of misunderstanding about date or price of reservation.Thank you all for discussing the whole "experience" of the Whatsapp. I'm still on the fence about adding it to my Samsung phone. The only real benefit I have seen so far is the larger number of people that can be contacted in a group message, compared to my Messages app that came with the phone. (Which is capped at 20.)
I find it a bit irritating to be lumped into this category, simply because I find Whatsapp to be a useful app on my phone.who wants to be "that pilgrim" walking down on the one-butt-wide trail under the overarching wild roses saying "I don't know where I am! I'm walking on the Camino!" to someone who they are talking to while walking.
It depends on what you mean by "while on the path" or "while walking". While I am "on the Camino" for a month or so, I do use it. I do not use it while I am in motion, stepping along the path, and no, it is not useful for navigation. However, I do use it for communicating with accommodation, or even (horrors!) with other pilgrim friends - perhaps to give warnings or advice if they are behind me, say about whether the arroyo is high that day and they should take the road , or even to ask about their destination for the day. I am happy to be "that pilgrim."while I may be interested in the Whatsapp, I'm not thinking it's a benefit while on the path.
This is a misinterpretation, WhatsApp uses data. Data can either be a data plan on your phone or WiFi.Whatsapp operates solely on wifi
I agree that the written record aspect of Whatsapp is very useful.Like @C clearly, I do not see this as an advantage at all. For me the incredible advantage of WhatsApp is that it allows me to contact albergues, hotels, pensiones, and people directly. In addition, it leaves me with a written record of the conversation I have had, which is helpful in case of misunderstanding about date or price of reservation.
The mere mention of Ray and Rosa always brings a smile to my face.And I have to tell the story of Ray and Rosa’s private pilgrim place on the Camino de Madrid. I know of two instances of people walking the Madrid who told me that they couldn’t make any contact with them. They tried email and they tried actually calling the cell phone number. I suggested they try WhatsApp, and both reported that they got a response within a minute or two. WhatsApp is used by more than 90 or 95% of the smart phones in Spain. It is invaluable on the Camino.
One of the things I love about this forum Paul. Queries like yours bring out input from ‘many heads’. .This has turned out to be a very interesting discussion, so I no longer feel “dumb” about having posted the question - that’s the forum for you.
The Wise Pilgrim guide has a free app which provides whats app links to albergues, as well as phone numbers and reviews. Michael works very hard to update the information by village/city on a regular basis. The maps and route planning feature is very helpful and most routes are included. Bon Camino.Help! I want to message an albergue. I've been on the internet and they tell me to open the app and click on the green icon on the bottom of my screen. I don't see it - I'm on iPhone. How do I enter the phone number?
Laurie, I was always reluctant to add WhatsApp to my phone, however, because of your positive input on past forum posts I added it approximately a year ago. It has been a good thing as it's been easy to connect with a few overseas friends, AND most recently on the Via Francigena I was contacted by a few guest house type properties asking my arrival time for that day. At first I was surprised as I had not given any of them my phone number. All reservations I'd made through booking.com and of course they had my number from when I'd signed up years ago, which apparently gave access to the places we were staying. I ended up liking it because the translation process was very simple on both ends. I never added any of the info/phone numbers to my contact list; I only replied back to their question.WhatsApp is used by more than 90 or 95% of the smart phones in Spain. It is invaluable on the Camino.
Probably.Timely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
It’s much simpler!Timely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
This is one of the reasons that I input all of the contacts into my phone ahead of time. Then when I am in Spain, I just pull up the contact and click either message or call. That way I don’t have to worry about country codes.Timely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
Since I almost exclusively use booking.com, they always provide a message and an email option to contact the property, so I usually only need to use that feature.I think you will always have to use the country code and phone number to contact a number that is not in your contacts list.
WhatsApp is the most popular texting app in the world. The only place it is not is the US where Facebook messenger is the most popular messaging. They are both owned by the same company but WhatsApp is extremely secure as it is based on Signal’s end to end encryption platform. So if you meet anyone on the Camino who is not American they will have WhatsApp installed and will readily trade numbers with you. I can’t tell you how many useful tips I have gotten from others via WhatsApp from chance meetings even weeks after meeting them only momentarily. It’s also a great way to trade photos and videos: you can batch send pretty substantial sized media easily. Plus nearly all businesses and ‘some’ albergues use it as a primary form of contact in Europe. As an example on the Camino Portuguese Camino route I set up water taxi transport across the Minho river via WhatsApp where they answered immediately. I had also sent them a message on FB messenger and they responded to that the next day! Finally you are also not considering that people use WhatsApp for secure video and voice calls just like a telephone including albergues and other businesses you may need to interact with on your trip. Any place outside of America is an essential app that is quite secure.Thank you all for discussing the whole "experience" of the Whatsapp. I'm still on the fence about adding it to my Samsung phone. The only real benefit I have seen so far is the larger number of people that can be contacted in a group message, compared to my Messages app that came with the phone. (Which is capped at 20.) A number of the ladies I know use it, both for organization stuff and for family, but I still don't know if i'm really comfortable using it. Though I suspect my DD has installed it on my phone while we were talking about it one day!
As I don't think I'll be trying to contact people from on the trail, only maybe at the evening in places with wifi, I'm not sure how useful it would be to me while walking the Via de la Plata. Anyone who has a thought about that, feel free to reply!
Thank you all for discussing the whole "experience" of the Whatsapp. I'm still on the fence about adding it to my Samsung phone. The only real benefit I have seen so far is the larger number of people that can be contacted in a group message, compared to my Messages app that came with the phone. (Which is capped at 20.) A number of the ladies I know use it, both for organization stuff and for family, but I still don't know if i'm really comfortable using it. Though I suspect my DD has installed it on my phone while we were talking about it one day!
As I don't think I'll be trying to contact people from on the trail, only maybe at the evening in places with wifi, I'm not sure how useful it would be to me while walking the Via de la Plata. Anyone who has a thought about that, feel free to reply!
All numbers on/for WhatsApp are saved with the country code there is no other way to save numbers so you never need to use the country code againTimely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
Actually in the US most people use SMS messaging through their wireless carrierThe only place it is not is the US where Facebook messenger is the most popular messaging
I was comparing messaging apps—until recently FB messenger was the most popular messaging app in the USA but WhatsApp is gaining and is the most popular download apparently now. But comparing sms to a messaging app is like comparing the telegraph to the telephone. SMS is not secure often charges for sending anything not a text etc, but it’s apples and oranges really as a comparison. PS—I am American but live abroad. Even though I can text someone in America with my US number I just wouldn’t as rarely are messages these days limited to only text with no images. But whereas everyone in Europe has WhatsApp which makes things easy when messaging American friends I toggle back and forth between iMessage, messenger, WhatsApp, Google chat etc depending on what they use which gets admittedly, annoying.
I use SMS messaging for most of my texts in the US, and mostly use Signal with my family. I can understand why it is not a practical option for booking lodgings.And for those who feel uncomfortable with Whatsapp and FB ( Meta ) there is always Signal though not very practical for booking places on a Camino.
Also if you are using an iPhone and only want to call the albergue in question, you can do that via WhatsApp without inputting the country code and number. So say you see a number on webpage if you hold down and long press the phone number a drop-down menu pops up allowing you to call them using WhatsApp. See pic example on an actual number example from wisepilgrim.com and see the menu choices. If you then go down to the WhatsApp choice you can call the albergue without dealing with adding the number as a contact. Once you call them you can then save their number from your call history list. This also works with other apps like telegram or Facebook messenger but whether you can use that with the albergue depends if they use it themselves. Again the benefit with WhatsApp is that nearly everyone does use it in Europe and it is compatible with both android and iOS so it is a good bet to call them and that they will answer. This works best with numbers that have + and the country code before it as WhatsApp does need to know what country code the number you are calling is. See pic.Timely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
This (+99) is an international standard and it will always work regardless of what country you are currently in.Timely thread…
Okay, so I have Whatsapp on my phone and from Canada, to send a message to Spain, I need to ‘dial’ + Country Code and the nine digit phone number. Once I am in Spain, from a wifi hotspot since I won’t have a local SIM card with data, do I still need to dial the + and Country Code?
This is not the case universally, though generally it does ring true. There are business accounts that work with landline numbers starting with 9.Just one more WhatsApp tip, which I was reminded of by a friend currently walking who was having a bit of WhatsApp mix-up.
WhatsApp only works with mobile numbers, and all mobile numbers in Spain either begin with a 6 (more common) or 7 (more recently introduced). Land lines begin with a 9 (more common) or an 8 (more recently introduced).
That means there’s no point in inputting (is that a word?) a number that’s a land line. If you put in a mobile number, WhatsApp will tell you whether it uses WhatsApp or not. If they don’t, WhatsApp gives you the opportunity to ask send them a message and ask them if they would like to use it. But in the case of Spanish numbers, I think that in the case of any Spanish mobile phone that doesn’t use WhatsApp, it’s is because the owner very consciously has decided that he or she doesn’t want to use WhatsApp. So then the option is to call.
Oh, wow, I never knew that. That suggests that it is in fact worth it to check to see whether a landline does in fact use WhatsApp. Thanks so much for the correction.This is not the case universally, though generally it does ring true. There are business accounts that work with landline numbers starting with 9.
It was a surprise to me too when I started contacting albergues for their WhatsApp preferences.Oh, wow, I never knew that. That suggests that it is in fact worth it to check to see whether a landline does in fact use WhatsApp. Thanks so much for the correction.
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