Tech on the Camino

[slee92630]

I'm preparing for my first Camino starting March 10, 2025 from Saint Jean and I've been asked if I'm going to post and share updates on my trip. I know I can use Instagram, Twitter or one of those, I currently don't. but wondering if anyone has used a good sharable Journal app for the iPhone? I'd like to be able to print it out when I'm done as well and don't think I can do that with the programs I mentioned. As you can probably tell I'm a little tech challenged, so any offerings would be appreciated.

 

[peregrina2000]

The two most popular apps that allow you to track your journey, post pictures and text, and then print out a book, are Find Penguins and Polar Steps, see this thread or this one for starters.

 

[J Willhaus]

I used Find Pengins for a trip this summer and we had a coffee table book made for ourselves this fall. It was easy to use and for my tech challenged family and friends to follow and the book is a nice reminder for us.

 

[wisepilgrim]

The Journal app for iOS is built in and quite good. It pulls on what it knows of your photos and location, which helps to fill in some gaps in memory. It also has a print option but I have not tried it much.

 

[slee92630]

The two most popular apps that allow you to track your journey, post pictures and text, and then print out a book, are Find Penguins and Polar Steps, see this thread or this one for starters.

Thank you, great suggestions.

 

[tpmchugh]

I'm preparing for my first Camino starting March 10, 2025 from Saint Jean and I've been asked if I'm going to post and share updates on my trip. I know I can use Instagram, Twitter or one of those, I currently don't. but wondering if anyone has used a good sharable Journal app for the iPhone? I'd like to be able to print it out when I'm done as well and don't think I can do that with the programs I mentioned. As you can probably tell I'm a little tech challenged, so any offerings would be appreciated.

Do what I did. Bring a notebook and pen and write it all down as you go. I took a small compact camera on my first casino but on subsequent pilgrimages the camera was replaced with a smart phone. Took a small action camera but very quickly sent that home. I was there on pilgrimages, not to become a film maker. When I got home from my first I collated everything together and with pen and paper, I wrote a book. I am a retired computer consultant but I found great pleasure in doing things the old fashioned way with pen and paper. Buen casino. Have a great time and don't rush. Stop, slow down, look around at the beauty of the countryside and be happy

 

[J Willhaus]

I used Find Pengins for a trip this summer and we had a coffee table book made for ourselves this fall. It was easy to use and for my tech challenged family and friends to follow and the book is a nice reminder for us.

FYI, you can also download a pdf of the book at no charge of you don't want to pay for the bound copy.

 

[60LifeChange]

I used Find Pengins for a trip this summer and we had a coffee table book made for ourselves this fall. It was easy to use and for my tech challenged family and friends to follow and the book is a nice reminder for us.

Just jumped into Penguins. nice application! will see how it works out.. but thank you!

 

[trecile]

Just jumped into Penguins. nice application! will see how it works out.. but thank you!

I've been using it since my first Camino in 2016, and it is even better now than it was then. "Premium" features that you used to have to pay extra for are now standard!

 

[Jlegaspi]

I'm preparing for my first Camino starting March 10, 2025 from Saint Jean and I've been asked if I'm going to post and share updates on my trip. I know I can use Instagram, Twitter or one of those, I currently don't. but wondering if anyone has used a good sharable Journal app for the iPhone? I'd like to be able to print it out when I'm done as well and don't think I can do that with the programs I mentioned. As you can probably tell I'm a little tech challenged, so any offerings would be appreciated.

Use the Journal app, the notes, or Evernote. I would post on Facebook and/or Instagram, then copied and pasted on any of the three former notes.

 

[Matthew King]

On my first Camino in 2015 I used Wordpress. Unfortunately I didn't find it intuitive or easy to use. So perhaps pen and paper is the way to go...

 

[AllisonMarie]

I used Find Pengins for a trip this summer and we had a coffee table book made for ourselves this fall. It was easy to use and for my tech challenged family and friends to follow and the book is a nice reminder for us.

I did the same and I was really happy with the process, and with the coffee table book! A few people did seem to find connecting to it challenging.

 

[taigirl]

I'm preparing for my first Camino starting March 10, 2025 from Saint Jean and I've been asked if I'm going to post and share updates on my trip. I know I can use Instagram, Twitter or one of those, I currently don't. but wondering if anyone has used a good sharable Journal app for the iPhone? I'd like to be able to print it out when I'm done as well and don't think I can do that with the programs I mentioned. As you can probably tell I'm a little tech challenged, so any offerings would be appreciated.

I sent myself (and anyone else interested) an email everyday.

 

[Jensjaunt]

I'm preparing for my first Camino starting March 10, 2025 from Saint Jean and I've been asked if I'm going to post and share updates on my trip. I know I can use Instagram, Twitter or one of those, I currently don't. but wondering if anyone has used a good sharable Journal app for the iPhone? I'd like to be able to print it out when I'm done as well and don't think I can do that with the programs I mentioned. As you can probably tell I'm a little tech challenged, so any offerings would be appreciated.

Hi - I used Polarsteps and just received my first of 2 books I created/will create. They had a 25percent sale just prior to Christmas so spent the time making a book on my Portuguese camino which I did in spring 2024. I liked that friends and family who I shared the link with could follow me live. Post trip editing features were easy to use and book quality is great, have received it- shipping was included! I did edit some text so I could have text and photo on the first page of each step. I also really like the map - that is created that shows your journey - it is included in the book. I am working on the first camino my Frances and hoping for a new years sale. The most difficult part - what photos to include! Good luck and have a wonderful camino! Jen from

 

[Sue127]

I used Find Pengins for a trip this summer and we had a coffee table book made for ourselves this fall. It was easy to use and for my tech challenged family and friends to follow and the book is a nice reminder for us.

I did the same, with Find Penguins, and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the book. You don't have to make a book afterwards, but I'm glad that I chose to.
The daily posts were a great way for friends and family to keep in touch and they can comment on your text and photos.
It is also possible to do a retrospective book (I did one as a birthday present for my grandson, two years after walking) but it takes a little more time.

 

[el-pe]

The Journal app on the iPhone can be printed if you are running IOS version 18.1.1 the latest update.

 

[WGroleau]

The two most popular apps that allow you to track your journey, post pictures and text, and then print out a book, are Find Penguins and Polar Steps, see this thread or this one for starters.

Are they restricted to a Camino, or can they do other trails?

I carried a diary in which I got a sello from every bar, café, albergue, and a few other places. Wrote some notes next to most of them. A few of my experiences are in Wordpress (https://happyhobo.net) but I found wandering a lot more fun than writing about it.

 

[trecile]

Are they restricted to a Camino, or can they do other trails?

You can use them for any trip take that you take. It doesn't have to be a walking/hiking trip. Most people who use these apps probably don't even know what a Camino is!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I did try a Wordpress journal on my Portuguese camino and it seemed a good idea at the time. Re-reading it now and it all seems quite banal and trite - was anybody else really that interested that I had a coffee and a tortilla bocadillo halfway up a Spanish hillside at 10:45 on a Wednesday?
For the past ten years or so I've fallen back on pen and paper in the form of a Midori style Travellers Notebook* - essentially a durable cover you can customise with insertable note pads. In them go my itinerary and travel details at the front, accommodation details, daily journal etc. They get packed out with ticket stubs, business cards, snapshots and postcards. On my last CF I filled in four books sending each one home as it became full.
I now have an archive of 15 memorable trips on a bookcase that I dip into every now and again whereas I seldom look through the thousands of digital photographs I've taken and can't even remember the password for my Wordpress account.
I tried Find Penguins (see my avatar) on a train journey through Europe this summer but backed it up with a paper journal - both are good for different reasons - chacun à son goût.

* for details of the Midori system see HERE it's a bit cult like and expensive, though there are cheaper alternatives or you could always make your own: All My Life in One Place.

 

[J Willhaus]

I keep track of costs, places we stay, and sometimes names on paper in a little notebook. I also save receipts until I get everything logged in my book. I have these little notebooks in boxes and can refer to them as needed.

The Find Penguins thing we did on a trip last year at the request of family and friends on our 3 month driving/camping trip to Alaska and back. I posted photos every day along with updates. Some of my close relatives who are essentially shut-ins with fragile health told me they waited every day for my posts. Others followed when they thought about it or read a few posts or even none. We got the book when we returned and amazingly, guests (even ones who read our daily posts) have looked through it while visiting. Part of this is the amazing scenery, animals, and flowers we saw and photographed and probably less about Phil and I.

If it were just for me, I probably would not do a blog again, but I've had those same frail family members asking if I will be doing another Find Penguins again for our trip to Italy and Spain this winter. Then they were asking about whether we'd have one for our upcoming summer volunteer gig at a wildlife refuge.

It seems kind of like the Live from the Camino threads that I so enjoy on the forum, but Find Penguins is for a different audience.

 

[Ballari]

Do you have to have a premium membership in Find Penguins to be able to get a book printed?

 

[J Willhaus]

Do you have to have a premium membership in Find Penguins to be able to get a book printed?

No.

 

[trecile]

Do you have to have a premium membership in Find Penguins to be able to get a book printed?

No you don't, and Find Penguins no longer has a premium membership - all features are available to use for free.

 

[peregrina2000]

No you don't, and Find Penguins no longer has a premium membership - all features are available to use for free.

That must mean that they are making enough money from the sale of their books to make the membership fee irrelevant. I keep telling myself that I’m going to buy a book, and one of these days I will!