Anything you want for Camino but it doesn't seem to have been invented?

[David]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

 

[CamisMors]

I would love if someone created a backpack with zippers made from completely silent materials. Nothing wakes me up faster than people packing up at 5am.

 

[Tincatinker]

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

The Beloved has just suggested Tinker plugs that will cancel the snoring.....

Must have been a rough night

 

[el-pe]

Devices that are totally humane that can be used to stop snoring.

 

[K_Lynn]

Helium backpacks - Never have sore shoulders again! Please tie your pack to something when you remove it.

Wonder Socks! - These socks will instantly make your feet cool and comfortable. Removes fatigue. Guaranteed to prevent blisters.

And because there have been a few conversations about food lately Gourmet on the Go - send your location to us with our app and within 10 minutes a full meal will be delivered by drone to you! Nutritionally complete! Delicious! Restricted diet friendly! Simply input your preferences, dietary requirements and restrictions and we will look after the rest! Craving Sweet Potato Curry? No problem! Need Creme Brulee now? It's on its way! Extensive wine list available.

 

[PiesIrlandeses]

Hydrofoil-equipped hiking boots, for gliding through the Primitivo mud.

 

[Dave2525]

A universal translator. (not google translate or anything requiring manual intervention)

On the same theme. A portable replicator.

 

[Getwood]

Devices that are totally humane that can be used to stop snoring.

They already have those! They're called "private rooms." ;-)

 

[ShoshTrvls]

Weightless, portable jacuzzi hot tub. Arrive at your albergue, set it up, and in minutes you are soaking and being massaged by the jets.

 

[Getwood]

Slightly more seriously, the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo. 2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

 

[J Willhaus]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

 

[t2andreo]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

You could attach an Air Tag, or a similar device, to your charger (by default plugged into your cable). It can be programmed to alert you if you get out of range. That should be only 30 - 40 feet away.

 

[David]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

Grams accurate portable scale? weigh pack going in and leaving next day?

 

[David]

On the same theme. A portable replicator.

I had a mobile replicator once, well, more of a 3D printer really. Was some decades ago so manual, sort of an early plug and play. But I gave up on it - it printed babies but took nine months to do it and then I had to wait about a year before I could get it warmed up again to print another .... was very expensive to run too.

This is a joke. My wife produced two beautiful children, beautiful, though she was slow, each one did take 9 months.

 

[dbier]

Odor cancellers in the doorways of albergues that automatically spray on anyone crossing the threshold who needs it...whether or not they *think* they do.

On the subject of replicators....Occasionally at work, a senior openly wonders if we can get a product faster if we give the developer more money and people.

Having had 2 sons myself, I'm one of the few that can get away with saying, "Sir, even if we get 9 women pregnant at once, we're not going to get a baby in one month. No. "

I can be evil like that, sometimes....

 

[trecile]

I want to be able to tap on the name of a town on Gronze or one of the Camino apps and hear the correct pronunciation. I do know how to sound out and pronounce Spanish words, but they usually sound different to me when a local says them, which is much faster than when I speak Spanish.

 

[Lydia Gillen]

Slightly more seriously, the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo. 2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

I puzzled for years as to why I got blisters in spain but not in Ireland.. I realised that it was because my feet perspired in Spain and the skin got soft.
Now I rub antiperspirant all over my feet and between toes before putting my socks on. Result no blisters

 

[K_Lynn]

I want to be able to tap on the name of a town on Gronze or one of the Camino apps and hear the correct pronunciation. I do know how to sound out and pronounce Spanish words, but they usually sound different to me when a local says them, which is much faster than when I speak Spanish.

LOL Sahagun! I cry at my original pronunciation. And I will always smile at the thought of the woman at the train station in A Coruna saying FerRRRRRRRol! So many trilled Rs!

 

[Ninap64]

I would love if someone created a backpack with zippers made from completely silent materials. Nothing wakes me up faster than people packing up at 5am.

This was exactly my thought too!

 

[JustOneGuy]

Helium backpacks - Never have sore shoulders again! Please tie your pack to something when you remove it.

Cheap and easy:

 

[Kiwi-family]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

 

[K_Lynn]

@JustOneGuy Ha! I repeat: tie your pack to something when you remove it.

 

[Richard Smith]

I am waiting for "luggage" - that magical wooden trunk with lots of legs that follows Rincewind around in the Discworld books.

 

[backpack45]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

The hood on my rain jacket prevents water running down my neck and if I want a brim to keep water off my face, I can also put on my Sunday Afternoons hat that has a wide brim. Likewise, my umbrella keeps a lot of water off me everywhere. I definitely would vote for the ear plugs, however.

 

[HappyValerie]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

 

[kaputtesKnie]

Anti Gravity shoes

 

[JustJack]

Yep - an app that shows a google map with a colored dot for every pilgrim. I could see at a glance where the crowded bubbles of pilgrims are.

 

[trecile]

Yep - an app that shows a google map with a colored dot for every pilgrim. I could see at a glance where the crowded bubbles of pilgrims are.

Waze for pilgrims!

 

[chinacat]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

My beloved recommended this to our daughter

 

[BarbaraW]

A device please to indicate whether a pilgrim wished to be left alone or would welcome company. I still cringe at the memory of plucking up courage to ask if I might join someone at dinner ( which received a positive response) then having him pointedly put in earphones and turn his back on me.
Oh, and a "languages spoken" sign too.

 

[Pilgrim9]

... the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo.

I used duct tape successfully on all of my foot pilgrimages. It worked perfectly for me. Economical and easy to find, too. Polyester box-sealing tape also worked but was more awkward to apply.

 

[JustOneGuy]

maybe, more camping areas?

 

[Margaret Butterworth]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

In another thread, somebody said the Camino is (or was) supposed to be a penance.

 

[TravellingMan22]

In another thread, somebody said the Camino is (or was) supposed to be a penance.

What does that mean?

 

[CTLawGal]

Trail runners that would last more than 200-300 miles, so I only need one pair when walking more than 3-4 weeks!

 

[CWBuff]

oh jees.... 1/2 of the posts are serious and 1/2 are somewhat on a joking side.
Hmmm.... which way should I go

A (Tele-)transporter (as in"Mr. Scott, beam us up".) Could prove useful during bad weather area or incredibly painful blisters times

 

[ROjeda]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

 

[CWBuff]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

along with menu-del-dia? gives you more time to explore the town without searching for food

 

[CTLawGal]

Self-cleaning, always-smell-good clothes. Skip the washing ritual after arrival, and go explore the town or city as soon as the backpack stores/hangs/drops next to my bed.

Add "dry" to the equation and you've got my vote! Always so grateful to find a machine and a dryer that dried, all the way! Bonus points if they can get your socks white again, ha!

 

[dougfitz]

Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

@David, you are indeed a treasure. It lightened up my day when I saw this, and it did so again when I came back to see the many wonderful quirky responses.

I would dearly love a self propelled baggage trolley capable of negotiating even the roughest parts of any of the Camino paths in Spain, Portugal and France. Since my pilgrimage to Trondheim this year along the Gudbrandsdalsleden, I have been pondering about how I would manage the walks I plan to do in Spain next year. I still want to walk each day, and I don't want to limit myself with the constraints that using pack transport services would create. I realise that there are many towed trailer designs, including your own, that might well be contenders, but I yearn after that next step. A modern version of the Luggage that Terry Pratchett wrote of, but perhaps without being quite so malicious to my enemies.

 

[David]

Doug - your problem is solved ... from a bit of Google searching I found this! .

What's not to like!! (though I too would like the Rincewind luggage and agree, less malicious!).

 

[Ross1066]

How about perfect recollection of a favourite walk ... so you can go into a darkened room and replay - the sights, smells, sounds, feeling ... yes, I know a camera exists, but somehow current tech falls short ... so just insert your memory card into your ear for a quiet few hours .... and relax ... and smile.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

A device please to indicate whether a pilgrim wished to be left alone or would welcome company.

This device is mostly complete. Some Harvard students have created a system where glasses send a picture of a person off to a program that finds visual matches and from those collects data on the person and transmits that information to a smartphone. Names, addresses, age, relatives, occupations, etc.

It is called i-xray. See it demonstrated here:

YouTube video id: gHrSXe1cElI

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Bonus points if they can get your socks white again, ha!

This one is an easy fix...never being anything white on the Camino.

 

[CTLawGal]

This one is an easy fix...never being anything white on the Camino.

I learned the hard way! WHAT was I thinking?!

 

[dougfitz]

This device is mostly complete. Some Harvard students have created a system where glasses send a picture of a person off to a program that finds visual matches and from those collects data on the person and transmits that information to a smartphone. Names, addresses, age, relatives, occupations, etc.

It is called i-xray. See it demonstrated here:

YouTube video id: gHrSXe1cElI

Given the widespread use of face-matching technologies by governments and industry, I suppose it wasn't going to be long before ways were found for individuals to use it too!

 

[Tincatinker]

I feel so sorry for any poor sod whose face matches mine…

 

[alexwalker]

I would like a light way to carry water. Dehydrated water????

Instant water powder exists, I believe, at farmacias. Just add water.

 

[Ross1066]

How about perfect recollection of a favourite walk ... so you can go into a darkened room and replay - the sights, smells, sounds, feeling ... yes, I know a camera exists, but somehow current tech falls short ... so just insert your memory card into your ear for a quiet few hours .... and relax ... and smile.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

The Hike-goo cream worked very well for me. Formulated for just that.
I put it on every morning before a hike, and in three Camino's I only got one blister.

There are several of these products and I've seen an anti-blister cream in Decathlon.

HikeGoo 5.5 oz - Foot Kinetics

5.5 oz Blister Prevention Cream

footkinetics.com

 

[David Tallan]

They already have those! They're called "private rooms." ;-)

They don't stop snoring and I'm not sure exile is humane. YMMV, of course. ;-)

 

[David Tallan]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

Yes it would. It was still the Camino when I got my smart phone. It was still the Camino when I got my poles. It was still the Camino when I got my clothing from merino or quick dry fabrics rather than the cotton tee shirts and jeans of my first Camino. We can have all the fancy techie inventions of the next 100 years and it will still be the Camino.

 

[dougfitz]

I feel so sorry for any poor sod whose face matches mine…

Sometimes I feel sorry for you too

 

[alexwalker]

Sometimes I feel sorry for you too

I never dared to say it...

 

[dougfitz]

I feel so sorry for any poor sod whose face matches mine…

@Tincatinker, you need a doppelganger! Many years ago I found that I had one when I was working in England. Unfortunately, we never met in person, and I now have no idea whether he continued to be the handsome young man we once were. I know age has wearied me somewhat more than I might have expected and I would be just a little jealous if he did otherwise.

 

[CTLawGal]

The Hike-goo cream worked very well for me. Formulated for just that.
I put it on every morning before a hike, and in three Camino's I only got one blister.

There are several of these products and I've seen an anti-blister cream in Decathlon.

HikeGoo 5.5 oz - Foot Kinetics

5.5 oz Blister Prevention Cream

footkinetics.com

LOVE that stuff!

I bought some on a whim while looking through the REI catalogue, I thought it might come in handy even though I don't blister. I packed it away and stopped thinking about it, UNTIL after my second day of walking I developed the largest blister I've ever had in my life on my left heel. Then I fished it out and applied it. I was finally able to drain the blister about 4 days later, but never got another one as long as I used this HikeGoo - I lived in fear that it wouldn't last the entire Camino and started resisting the urge to take off my shoes during the day to rest or soak my feet, because then you have to reply and I worried that would deplete my precious remaining tube. I'm told you can just use plain vaseline, but I didn't want to change things up after going blister free for more than 5 weeks. I know some people suggest two pairs of socks work just as well, but my feet are so wide I can't spare room for an extra sock!

For those curious, the tube was enough for the entire 6 week Camino, with a little leftover for sightseeing in Barcelona and Valencia afterwords. But I'm taking two tubes on my next Camino! (walking for 50 days instead of "just" 42, and I definitely want to feel free to soak my feet in cool water when the opportunity presents itself!

 

[LouLou]

Phone charger alert minder: if you are leaving the albergue, this device will alert you that you've left your charging cable or an upgraded version also alerts you if you've left your plug adapter. Order now and also get the all around sock, towel, hat, toiletries, and credential/passport minder absolutely free which alerts you when you've left anything out of your pack before you've walked out the door.

..and walking poles!

 

[GaTeach]

LOL Sahagun! I cry at my original pronunciation. And I will always smile at the thought of the woman at the train station in A Coruna saying FerRRRRRRRol! So many trilled Rs!

Same! And I asked the volunteer at the Pilgrim Office in SJPP where he was from. It took several times of him saying it before I understood "Bordeaux" One of the things that always brings awe and wonder to my Camino is sitting around and hearing all the different accents and languages.

 

[GaTeach]

If you had all those things, would it be the camino any more?

Haha! This is so true. Thank you for this. Sometimes I read here or on the many FB groups about people's "musts" for the pilgrimage and I always think "Don't you want to challenge yourself? Don't you want to step out there without your "musts" and see how you handle it? Don't you want the tests?"

I met a woman who was insisting on hiking through with an injury and she was not going to make Santiago. Various pilgrims tried to offer her options. She kept insisting "That's not my personality. That's not who I am." And I kept thinking, "Don't you come out here to test yourself? To find out who you are beyond that personality at home? To find out who you are in unfamiliar situations?" And the answer is no. And I guess that's fine, too

 

[CTLawGal]

Haha! This is so true. Thank you for this. Sometimes I read here or on the many FB groups about people's "musts" for the pilgrimage and I always think "Don't you want to challenge yourself? Don't you want to step out there without your "musts" and see how you handle it? Don't you want the tests?"

I met a woman who was insisting on hiking through with an injury and she was not going to make Santiago. Various pilgrims tried to offer her options. She kept insisting "That's not my personality. That's not who I am." And I kept thinking, "Don't you come out here to test yourself? To find out who you are beyond that personality at home? To find out who you are in unfamiliar situations?" And the answer is no. And I guess that's fine, too

Maybe she DID test herself, and she did find out who she was in that unfamiliar situation - she is that person with a personality she doesn't want to change, and that's fine too! Right?

 

[GaTeach]

Maybe she DID test herself, and she did find out who she was in that unfamiliar situation - she is that person with a personality she doesn't want to change, and that's fine too! Right?

Yep! I asked about her all along the path and prayed for her every day that she made it to Santiago.

 

[Cristofero]

Doug - your problem is solved ... from a bit of Google searching I found this! .

What's not to like!! (though I too would like the Rincewind luggage and agree, less malicious!).

View attachment 178807

I love this, but the link doesn’t seem to work. Any idea how much it costs

 

[John Cook]

I'd like to see friendly dogs on the Spanish Camino's. They seemed to have been invented for use along the Portuguese Camino route but not on the Spanish ones; except for the extremely well trained and enormous sheep dogs, thankfully.

 

[Cristofero]

I love this, but the link doesn’t seem to work. Any idea how much it costs

Really I’d pull the trailer, and the dog could come along if it felt like doing a camino.

 

[WGroleau]

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

With a built-in ventilation system, so you don't have to take it off when the sun comes out five minutes after the rain started and put it back on five minutes later when the rain starts again?

 

[WGroleau]

This is a joke. My wife produced two beautiful children, beautiful, though she was slow, each one did take 9 months.

I don't recall the author of a book on project management, but he wrote "It takes nin months to make a baby, no matter how many women are assigned to the project."

 

[WGroleau]

Trail runners that would last more than 200-300 miles, so I only need one pair when walking more than 3-4 weeks!

?? My shoes were still waterproof after thousands of kilometers.

 

[WGroleau]

Timers in albergues that turn off power to the dorm lights at door-locking time and don't turn it back on until two hours before "must be out"

 

[KariannNor]

They already have those! They're called "private rooms." ;-)

Two of my three nights in a private room, people in the neighboring rooms did... I don't quite know what words to use.. did what nature wants when making children (definitely not "making love" because the ladies howled as in pain and the walls, which must been made of paper, shook). Maybe the booking said "brothel" in Spanish and nb, this is a really cheap hostel or something.. well, I missed the snoring..

 

[PapaPedro]

A bicycle bell. This way cyclists could alert walkers?

 

[williamlittig]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

I wish there were charts with percentage of occupancy for albergues that Do Not Take Reservations. An annual barograph with weekly numbers. This could help in planning for pilgrims not tied to a commercial group. The commercial companies will prebook hotels, pensions, and private albergues long in advance, frustrating old style pilgrims. I know this is a lot of work for someone, Thank you if you do it.

 

[William Garza]

@David, you are indeed a treasure. It lightened up my day when I saw this, and it did so again when I came back to see the many wonderful quirky responses.

I would dearly love a self propelled baggage trolley capable of negotiating even the roughest parts of any of the Camino paths in Spain, Portugal and France. Since my pilgrimage to Trondheim this year along the Gudbrandsdalsleden, I have been pondering about how I would manage the walks I plan to do in Spain next year. I still want to walk each day, and I don't want to limit myself with the constraints that using pack transport services would create. I realise that there are many towed trailer designs, including your own, that might well be contenders, but I yearn after that next step. A modern version of the Luggage that Terry Pratchett wrote of, but perhaps without being quite so malicious to my enemies.

Darpa Dog?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I would dearly love a self propelled baggage trolley capable of negotiating even the roughest parts of any of the Camino paths in Spain, Portugal and France.

Darpa Dog?

To save others some searching here is information on Darpa Dog:

https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/big-dog

And here is an edited version of that page to save you even more time.

With its sights on robotic pack mules to help warfighter in operations, DARPA initiated a program that yielded BigDog. ... BigDog’s control system keeps it balanced, manages locomotion on a wide variety of terrain, and does navigation. ... In demonstrations, BigDog ran at 10 kmh, climbed slopes up to 35 degrees, walked across rubble, climbed muddy hiking trails, walked in snow and water, and carried up to 150kg loads.​

You may have heard of DARPA before. On one of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's webpages they say (my emphasis):

ARPA research played a central role in launching the Information Revolution. The agency developed and furthered much of the conceptual basis for the ARPANET—prototypical communications network launched nearly half a century ago—and invented the digital protocols that gave birth to the Internet.​

 

[MikeJS]

@David, you are indeed a treasure. It lightened up my day when I saw this, and it did so again when I came back to see the many wonderful quirky responses.

I would dearly love a self propelled baggage trolley capable of negotiating even the roughest parts of any of the Camino paths in Spain, Portugal and France. Since my pilgrimage to Trondheim this year along the Gudbrandsdalsleden, I have been pondering about how I would manage the walks I plan to do in Spain next year. I still want to walk each day, and I don't want to limit myself with the constraints that using pack transport services would create. I realise that there are many towed trailer designs, including your own, that might well be contenders, but I yearn after that next step. A modern version of the Luggage that Terry Pratchett wrote of, but perhaps without being quite so malicious to my enemies.

I quite fancy a drone that could carry a rucksack and which had a ‘follow me’ option…….

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I quite fancy a drone that could carry a rucksack and which had a ‘follow me’ option…….

Well, as an option that would be fine but you want it to lead you up the Route Napoleon (while filming you smiling and passing others huffing and puffing under their packs).

 

[Paladina]

a non-toxic, environmentally friendly bedbug deterrent. I've never been troubled by bedbugs on the Camino, but I've suffered from the liberal use of permethrin

 

[mattythedog]

Slightly more seriously, the Ultimate Blister/Hot Spot Prevention gizmo. 2nd prize would go to a lotion that can be applied once a day and does the same thing without fail.

The lotion is called Vaseline. Use it 2 or 3 times a day. I don’t get blisterzzzzz

 

[mattythedog]

Hi all ... slow Sunday .. rambling idle thoughts .. Camino - is there anything you would want, or wanted, that doesn't seem to have been invented yet? Or you couldn't find one?

I can think of ...

A 100% waterproof hat like a sailors' yellow south-wester with a good peak but extended with a cowl all the way round so that it drapes like a short cape - to stop that water running down the neck! (which seems to happen whatever you do).

An app on my phone maps that can smell real coffee up to 1km away ...

Non-rustling black bags

Ear plugs with noise-cancelling ability tuned to snoring

Just wondering

Well, for the hat, just use a very lightweight baseball cap, but pull the hood of your large FrogTogs raincoat over it. The coat also goes around your backpack to keep it and you dry. FrogTogs is cheap and weighs about 150 grams.

 

[Tincatinker]

How about perfect recollection of a favourite walk ... so you can go into a darkened room and replay - the sights, smells, sounds, feeling ... yes, I know a camera exists, but somehow current tech falls short ... so just insert your memory card into your ear for a quiet few hours .... and relax ... and smile.

I do that. So can you. It's all there in your memory; every inch of every path you have ever walked.

I spent years on commuter trains: my way to shut those hours out was to rehearse the walks I had done in my head. It takes time and effort and sitting on that bloody train every bloody morning gave me both the time and a reason for putting in the effort.

So, sit down, put some white noise on your favourite smart speaker, close your eyes. Remember your journey to primary school? Start there. It'll be a deep memory, you may have to search for it but it'll be there. Start from your doorstep. Step out. Turn left? Turn right? Your cells will remember. Look down. Flagstones or Tarmac? Gravel or mud? You will remember.

I can re-walk mostly every journey I have ever made. Most of the myriad photographs I have don't have context and don't really help much at all

 

[trecile]

I've never been troubled by bedbugs on the Camino, but I've suffered from the liberal use of permethrin

How so? Were people spraying it inside the albergues??

 

[Paladina]

How so? Were people spraying it inside the albergues??

Yes, slathering their sheets!

 

[trecile]

Yes, slathering their sheets!

Wow! It says right on the label not to spray indoors or touch it until it dries. Are you sure it was permethrin and not DEET? Permethrin doesn't really have much of an odor, but DEET sure does. Regardless, neither should be applied in shared spaces.

 

[Paladina]

Yes, I’m well aware that permethrin is disarmingly odourless and potentially deadly — it did more damage to me than to the woodworm in my house —so I can safely say that I now know it when I don’t smell it!

 

[dougfitz]

Yes, slathering their sheets!

Were you able to discover what they were using? Carrying sufficient permethrin for this would be quite cumbersome, but some people might do that and apply it irresponsibly. DEET or picardin might also be used irresponsibly, but I always worry about the essential oil afficionados. None of these will be toxic to humans, even when used responsibly. The doses to achieve that seem quite large. But they might trigger those sensitive to the compounds and are exposed to them if they are applied, irresponsibly, in a dormitory.