Bloggers

[travelingtrish]

Could those of you who have done a blog or are going to write a blog tell me what they use? I am thinking of buying an ipod mini to do mine. I would like to know if others use a device or rely on 'net cafes? thanks in advance.

 

[Kitsambler]

I use Wordpress. You can upload posts (including photos) from their iPhone app, as well as posting and editing from any computer.

 

[travelingtrish]

Thanks for that, I will try the Wordprss, but the question is what method did you use. Your own device or 'net cafes? If I get the cellular option on mini ipad I can pick up signals wherever there is 'net cover, or phone cover....

 

[Riseson]

Wifi is pretty available at both alberges and in the bars along the way. I also have a wordpress self hosted site. You can post via email or through the dashboard for the site. You can also use their app. I would recommend only using an iPhone too. I dragged my netbook with me and while it is light it did use up a pound that I could have saved. But I did appreciate having the extra photo storage space. Good luck!

 

[Magwood]

I also used wordpress with my specially purchased ipad mini, which I used as a camera and for many other tasks. Get plenty of posting practise in before you start your camino - it can be frustratingly slow if you are uploading lots of photos!

.....Camino Frances with my daughter: http://magwood.wordpress.com

 

[zakosdad]

I used an iPad mini 32G with Wi-Fi & 3G - and I matched it with a Sony Cyber-shot 16.2MP 8x zoom point and shoot camera which has wi-fi.
I had to install "Playmemories" on the iPad - but it was easy to transfer photos from the camera to iPad. I use Blogger for my blog and it was easy to pull photos
from the camera roll into the blog. Uploading the post took a lot of time due to slow wi-fi and in some places I could not connect to the wi-fi at the albergue
so I had to try at a cafe or wait until the next day. I had an international plan on the iPad so when desperate I used the 3G. The camera is a small point and
shoot and took excellent photos. Look at my blog Dale & Arlene's Camino..... http://dalenarlene.blogspot.com
Buen Camino

 

[zakosdad]

I also used wordpress with my specially purchased ipad mini, which I used as a camera and for many other tasks. Get plenty of posting practise in before you start your camino - it can be frustratingly slow if you are uploading lots of photos!

.....Camino Frances with my daughter: http://magwood.wordpress.com

Nice blog!

 

[Sixwheeler]

I used WordPress which i only set up two days before I started so is unfinished business to be 'improved' for future use.

I did everything from my Samsung Galaxy3 Mini which is a SMALL smartphone but more than adequate. I found places where I had problems with WiFi i.e. there was none / it was rubbish / I was unable to log on to server as password to long to fit in the box. This does not matter, the important thing is to write your blog daily and save it as a draft then publish when you do have a good link.

This also doubles as a diary which is handy.

 

[SYates]

... If I get the cellular option on mini ipad I can pick up signals wherever there is 'net cover, or phone cover....

You might enquire how expensive that would be, depending on your provider / roaming plan the bill might be huge. Buen Camino, SY

 

[travelingtrish]

Thanks, that's all great info. The mini I am looking at has 'cellular' option, which will mean I buy a sim card in Spain and use that option when I can't get 'net cover.

 

[vicrev]

Thats what I have, travelingtrish,works for me...................Vicrev

 

[SBrierley]

I didn't plan to but ended up doing a blog on Facebook - originally planned to write a diary but after the first day I wrote on facebook just to tell family I was 'ok' and then didn't have the energy to write in diary as well - and then it carried on from there. I only found one nights stay where there was no wifi and I pre wrote my blog and posted it at the next morings café stop. I used a iPod for all my connecting, wifi in spain is superb compared to NZ, took the ipod to listen to music whilst walking - didn't listen to music whilst walking once! funny how unplanned things pan out on the Camino

 

[SBrierley]

DONT get a roaming plan!!!! I took a stock standard normal cell phone with me (not android) and picked up a prepaid sim card at Madrid airport, best thing I done and it was by blind fluke! Was able to call my wife and kids when ever needed and used my ipod to sykpe heaps - I've talked to other people that set up 'global roaming' on the camino - the bill they have been left to pay when they get home makes me cringe :/

 

[kmrice]

My wife and I blogged on the CF with Wordpress in September and October (leslieandkarl.wordpress.com) using our iPhones. It worked fine. Uploading pictures uses up a lot of data, so, although we had a data plan with AT&T, we only used WiFi to blog. On the CF we could almost always find WiFi at a cafe, albergue, or hotel. You can compose in Wordpress off line, and then post when you find WiFi.

Karl

 

[LarryBC]

We used an iPad mini, wifi only, Blogger (free app, easy to use, and you can compose text and pics offline) and a pocket-sized digital camera (happens to be a Canon Powershot ELPH 310 HS). The camera not only takes better pix than an iPad or smartphone, it's way more accessible -- I carried it in my pants pocket the whole way, and took tons of pix.

Each night, we'd copy across the pix to the iPad, keep the best 10 or so, crop one or two, then compose the blog post. Most albergues or bars/cafés in town had wifi, so we were able to upload almost daily. Only twice that I recall did I not have wifi access sometime during the day.

We considered for a while unplugging, even not taking a camera, but so glad we blogged. Great reviewing our pix each night and writing a few words. Not only kept family and friends up to date, but also helped others considering doing a Camino -- and will be great to read and reminisce ourselves when we get home!

By the way, we just finished our Camino yesterday, in Muxia. Such a great time.

Buen Camino!

Larry and Jan

http://janlarrycamino.blogspot.com

 

[lynnejohn]

Larry and Jan -
I have read your blog every day and thoroughly enjoyed your writing and photos..It was a great Camino fix!
Congratulations on completing what obviously was a wonderful camino. Enjoy your rest and your memories until you start planning again!

 

[jirit]

Our Little Green Tracs blog is on Typepad and has been for a number of years.
Many people have suggested using Wordpress which is also a good platform for blogs.
Blogger is free but I found it lacking in functionality.

I suggest you take a wifi enabled ipad mini and download the appropriate app (Typepad, Wordpress, etc) for your blog.
While the latest ipad mini takes good photos, buy and take a USB camera connector so you can transfer photos from your camera to the ipad
(unless you camera has wifi built into it then all you need to do it wirelessly transfer the images)

On me last two walks I carried a full size ipad along with my Nikon D70, and blogged along the way.
Next time I will take a ipad mini and wifi enabled Sony NEX 6

My wife is currently on the camino and she is only using an ipod touch and wifi enabled camera.

As you know the latest Apple ipad mini will be released next week.

It is not necessary to take a 4G ipad mini, plus if you do, the roaming charges will make grown men cry

 

[jburr3708]

I used Blogger (available through Google). There is an iPhone/iPad Ap called Blogsy that goes with it and worked really well for me. I could write a daily blog on my iPad-mini and include photos I had taken on my iPhone which automatically synchronize to the iPad through the iCloud. I did not use data roaming but there was plenty of free wifi all along the Camino Frances. I could compose off-line and then upload whenever I had wifi. Here is a link to my blog. Buen Camino
http://james-ontheway.blogspot.com/2013/04/camino-day-1-st-jean-to-rocevalles.html

 

[brickthomas]

Could those of you who have done a blog or are going to write a blog tell me what they use? I am thinking of buying an ipod mini to do mine. I would like to know if others use a device or rely on 'net cafes? thanks in advance.

I used the iPad mini via WIFI and posted to Wordpress. Safer, faster and easier than using a public computer. I found that posting via Blogsy on the Mini was easier than writing and posting directly in Wordpress. I preferred to do the writing with iA Writer then pasted it via Blogsy. It may sound a little complicated but it wasn't. Not even for an old guy like me. Good luck. You can see my blog at brickthomasblog.wordpress.com if you're interested.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

I took an iPod last year, and have a Blogger blog, but when I started out in France there wasn't much wifi. The Blogger app only worked when connected, so I used to write e-mails, or take photos and e-mail them, and send them to my blog. It meant that when I ended up being able to connect, you would hear a 'whoosh' as all the draft e-mails suddenly 'left' and published themselves on my blog. The photos would each be a separate post, which wasn't ideal, and the quality of photo on the iPod wasn't all that good, but it gave people back home a bit of a 'taste' of where I was.

I have since downloaded the Blogsy app that someone else mentioned, and it looks good- and I understand it has the advantage of letting you compose posts with text and photos off-line. But as I haven't left home again, I haven't yet played around with it.
The iPod worked fine, but the screen is small for my old eyes, and I kept having to expand it and would only see part of it. "Next" time, I would take an iPad Mini or another similar sized tablet without a Sim, and will probably only use wifi again when it is available.

I have actually rewritten my blogs back at home and added photos so they can be read in chronological order- but I did that mainly for the Le Puy route where there wasn't much info previously in English.
Margaret

 

[jirit]

Another little trick if you are using an iPad is to write your daily notes in Notepad.

If you set it up correctly the notes are backed up in the apple cloud and you can simply either email each specific note to friends and family or copy the text over into your blog when you have wifi and post to your blog. You do not need to be connected to wifi in order to use Notepad.

I use Notepad a lot, to screen capture text from websites ( contact information, etc), make person notes, record phone numbers of fellow pilgrims, etc.

I also have pages that I use for word processing but notes is simple to use.

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Another little trick if you are using an iPad is to write your daily notes in Notepad.

Yes, I should have said that is how I do it too. Write in Notepad, then send the bits I want to my draft e-mails folder.
Margaret

 

[serenalms]

I am about halfway through my camino and blogging every few days, and I brought an iPad mini. It's taken me awhile to get used to typing with it, and it takes me considerably longer to type and post than a laptop would, but I don't personally think a laptop is worth the extra weight (unless you are porting your bags).

I'm glad I brought it as I haven't found Internet cafes to be common at all. Some albergues have computers but the cost to use them has generally been quite expensive.

I'd suggest bringing a tablet or just sticking with your smartphone! Unless you are planning on posting a lot of pictures daily, this should be more than sufficient.