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I spray inside my backpack, my sleep gear (except pillowcase), and all of my cloth stuff sacks with permethrin. BUT, I don't do it to avoid being bitten by bed bugs, because permethrin is not a bed bug repellent nor does it kill them immediately on contact. They can sneak into your sleeping bag and have a quick bite, or two or three.Regarding bed bugs, you might think about spraying your pack and sleeping bag with permethrin. Although I never had a problem, I have seen pilgrims who were pretty bit up.
No. The $100 a month one.is it the $10 a day US Verizon plan? Because that is a total ripoff when you can get a Spanish sim with enough data for the Camino for less than 15€
Still sounds like a lot to pay when 15 or 20 euro will buy you a local sim with a generous data allowance plus calls and sms messages for a month.No. The $100 a month one.
I have used Verizon’s international plan twice for tourist trips to Europe and it was not a good experience. On the first time, the calling function just wouldn’t work. I had a long talk with the reps on my return and they credited the money and assured me it wouldn’t happen again. They can see every key stroke you’ve made on your phone, so they were able to confirm that I had done things right and nothing had worked. On the second trip, the data plan was not what I had expected. Yes, I had data all the time, but after a few GBs it dropped to whatever the low level totally unusable type of data is. I can’t remember the designation, is it “E”? At $100 for two weeks (think that’s the price) it’s astronomically more expensive than getting a Spanish sim card, and as I discovered, potentially much less reliable. You may be lucky and have a good result, and you may have a reason for needing to keep your US number, but I would never use it on a camino. Who wants to get spam while you’re walking a camino? You can send an email telling your family your new Spanish number, and all your messages and a list of your calls will be waiting for you when you pop back your US sim.I’m going to use the Verizon international plan for cell service. Any recent feedback on how service is?
Does your phone have dual-sim capability? That way you can have your usual sim and phone number running in parallel with a local sim. Just be sure to disable the data function for the US sim.I’ve used the $100/month Verizon plan on two different monthlong trips in Europe in the past couple of years because it was essential for family reasons that I was reachable through usual channels at all times.
Thanks for the point out the correct price - $100 for the month is a lot different than for two weeks, which is what I incorrectly remembered. I too have to be easily reachable by my US family members, and when my parents were alive, it was hard to teach them how to call me. But my brother was able to put the keystrokes one by one on a big piece of paper taped to the wall and they did it just fine. I currently call back to the US on a daily basis while on the camino, and even though I have 800 international minutes available on my plan, I usually use WhatsApp so that I can have a video rather than a voice call. With the huge amount of data, this is always easy to accomplish.I’ve used the $100/month Verizon plan on two different monthlong trips in Europe in the past couple of years because it was essential for family reasons that I was reachable through usual channels at all times. Coverage was fine — no worse that hitting the occasional weak zone in the US. Just remember to hit the + sign before dialing the country code - including back to the US. I appreciate there are cheaper options, but for me the tradeoff of keeping my regular phone number in the event of an emergency back home was worth it. But everyone’s situation is their own.
I didn’t have a data issue, but I typically don’t use video, so my data needs were probably different. A couple of times I had to turn off/on the airplane mode iPhone switch to reconnect in a rural area when I’d been offline for a bit, but I’ve had to do that in the US in an area with weaker Verizon coverage, and it never took more than a minute or twi to get back online. The current Verizon int’l plan provides 20GB of high speed data per month and then switches to unlimited 3G data. Unlimited texts and 250 calling minutes (not including WhatsAp).Thanks for the point out the correct price - $100 for the month is a lot different than for two weeks, which is what I incorrectly remembered. I too have to be easily reachable by my US family members, and when my parents were alive, it was hard to teach them how to call me. But my brother was able to put the keystrokes one by one on a big piece of paper taped to the wall and they did it just fine. I currently call back to the US on a daily basis while on the camino, and even though I have 800 international minutes available on my plan, I usually use WhatsApp so that I can have a video rather than a voice call. With the huge amount of data, this is always easy to accomplish.
I’m wondering if you had any data problems, because for me that is really a much bigger issue. I walk a lot of untraveled and sometimes remote caminos, and not having access to data would be a real problem.
Thanks. Yes, my thought process is similar. Just wanted to be sure coverage was fine.I’ve used the $100/month Verizon plan on two different monthlong trips in Europe in the past couple of years because it was essential for family reasons that I was reachable through usual channels at all times. Coverage was fine — no worse that hitting the occasional weak zone in the US. Just remember to hit the + sign before dialing the country code - including back to the US. I appreciate there are cheaper options, but for me the tradeoff of keeping my regular phone number in the event of an emergency back home was worth it. But everyone’s situation is their own.
Thanks. This helps. Yes, I’ve learned T-Mobile’s international plan is better than Verizon’s, and I’d switch if I could, but I can’t. I also don’t want to deal with SIM cards and different numbers, so I’m looking for ease and willing to pay. Just wanted to be sure the coverage was adequate for the cost.I have t-Mobile as my cellular provider in the US. They provide FREE UNLIMITED TEXTING and UNLIMITED DATA in over 140 countries. For example, when I land at Madrid Barajas, or Paris Charles de Gaulle, I turn my phone on - take it out of "airplane mode." It automatically connects to a t-Mobile roaming partner.
I have not noticed any problems with coverage or signal strength anywhere on my six Camino journeys. In my experience over the past decade, cellular service in Europe is generally better than in the US.
T-Mobile will, eventually, start to remind me that their generosity is for vacations and business trips, not residing in a foreign country. But, this does not occur until I am using the data and texting for more than 30 consecutive days. Then, they start sending polite reminders. But, even when I have been in Spain for six weeks or so, they have never cut me off.
I do not have to do anything to cause this benefit to occur. I just travel. There is no daily or monthly charge. However, voice calls - anywhere - are USD .25 cents per minute.
So, while I can receive a call directly, while in Europe - or Asia for that matter - I will only answer immediately on an urgent matter. Everything else goes to voice mail. I deal with those messages when I can use free Wi-Fi to place phone calls over the internet - usually from my accommodations that evening.
Hope this helps.
Tom
You should also install WhatsApp on your phone if you haven't already. It's how pilgrims often communicate with each other and with albergues and other accommodations.I plan to use iMessage and FaceTime on WiFi to save the minutes and high speed data I get with the plan.
I walked Camino Francés last year from SJPP and the Camino Francés this year from Pamplona as well as the Camino Portuguese from Tui on the same trip. I did not spray any of my gear last year or this year and had no bug problem. Now i'am not saying don't spray your gear i'am just saying if you don't spray doesn't mean you will automatically have a bug problem. Buen CaminoI can’t believe I’m less than 2 weeks away from starting this adventure! A little over a year ago I learned about the Camino de Santiago, and thanks to the guidance of this forum I decided this was how I wanted to spend my sabbatical.
I’m both excited and nervous, which I think is a good thing. Getting out of my comfort zone is one of the reasons I’m doing this.
A few last questions…
I’m going to use the Verizon international plan for cell service. Any recent feedback on how service is?
I’ve got my pack down to 14 lbs. (Zpacks Nero 38L w/ hip pads). I’ve had some calf tightness in recent training hikes, so I’m going to get poles in SJPDP. Sounds like this is easy to purchase there, correct?
Bugs - are folks treating their pack for bed bugs? How about bugs on the trail? I’m planning to bring some repellant.
I’m starting in summer and ending in fall at Muxia. I assume temps there at that time will be cooler, but not anything some pants, long sleeve merino and rain jacket can’t handle?
Thanks for all of your wisdom.
Vamos!
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