How to 'check in' without interrupting your camino?

[Steeplechase]

Well-meaning folks are asking that I keep them posted, (check in on social media) while on my walk. I'd prefer not to touch a screen or keyboard the whole 18 days at all if I could.

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

 

[CAJohn]

I am not on social media. I plan to send regular emails to family so that they know I am alive. I know that they would be otherwise concerned if they didn’t hear from me for a long time.

 

[oursonpolaire]

postcards. Buy the stamps at the tobacco shop. Tell them that you'll send one every day or every second day. They will get used to not expecting instant notes from the Camino.

 

[Steeplechase]

postcards. Buy the stamps at the tobacco shop. Tell them that you'll send one every day or every second day. They will get used to not expecting instant notes from the Camino.

YES!! You brilliant genius, thank you!
It is that expectation of constant contact that I want to squelch and postcards do that beautifully.
I'd been imagining one of those tracking tags like they clip on endangered species, available at REI.

 

[trecile]

If you use Google maps you can turn on location sharing to share where you are in real time with friends and family. After you set it up you won't have to do anything else. Except maybe sign in to wifi.

Share your real-time location with others - Android - Google Maps Help

You can choose who can find your location and how long to share your location with Google Location Sharing. Tip: Other Google products may also allow you to share a one-time location with others.&nbs

support.google.com

 

[Steeplechase]

If you use Google maps you can turn on location sharing to share where you are in real time with friends and family. After you set it up you won't have to do anything else. Except maybe sign in to wifi.

Share your real-time location with others - Android - Google Maps Help

You can choose who can find your location and how long to share your location with Google Location Sharing. Tip: Other Google products may also allow you to share a one-time location with others.&nbs

support.google.com

Thanks - this is just what I was imagining! Have you found your battery drains faster keeping gps on? I'm thinking I may need more than one external power bank...

 

[Sho]

Polarsteps also does passive mapping. The battery use is nominal.

 

[Felipe]

Besides...tell your family and friends that you will not be walking in some remote and backward country, and you will be hardly alone.

 

[trecile]

Thanks - this is just what I was imagining! Have you found your battery drains faster keeping gps on? I'm thinking I may need more than one external power bank...

No, I haven't noticed a drain on my battery. There are plenty of electrical outlets in Spain I carry a power bank that will charge my phone about 1.5 times, and it's more than enough.

 

[TatiLie]

Sometimes when I stopped to take a picture I sent them through WhatsApp. I got a message from work asking if I could come in for an emergency and I just sent a picture from right where I was, on the highest elevation between Combarro and Armenteira, looking down the bay. I wrote, "sorry, I'm far, far away". In the end of each day I posted to a group of friends on Facebook about the stage done, which was nice because many are interested in doing the Camino and also the interaction with people from outside was good to open my eyes from many aspects (for example, some friend likes flower, others like architecture, others like animals, others food...). The posts are a great way for me to remind of the little details, like a diary but permeated with friendly support.

 

[Stroller]

I needed to be alone so I did not contact anyone except my wife and then only at irregular intervals. I did however sent my granddaughter regular post cards along the way and agreed to have my phone switched on for an hour from 17:00 to 18:00 every day for emergency contact . Nobody got too worried and the relief of not being constantly available was wonderful.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I assume that you will use your phone to take pictures and you may use wifi to upload them to the cloud for safety. Maybe allow your contacts to view them when you upload. You could even take a picture of a handwritten note such as might appear on a postcard.

 

[Davie Blisters]

My 4 year old grand-daughter was upset that I was leaving her to complete the Madrid/Salvador/Primitivo combo. The night prior to travel, she gave me a cuddle and her Panda Bear who was to act as chaperone.
Over the course of 6 weeks I sent her a daily 30sec. video of my adventures with Panda Bear.

You can imagine the reaction from other pilgrims watching me film such gems as ''Panda Bear gets lost in Tres Cantos'', ''Panda Bear showers in the Municipal'' and my personal favourite ''Panda Bear dines on Menu de Dia in Segovia''.

Just an idea

 

[benny aumala]

WhatsApp with albergue WiFi lets you send some words and photos to chosen people.

 

[K Turner]

I use the Camino Pilgrim app to send a message to just a few people I put together in a Hangouts group. It sends my coordinates so they know I'm safe.

 

[Davey Boyd]

When I walked from Geneva I told family and friends that if they heard from me it was bad news. No news is good news. But, I am a bad man!

Davey

 

[oursonpolaire]

Besides...tell your family and friends that you will not be walking in some remote and backward country, and you will be hardly alone.

Although Canadians tend to be widely-travelled, I have had to deal with comments of fear and horror when I tell people that I am walking in Spain. Once I was asked if this involved much walking through jungle, and another time if I did not fear kidnapping by drug cartels.

 

[Stephen Hayes]

We would post pics from the day that evening and people at home loved it and would "tune in" every evening to see our daily adventures

 

[IngridF]

I walked tech free on my 1st Camino, had a mobile on my 2nd to keep in touch with family and close friends...for my 3rd I created a group and posted on a more regular basis. ..repeat this year and posted more on my profile. In all cases I treat it more as my journal with lots of pictures...and my friends/family are hitchhiker. There are times when remote places are an automatic disconnect and I cherish both... what I like most, are the Facebook memories reminders of past Caminos.

 

[Chris Gi]

postcards. Buy the stamps at the tobacco shop. Tell them that you'll send one every day or every second day. They will get used to not expecting instant notes from the Camino.

But you will be home before the postcards arrive

 

[C clearly]

But you will be home before the postcards arrive

@Steeplechase could start sending the postcards a week or 2 before leaving home.

 

[Davey Boyd]

If you use Google maps you can turn on location sharing to share where you are in real time with friends and family. After you set it up you won't have to do anything else. Except maybe sign in to wifi.

Share your real-time location with others - Android - Google Maps Help

You can choose who can find your location and how long to share your location with Google Location Sharing. Tip: Other Google products may also allow you to share a one-time location with others.&nbs

support.google.com

A very young girl from Denmark who was walking the Frances alone joined our group. She said her mum made her have an Ap on her phone that connected to GPS so her mum always knew where she was. She said "well, they know where I am, but don't know what I am up to"! Made me giggle (not that she actually got up to anything mind).

Davey

 

[sugargypsy]

@Steeplechase could start sending the postcards a week or 2 before leaving home.

I wanted to use postcards too and had the same fear. Rightly so, because if you send postcards from small town in Spain it can take up to 1 week or more to reach its destination in Europe, at least that was my experience this May and June.

I then picked a company in my country which sends postcards online. There I could upload my own pictures and write a little note on the back. They would then print my individual postcard and send it to the adressed person. I paid via paypal, was about 1,50 € a card. Those postcards arrived a day or two later, and they were special too, because I could choose out of my own pictures I had taken.

 

[TatiLie]

I used to send my holiday postcards to work and they usually arrived on my second day back. The last one I got the honour to collect it directly from the postman. I then stopped doing it because my boss asked 'Did you actually post it?'

 

[Bodi]

@Steeplechase, could you agree to email your friends once a week as a check-in? My son has been travelling in SE Asia this summer and that is what we agreed would be acceptable for both of us. I knew I couldn't expect him to contact us every day and he is an adult after all

 

[sugargypsy]

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

If it's about familiy / people who are afraid that something might happen to you, for that case I got myself a new email-adress to which I had access and my sister. I wrote myself every evening a short email only putting down the place where I was staying, adress and phone number.

This was just for the case if something should happen, which nobody was hoping, but you never know. In that case they my sister could check where I am. We didn't need it, but made my mom sleep well during the seven weeks I was away.

 

[Steeplechase]

There are plenty of electrical outlets in Spain

I'm sure I will be laughing at myself pretty soon for all these questions - is it common to sort of come unglued & frazzled 10 days pre-first-camino? ...✈

 

[Steeplechase]

I walked tech free on my 1st Camino

I admire you for doing this! If it weren't for the weight saved carrying my phone instead of books, camera, flashlight & such I'd love complete tech-freedom

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I'm sure I will be laughing at myself pretty soon for all these questions - is it common to sort of come unglued & frazzled 10 days pre-first-camino? ...✈

Recharge your battery at the albergue in the afternoon and then use it to charge the phone during dinner, the evening or night. Try to charge the battery again before you leave (but don't forget it). This keeps the phone safe with you at all times.

 

[Steeplechase]

I assume that you will use your phone to take pictures and you may use wifi to upload them to the cloud for safety. Maybe allow your contacts to view them when you upload. You could even take a picture of a handwritten note such as might appear on a postcard.

I love the handwritten note picture idea!! Thank you Rick, I think this is a really great solution

 

[Thomas1962]

Just send them one word every day which represtents your day. That word will automatically pop up each day (and if it doesn't, the word will be 'nothing'...). It can be a nice guide to share your experiences after the camino with your close relatives.

 

[oursonpolaire]

But you will be home before the postcards arrive

Ah that was not my experience. My cards took 4-8 days to arrive in Ottawa, generally sent from the smallest and dingiest pueblo I could find. The record was 3 days, but a few took a couple of weeks. The average was within a week.

Curious about this, I made enquiries a few years ago and a Spanish friend told me that each box is emptied daily by those little yellow vans hurtling down the road, then taken to a regional distribution centre for postmarking (e.g. Sahagun) and the same day are taken to Madrid or Barcelona by train, and by day 2 or 3 is on aeroplane to Canada. If you're within 500km of an international airport, the cards take 2 or so days from landing.

 

[henrythedog]

I was most disappointed to not need to use my ‘power bank’ to charge my phone.

I still carry one - but it’s a tiny little 5000 not a heavy 20000 which I assumed I would need.

I compile a daily email as I’m walking with notes, comments and photos. I send it ‘home’ daily. I’m conscious that I’m doing a village to village walk in one of the most developed countries in the world. There’s no point in pretending I’ve gone to Mars.

 

[henrythedog]

Just send them one word every day which represtents your day. That word will automatically pop up each day (and if it doesn't, the word will be 'nothing'...). It can be a nice guide to share your experiences after the camino with your close relatives.

If I were to limit myself to just one word than there's a fair chance my phone’s obscenity filter would render me incommunicado.

 

[hel&scott]

We've never taken a phone on any of our travels, and send postcards so the kids can track us, or at least have some idea of where we fell off the face of the world. On some of our more remote routes we take a tablet as the gps is useful in finding out where we are and if there is water or a tree to sleep under near by.

Once when our kids hadn't heard from us of over a week, they got a bit freaked and contacted the confraternity of St James to see if they could track us down through the alburgues. When Scott found out he laughed and laughed, he had visions of pilgrim admin coming down ropes from helicopters like ninja to find us. Eventually the backlog of postcards got through and we found an Internet cafe to reassure them were feral but ok.

 

[domigee]

Have you on Whats App? Then use the location option, they’ll see where you are

 

[Margaret Butterworth]

YES!! You brilliant genius, thank you!
It is that expectation of constant contact that I want to squelch and postcards do that beautifully.
I'd been imagining one of those tracking tags like they clip on endangered species, available at REI.

I'll be back home in Perth before any postcards arrive!

 

[Martin&Yvonne]

Postcards?? What are those?

 

[Mycroft]

My 4 year old grand-daughter was upset that I was leaving her to complete the Madrid/Salvador/Primitivo combo. The night prior to travel, she gave me a cuddle and her Panda Bear who was to act as chaperone.
Over the course of 6 weeks I sent her a daily 30sec. video of my adventures with Panda Bear.

You can imagine the reaction from other pilgrims watching me film such gems as ''Panda Bear gets lost in Tres Cantos'', ''Panda Bear showers in the Municipal'' and my personal favourite ''Panda Bear dines on Menu de Dia in Segovia''.

Just an idea

Now I want to see your videos!!!!!!!!

 

[Mycroft]

We've never taken a phone on any of our travels, and send postcards so the kids can track us, or at least have some idea of where we fell off the face of the world. On some of our more remote routes we take a tablet as the gps is useful in finding out where we are and if there is water or a tree to sleep under near by.

Once when our kids hadn't heard from us of over a week, they got a bit freaked and contacted the confraternity of St James to see if they could track us down through the alburgues. When Scott found out he laughed and laughed, he had visions of pilgrim admin coming down ropes from helicopters like ninja to find us. Eventually the backlog of postcards got through and we found an Internet cafe to reassure them were feral but ok.

I was wondering the average time it takes for postcards from Spain to get to the US or Canada or further afield. I've had postcards from Italy take 3 weeks to get to the US! Letters from UK to US 7 days.

 

[Kiwi-family]

People are asking you for contact - have you considered telling them you want to disconnect and that you’ll let them know when you get to Santiago?
For any who are worried, get them to have a look at street view on googlemaps - they’ll even be able to find arrows on lamp posts and sidewalks!
If that doesn’t work, then clearly you’d need to determine what is acceptable to you and whoever else - just make sure you do it before you leave so you don’t cause any unintended worry.

 

[Steeplechase]

Just send them one word every day which represtents your day. That word will automatically pop up each day (and if it doesn't, the word will be 'nothing'...). It can be a nice guide to share your experiences after the camino with your close relatives.

Such a lovely idea!

 

[VNwalking]

This is a wonderful question, @Steeplechase .
Silence is precious in this world, and not everyone walks to be part of a 'camino family,' or to have a lot of electronic interaction. So if you want to unplug and treat this time as a retreat away from the incessant demands of technology, please do not feel you must give in to demands of friends or family who ask that you override that 'retreat mode'. That said, it is a deep kindness to find a way to do that without freaking people out.

It's a matter of balancing what is possible for your life circumstances, and then establishing boundaries ahead of time. This way, your loved ones and friends know how much interaction to expect, as you establish a clear message about whatever form and frequency of contact you are comfortable with.

The postcard idea is brilliant.
As are automatic ways that allow them to follow your journey - either via your call phone or dedicated personal tracking devices, like SPOT and Trackimo.
If your family wants to know where you are, it's worth finding a solution to that desire without sacrificing your electronic silence.

 

[Lindsay53]

Hi Steeplechase, I had the same thing with people wanting to be kept up to date on my journey. While they were well intentioned, I stated before I left that I would only contact my children very briefly on facebook messenger every few days and I may be out of contact for as long as a week at a time. This worked well and the lack of social media was very refreshing.
Buen Camino!

 

[Lindsay53]

I'll be back home in Perth before any postcards arrive!

True. I sent a postcard from Astorga that arrived the day after I got home!

 

[Davie Blisters]

Now I want to see your videos!!!!!!!!

Sorry @Mycroft I'd love to post them but they are 'Toddler Rated' - only to be viewed by 4 and under's.
Don't worry I have an inkling they will be used in future to blackmail me
Davie

 

[Kiwi-family]

I’ve already chimes in on this thread but I’m going to speak again!
When I walked on my own last time I disconnected from all social media (Instagram, this forum!, email) but I did write a blogpost every day and answered messages from family and close friends. That worked for me and those I had left behind.

 

[akula415]

I love sending (and getting) postcards via snail mail. Call me old fashioned, but something that has gone through the post and made it all the way back to my city, really is a nice memento for people. Without disrupting your Camino? Easy. I bought several of the same postcards I was intending to send to people back home. I stamped with sellos, all the postcards all over. I didn't "waste" time writing long messages in the text area. Instead that area was filled with sellos. As if I virtually took everyone along with me. I addressed them on day one. Then when they were filled with sellos, I posted them. I also got the stamps on day one and already affixed the postage on the postcards before I started walking. As for arrival time. Pretty darn fast. Spain's Correos is NOTHING like the Italian Postal System (which will definately have your postcards arrive, if at all, much after you return to your home country). I found that people had received my postcards before I landed.

 

[Mycroft]

Sorry @Mycroft I'd love to post them but they are 'Toddler Rated' - only to be viewed by 4 and under's.
Don't worry I have an inkling they will be used in future to blackmail me
Davie

I often time have the mind of a 4 year old!

 

[Steeplechase]

do it before you leave so you don’t cause any unintended worry.

Yes - someone messaged explaining how this question ties in to those occasional 'missing pilgrim' posts. This has been a very helpful discussion.

have you considered telling them you want to disconnect

I have - now that leaving day is so close, negotiations have been re-opened

 

[KariC]

I had a group to whom I would send a brief email every night including a montage of two to four pictures I had taken. Kept my family calm and took little time and was a good reflection on the day for me.

 

[Carolyn G]

postcards. Buy the stamps at the tobacco shop. Tell them that you'll send one every day or every second day. They will get used to not expecting instant notes from the Camino.

 

[Carolyn G]

Unless you’re mailing them to the States. Mine arrived well after I’d returned home.

 

[Carolyn G]

We've never taken a phone on any of our travels, and send postcards so the kids can track us, or at least have some idea of where we fell off the face of the world. On some of our more remote routes we take a tablet as the gps is useful in finding out where we are and if there is water or a tree to sleep under near by.

Once when our kids hadn't heard from us of over a week, they got a bit freaked and contacted the confraternity of St James to see if they could track us down through the alburgues. When Scott found out he laughed and laughed, he had visions of pilgrim admin coming down ropes from helicopters like ninja to find us. Eventually the backlog of postcards got through and we found an Internet cafe to reassure them were feral but ok.

 

[Carolyn G]

Just tell them, “no news is good news!” and remind them that bad news travels fast. It might weigh on you if you think they’re worrying about you so a WhatsApp picture or video is easy to send & ask them to share it amongst your fan base if you don’t create a group Chat.
I wound up looking forward to sharing a daily highlight with family at the end of the day. Buen Camino!

 

[Lin Howie]

Well-meaning folks are asking that I keep them posted, (check in on social media) while on my walk. I'd prefer not to touch a screen or keyboard the whole 18 days at all if I could.

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

I’m at the beginning of the Camino Frances and I’m using the FindPenguins app. One message with a photo or two can go out to everyone who wants to stay in touch. Much easier than emails, what’s app or messenger

 

[kelleymac]

Well-meaning folks are asking that I keep them posted, (check in on social media) while on my walk. I'd prefer not to touch a screen or keyboard the whole 18 days at all if I could.

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

I texted my husband every evening saying I was fine. -- I ended up turning off texts during the daytime, as he would text me every half hour or so and it really disrupted my ability to disconnect from my home life. (He ask me things like "Where is the ketchup? I can't find it in the fridge.") I also let him track me by sharing my location indefinitely with him on my iPhone. He said later it was pretty boring as I moved so slowly.

 

[David61]

Well-meaning folks are asking that I keep them posted, (check in on social media) while on my walk. I'd prefer not to touch a screen or keyboard the whole 18 days at all if I could.

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

You wish to stay in touch but minimise it I would suggest you set up a WhatsApp group with friends and family. A few lines and some pics attached once a day would keep everyone happy. I am very antisocial and even I did that!

 

[Canche]

Well-meaning folks are asking that I keep them posted, (check in on social media) while on my walk. I'd prefer not to touch a screen or keyboard the whole 18 days at all if I could.

Has anyone found a very minimally invasive way of letting your people know you're alive while on camino?

Check in with one person once a week and have that person pass on info that you are ok. For me the best part of the Camino was no Internet. It was so liberating

 

[Cathy G]

Thanks - this is just what I was imagining! Have you found your battery drains faster keeping gps on? I'm thinking I may need more than one external power bank...

Gaia GPS works while on airplane mode. I've used it on many excursions including the camino and hiking the Andes. Didn't find it a significant drain at all.

 

[Felipe]

I have been following this thread with interest.
I used to go completely "offline" in old times (cellphones were not so usual). I really wanted to disconnect from my hectic routines and having a “time off”. I just mailed family from time to time, from cybercoffees or shared albergue desktops, and they were not particularly worried about my safety. That they knew that Spain is a safe, modern country with efficient police and health care, helped, too. And, anyway, if something serious happened to me, what could they realistically do? The first 48 hours after any incident are crucial, and there was no real chance of a relative travelling to Spain in less than that.
Lately, as I grew older, with some minor health aches and pains, and I developed a penchant for less travelled, lonely Caminos, my sons insisted that I carried a cellphone, and it seemed sensible to me. But I would hate the idea of having to report home every day; all my experience would revolve around this, worried about if my cell has battery or not, looking constantly for a wifi place, etc. And if I fail to report, I would feel kind of guilty, and my family would start to worry.
Experiences (and families) vary, but I suggest that a practical and realistic transaction for anxious relatives could be agreed, for instance "try to report daily, and if not, every third day, as a minimum).

 

[Malachiuri]

I use an app called Touchnote to send postcards to my Mum when I travel. I know you dont want to touch a keyboard or engage in social media while on camino, and I can sympathize, but making custom postcards with your daily pics and a few words of love seems to be a much more personal touch.

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They print the postcards close to wherever you send them so you don't have to worry about long mailing times, finding a post box, buying stamps, etc.

Very reasonably priced when you consider you are getting custom printed post cards mailed for you!

I sent one every single day of my last camino and my Mum make an incredibly cute book of them.

M