JeanneArashi
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances, 2 June 2018
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Sorry to hear your story. I did El Camino Frances from May 16 to May 31. Stayed in Hotels, Hostels and albergues, the cheapest one was the Alberge Municipal in O'Cebreiro one room with I think 40 bunk beds or so. For my entire trip not even one single bedbug bite. I was lucky and everyday I pray to God through the intercession of Santiago Apostol to watch over me. Buen Camino and hope your skin is back to normal.Just a warning for you guys. 2 days ago I stayed in the albergue san nicolas de flue in Ponferrada and the next day I woke up with a few bed bug bites on my feet. I told the staff immediately and he took away my bed liner. Didn't see if they clean the other ones from the same room.
In the afternoon my other bites started to show up and now there's about 40 bites...
And today I met people who stayed in the same albergue with bites too... in the same and also in different rooms....
Buen camino
Hope you have a bug free camino...
P.s. for those who concern, my backpack and shoes were heat under the sun for 3 hours and all my washable things were put to wash and dry in the machine.
Probably they took the disposable one that is handed out in many albergues. If you have your own cloth one, it should be put (preferably dry) in a hot dryer for 20-30 minures.Question.. if the hospitelero takes your bed liner, what do you use for the next night or more before you can purchase another one?
This can happen and it is unfortunate that you experienced this but it does not mean that the entire albergue is infested. I was there about a week ago and neither I nor any of my fellow walkers had problems.
We pilgrims bring these nasty critters with us and it is impossible to know where the origin is. Let's not blame or black list a particular Albergue.
I have been a hospitalera there and in many other albergues and we volunteers take these matters seriously.
Good luck healing.
Question.. if the hospitelero takes your bed liner, what do you use for the next night or more before you can purchase another one?
Two nights before reaching Santiago I slept great in my nice clean private room. Woke up and tossed back the comforter and there was Mr Bedbug! I had run out of toilet paper so I ran all over the room looking for something to pick him up with so I could show the staff, all the time herding him back to the center of the bed.
I finally found a Kleenex and picked him up and he promptly POPPED!
It looked like old blood to me, dark, not red, and I saw no bites on my body so I figured he hadn’t fed on me.
A day later, however, I had one bite on my small finger knuckle and another on the opposite arm. But I am pretty sure those were mosquito bites.
Happy I had dodged the bullet, I continued on to Santiago then Madrid.
I badly needed a haircut and right across the street from where I was sleeping, they were advertising haircuts for 7 Euros. I went in and got a great looking haircut but remember wondering to myself if they had sanitized the comb and scissors.
Two days later, back home, my head started itching behind the ears.
Then it felt like something was crawling across my head.
Oh shit!
Yup.
Head lice!
Haven’t seen those in 20 years when my boys were in school.
A RID treatment later, all is well.
But I really DO believe that was my last Camino . . .
Happy I had dodged the bullet, I continued on to Santiago then Madrid.
I badly needed a haircut and right across the street from where I was sleeping, they were advertising haircuts for 7 Euros. I went in and got a great looking haircut but remember wondering to myself if they had sanitized the comb and scissors.
Two days later, back home, my head started itching behind the ears.
Then it felt like something was crawling across my head.
Oh shit!
.
Bedbugs are a pain - or so I hear. I've never had the displeasure of actually meeting any, so I can't speak from experience. But I DO have one anecdote on these critters I'd like to share.
One afternoon, while staying at the albergue in Luarca, I noticed four rather posh gentlemen entering the dormitory to take a look at... well, at how the other half lives, I suppose. You know, slumming it, so to speak. We talked a bit and I found that they were curious about what a dorm would look like (and what kind of people would settle for such humble lodgings). They were doing the Camino too, but they preferred to stay at the better class of hotels. "I wouldn't want to be caught dead in an albergue like this. You know, there's no food, or if there's any it's inedible, and there's always bedbugs and such," one of them confided in me. "That's why we are staying at the hotel across the street."
Now if there is one thing I've learned along the way, it is à chacun son chemin: everyone has their own path to follow, and it is not up to me to judge. But I never noticed any inedible food, nor bedbugs, so I told him so. He just looked at me with in his eyes either disbelief or pity - I couldn't tell.
Fast forward to the next day, around noon. I'm walking along and happen upon the same four gentlemen enjoying some rest in the shade of a tree. So we have a chat about the things every Camino chat is about: how are you doing, where are you going today, did you sleep well, where will you be staying, et cetera. Then one of them asks: "were there any bedbugs in your dorm?" I told him there hadn't been any, and he said "well, there were in my hotel room..." He had been bitten two or three times and had been up half the night trying to find and kill all the bedbugs in his room. "But look!" he said, and took a matchbox from his backpack. "I caught one!" He opened the box, but there was nothing inside. "Aw drat, the darn thing must have got away..."*
Why anyone in his right mind would willingly and knowingly want to carry a bedbug in his pack is way beyond me. All I know is that at that moment I was so happy these gentlemen preferred hotels over albergues...
* I have toned down the expletives somewhat to protect the easily shockable readers.
Two nights before reaching Santiago I slept great in my nice clean private room. Woke up and tossed back the comforter and there was Mr Bedbug! I had run out of toilet paper so I ran all over the room looking for something to pick him up with so I could show the staff, all the time herding him back to the center of the bed.
I finally found a Kleenex and picked him up and he promptly POPPED!
It looked like old blood to me, dark, not red, and I saw no bites on my body so I figured he hadn’t fed on me.
A day later, however, I had one bite on my small finger knuckle and another on the opposite arm. But I am pretty sure those were mosquito bites.
Happy I had dodged the bullet, I continued on to Santiago then Madrid.
I badly needed a haircut and right across the street from where I was sleeping, they were advertising haircuts for 7 Euros. I went in and got a great looking haircut but remember wondering to myself if they had sanitized the comb and scissors.
Two days later, back home, my head started itching behind the ears.
Then it felt like something was crawling across my head.
Oh shit!
Yup.
Head lice!
Haven’t seen those in 20 years when my boys were in school.
A RID treatment later, all is well.
But I really DO believe that was my last Camino . . .
Well Annie, the Madrid part is not exactly part of the camino, so....XD
By the way there was a Japanese hair dresser doing the camino and he cut hair upon request, anytime and anywhere
I wish he was there for you that time
I thought u mean leaving Spain through Madrid lolActually the Camino Madrid begins in Madrid.
Are you going to stop travelling altogether then for that reason? Bedbugs are not just on the Camino, you know that, not?Two nights before reaching Santiago I slept great in my nice clean private room. Woke up and tossed back the comforter and there was Mr Bedbug! I had run out of toilet paper so I ran all over the room looking for something to pick him up with so I could show the staff, all the time herding him back to the center of the bed.
I finally found a Kleenex and picked him up and he promptly POPPED!
It looked like old blood to me, dark, not red, and I saw no bites on my body so I figured he hadn’t fed on me.
A day later, however, I had one bite on my small finger knuckle and another on the opposite arm. But I am pretty sure those were mosquito bites.
Happy I had dodged the bullet, I continued on to Santiago then Madrid.
I badly needed a haircut and right across the street from where I was sleeping, they were advertising haircuts for 7 Euros. I went in and got a great looking haircut but remember wondering to myself if they had sanitized the comb and scissors.
Two days later, back home, my head started itching behind the ears.
Then it felt like something was crawling across my head.
Oh shit!
Yup.
Head lice!
Haven’t seen those in 20 years when my boys were in school.
A RID treatment later, all is well.
But I really DO believe that was my last Camino . . .
Are you going to stop travelling altogether then for that reason? Bedbugs are not just on the Camino, you know that, not?
I hope none of you take it badly - it is meant well and in earnest - but I always wondered why so many of you came to walk in Spain when you have such a wonderful country at your doorstep - which is out of bounds for most of us in Europe because of costs etc etc...No. Of course not.
After 14 Caminos, it is time to see America.
I hope none of you take it badly - it is meant well and in earnest - but I always wondered why so many of you came to walk in Spain when you have such a wonderful country at your doorstep - which is out of bounds for most of us in Europe because of costs etc etc...
Just wondered....
That might be a great question if it weren't asked on a website dedicated to a pilgrimage in Spain! It is a bit like asking about dining vegan in a steak house.but I always wondered why so many of you came to walk in Spain when you have such a wonderful country at your doorstep
Hi @domigee, I'm from the US and yes, we have lots of totally beautiful landscapes and national parks of which I've seen many. Yes, we can go hiking, but not really on any long distance treks unless we are willing to haul tent and a week's supply of food. We have no infrastructure to sleep indoors nightly. This fact is one reason I love coming to Europe to walk the Caminos...also to see the adorable ancient stone villages, and kind folks I meet along the way, both locals and pilgrims.I was about to delete my post (was it appropriate to ask such a question? etc...) and then I saw your answer.... And what a wonderful answer. You’re right of course. Thank you. And it applies to all of us.Buen camino.
If bed bugs waited for a sleeping bag to touch the floor, they would starve to death!And,"Touch wood" I don't let them near the floor.
I hope none of you take it badly
Just wondered....
If bed bugs waited for a sleeping bag to touch the floor, they would starve to death!
I’m not sure I could have been as diplomatic in my response but I agree with you on every point. As I always say, “ the more you travel and meet people from other countries and cultures, the smaller our world becomes.” Oh yes- and taking in exchange students is another wonderful way to shrink the world and care about all people on it!It is a nice country, and I'm sure many of you know we're 'making it great again' as I type. And, many of us have spent a lot of our lives walking, but mostly riding, about its confines. Enjoying the mountains and the coastlines and all the stuff in the middle (where I am presently abiding).
Sooo... before we die we'd like to see some of those far off shores that don't salute the 'Stars and Stripes', and have a rich history and culture all their own.
Not better or worse, just coming at it from a different angle.
If I were to prod my fellow Americans I would encourage, no insist that they go down to their local courthouse and get a passport and get out and see the world. Although many young people, if given the chance, will usually act on the impulse to travel, a lot of older Americans have never left the country. Not even to cross the border into Canada or into Mexico. They can't understand why they might like to. A lot of jingoism about how great America is and why go somewhere else??? I think many of them are extremely intimidated about leaving their comfort zone. I think there is a fear about discovery even though the whole country was founded on taking a giant leap of faith and leaving a known world behind and heading off to America. And then when they arrive head west into God only knows what. Many Americans revel in that mythology, but really don't have the courage to actually put it in motion.
I'll stop, but my suggestion is to encourage Americans to get out and see the world. When they get home they will realize that all those 'other' people out there are really just like them. They want to enjoy their lives with their friends and family. They want their children to be safe and have a bright future. They want to laugh and dance and watch the sunrise and set in peace. Just like in America.
Sooo... the next time some country is in the news instead of listening to some politician defame and insult they might remember the two or three weeks they spent there and how nice everyone was and that maybe the one who is talking might not know what he's talking about.
Come visit when you can.
Peace be with you.
Buen Camino
Their eggs survive a long time.They go forth (thanks to you, me, all of us), and multiply.
Their eggs survive a long time.
I have had them drop onto me from the top bunk.
They love the disposable sheets; it gives them a good toehold.
It is more by coincidence than intent that they end up on your backpack.
Try to keep your pack away from the path between their nest and their meal (you).
They can live for weeks without eating.
They nest in walls and crevices, including crevices in the bunk frame and in the mattress seams.
Metal bunk frames don't have crevices, generally. Wooden ones usually do.
Mattresses on the floor make it too easy for the bugs.
Very few pilgrims actually "know" where they got bit unless they see the bed bug; usually it is just suspicion.
Most hospitaleros care about controlling them. They are not motivated by angry pilgrims.
Reporting bed bugs nicely helps the next pilgrim, not you.
They will not be eradicated. If the Camino was tented and fumigated, the next pilgrim from Europe or the U.S. would bring the next generation!
If one likes to complain, do so. If one wants to protect oneself, take affirmative action -- repellent and insecticide. One might find they are more effective than complaining!
Is that from Ode on a Grecian Urn?Really, you gotta love'em.
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