Things I'd bring, who cares about the weight

[Mycroft]

We always prepare our own food despite the added weight penalty. This means that we carry a small camping burner along with fuel for times when the albergue is without a kitchen, a couple of light weight pots, dishes and basic utensils. Add to that a small bottle of cooking oil, a spice kit, salt, garlic, dried hot peppers and some dish soap.

Ah that is the advantage of living there--too difficult to bring some things on a long-haul flight.

 

[Mycroft]

Nylon portable foot soaking bag. Bliss.

Wait what? Never heard of such a thing!! Needless to say I lead a sheltered life. I will need to look up this little piece of heaven!!

 

[Mycroft]

Linkster, I like your posted photo of the line with carabiner, but why the need to keep your backpack off the albergue floor? I spray mine with permethrin before I fly to Europe -- and now will also apply bug dope. But, when I stop at a bar/cafe (hopefully, several times a day) it goes on the pavement outside (or inside if not too crowded), hopefully avoiding dog poop and urine and mud. I do try to keep it clean. In the albergue, it goes on the floor. Inside bar/cafes on a rainy day, it is the backpacks taking up chairs that bug me. Buen Camino

I don't know what bug dope is, and I wonder if the packaging of this and the permethrin state how long a treatment lasts. Do you know?

 

[Mycroft]

My wife and I took a Scrubba and clothesline also...really appreciated having it!

Scrubba and a clothesline!

(I'm afraid I may be a one note song on this one...seems like every time I comment it's to say Scrubba! They should pay me!)

So far there have been three things in this thread I have never heard of or at best don't recall hearing of their existence.
So this Scrubba is for squishing laundry instead of washing by hand in a sink? Is there something on its insides that helps clean the clothes?

 

[Mycroft]

never thought of this but the older I get ( 84 : 20th July) the more I think of my tootsies!

samarkand.

I will wish you Happy Birthday now!

 

[Mycroft]

So I like to walk the Camino. I first walked with my mom, then my sister, solo so many times. Here is a list of things I'd bring despite the added weight:

1) playing cards. Don't worry about chips, just use skittles. And be weary about buying decks in Spain, I mean, they are different sometimes. So much fun with friends when you are out in the middle of nowhere. Old maid and Texas hold'em are great.

2) heating coil. I stay at cheap hotels mostly and the coffee is not so readily available. So like you have this little device and you get boiling water in your cup. Throw in some instant, and I'm ready to go. I know, controversial.

Darn it I can't think of anything else worth the weight, What would you add?

My 2 Big Things are chocolate and socks. Need plenty of each. A couple of books are next on the list (these are not at the top of the list only because I can find paperbacks while en route, if needed). I do take some Clifbars in case I am stuck in a plane or en camino. I have a tiny bottle of concentrated unscented laundry soap. Like others, I have a small foldable tote for groceries and take a small journal.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

For this year's camino, I have packed Starbucks small individual servings, and some powdered milk, to heat with my electric coil, for those mornings when I don't think there is anything open. This is a preference to start my day with coffee, not a preference for Starbucks. I have heard on this forum that the instant coffee available in Spain is of poor quality, and besides, I have seen it in glass jars and prefer individual servings.

Instant coffee the world over is never going to be as good as a decent brew from ground beans.
That said look for one made from arabica and not robusta beans and, if it is a little bit bitter, try the old salt shaker routine to whip it into line.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Yes, I have carried the little Starbucks packets and used them with hot tap water, even cold water from my water bottle. But no longer. After I arrive at an albergue and shower, wash clothes, maybe nap, etc, I wander around town and ask and scout out where I might get coffee the next morning. This usually works. Not always. I am an addict, but coffee is one less thing to carry. Buen Camino

 

[NM99]

Sleeping bag. Such a luxury to snuggle achy muscles into. A liner doesn't cut it. Also a pillow case - bright red do I don't leave it behind . Hate those paper pillow cases. Stuffed my jacket in it on the plane for an extra cushion.

I was also really glad to have brought a pillow case. It doubled as a catch-all for my eye mask, ear plugs, foot cream and sleeping T-shirt. Easy to dig out of the backpack to prep for sleeping.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Instant coffee the world over is never going to be as good as a decent brew from ground beans.
That said look for one made from arabica and not robusta beans and, if it is a little bit bitter, try the old salt shaker routine to whip it into line.

Old salt shaker routine?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Old salt shaker routine?

Sprinkle a little salt into bitter coffee - takes the edge off of it. Don't go crazy of course

+ =

 

[LavanyaLea]

I'm doing my Camino with a 25L Osprey pack so space is limited, but this is a good option since I want my coffee to taste good. My comment about space is because I assume foil wrap packs are bulkier than a small bag of coffee, but that may not be true.

I did mine in a 33L pack which also contained doggy food and doggy first aid (used daily!). So I think at the end, the space for my own stuff was similar to a 25L bag.

I used 2 x dry sacks: one for clothing and one for everything else. They’re good at vacuuming the air out of the clothing bag for example. So I brought: an electric coil, a French press cafe mug (a thermal mug with a press which rests on the side, so you can make coffee and drink it from the same mug), and I used the space in the mug to keep my ground coffee. I used both ground coffee and the coffee bags (I removed the foil wrapping). Yes the coffee bags are a bit bulky but if you squeezed it around I could put like 6-8 bags into the mug, like tea bags would.

A lot of towns and villages will only have small supermarkets so mostly I could only find instant coffee at these places. So I would advice bringing a small amount from home and top up as you go.

The salt shaker idea - never tried that on coffee, but my family does that on watermelon, it brings out the sweetness in it! So maybe it works the same way with coffee, interesting.

 

[Richmond Gardner]

I am sure others have said this but the coffee in Spain, France and Portugal is excellent. 99% of the time it is better than a Starbucks for sure and far less expensive. Of course, every once in a while you may get a stinker but it is rare. I think generally speaking it is 1 and 1a in France and Portugal and a close 2 in Spain. I do not know what the prices are now from even last November but I often paid in Portugal (albeit it was 3 years ago) 1 Euro.

Perhaps I should have given some indication that my tongue was firmly in my cheek

 

[lt56ny]

Perhaps I should have given some indication that my tongue was firmly in my cheek

The only reason I wrote this is there are lots of new pilgrims with lots of anxieties that need to be alleviated before they start out. I have been on this forum a long time. (If you ask my wife she will say too long haha). There have been questions asked in the past that I stopped and said to myself that they can't be serious with this question can they? Only to realize that they are. Like can you drink the water in Spain? It may sound silly but to an inexperienced traveller, well you know well, they worry about everything. I should have noticed you are a veteran and it was definitely a joke!!

 

[Bradypus]

Given the weather recently maybe this man has the right idea...

Stafford man carries fridge up Snowdon for charity

Ex-serviceman Michael Copeland has raised more than £4,000 for mental health support.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MaryjaneDW]

I take a small knitting project -- usually a pre-memorized, highly repetitive scarf pattern made of one ball of mohair yarn and circular needles. I can look busy if I want to have alone time in a common room or I can participate in a conversation if I feel more gregarious. Knitting starts lots of conversations.