Water Drinking Fountains

Former member 12499 · Jun 2, 2012

Hello Folks,

Just a brief word of advice after returning home from completing the Camino Frances from St Jean DPP to Santiago and then walking to Finesterre and Muxia - 20/4/2012 – 30/5/2012.

I felt that this is quite an important point to all you fellow Pilgrims who are starting out on YOUR Camino and as we are now in the month of June and the possibility of hot weather and sunshine.

*****When you are walking your Camino and you happen to be approaching a water drinking fountain in any town, village or by the roadside, BEFORE you drink off your last inch of water in your bottle, TURN THE TAP ON and make sure that water runs from the tap or fountain.

DO NOT do like I did. I saw a drinking fountain and drank my last inch of water in my bottle that I had been nursing for some time BEFORE I turned the tap on.

Can you imagine what it was like to discover that the fountain was bone dry – NO WATER.

I must add that this was my second bottle, the first one was already empty.

It was a very long and thirsty walk to the next fountain.

Also, if you are going to stop in the cheap 5Euros a night Albergues. YOU WILL NEED

A universal sink/bath plug. Mainly for washing your clothes in cold water.

At least two 'S' hooks or suction hooks to hang your clothes up in the showers as there is usually nowhere to hang your belongings whilst you take a shower.

6 clothes pegs. I found these more useful than the safety pins that I brought as I usually bent them.

I will try and post some more observations / advice as I get sorted out after returning home.

Best regards to you all as you start YOUR Camino, it is quite an adventure.

Charlie

Deleted member 3000 · Jun 4, 2012

I agree with your advice. With the drought in Spain, more water fountains are out of service. It is VERY uncomfortable to be truly thirsty. It may not be too dangerous unless the time period is longer than several hours, but many more people die each year of dehydration than starvation. Take water, not food!

Abbeydore · Jun 4, 2012

Yes drinking is so so important..........we make bad decisions when dehydrated,
I did, & had water to drink as well........foolish-boy :!:

na2than · Jun 5, 2012

thank you for the advice...i'm walking in august.time is tight...and i was weighing the options of skipping the measeta...

dougfitz · Jun 5, 2012

falcon269 said:
but many more people die each year of dehydration than starvation.

I'd be interested to know if there is data to support this. I have checked sources like the FAO (http://www.fao.org/), WHO (http://www.who.int/en/), the Hearts and Minds end poverty campaign (http://www.heartsandminds.org/), and the Rehydration Project (http://rehydrate.org/index.html) and cannot find a direct comparison.

That said, it seems to me that malnutrition is a greater problem, with about 5.8 million childern dying in 2008 from hunger related causes (http://www.heartsandminds.org/poverty/hungerfacts.htm). This is not to underplay the statistic that diarrhoea causes about 18% of child deaths in low-income countries (http://rehydrate.org/index.html).

If you have a source for your observation, I would be interested.

Regards,

Deleted member 3000 · Jun 5, 2012

In the context of walking the Camino and not the woes of third world infants, both dehydration and starvation deaths are not large! I suspect that no one dies on the Camino from starvation, and a dehydration death also is unlikely. However, suffering from dehydration is much more common than suffering from starvation, again in the context of the Camino. Things to know about dehydration:

Symptoms may include headaches similar to what is experienced during a hangover, decreased blood pressure (hypotension), and dizziness or fainting when standing up due to orthostatic hypotension. Untreated dehydration generally results in delirium, unconsciousness, swelling of the tongue and, in extreme cases, death.

Dehydration symptoms generally become noticeable after 2% of one's normal water volume has been lost. Initially, one experiences thirst and discomfort, possibly along with loss of appetite and dry skin. This can be followed by constipation. Athletes may suffer a loss of performance of up to 30% and experience flushing, low endurance, rapid heart rates, elevated body temperatures, and rapid onset of fatigue.

Symptoms of mild dehydration include thirst, decreased urine volume, abnormally dark urine, unexplained tiredness, irritability, lack of tears when crying, headache, dry mouth, dizziness when standing due to orthostatic hypotension, and in some cases insomnia. Other possible symptoms include cloudy urine and stinging during urination. Blood tests may show hyperalbuminemia. Mild dehydration also has been shown to negatively impact people’s moods. Experiments by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service has shown that dehydration is associated with confusion, fatigue, and negative moods. Mild dehydration, which includes water losses between 1% and 2%, observed in the experiment are comparable to mild dehydration experienced by people in their everyday lives.

In moderate to severe dehydration, there may be no urine output at all. Other symptoms in these states include lethargy or extreme sleepiness, seizures, sunken fontanel (soft spot) in infants, fainting, and sunken eyes.

The symptoms become increasingly severe with greater water loss. One's heart and respiration rates begin to increase to compensate for decreased plasma volume and blood pressure, while body temperature may rise because of decreased sweating. At around 5% to 6% water loss, one may become groggy or sleepy, experience headaches or nausea, and may feel tingling in one's limbs (paresthesia). With 10% to 15% fluid loss, muscles may become spastic, skin may shrivel and wrinkle (decreased skin turgor), vision may dim, urination will be greatly reduced and may become painful, and delirium may begin. Losses greater than 15% are usually fatal.

In people over age 50, the body’s thirst sensation diminishes and continues diminishing with age. Many senior citizens suffer symptoms of dehydration. Dehydration along with hyperthermia results in the elderly dying suddenly during extreme hot weather.

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can lead to dehydration in various ways. Often, dehydration becomes the major problem in an otherwise self-limited illness. Fluid loss may even be severe enough to become life-threatening.

In studies of terminally ill patients who have chosen to die, it has been shown that deaths by terminal dehydration are generally peaceful, and are not associated with suffering when supplemented with adequate pain medication.

From Thumbpress:

Dehydration is quite similar to starving to death, but can kill you extremely fast in comparison. Dehydration can happen in a number of ways and causes a considerable number of deaths worldwide. Ways that a person can become dehydrated include diarrhea, excessive sweating, vomiting and the inability to drink fluids. Symptoms of hydration include dry mouth, no tears, muscle cramps, nausea, heart palpitations and lightheadness. You can die from dehydration in just a few days as opposed to more than a month with starvation.

dougfitz · Jun 5, 2012

falcon269 said:
However, suffering from dehydration is much more common than suffering from starvation, again in the context of the Camino.

I appear to have interpreted your original comment too broadly. Still, it would be interesting to know what information is available on the relative frequency of death from dehydration even in this narrower context.

Regards,

Deleted member 3000 · Jun 5, 2012

You can die from dehydration in just a few days as opposed to more than a month with starvation.

About 36 million die each year from starvation. About 2.2 million die from dehydration. Few of these are in a hiking and biking setting.

dougfitz · Jun 6, 2012

falcon269 said:
You can die from dehydration in just a few days as opposed to more than a month with starvation.

Click to expand...

About 36 million die each year from starvation. About 2.2 million die from dehydration. Few of these are in a hiking and biking setting.

I think your source is over-estimating this.

The WHO Causes of Death data for 2008 shows a world total of ~57 million deaths, of which ~16m were in the category Communicable diseases, maternal and perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies. Not all of these 16 million were due to malnutrition.

Noting that this data was collected at the end of the last global food crisis, one might expect that this situation might have shown some improvement since.

Regards,

Hutton24 · Jan 2, 2013

Sooooo, is the water generally safe to drink? Is there any up to date info?

Deleted member 3000 · Jan 3, 2013

Yes, it is safe!

tyrrek · Jan 3, 2013

Hutton24 said:
Sooooo, is the water generally safe to drink? Is there any up to date info?

There is usually a sign saying whether the water is safe to drink or not...or sometimes the more ambiguous 'not guaranteed'. If it's an obvious drinking fountain in a village it's absolutely fine. Buen Camino!

Anniesantiago · Jan 3, 2013

Oh for goodness sakes... :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Carol06 · Jan 3, 2013

I was warned to avoid the drinking fountains in Galicia. And this was proved right when I met a fellow pilgrim a few hours after drinking from one of these fountains. He was so sick. Up until then I drank from fountains with no ill effects at all. Look out for agua no potable signs though. These mean you cannot drink the water.

Deleted member 3000 · Jan 3, 2013

I was warned to avoid the drinking fountains in Galicia

Any fountain connected to the municipal water supply is quite safe. The ones flowing from the ground may not be. Usually, fountains are labeled potable or no potable. Drink from the same sources you would in other countries, and you will be fine. All the upset stomachs I witnessed were from the food, undercooked eggs particularly.

Bozzie · Jan 3, 2013

falcon269 said:
I was warned to avoid the drinking fountains in Galicia

Click to expand...

Any fountain connected to the municipal water supply is quite safe. The ones flowing from the ground may not be. Usually, fountains are labeled potable or no potable. Drink from the same sources you would in other countries, and you will be fine. All the upset stomachs I witnessed were from the food, undercooked eggs particularly.

Hello and good day, Pilgrims!
I drank from fountains marked "potable" except between Burgos and Leon from Sept 12-Oct 18, 2012. No ill effects to report . The reason I obstained from the fonts between Burgos and Leon was due to
a post saying that there are quite a few pesticides in the water there. However, I did fill up my bottles at the alberques/pensions where I stayed or, if necessary, purchase bottled water in villages if and when I ran out. And anyway, there are very few villages on the CF that don't have a bar open during the normal times of walking.
Buen Camino!

Deleted member 3000 · Jan 3, 2013

there are very few villages on the CF that don't have a bar open during the normal times of walking

Except when I want a cafe!!! :wink:

fortview · Feb 19, 2013

An interesting thing happened at a " dried up " water fountain on the meseta somewhere. We had all noticed these pump handle type fountains, that had plastic bottles full of water standing by them, but no idea what that was all about, until.... A farmer pulled up in a tractor, and poured the water from the bottle into the pump, and started madly pulling the handle up and down, and hey presto! Water flowed forth, and we all filled our bottles up. The farmer filled up the bottle he had used, left it, and drove off.
Our American camino friend, who knows about these things, and much else besides, explained that there is a leather washer inside the pump, which dries out, and once wetted will do its job
Amazing eh?

Deleted member 3000 · Feb 19, 2013

An interesting thing

In towns the filled water bottles along the sidewalk are to get dogs to lift a leg on them instead of the doors and walls! Bottles are so versatile...

max44 · Apr 24, 2013

Walking camino France's at the moment. Some places for water can be a long way between drinks. Everyone I know at the moment is carrying two or three litres minimum. You never know

jeffnd · Apr 25, 2013

fortview said:
An interesting thing happened at a " dried up " water fountain on the meseta somewhere. We had all noticed these pump handle type fountains, that had plastic bottles full of water standing by them, but no idea what that was all about, until.... A farmer pulled up in a tractor, and poured the water from the bottle into the pump, and started madly pulling the handle up and down, and hey presto! Water flowed forth, and we all filled our bottles up. The farmer filled up the bottle he had used, left it, and drove off.
Our American camino friend, who knows about these things, and much else besides, explained that there is a leather washer inside the pump, which dries out, and once wetted will do its job
Amazing eh?

I think he might have been priming the pump. I grew up on a farm and we had well water. (Running water in the house, just supplied from a well. We weren't THAT primitive!) But we also had a little hand pump out by the garden. If you tried to pump it, nothing would come up. But if you poured a bucket of water down it first, you'd hear this sucking sound for a few pumps and then water would start to flow. As long as you kept pumping, the water kept coming.

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Water Drinking Fountains

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