What technology are YOU using on the Camino?

[ASingleStep]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

 

[SYates]

It really depends on what you need/want to do. For just staying in contact with your family a (Smart)phone is enough. I carry a laptop sometimes, but I do write a lot ;-) As for Apps/useful websites, Gronze and Eroski are useful for most Caminos and a weather app is always useful to know how close you need to keep your rain gear at hand ;-) I speak Spanish, so I don't need any translation apps, others might chime in regarding this.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Rod Murray]

I had my iPhone 6, and was able to do most of all the things I needed to do- read and write emails, take photos, upload photos from my DSLR to the phone, Instagram, write and post my blog with photos (Wordpress), stay in touch with family (iMessage), check on the dog who was away a "camp", shoot videos (FaceTime), edit videos in iMovie and upload to Youtube, work on the online courses that I manage, check distances to the next town (Apple and Google Maps), locate my accommodation (Contacts and Maps), rendezvous with other pilgrims I met, meet up with friends in a particular city (Facebook Messenger), check the weather (The Weather Network App)...
You get the picture! I had a 1.5GB data card from Vodaphone and used it all up in under 3 weeks. I "borrowed" the one from my wife's iphone to last me the few days near the end. As much as I would like to do a Camino without the phone, I love being able to revisit my Camino by looking back at my Instagrams and blog posts which remind me where I was on each day and what I was thinking about the sights and experiences. A written journal works too. I just prefer the digital version.
Buen Camino!
Rod @mrmuzzdog on Instagram and murraycamino.wordpress.com

 

[Waka]

I used my iPhone for all my needs which I might add were quite basic. I phoned my wife on a daily basis, had Google translate, booking.com, although I never used it, checked e-mails now and again and taking photographs. The main reason for taking it was to keep in contact with family.

 

[BlackDog]

I'm a GPS person, I like to know where I am and where to go. I produce my own gpx files and use them in various ways. OSMAnd is a useful app for using GPX files and Open Street Maps on an Android device, there are equivalents for Apple devices.

 

[AJ]

My pigeons are getting on a bit now, might need a rethink.

 

[code_monkey_001]

My first time through, I used an old Android phone without a SIM card on WiFi only. The Camino Pilgrim app was extremely useful - all data was available offline, it had maps, custom stage planning, albergue info, and other amenities for the Camino Frances as well as routes to Fisterra and Muxia. Unfortunately its live mapping and location info required a data connection, so when I was out of WiFi range I'd use maps.me which uses offline maps and the phone's GPS to show your current location as well as location-based search for nearby amenities.

When I go this fall it'll be with a new phone on Google's Project Fi network, so I can do international data without paying extra.

 

[SYates]

My pigeons are getting on a bit now, might need a rethink.

Thanks for the laugh! SY

 

[Tincatinker]

I use a collection of flattened wood-pulp with squiggles on. Seems to work ok even when there isn't any wi-fi...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Correos.

 

[VNwalking]

As little as possible. An android phone to use in case of emergency, and as a GPS in remote places--though to be honest that has had kinks and is minimally useful. I'm reasonably competent with IT but think it's a gift to be able to leave it all aside for a month or so. I go for quiet time and people know I will not be in touch--they know that no news is good news.

My pigeons are getting on a bit now, might need a rethink.

AJ, maybe...but perhaps you just need younger pigeons?

.

 

[dougfitz]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

An interesting question! I recall sitting at a bar reading my email when a woman nearby launched into conversation with a remark along the lines that she had decided to do her camino without any technology. I smiled. She wasn't wearing any wool or cotton.

I continue to use a range of lightweight materials technology including wicking fabrics, vapour transpiring membranes, compressible elastomers, high refraction index transparent plastics, and I also use a range of chemicals that alter the way my body functions. The one application above all that I recommend is clothing and footwear, followed closely by a pack using lightweight fabrics and other construction materials, and unfortunately I now need a couple of critical medications.

Oh, and I took a phone, camera and GPS this year as well, and a low technology cotton Tilley hat.

 

[VNwalking]

I recall sitting at a bar reading my email when a woman nearby launched into conversation with a remark along the lines that she had decided to do her camino without any technology. I smiled. She wasn't wearing any wool or cotton.

Here we go again, the argument about technology. Pass. I think that dead horse has been beaten already.
Except to say that a smug 'holier than thou' attitude is insufferable no matter what side of the fence a person stands on. That peregrina was simply being rude, Doug, and was lucky you had the admirable restraint to leave it with a smile!

And I appreciate the reminder that even a Tilley is technology--as are wool and cotton. I for one am very grateful that we walk in clothing...the alternative is not only less comfortable to experience but mostly (speaking for myself) much less comfortable on other people's eyes and sensibilities!

 

[Felipe]

A very basic cellphone, because in France is advisable to get reservations in most albergues. Also, as I walked in the quite lonely and hilly Piedmont way, just in case of an emergency; it gave me some peace of mind.
A camera, again, quite basic.
E-mail, when there was a public computer available.
But recently my son treated me with a Samsung tablet, under pretext of a birthday. I used it in a travel, and I am convinced now (e-mail, maps, e-books, basic camera). This will be my tech of choice next time.

 

[november_moon]

Yes, its funny sometimes when the technology debate starts - what exactly IS technology? At a family gathering last week, someone commented that they walked into a room with several people in it, and everybody was doing something on their phone or tablet rather than interacting with each other. Someone else brought up the point that we've all been "ignoring" each other for a long time, but in the past, we did it with older technology - books, newspapers, sewing or crochet.

Anyway... as to the original question... I took my smartphone and generally used weather apps, took pictures, checked FB and email, used the United Airlines ap to manage my flights, and used Pilgrims Only and Booking.com aps occasionally to book accommodations ahead. Oh, and I played Words with Friends with my mom and my aunt. My husband use Untapped to check in the beers that we drank.

 

[C clearly]

Here we go again, the argument about technology. Pass. I think that dead horse has been beaten already. Except to say that a smug 'holier than thou' attitude is insufferable no matter what side of the fence a person stands on.

We find it SO hard to resist the debate! It is the 'holier than thou' approach that can get me riled up.

 

[kdespot]

I'm as tied into my technology as everyone else, but please will some veteran pilgrim tell this newbie that I'm not going to walk 500 miles alongside a bunch of zombie pilgrims, staring into their devices and missing everything above, below, and around? This is one of life's evolutionary habits that I'm so hoping to escape for a few months.

 

[november_moon]

I'm as tied into my technology as everyone else, but please will some veteran pilgrim tell this newbie that I'm not going to walk 500 miles alongside a bunch of zombie pilgrims, staring into their devices and missing everything above, below, and around? This is one of life's evolutionary habits that I'm so hoping to escape for a few months.

That won't be the case. When people use their phones, it's usually while stopping for a rest, at the alberque, or whatever. I didn't witness very many people walking while looking at their phones. You see a bit more of that in the last 100km, but not too much. If nothing else, most people don'the have enough data on their plans to be on their phones much unless they are somewhere with WiFi.

 

[C clearly]

. please will some veteran pilgrim tell this newbie that I'm not going to walk 500 miles alongside a bunch of zombie pilgrims, staring into their devices and missing everything above, below, and around? This is one of life's evolutionary habits that I'm so hoping to escape for a few months.

None of us can guarantee that, so you take your chances! With 250,000 people/year walking on that route, you can expect to find some zombies. Do they not have the right to walk on pilgrimage too!

 

[Mike Savage]

Eye glasses and PacerPoles for me.

(and Whatsap to send text messages home each day with my location and love)

 

[VNwalking]

please will some veteran pilgrim tell this newbie that I'm not going to walk 500 miles alongside a bunch of zombie pilgrims, staring into their devices and missing everything above, below, and around?

None of us can guarantee that, so you take your chances! With 250,000 people/year walking on that route, you can expect to find some zombies. Do they not have the right to walk on pilgrimage too!

I was about to say something boring and straight, along the lines of please don't worry...but @C clearly just got me to laugh out loud by saying that, but much better.

 

[Kanga]

On many places on the Camino, walking while looking at a smartphone will get you a broken leg...

 

[mspath]

On many places on the Camino, walking while looking at a smartphone will get you a broken leg...

Not only on the Camino!

 

[domigee]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

A 'smart' phone. Apps? Kindle, where my guidebook is, Eroski ... That's about it I think .
Other pilgrims I know take their ipad Mini but I've never felt the need...One more thing to worry about!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Computers have all but disappeared from the Camino, so if you plan to stay in touch digitally (?), take something! Otherwise you will have to wait at the occasional library for its open hours, or luck upon a working computer at an albergue.

 

[BrienC]

As the debate goes on "...how does the pilgrim approach the dilemma of “tech or no tech”? Well, that’s a very personal decision to make. Option One: Drop the tech and leave your smartphone or tablet at home, going completely without technology, if you can, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But beware, technology will be all around you. Option Two: Take along your smartphone and treat your Camino like any other day in your life: head down, looking at your phone, doing whatever it is you do, and miss out on a lot of why you are on the Camino. Or, take the middle route. Take your smartphone along, always keep it on silent mode, use it only as you need, and don’t let it distract you or other walkers of the Camino."
I'm an iPhone user. But it stays in a handy pocket most of the time.
Apps I favor:
Kindle for iPhone—I read Coelho's "The Pilgrimage" while walking the CF last summer.
Google Translate—Very useful application for translating those words you don’t know or words that are specific to a region. It will also translate from your camera. Simply access the feature in app and point camera lens at sign or menu, etc.
Google Maps—For those moments when you find yourself off course and need a quick reroute.
Adobe Acrobat—Useful for opening most any PDF file, especially the albergue list found on the Camino Forum.
Camino Francés, by Wise Pilgrim Guides—Lots of great information about the provinces you will pass through. Includes albergue and hotel directories, maps and elevation profiles.
Camino Places, by The Camino Forum—Useful app for staying connected with other pilgrims on the Camino Forum and for finding places, food, lodging and Camino services near you while on the Camino.
Strava—I used the Strava app to log nearly every kilometer of my Camino into my online log, which I uploaded each evening. Doing so came in handy during any given day to know how far we had come and to help us make decisions on how much further we might go that day.

Buen Camino!

 

[Mike Trebert]

I brought a decent mirrorless camera with an extra lens. So that's one medium zoom, and another short very wide zoom for interiors and tight exteriors. I love taking photos of what turns up in front of me. There were many times when I stopped, dropping my walking poles and getting my pack off ASAP to get a shot of something before the light changed or somebody walked into shot. I took quite a few panoramas with my iPhone 6S - very impressive software managing the knitting of those panoramas. I Skyped a few times with my family in Australia via iPhone or iPad.

I used Google every day to figure out where I was. I had saved the locations of all prebooked accommodation, so when I was too tired to think I just got the blue dot to head for the yellow star. I received texts and photos of my two new twin granddaughters and for the first time in my life I actually showed people my baby pictures!

I travel with an iPad which I used for browsing and watching TV series and the occasional movie at night over free wifi to take my mind off painful feet as I stayed horizontal for as many hours per day as I could. The iPad was also very handy for viewing and backing up photos.

I love technology and use it to make my life more comfortable at times and more productive. I'm an artist and my camera gave me immense satisfaction whenever I was able to respond to the beauty I spent 5 weeks walking through so that I can share it with my family. It's looking as though I'll be selling photos of my Camino so that I might be able to afford another one sooner rather than later. One day it had been raining all day and I hadn't taken a single picture. Mid-afternoon, I stopped near Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, took off my poncho, put down my pack, took out my camera and took a shot of a landscape which was all grey, lost in layers of heavy rain, a road streaked with flooded tire tracks stretching off away from me. I got soaked and all my clothes stuck together afterwards as I was even wetter than before I stopped. The photo looks beautiful, it was the only shot I took that day. I felt that it would have been irresponsible not to stop and "respond".

Someone in a previous post said that a thousand years ago, pilgrims would have taken a bus or a taxi if they could have. Not to use modern technology can be false modesty, it seems to me. It's somehow egotistical to insist that simplicity is genuinely humble and somehow more reverential. Some people wouldn't make the Camino at all without hi-tech boots, or leg-braces, or crutches, or pacemakers, or medication, or eye surgery, vision aids, etc., etc.

We are such clever creatures. To not use the tools we have created with our intelligence is to sometimes refuse to celebrate our humanity.

Buen Camino, - Mike

 

[Kanga]

Always grist for the mill, this topic.

It's a balancing act between what we gain and what we lose. The scaffolding of modern life supports us, but if it gets too dense we lose the ability and satisfaction of standing by ourselves.

I admire people who can use GPS apps and understand technology - that takes knowledge and education and intelligence. The same for those who can read an old fashioned paper map and use a compass.

I love the stories of South Sea Islanders who navigated vast distances across the oceans, just by the stars and the sun and the flow of the waves and wind. Or the Innuit with an innate sense of direction on boundless plains of ice and snow. Or Australian Aborigines with an uncanny ability to travel vast distances and remember scarce waterholes in deserts.

Modern technology makes their lives safer, for sure. But it is sad if other abilities are completely lost.

 

[dougfitz]

Or Australian Aborigines with an uncanny ability to travel vast distances and remember scarce waterholes in desserts.

I have never seen a dessert that big I needed for find a waterhole in it to walk across it

 

[Mike Trebert]

It must be amusing and tedious for veteran forumeers to see this topic come around over and over again.

We all still walk. I was transfixed by the beauty of the landscape and by travelling through it at human speed and to see it glide past me at human eyeball height. I walked through changing weather, changing light, the whole universe is new and different every moment.

It's a challenge to keep it all in balance with our senses and our ability to experience it all. But like it or not, we are in charge of our evolution from now on. We seem tragically incapable of doing an intelligent job of having too much power over this world. There's no point in wanting it all to be simpler.

The play between simplicity and complexity is fascinating. We are stuck with having to manage this.

So we walk because it's simple and this simplicity feeds the soul.

Buen camino, - Mike

 

[Kanga]

Oh @dougfitz that is so funny! I now have an image of Australia as a huge pavlova. I am terrible at spelling. Once wrote court submissions for a "heroine addict". I have edited my post.

 

[sitges54]

Okay I am (almost) completely computer/technology illiterate. My only concern would be contacting those at home. I am about to do my first, and probably only camino. Is having no experience with the technological world to my advantage, or is it now a necessity where traditional information has now vanished and only accesible on the web. Yes I am of an older generation.

 

[SYates]

Okay I am (almost) completely computer/technology illiterate. My only concern would be contacting those at home. I am about to do my first, and probably only camino. Is having no experience with the technological world to my advantage, or is it now a necessity where traditional information has now vanished and only accesible on the web. Yes I am of an older generation.

I would say it is neither, it is just what it is. Whilst there is a lot information available on the web, I doubt that it is only available on the web. If contacting those at home is what you need to do, than a simple phone and sending text messages would be an easy, low-tech way to achieve this. Buen Camino, SY

 

[Mike Trebert]

Okay I am (almost) completely computer/technology illiterate. My only concern would be contacting those at home. I am about to do my first, and probably only camino. Is having no experience with the technological world to my advantage, or is it now a necessity where traditional information has now vanished and only accesible on the web. Yes I am of an older generation.

Hi sitges54,

We visited Sitges on my first trip to Europe 4 years ago. Barcelona was our first stop and 3 weeks later we flew out of B. We spent that last afternoon near the beach at Sitges having lazy drinks and dinner. Fond memories.

I suggest that you get a very good smart phone and start there. You could learn to make free long distance calls and video calls. I only use my home phone line for my internet connection. I use Apple products because there's only ever one version of the operating software and therefore it's more reliable. If you want to, you could gradually learn to use individual applications or 'apps' which could help you with all kinds of things.

Access to the internet just makes things easier and faster. Information is still available in traditional ways. But. For example, hardly anyone uses cheques to pay bills any more. Companies would rather send you a bill via the internet because it saves them money. Banks prefer you to do your banking over the internet too for the same reason. Government postal services are going broke.

GPS guidance in cars probably saves an enormous amount of gasoline worldwide over a year and therefore there's less pollution. On YouTube you'll find demo videos about almost anything you might be curious about.

If you're curious about the downside, there's a new documentary by renowned film maker Alex Gibney called "Zero Days", which is just about to be released.

I started getting into computers about 25 years ago. At that time I worked in an industry which was fully digital. It took me a very long time to absorb enough to keep me productive. Now, in order to be a photographer, I have to use professional software and a decent computer system.

I hardly ever listen to the radio any more. At the moment I'm listening to an online radio programme called a podcast, which is produced each week by The New Yorker magazine in New York. I subscribe to about 50 podcasts (all free). I listen to BBC, American Public Radio, and Australian Radio National programmes every week. There are other podcasts which are original productions created exclusively for the internet by websites which exist only as internet entities, like Slate.com. I read international newspapers every day and I've subscribed to the online version of a good (non-Murdoch) local newspaper in order to support good journalism.

I use the internet to enrich my life and to expand my creative life. It's fun. It keeps my brain alive. It stokes my curiosity.

Buen Camino, - Mike

 

[VNwalking]

Is having no experience with the technological world to my advantage, or is it now a necessity where traditional information has now vanished and only accesible on the web. Yes I am of an older generation.

I think there is definitely an advantage--especially on the Camino--to not being bombarded by (or addicted to) constant connection and stimulation. Life and interactions go along at a pace that is in sync with our natural biological rhythms and capacities. It's one of the delights of the Camino to live at a walking pace. Not that we have to give up faster transportation, but it's wonderfully relaxing to slow back down to our natural pace. It's the same with electronics and information--we have to use them in the world today, for lots of things, but being on the Camino is a chance to return to a more natural inner quiet and take things in slowly.

And not having electronics is totally possible. There are paper guides and maps--and until quite recently booking ahead was unusual. Being spontaneous is another joy that the Camino allows, if we let it!
If you need to connect with family, a cheap flip phone with a local SIM card is a simple low-tech way of making that possible.

 

[C clearly]

Is having no experience with the technological world to my advantage, or is it now a necessity where traditional information has now vanished and only accesible on the web.

I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you find your technological inexperience to be an advantage in your normal life? If you don't use the technology at home, then I don't think that the camino is a sensible place to start!
.

 

[Kanga]

I've just come back from walking the camino (again) and, @sitges54, smartphones, gps devices, and the rest are definitely not a necessity on the camino.

 

[jsalt]

Okay I am (almost) completely computer/technology illiterate. My only concern would be contacting those at home.

Hi, no need to take anything other than a basic cellphone, so you can text home if you want. That is all I took in 2013, and it was one of my best caminos ever. I take a smartphone now because I like to take a photo occasionally, and the Kindle on it saves me having to carry heavy books now; but I still generally stay off the grid while on a camino. Jill

 

[SimiK]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

My IPhone 6 and mini IPad 4 make me happy! They're light enough and I can read the screens!

 

[RonnieX]

Has any body used a WiFi in Spain

 

[domigee]

Yes, there's now wifi in many places. If in a bar, ask for the password if it isn't written on the counter : 'la contraseña por favor'.
If it is very complicated, they may well type it in for you.
Buen camino

 

[RonnieX]

I should have said MiFi not WiFi (spell check). I will be riding a bike 800 km on my own and my wife would like to keep track of my progress due to the fact I wil be 60 next year. My Garmin bike GPS can do live tracking through my iphone to my wife's computer in Australia. I also keen photographer and will be editing my photos on the go to send to family back home and all maps and information will be stored on I phone. Going to take about 28 days as I am in no rush and can stop when I want.
BTW I have been riding many years as my knees would not stand up to walking with a back pack.

 

[domigee]

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I use a collection of flattened wood-pulp with squiggles on. Seems to work ok even when there isn't any wi-fi...

OK if you can't get any decent papyrus I suppose . . . .

 

[Jeff Crawley]

That won't be the case. When people use their phones, it's usually while stopping for a rest, at the alberque, or whatever. I didn't witness very many people walking while looking at their phones. You see a bit more of that in the last 100km, but not too much. If nothing else, most people don'the have enough data on their plans to be on their phones much unless they are somewhere with WiFi.

Anybody remember that lovely downhill track from Molinaseca where you can see right across to Ponferrada in the distance? I did that one time while a young Spanish girl walked along behind me talking (loudly) to a friend on her mobile for over 40 minutes. We sighed with relief when the conversation stopped only for her to call somebody else . .
It's the 21st century - technology intrudes everywhere but can people PLEASE switch off their phones while in church?

 

[SYates]

OK if you can't get any decent papyrus I suppose . . . .

Or a clay tablet SY

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Or a clay tablet SY

We had to wear an apron when we did clay work in infants school (kindergarden) - I am NOT wearing one on the Camino!

(sorry for the frivolity - 36 days til we set off and I'm getting SO excited!)

 

[Viejo]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

I am not a Luddite, but I got through the whole 500 miles of CF without a cell phone or camera (I did wear a watch, however). Found myself staring into space (meditating?) while everyone around me was busy on their bunks interacting with their iphones. Next time I'll probably reconsider, but being unconnected for 6 weeks was all in all a good experience, I think.

 

[kdespot]

I brought a decent mirrorless camera with an extra lens. So that's one medium zoom, and another short very wide zoom for interiors and tight exteriors. I love taking photos of what turns up in front of me. There were many times when I stopped, dropping my walking poles and getting my pack off ASAP to get a shot of something before the light changed or somebody walked into shot. I took quite a few panoramas with my iPhone 6S - very impressive software managing the knitting of those panoramas. I Skyped a few times with my family in Australia via iPhone or iPad.

I used Google every day to figure out where I was. I had saved the locations of all prebooked accommodation, so when I was too tired to think I just got the blue dot to head for the yellow star. I received texts and photos of my two new twin granddaughters and for the first time in my life I actually showed people my baby pictures!

I travel with an iPad which I used for browsing and watching TV series and the occasional movie at night over free wifi to take my mind off painful feet as I stayed horizontal for as many hours per day as I could. The iPad was also very handy for viewing and backing up photos.

I love technology and use it to make my life more comfortable at times and more productive. I'm an artist and my camera gave me immense satisfaction whenever I was able to respond to the beauty I spent 5 weeks walking through so that I can share it with my family. It's looking as though I'll be selling photos of my Camino so that I might be able to afford another one sooner rather than later. One day it had been raining all day and I hadn't taken a single picture. Mid-afternoon, I stopped near Calzadilla de los Hermanillos, took off my poncho, put down my pack, took out my camera and took a shot of a landscape which was all grey, lost in layers of heavy rain, a road streaked with flooded tire tracks stretching off away from me. I got soaked and all my clothes stuck together afterwards as I was even wetter than before I stopped. The photo looks beautiful, it was the only shot I took that day. I felt that it would have been irresponsible not to stop and "respond".

Someone in a previous post said that a thousand years ago, pilgrims would have taken a bus or a taxi if they could have. Not to use modern technology can be false modesty, it seems to me. It's somehow egotistical to insist that simplicity is genuinely humble and somehow more reverential. Some people wouldn't make the Camino at all without hi-tech boots, or leg-braces, or crutches, or pacemakers, or medication, or eye surgery, vision aids, etc., etc.

We are such clever creatures. To not use the tools we have created with our intelligence is to sometimes refuse to celebrate our humanity.

Buen Camino, - Mike

 

[Mike Trebert]

Hi despot, Sorry I couldn't resist, bet you get that a lot.

There's no message in your post. Please try again. Just hit the "reply" button on the right.

 

[Allan Morris]

I have walked the Camino in 2009 and 2011. Each day we searched out where we could find a computer with internet connection to check e-mails, e-mail loved ones and occasionally skype loved ones. I had a Spanish cheap cell phone to call a ahead for a reservation for the next day if we wanted to stay in a pension/ hostal instead of an albergue. This time I plan to bring my smart phone to save me the time of looking for a computer. The amount I paid to use the internet in those trips indicates that the cost of a Spanish sim card and some air time would be about the same. However, the only time I will use it will be at the end of the day for exactly the same purposes I used internet service in previous Caminos or in the case of an emergency. I hope I can hold to that.

 

[Rod Murray]

Here we go again, the argument about technology. Pass. I think that dead horse has been beaten already.
Except to say that a smug 'holier than thou' attitude is insufferable no matter what side of the fence a person stands on. That peregrina was simply being rude, Doug, and was lucky you had the admirable restraint to leave it with a smile!

And I appreciate the reminder that even a Tilley is technology--as are wool and cotton. I for one am very grateful that we walk in clothing...the alternative is not only less comfortable to experience but mostly (speaking for myself) much less comfortable on other people's eyes and sensibilities!

Speaking of clothing and technology, I also posted this in the funny "no boxer shorts" forum found elsewhere: My MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canada) wicking, recycled poly boxer shorts are of the highest technological standards and made walking 10-25km per day very comfortable, not to mention that they are easy to wash and hang to dry overnight. I also, as mentioned elsewhere, took my iPhone 6 with Spanish SIM.

 

[kdespot]

Yep, Trebert, it's a hellava name to grow up with. (About the empty message... I'm afraid I don't remember what I was going to say. Haven't quite figured out how to quote and respond on this forum.) Would love to meet you on the Camino and discuss politics. ;-)

 

[Mike Trebert]

Yep, Trebert, it's a hellava name to grow up with. (About the empty message... I'm afraid I don't remember what I was going to say. Haven't quite figured out how to quote and respond on this forum.) Would love to meet you on the Camino and discuss politics. ;-)

I could call you "K" but that would be Kafkaesque so I guess you just can't win. Discussing politics is verboten here. So out there on the Camino might be the best place for any serious discussion. It's too late though, to talk about that thing and almost too late for that other thing!

If you click on the "reply" button beside the post you want to answer, the name and quote will appear, then you just type underneath that.

 

[Rod Murray]

I could call you "K" but that would be Kafkaesque so I guess you just can't win. Discussing politics is verboten here. I recently mentioned the name of a certain USandA presidential candidate here and got myself censored. So out there on the Camino might be the best place for any serious discussion. It's too late though, to talk about that thing and almost too late for that other thing!

If you click on the "reply" button beside the post you want to answer, the name and quote will appear, then you just type underneath that.

Met some wonderful American Peregrinos on our first day in Ponferrada a particular group again and again throughout our walk to SdC (deleted) Aussies say what Canadians only think about US politics! It was great to have these conversations over dinner, over wine, on the Camino. Not necessary, or needed here though!

 

[Mike Trebert]

Met some wonderful American Peregrinos on our first day in Ponferrada a particular group again and again throughout our walk to SdC. We had many great talks about politics, the unsaid Presidential candidate and a lot more. Aussies say what Canadians only think about US politics! It was great to have these conversations over dinner, over wine, on the Camino. Not necessary, or needed here though!

Hi Rod,

I've been asked to remove my original post here.

Mike

 

[giraffex]

What technology are you using on the Camino and which applications in particular do you recommend?

I just used a data sim that I bought from Orange to make sure we weren't too far off where we were supposed to be. Most of the time, though, we just relied on the route markers.

 

[grayland]

A reminder that this discussion is about technology.

References to politics...however disguised...will be deleted in all posts.

Please do not cause this thread to be closed with political views.

Thanks for complying with this simple forum rule.

 

[Jeanine]

My first time through, I used an old Android phone without a SIM card on WiFi only. The Camino Pilgrim app was extremely useful - all data was available offline, it had maps, custom stage planning, albergue info, and other amenities for the Camino Frances as well as routes to Fisterra and Muxia. Unfortunately its live mapping and location info required a data connection, so when I was out of WiFi range I'd use maps.me which uses offline maps and the phone's GPS to show your current location as well as location-based search for nearby amenities.

When I go this fall it'll be with a new phone on Google's Project Fi network, so I can do international data without paying extra.

I have been to Europe and remember getting a Sim card there once. I am not that versed in the process and I will also need to purchase a phone because I am relocating and will want a phone in my new state. What do you recommend? I want to be able to reach my son who will also be on the Camino but maybe walking at a different pace than I will and I want to take pictures and have data access. Thoughts?

 

[code_monkey_001]

I have been to Europe and remember getting a Sim card there once. I am not that versed in the process and I will also need to purchase a phone because I am relocating and will want a phone in my new state. What do you recommend? I want to be able to reach my son who will also be on the Camino but maybe walking at a different pace than I will and I want to take pictures and have data access. Thoughts?

Are you in the US? Our mobile plans are more restrictive than most; if you plan on getting a new phone and purchasing a sim in Spain for use there make certain your carrier has unlocked it before you go.

Depending where you live the cheapest long term is Google's new Project Fi, which has a flat data rate of $10/gigabyte in 120 countries. The problem is they lease bandwidth from Sprint and TMobile in the US, so if you're in a more rural area you won't have coverage when you get home.

Another alternative for US users is Verizon's international plan, which costs $5/day in Spain. Not my preference, but if you live in an area without much competition youay not have a choice.