The morning hours prove delightful—once the senses have awoken. As the sun slowly rises a church steeple casts a shadow over its congregation and the vast countryside brightens before us. This time of day provides great lighting for those pictures we take back home, on camera or in our minds. Rolling wheat fields. A village in the distance. Pilgrims fore and aft. We are alive.
The Hostel Method
(Adapted as a travel article from my forthcoming book, “Su Camino…”)
ALBERGUES on the Camino de Santiago are a ubiquitous lot, many in every village, town and city—from the diminutive to the grand. Whether conversions from ancient pilgrim hospitals or modern, utilitarian edifices, they beckon at day’s
end. Trailside or a short few meters out of the way, shelter from summer sun and winter cold—so very little more, but all one needs. (more…)
Café con leche, on the Camino de Santiago
Without caffeine, senses still dull from the early hour and the many kilometers behind, legs heavy, the pilgrim finds the Camino markings of yellow arrows and scallop shells in the early light and seeks out breakfast, but more importantly, café con leche. And too, maybe, a croissant or better still, a slice of Spanish omelet. We awaken.
Rising, on the Camino de Santiago
The day begins, senses dull from the previous day’s exertion, perhaps an hour before good light. Eyes held closed as long as possible as other walkers of the Camino are heard nearby, rustling through bags, dressing, finding a lost whatever. Each morning starts the same. This fight to put off the inevitable. Putting off the effort to get up from the bunk, wriggling out of the (more…)
Parts of Parts
In his delightful Camino narrative “I’m Off Then”, Hape Kerkeling says the pilgrim’s day is a “microcosm” of one’s total Camino journey; hard to get going in the beginning and exhausted but happy in the end. The pilgrim, the thru-hiker, the spiritual-adventurer takes to the day, sluggish but expectant and experiences a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, day after day, Camino after Camino.
Dromoland Castle, Ireland
TURNING OFF THE M18 and through the gates of estate lands in the direction of Dromoland Castle come hotel, there is uneasy feeling of ill-fitting puzzle pieces. Well-manicured rolling dark green and hardwood studded hillocks, the drive meanders through, no castle in sight. The least likely of pieces, an 18-hole golf course that snakes its way over the knolls. Golfers in their funny plaid britches and (more…)
CDC.Gov
Check out CDC.Gov for all questions about potential health issues and suggested or required vaccinations for any country your travel plans will take you.
The first time I travelled to Africa back in the nineties, I went to the local county health clinic to find out what, if anything, I needed. They brought out a large tattered book and opened it the Tanzania to see where I was going and what I needed in the way of protection.
Now you have it all at your finger tips.
Travel.State.Gov
We have used this site for a good many years now, still finding it useful, but its information must be taken with a grain of salt. This US State Department website is for world travellers and the one-stop place for passports and information on visas. What we usually find most useful are their advisories. However, the State Department has recently posted a Worldwide Travel Alert, which is, quite simply, absurd. Sure, it makes it easy for them. Now they can always say, “we warned you.” But such blanket assertions paint such a gloomy, isolationist picture that people won’t travel. Which then, by the way, harms developing economies, creating joblessness and, well, more disenfranchised people that want to harm others.
SIM Cards, and the like
The question is always, “What’s the best way to stay in contact with friends and family back home?”
The approach I take when travelling abroad is to purchase a short-term service plan through a service provider (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobil, etc.) that allows me to text, use data and to make phone calls whenever in cell range. These plans and their service providers have agreements with many of the service providers in the country or countries in which you are travelling. I’ve found this to be a quite manageable solution, one that provides much convenience, but at a price. This approach works well in Europe and many other parts of the world. Check with your service provider before hand.
Other methods to stay in contact by phone are purchasing, if you have a simple cell phone or a smartphone that has been unlocked, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card and service package for your phone (either before leaving home or once in Europe). Or, you can purchase a simple pay-as-you-go phone when you arrive in Europe. I have not witnessed much success with the SIM card approach, but I know this works well for many travellers in many other countries. One time, a friend of mine spent three days emailing back and forth with his IT group back home trying to get a SIM card to work on his business phone. Too, there are scams being used on the pay-as-you-go phone method. With either approach, if you purchase either option, make darned sure the phone works before you leave the shop. The salesperson will say things like, “It takes a few hours to activate, no problem.” Only, there is a problem, the service never does come online and by the time you discover this, you are too far down the road to bother going back.
It’s All in the Details
Know before you go is one of our primary goals. To afford to travel more often, we work hard at getting the best prices and look for deals and packages. Kathey is registered with Travel Zoo and a few other websites to keep an eye out for such deals and to know what things are going for. She receives weekly, or more often, emails with hot deals for airlines, hotels, rental cars and travel packages. Travel Zoo sends out their Top 20 travel deals every Wednesday.
But, the devil is in the details. If you are looking at traveling from San Francisco to Washington DC for the spring cherry tree bloom and start looking for airfare, you might get really excited when you, as we did recently, see a $99 round trip fare. You might be ready to jump on that, until you’ve read the offer dates, mid-December to early March. DC is darned cold in winter.
Similarly, you can get great package deals to Ireland—for January. Or, as we did once, an organized tour of China for November. Beijing and Xian are seriously cold in November. We still had a great time.
Too, read up on travel restrictions, cancellation fees and layover duration. We’ve many stories about finding great airfare and happily booking the trip, only to later find out we had a 13 hour layover in say, Chicago—in December. Burr!