Planning - Technology Planning and Getting Lost - 61 Days to Go

It’s seems odd to be talking about technology…I’m about to walk a Camino path which is almost 1,500 years old. Countless people have walked it without any concern for phones, cameras, various peripherals etc. A number of current Camino pilgrims lament the fact that "so-called" pilgrims walk with phones, cameras etc. To each his own.

So much has changed…Accommodation bookings online…Apple Wallet holds airline boarding passes, Booking.com reservations etc. Apps such as BuenCamino or Wise Pilgrim outline most everything you need to know about the route, accommodation and services in each town/village.

Sure one can do things the good old way but why not embrace these helpful advances and have more time to simply explore...meet people or blog ☺️? 

For me a smart phone is the one essential technology device.

Communication Devices

2013/2014 Caminos - iPad Mini (Sim card with plan purchased in advance and shipped home to Winnipeg), an international cell phone (which I admittedly was baffled with) and a small digital camera. In contrast to today heavy, cumbersome and slow devices.

2018 Camino - iPhone 7 Plus. Much lighter…takes decent pictures. However got off to a very rough start in the Lisbon airport as outlined in blog posting below.

Camino Portuguese - And I’m off I think...well maybe

Uneventful flight...all went super well until I reached the Vodafone counter in Lisbon airport to get a data card. Now back home I had 3 months ago ensured that the phone carrier had unlocked my iPhone...”yes sir your phone is unlocked” A week before leaving I double checked...same answer.

Well...not so at Vodafone counter!!! “Sorry your phone is locked...dummy”. So 3 phone calls on a toll free line...emails...2 visits to Vodafone....many different stories such as “you have to go back to factory settings...which I refused to do!” and 8 hours later my Sim card works...ah the joys!

Camino 2022 - iPhone 13 up to date as possible! My choices are to pay Bell $15 a day for limited international coverage in Spain  totalling $336 CDN (with HST) or I could look into something like  

• Vodafone 28 day 20GB plan with 800 local and international minutes (Canada included) with unlimited social networks usage for 25 Euros or $33 CDN,

• Vodafone plan 35GB with unlimited local calls and unlimited social networks usage for 35 Euros or $46 CDN

OIE should I buy Canadian or support the Spanish local economy..really tough choice!? I have heard recently that comparable Canadian vs European cell plans are roughly 10X more expensive...well...

A little bit cheaper 😳

The Camino Forum website www.caminodesantiago.me is an incredible source of excellent information. One posting that caught my eye focused on 2 factor identification and its increasing usage in Europe for all manner of transactions.

So I completed a little research into eSim’s as the iPhone 13 has capacity for 2 eSims. I then posted an “eSim for Dummies question” on the Camino Forum. I may well be the king for “X for Dummies questions” on this website.

Note: If someone reading this can clarify whether a better solution exists than the one outlined below I welcome your comments! This is well above my pay grade.

I understand that I can transfer my current phone plan to an eSim (likely with some help from either Apple or Bell) easily enough 🤔. Then upon arrival in Spain I would purchase a physical Sim card and associated plan…problem potentially solved in that 2 factor identification would still work as my current phone number is active.

Except…what about all these spam calls, texts etc that one receives every day? Even if a few of these slide through the $ associated with roaming could quickly become an issue. While I recognize physical Sim cards will likely become obsolete soon I simply looked for options.

I considered changing the 2 factor ID banking notification from an SMS message to my gmail email account. Unfortunately my bank will only accept a “secure” email account…like work account or other similar email. 

New Zealand Camino Forum Sim card expert stated my banks position was not justified however he has heard of this happening to others. So he suggested an alternative😂.

He provided me with a Canadian site licensed to sell Domain names which then allows setting up a secure email account…which the bank has accepted. The “secure” email account does not store data as it forwards emails to an email of my choice. Well I chose my gmail account 😂…and this all works! What a kludgy solution!

I spent $5 for my own Domain name…I chose my Domain name without any thought whatsoever... my daughter in law is still laughing at my choice “Guy why did you not pick out a cool sounding name…someday it could have been worth mega $$$” . Dunno not too big on Marketing stuff 🥲.

I have contacted 3 SIM card providers who operate in the Madrid airport and upon arrival this is priority #1. One of the sellers provides an additional service for a few Euros…they will be at the arrival gate with a sign with my name on it (how cool is that!!!) and set me up immediately! Seriously considering this…considering my age…tendency to get lost in airport etc might be worth it 🤣

If there are no blog postings between Sept 15th and Oct 5th, 2022 then I likely was not successful. 

Other technology considerations

FitBit - wear this all the time…count steps…tells me how I sleep 😴 etc. However will leave at home…extra weight…charger required. There are other ways to know how far I have walked…who cares how many steps…same with sleeping…either I slept well or I didn't...still going to walk.

Kobo reader - A great device…my primary way to read books now and I could load books prior to leaving for Spain. However the Kobo stays home as well. Extra weight…electrical charger…one more thing to protect when it rains. Expect to be so tired after days walk…reading books can wait upon my return.

Apple AirPods - This is a much more difficult call…currently thinking I will take them however will see.

Currently walk with AirPods in early morning listening to various PodCasts and then later in the day to music mainly on Spotify to their playlists or my own where I have downloaded various songs...

As an aside my playlist is exclusively Heavy Metal…this probably surprises many who know me…

Current playlist has 75 songs…top artists with # songs in brackets are:

Enya (4), Loreena McKennitt (4), Eurythmics (4), Abba (4), Roger Whitaker (3), John Denver (3), Great Big Sea (3)

Three favourites for the music - Clocks by Cold Play, Inca Dance by Cusco (try this!) and The Dance of the Dolphins by Enigma.

Two favourites to get going - YMCA by Village People, Jump by Van Halen

All time favourite - What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong. Listening to this…all one really needs to know. 

For anyone looking at this list and going WHAT? No worries still solidly a 🤓! 

As I said Heavy Metal all the way for me 😂🤣. Now if someone reading this would like me to share my playlist (😳🥱) then I will be happy to do so…drop me a reply and your Spotify name. I don’t expect many (zero!) takers 😊😂

Another advantage to taking the AirPods is that I will be walking Oct 1…that’s the day I allow myself to play Christmas Carols whenever I want using a Spotify compilation. In the house I am allowed to play Christmas music the day after Halloween 🎃.

I do not want to listen to music while walking on Camino paths...want to be present, aware and enjoy new surroundings whether brief conversations with fellow pilgrims or simply on the lookout for dangerous animals.

I foresee benefits in the evenings when relaxing post walk…when Paulo is talking to one of 200 million friends he has in Brazil on FaceTime, Skype etc.

Of course there a few other peripherals needed like a currency converter (orders Apple World Converter pack), small battery charger, mag lite charger and spare charging cord.

Getting Lost

This has happened 🤔 a few/ok many times mainly through Switzerland and France…by fluke mostly when I was walking by myself! 😂

I know it looks so easy however sometimes simply confusing!

A few months ago I posted on the Camino Forum a "GPS for Dummies on Camino" question. A pelegrina took pity on me and sent me a message saying she would be willing to help...I found out later that she is THE Camino Forum GPS expert.

So after a few exchanges I did the following:

• Downloaded the app Wikilocs and paid $10 or so for a premium subscription 

• Searched Wikilocs for GPS tracks for both the Camino Primitivo and Camino Salvador. Found tracks saved by a couple of pilgrims which looked promising...a lot of likes = promising for me🙂

• Downloaded these tracks in Wikilocs both daily tracks and a single track for the entire Camino. Daily tracks often provide alternative variations in the route.

So I was all set...except I hadn't a clue how to use the app so...my pelegrina contact helped me 

• Experimented locally by recording my own track walking locally...really difficult hit Record Track...I could do that!

• Recommended I do the following prior to loading a track

• Set iPhone in Airplane mode
• Set Battery usage to Low Power Mode
• Set Volume control to Highest level possible

• Choose the track I wish to follow and a nice sounding beep is heard

• Start walking on route...no noise heard...deviate on purpose and a fairly awful beep is heard...then find way back to track and a nice beep sound is made

• Deviate from course again and same awful beep...continue a while longer (maybe 30 seconds or so) and final awful beep is heard then no more sound. Wish it would say "Off track Dummy?"

So that's it...I am going to try this out on the Camino Primitivo...figure it can't hurt. I will still focus on following the arrows however have this as a backup plan if/when I stray from the path for whatever reason. 

A few of my worst "I am lost" blogs from previous walks are found below... It happens and it's all part of the experience 😀

Via Jacobi (August 2, 2013) - Day 2 Schwellbrunn to Watwill

One thing that is really apparent now is that the Swiss will avoid roads in favour of goat paths to get from A to B. This makes sense however I have also noticed that the quality of the signage really decreases on goat paths...at times it is really disconcerting to plow up and down a hillside following a fence and not being really sure!

I had a few oops again today with only one real problem that being within the first 45 minutes. This one was totally my fault as I missed a key sign and kept going up this nice road...until I hit a Swiss farmer's house. I must have circled it 3 or 4 times to make sure of my next move.

I followed what looked like a well defined path for a number of minutes and then came to goat path fork in the road where I tried various special Camino routes. Defeated I trudged back to the farm house where I met a young man who spoke some English. He said I could go the way I was going however at a certain point I should cut over to a path in the forest...and then do this and do that...I was worried.

Then he said that I had missed a sign up the road and I could backtrack...easy decision. I regret I did not give him a Canadian lapel pin...I was on the move.

Via Jacobi (August 12, 2013) - Day 12 Riggisberg to Fribourg

A good start however things soon were not very good. Christine explained that instead of going back 2.5 kms to Riggisberg (extra distance I walked yesterday) I could go forward and hook up with the Via Jacobi using an alternate route. We looked at maps together...she said she had placed a marker at the only junction and off I went.

Marker was no where to be found yet the surroundings were as described...soon I found the Wanderweg signs and I thought I was good. I even stopped someone and he confirmed it as well. I kept walking and seeing Wanderweg signs, which I often follow, however had an overwhelming feeling that I was off path...by 9:30 I had yet to see a Via Jacobi sign.

Shortly thereafter I came to a yellow sign which indicated directions to various towns...NONE of which were mine! I walked back to a farm and said I was lost. Two people just spoke German...third one spoke some English. He looked at where I wanted to go on my iPad PDF map and showed me where I was. Way off...likely 5 kms or so off.

I asked if he could just point out the road to backtrack and he said sure...wait a minute. Next thing I knew my backpack was in his car...he was a veterinarian and he drove me back over the roads I had just come for the past hour...then a little zag and I saw the Via Jacobi sign. In total he only drove for maybe less than 10 minutes...but it really saved me.

In hindsight I was at some point very close to where I should be however veered off at that point...there are so many walking paths! I tried to save 2.5 kms but in the end walked at least double that!

I could have given him a hug (note not a big hugger therefore I didn't)...offered him some money to which he said no...then dug up 10 or so Canadian lapel pins and gave them to him...he seemed happy.

Via Jacobi (August 12, 2013) - Day 12 Riggisberg to Fribourg

Just before noon coming into Schwarzenberg I had an experience which almost sent me in the deep end! Following the signs is at times really difficult and this is the toughest mental part to the walking...overcoming physical challenges is overall easier.

I came to a point where to the left the sign pointed to Via Jacobi 4 (route I had just walked from which was fine as the route is marked in both directions)... At a right angle was a sign which said Route 3 and not Via Jacobi 4 with the Camino shell. To the right was a homemade sign indicating Jakobsweg Via Jacobi 4...bingo I follow it.

This then led to a gravel road which had silver Camino signs (never seen these before) and 15 to 20 minutes later the gravel road ended on a well travelled road...NO more signs. Past experience is that the Via Jacobi almost never follows a major road...so I backtracked and tried the Route 3 route. For quite a while this did not look promising however in the end I made it.

Via Gebennensis (September 27, 2013) - Day 20 Beaumont to Frangy

On the question of signage the Via Gebennensis is so far very well signed. A comment left by a fellow member (Kitsambler) of the Camino Forum run by Ivar Revke provided great advice. Signs are at every key road intersection however there will be long stretches where there are no signs as there are no junctions. So far I am finding this Camino easier to navigate than the Via Jacobi although a long stretch without signs can be unnerving.

A little later in the day as I was leaving Les Malpas I started down a major roadway for maybe a minute. It didn't feel right...a motorist whizzing by stuck his hand out the car window and I immediately understood that I was going the wrong way, had to go back and then uphill. Amazing sign language...he deserved a Canadian lapel pin but I couldn't run that fast.

Via Gebennensis (October 6, 2013) - Day 29 Bourg Argental to Les Chomats

I am staying at the Gite Plein Sud outside of Les Chomats. My instructions for finding it were to follow the signs posted prior to coming into Les Chomats....did not see a sign...have since been told it may have fallen.

The backup instructions were to enter Les Chomats and there would be a sign...gite 15 minutes from the sign. I found the sign but it was not very descriptive...walked back and forth a few hundred meters...once after asking a very very very elderly gentlemen about the gite. He told to go back to the village and the gite was there...I did that...no gite...turns out that gite was closed in the early 1900's I think!

So I then went for it and kept walking past the sign..oh first managed to phone the Gite and left a message that I was lost and wandering around aimlessly...first time in days that I have been able to successfully use my phone...cell service in these parts is not too good!

After 10 to 15 minutes and having to dodge a vociferous dog...I phoned again...this time I spoke to someone. By now I was really tired and told the owner I was lost in the wilderness and was about to sit on the road...he asked me questions like which farm I just passed...HOW do I know.

Somehow I must have said something that clicked and Vincent was kind enough to come and pick me up...no way I would have found it!

On to the next blog Weather Planning 🤔