Preparing for our Camino-Toiletries

2sassytravelers-Spain2015

11/13/2-14

An old trick about toiletries:

One topic I’ve seen on the web sites and blogs about doing a pilgrimage on the Camino is “TP” (toilet paper).  That is, "Make sure you carry some with you".  I have seen pre-packaged "camping" TP in stories selling for $5-$7 for a package of 3 rolls (each 260 inches). The roll of TP we buy for the house is about 660 inches. Do the math! 

An old trick I learned decades ago is to make your own TP-Bag and here is how it is done.

What you need:

     1)   Freezer Zip-Lock Bag

     2)   Half or less roll of TP

Next pull the cardboard roll back away from the tissue and with a small twisting motion pull the cardboard roll out.

Next pull out the TP from the center of the roll. 

Place the roll in the Zip-Lock bag with the pulled out TP free.  This is how you will access the TP when it is needed.  

The nice thing about this is you don’t have to take the whole roll out of the zip-Lock to use it and the roll stays dry and clean should you need to place it on the ground.

Now you are ready to continue your journey.

Oh yes – remember to burry your TP as deep as you can or carry it out with you in another Zip-Lock.  Be respectful of others who will be coming after you.

Preparing for our Camino-Sleeping Bag

2sassytravelers

Preparing for the El Camino De Santiago

11/11/2014

Sleeping Bag selection:

This is one of the hardest questions to find an answer to in all of my research.  Some of the criteria one has to consider are, the season you will be traveling, will you be staying in albergues/refuge, hotels, B&Bs or even sleeping under the stars.  In our case we have decided to stay in albergues.  From my research, at best the albergues will have a bed, and possibly a blanket.  But we will be indoors.  We will also be traveling in late spring/early summer where the weather is predicted to range from 48°F to 65°F (9°C to 14°C).

We decided we would need a sleeping bag that was rated down to 40°F (5°C) and ideally weigh about 1.5 Lbs. (0.7 Kg) and no more than 2.0 Lbs. (0.9 Kg).

Cost is another issue.  We did not want to spend a lot of money.  What we ended up with was a bag sold by Wal-Mart under the Ozark Trail brand.  It is a mummy shaped bag, rated down to 40°F (5°C), with a synthetic fiber fill, stuffs down to 11” X 6”, and  with the compression stuff sack that comes with the bag weights 2Lbs. (0.9 Kg).

Model Number: MU-EULIN 40FPR. 

Cost: $39.00.

The photo to the right is the bag laid out and in its compression stuff sack.

Follow our Blog and we will report on how well these sleeping bags performed.