TrainTickets From RENFE (the Spanish Train System)

Not being a Spanish speaker (my problem), trying to book our train tickets with RENFE from Madrid to Sarria  was a learning experience. RENFE's web site was hard to navigate, even with their English version. But with the help of a Portuguese friend I figured it out.  I then learned about  a booking agency called Loco2 ( https://loco2.com/ ) whose English web site was very straight forward.

Next, the issue of actually booking our tickets to travel on May 7, 2015.     Even at 60 days out, RENFE had not posted a schedule for our travel date.  I contacted the people at Loco 2 who told me that they have seen RENFE post schedule as late as 2 weeks prior departure dates. The good folks at Loco2 assured me that they would contact me as soon as the schedule was posted for my travel date. Which they did!!  So Muchas Gracias Loco2.  RENFE finally posted the schedule for our May 7  travel date on April 17, 2015.

Working with Loco2 and RENFE reminded me that “When in Rome, do as the Romans".  Or, Don't expect things to operate like they do in your home country.  Expect them to operate like they do in the country you are visiting.

Preparing For Our Camino-Poncho vs Rain Coat

2sassytravelers

Preparing for the El Camino De Santiago

01/31/2015

Rain Coats vs Rain Ponchos

We decided to go the rain poncho route and I will get into why we made this decision at the end of this posting. 

The poncho we found is really an oversized rain coat that covers you and your backpack like a poncho.

This particular rain poncho/coat is from BlueField and we purchased it on line from DHgate.com for $15.29 and this price included FREE shipping. 

Again, this poncho is more like a one piece, oversized, pullover rain coat.  It is not open along the sides like a traditional poncho and it has large sleeves for your arms.  It comes in 4 colors, Orange (more like a florescent orange), Yellow (more of an orange color), Dark Blue and Blue.  It is made of a Polyester material that feels strong enough that it will not rip in high wends.  There is a short zipper in the front of your chest that you can open to help vent body heat.  The attached hood has a bill, but you may want to wear a baseball cap to keep the bill from falling in your face.  A zipper on the back permits you to zip away the part of the poncho that covers your back pack.  There is a snap at the bottom where you can attach the front and back of the poncho between your legs.  A stuff sack comes with the poncho. The weight, including the stuff sack is 11.8 oz (334.5g).

We chose the "poncho" over the "rain coat + backpack rain cover".  With the combination rain coat/backpack rain cover, there is still a space between your backpack and rain coat where rain can fall in and soak your pack and the items in your pack. The benefits of a poncho is that it is roomy, cooler than a rain coat and covers everything.  The down side of the poncho is it can act like a sail in windy conditions.    

We will report on how this product functions for us on our Camino.

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.