Water and hotels

[Watson, John]

Water
I bought bottled water when I could as I prefer it. Sometimes, as in
Fromista, the town supply is dodgy in appearance (brown) but probably still
OK. However, let's get one thing straight; fuente water is town supply. If
it is NOT town supply, there is a sign saying non potable or somesuch
meaning don't drink it. Fuente means fountain, not well.
John


-----Original Message-----
From: E. O. Pederson [mailto:eldorpaHOTMAIL.COM]
Sent: Saturday, 4 August 2001 10:09 AM
To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
Subject: Water and hotels



Some of this discussion has turned unpleasant, but to weigh in on the water
issue, my wife, a MD with a Masters Degree in Public Health and a pediatric
public health practice is horrified at the prospect of drinking untreated
water from fuente in agricultural regions.  A variety of diseases, ghardia
is the most likely but E-coli (potentially deadly), salmonella and others,
can be contracted by drinking untreated well-water in areas where livestock
is present (as it is along most of the camino) or even in wilderness areas
where the diseases have been spread from domestic animals to wildlife (among
other wilderness zones, most of the Alps, the Rockies, the Cascades,  the
Sierras and probably the mountainous regions along the camino).  When I
walked the camino 2 years ago, I bought bottled water both for its
convienience and for the safety factor.  I am working on plans to walk again
this autumn, and i! f ! I am able to go, I will again purchase water for
drinking during the day.  Of course, water supplies in towns and cities in
Spain are safe (probably safer than in comparable sized towns in the US and
Canada), and water can be carried from refugios in canteens.

A case of ghardia, with its 5-6 week incubation period, would be a most
unwelcome souvenier of the camino!

As for hotels, chacun a son gout (sorry, don't have diacritical marks on
this word processor).  It isn't usually necessary (though I was forced into
a hotel once because of a full refugio), but comfort and privacy may dictate
a few hotel nights even for the most penurious pilgrims.

E. O. Pederson

Seattle, WA


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