PRACTICAL MATTERS

[bill deutschman]

From:   Anthony Dyson [SMTP:anthony.dysonaWANEWS.COM.AU]
Sent:   Monday, December 03, 2001 8:54 PM
To:     GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
Subject:        Re: PRACTICAL MATTERS

2. Tent. Does the rise in numbers mean that camping might well be a
practical alternative in some places? I have a very lightweight shelter
and am happy to carry it. Or is the small number of sites mean this is
just not practical?



Tony;

We went two years ago so I don't know about present prices.  You didn't say
when you were going.  We entered Spain on May 20 and arrived in Santiago on
June 6th.  We planned to camp and did about 1/4 of the time.  However, about
half of the campgrounds hadn't yet opened contrary to our guide books which
said they all opened May 15 or June 1.  Campgrounds were few and far between
from Leon to Santiago.  The one at Rabinal, for example, was a grassy field
with a pit toilet.  In general, European campgrounds do not have tables.  We've
camped for the last ten years and can only remember one picnic table and one on
the Boden See (Germany) which had a communal cooking area with propane stoves
and tables under a roof.  It also cost about twice as much as the others.  Most
of the one's that we used were quite nice with complete facilities including a
small restaurant/snack/store/bar in most.  All that were any distance from town
had bread, milk, beer, wine, yogert, jelly and snack food so you won't starve.
(You may need to reserve your bread order the night before as it arrives fresh
and hot in the morning.)   Be sure to bring your own toilet paper as many
campgrounds do not supply it.  The campgrounds also function on "Spanish Time."
 Things open around 9 am and people are still up at 11pm.

One problem with campgrounds is that you don't get to interact with the other
Pilgrims in the Refugios.  Next time I would make the effort to try and eat
with and meet pilgrims at the Refugios and then go back to the camp grounds.
 Another is that many were 2 or 3 km outside of the town.  We had bicycles so
we could ride in for supplies, and dinner in 5 to 10 minutes.

It certainly was cheaper to camp and cook at the campground, (we brought
complete camping gear), about $15/night for two people.  Note: the campgrounds
in Europe charge per person, tent, dog, kid, car, etc.  We got by for two
people and a small tent as we've never been charged for bicycles.  You might be
able to get by without cooking gear if you change your eating habits to stop in
first town for breakfast, eat your main meal at lunch and then have Tapas
before you set up camp.

Hope this information helps.

bill