Vicious Dogs & Communicating with a Friend:

[bill deutschman]

> In particular, I am interested in tips on how to handle wild dogs,

We heard all about the "wild, vicious dogs" and all of the various sprays,
dog dazzlers etc.before we left last year.  Half way through the pilgrimage
my wife and I started joking with each other with a call of "There's another
vicious dog, we better wake it up so it can attack us."  as most of the dogs
were sound asleep.  We only saw three dogs that were of any concern and they
were all on chains.  Our concern was that the chain might break.  Others may
have different experiences but dogs were not a problem for us.  I am certain
that dogs know who is afraid of them and react to that fear.  If you arn't
afraid they will not bother you.

> locations to spend the night, how to best organize a meeting with someone
> who will be joining me midway,

Both of you can regularly call a third person in the US who can relay the
messages or you can send messages to each other over the net.  We found
internet access in all of the large cities and many small ones and were able
to keep track of friends who were also cycling the Camino.  The information
office usually knows where they are.

bill