$$$

[Jeffrey Crawley]

That would probably have been 100 French francs not 10 (2 dollars!) a day
but the franc, like the peseta is no longer with us.

Even small towns like Villafranca del Bierzo have ATM/hole in the wall/cash
dispensers. Sometimes you have to swipe your card in an electronic lock to
go into a small lobby to access the machine but mostly they are open to the
street. Check with your bank to see if the card will work in Spain.

If you use a credit card you might find some delays in stores (not all small
stores take them anyway) as most of Europe issues a card with a chip (like
your phone sim card) and you simply tap in your personal number, if you
haven't got a chip card they might have to phone to validate the charge.

Bank accounts are usually tied to an address in the country where the bank
is - you probably won't be able to get one as a non-resident.

Europeans have a form E111 which allows them reciprical medical attention (I
used mine in Greece last year, it worked very well) but this option isn't
open to you if you're  coming in from west of Ireland. Medical insurance
should be a must for you guys (if you don't have it bet you'll need it!)
although pharmacies will be able to sort out many problems, some places have
free attention for pilgrims (the military hospital in Burgos for instance).

You don't say what month you'll be travelling in. A tent can be a burden, I
saw quite a few "left behind" in refugios especially towards the end. If
you're thinking you might have to/like to sleep out how about a gore-tex
bivvy bag to cover your sleeping bag? I've slept out in torrential rain in
one of these and stayed dry as a bone.

hope this helps.

Jeffrey

----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Barger <bargerb04aNETZERO.NET>
To: <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 10:40 PM
Subject: $$$


> I read that you should have about E16 or 10 francs a day of travel in
> Spain. With about a month of travel that would be about E480, so lets say
> E600.  Would it be wise to open an account once you arrive? Since a wad of
> traveler's cheques in $20's sounds like a hassle and I don't want to do
the
> credit card thing I know I am making it difficult.  Another thing is
Should
> I purchase a small tent incase the refugios are full? Insurance too, since
> it is a fool's folly to think you're going to wander through Spain on foot
> and might not need medical attention.  As you may have noticed, this is my
> first time and any help would be greatly appreciated.
>