[Gocamino] Bedbugs
Susan Alcorn
backpack45 at yahoo.com
Mon Oct 19 16:42:29 PDT 2009
In our several trips on the Camino we have not experienced bedbugs--and my sympathy to Linda and to others who have had problems with them. I agree with Patricia that most of the reports that we've seen on this forum have come in late in the season and that there have been many efforts by albuerges to get rid of them. It's my understanding that the problem is compounded by the fact that the bugs can be inadvertently carried from one place to the next. People don't necessarily know they are transporting them until a couple of days down the line (when they start itching) making it difficult to track down the origin.
We have always carried (and suggested that others do so) sleeping bags. To me, it's a good insurance policy--particularly if I someday end up having to sleep on a mat on the floor. I have no way of knowing if that's "saved" us from bedbugs, but as I said, we've had no problem. The majority of our hiking on the Spanish route was in 2001, with additional hikes there in 2006 and 2007. We have also hiked on the LePuy (France) route 2004, 2005, 2006; the Portuguese route in 2007; and the Arles (France) route in 2008, 2009. All of our hikes, except the 2004 one, have been in September. Susan Alcorn
Shepherd Canyon Books, Oakland, CA
www.backpack45.com and backpack45.blogspot.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-11423-Bay-Area-Hiking-Examiner
Publishers of two award-winning books: Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago and We're in the Mountains Not over the Hill: Tales and Tips from Seasoned Women Backpackers.
--- On Mon, 10/19/09, gocamino-request at oakapple.net <gocamino-request at oakapple.net> wrote:
From: gocamino-request at oakapple.net <gocamino-request at oakapple.net>
Subject: Gocamino Digest, Vol 60, Issue 3
To: gocamino at oakapple.net
Date: Monday, October 19, 2009, 12:00 PM
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Today's Topics:
1. Dourgne to Oloron St. Marie GR 653 trip report (Ralph Alcorn)
2. Our Camino 2009 (Littles Llamas)
3. Re: Our Camino 2009 (patrush1 at verizon.net)
4. Re: Our Camino 2009 (Linda McInnis)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:40:06 -0700
From: Ralph Alcorn <rbalcorn at gmail.com>
Subject: [Gocamino] Dourgne to Oloron St. Marie GR 653 trip report
To: santiagobis at yahoogroups.com, gocamino at oakapple.net
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<aeff7eb40910181840x118b6932r93c51c9723755137 at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Dourgne to Oloron St. Marie Sept 2009
This was a somewhat difficult and stressful trip for us. Our seventh walk on
a pilgrimage trail, we were looking at it as more of a vacation adventure,
than as a serious trek. Our plan was 20 to 25k per day and to use B&Bs and
hotels when possible, not using scarce pilgrim gite space, leaving that for
the pilgrims bound for Santiago. In retrospect, it would have been better to
plan on staying in the gites when possible, and always carrying emergency
supper and breakfast supplies. A lightweight tent would have relieved some
accommodation stress.
Some of the difficulties were unique to our trip, others you may encounter.
Starting from Toulouse would be better than starting from Dourgne.
Accommodations are infrequent and quickly filled in the area around
Toulouse. This is a fine bicycle route, as you can adapt to filled
accommodations, and just go on to the next.
For walkers it is a different matter. As a walker, you need to reserve your
accommodations if you expect them to prepare you a meal, and it is a good
idea to reserve even if you just need a bed. You need a plan for when you
can't get a place, such as a tent and food, a taxi, etc. The stages work a
little better if you can easily do 30k per day. If you are staying in a
place that provides breakfast, it is hard to get walking before 8 or 8:30.
If we couldn't find accommodations within 25k, we would opt for a lesser
distance. For 30k per day, it is best to get going by 7 or 7:30.
Accommodations are frequently off trail, so your navigation skills must be
good.
Always carry lunch material. It is very rare to find more than one place per
day where you can buy supplies, so when you hit the village of the day, get
what you need. I also suggest carrying snack material so that you have
something to eat about 10:30 in the morning and 2:30 in the afternoon. That
snack should provide lots of salt and sugar to keep you going.
We had a number of days in the 80s (?F)and a number in the 40s, a couple of
days of rain and boot sucking mud - the rain happened to coincide with few
days of dirt tracks. Humidity very high for most of the trip. Imagine a 10
inch pie 2 inches thick attached to your foot, and a softball on the end of
your hiking stick, and that is boot sucking mud. 95% of the time is on small
paved country roads.
The people we met were delightful, the cities buzzing with activity.
However, on the trail, we saw practically no one, maybe a dozen hikers over
three weeks, including the ones we met in the few gites where we stayed. The
terrain is similar to that between Aire sur L'Adour and St. Jean. There is a
certain sameness to the landscape. The sameness made the navigation
difficult. Some areas were well waymarked, others scarce or missing
waymarks. You had to count the little side roads, as they were not labeled.
"Is this the 5th side road from the right, or the sixth? Well, it is a dirt
road. Do dirt roads count?".
When to go:
We did this trip in September. That accounts for the lack of other walking
pilgrims. In talking to our various hosts, we found that during April and
May there is a lot of pilgrim traffic - frequently filling the gites. These
are the people walking the entire route from Arles to Santiago. Many of them
carry a tent and expect to do their own meals much of the time, though some
have sent their tent home by the time they get to Oloron St. Marie.
Navigation Notes:
I have carried a small Silva compass, about 2x3 inches on all our trips,
backpacking and otherwise, and rarely if ever looked at it. This trip I
carried it and the map in my hand, and looked at it frequently. With all the
little unmarked roads, and sameness of the trail, it was important to know
exactly where we were. If we had off trail accommodations, we had to know
that we were turning off on the right road. We carried the 1/100000 IGN maps
for the trail. These are identical to the map pages in the back of the Sur
le chemin de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, la via Tolosona, la voie du
soleil... - Francois Lepere & Andr? Dehnel guide. (we didn't use this guide
except the maps). We carried the Miam Miam Dodo, the CFSJ guide, and the Le
chemin d'Arles vers Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Louis Laborde-Balen -
Jean-Pierre Sir?jol guide. We mostly relied on the CFSJ, the MMD and the map
and compass.
If I were to do this part of the route again, I would look for more detailed
maps. Excellent maps are available interactively on www.geoportail.fr but
they don't print out easily. Since we got back I've been looking for better
maps. You can get the 1:24000 IGN maps, but it is costly and heavy. There is
a website www.geolives.com that allows you to download topo maps of Europe,
and load them to your iphone or pda. You can also print them. It looks like
a possibility, but I haven't tried it.
I put a video clip out on YouTube on the Dourgne to Oloron
trip<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eMNnhEkyH4>
..
I've also blogged with a little more detail
<http://timecheck00.blogspot.com>about the trip and a bunch of photos.
Trip Notes:
1. From Toulouse, got taxi to Gare Routiere got bus to in Revel, the
closest point to Dourgne. From there got a taxi to get to Dourgne. Toulouse
bus schedules at http://www.haute-garonne.fr/ and the bus lines that go to
Revel are 56 and 57. Walked from Dourgne to St. Felix. Stayed at Le Cocagne
- no star room, but food and ambiance good. In the main square. The fancier
hotel is away from square.
Walked La Rigole & stayed at gite Moulin de Naurouze where GR653 hits Canal
du Midi - very welcoming and pilgrim friendly - lots of pilgrim info. Canal
du Midi info www.canal-et-voie-verte.com/
>From there walked Canal du Midi. Choice is canal with shade, water, but
paved path or GR653 with villages, no shade, and few facilities. Stayed at
La Masqui?re in ?cluse en Laval. Nice but pricey. Nothing else available and
this wasn't far enough for the next day to work.
Took taxi to Ramonville, walked from there into Toulouse. Stayed at Hotel
des Arts a one star but centrally located and pilgrim friendly. Takes some
adjusting to get used to the toilet being visible from every part of the
room. Don't miss Augustin Museum.
>From Toulouse, took bus to Colomiers at outskirts of town, then walked to
pilgrim gite in Leguevin. Found out that next day's route had just been
changed, too many trees down in forest, and temporary route setup - not
waymarked.
>From Leguevin walked to just short of L'Isle-Jourdain at Chateau de Guerre -
hard to get to from new route - had to ask and walk thru someone's fields to
get there.
Next day on to Gimont at Hotel Le Coin du Feu - supermarket in town, but it
closed just before we got to it, 15 minutes before closing hours. After that
we paid attention. Closing hours in southern France mean when the last
employee locks the door and leaves. They might close the door to incoming
customers much earlier, also, if store is empty near closing, they sometimes
lock up and leave.
Next day was one of our favorite stays - the gite at La Croisee de St.
Cricq, just short of Auch. Very nice couple running it. We were only ones
there and shared their meal.
Then a short day into Auch at Hotel de France
>From Auch, on to L'Isle de Noe - a town on a small island between two
rivers. We stayed at Edna's Chambres d'Hotes - Mme Moody. A unique stay.
>From there walked to Monlezun and stayed with Mme Seailles - she had no
English, and we little French, but it worked out.
The next day we walked direct to Maubourguet, bypassing Marciac and
following an alternate route in the CFSJ. Only problem was that distances
and details in CFSJ weren't quite right, but map and compass got us there.
Stayed at Hotel de France.
General note on prices. Bed, dinner and breakfast at a gite or CdH for two
was about 70 euros, at a hotel in a small town, about 90 euros.
>From Maubourguet, there are no accommodations within our walking range on
the GR653, so we took the alternate route thru Lembeye. The CFSJ description
of the alternate did not match the trail at all - possibly it has been
rerouted since guide was made. Anyway, we soon realized we had missed the
alternate, due to our map and compass checking, and made our way by small
roads to our stay in Lembeye. Hotel Pelerin was not open - apparently on
owner's whim, opens and closes, but stayed with Mme Price and her daughter
about 1 km past town. Nice meal and company.
>From Lembeye, back to the GR653 at Anoye and on to Morlaas, Impressive
carvings over the church door. Again stayed at Hotel de France don't think
they are a chain - no similarities.
The next day we pass the outskirts of Pau on the way to Lescar. One of the
highlights of the trip was walking into the cathedral, tired and pack laden
and hearing the sound of the huge organ as the organist practiced. The pipes
filled the end of the cathedral, and the sounds penetrated to the bone.
Stayed at La Terrasse - wonderful gaspacho. Another pilgrim told us that the
gite was excellent, but we had already booked the hotel.
Next day to Estialescq - CdH Maison Naha - we highly recommend, due to
hostess, food and accommodation.
On to Oloron St. Marie - stayed at Hotel Alysson - too far from main section
of town and pricey, restricting food choices - suggest Hotel de la Paix as
better option.
Train back to Toulouse with a couple hour layover in Pau - went up the
nearby funicular to center of Pau - views, castle, people, restaurants, then
on to Toulouse and Hotel des Arts again. Next day fly home.
--
Ralph Alcorn
http://www.backpack45.com/camino2.html
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:58:23 -0600
From: "Littles Llamas" <et at zianet.com>
Subject: [Gocamino] Our Camino 2009
To: "Gocamino" <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Message-ID: <91579430471F499DBD418BD575E040E1 at LlamaOne>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
We just completed our second Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago.We hiked the Camino in 2006 and took 34 days to complete the trip.We had such a great experience the first time we decided to return once more.
We are 65 and 68 years old and are avid hikers. Our Camino experience this trip was mared by the infestation of bed bugs in many of the Albuguergues. We experienced the horror of the bugs ourselves on numerous nights. We went to the Pharmacy's and ask for assistance. We purchased creams for the bites as well as spray insect repellants which we used every single night to try to keep the bed bugs off of us.
We encountered pilgrim after pilgrim that were bitten hundreds of times and ended up in the emergency rooms for treatment. Many had to take steroids as well as antihistamines. Some chose to discontinue their Camino trip.
We spoke with some hikers who think the bugs are a part of being a pilgrim on the Camino.
When we hiked the Camino in 2006 we had only one occasion when we had bed bugs and that was a private Albuguergue in Puenta La Reina.
Worse yet when we did arrive in Santiago and got a Pension guess what? It was also infested with bed bugs.
Something must be done to rid the Albuguergues of the bed bug infestation.
It needs to be talked about and the Spanish health departments need to establish a plan to solve this problem.
What say all you Pilgrims?
Pat Little
New Mexico USA
et at zianet.com
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:03:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: patrush1 at verizon.net
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Our Camino 2009
To: Littles Llamas <et at zianet.com>, Gocamino <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Message-ID: <7108.32995.qm at web84007.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
When I walked the Camino in 2005 I had no problems.? Nor did I encounter any bug problems on the LePuy route in 2006 or the Via de la Plata last year.?I always use a silk sleeping bag liner, even if sheets and blankets look clean, so that may have protected me.? ?I have heard that the bugs are more prevalent late in the season because of the hordes of people who come through the refugios.? I'm sure the refugio operators are aware of the problems; I have heard that many close down and are fumigated during the winter.? But, be aware that many very expensive hotels in New York have had bed bugs; people bring them in and the bugs are very difficult to eradicate, especially since DDT is no longer legal in the US.? I'm really sorry that you were so badly affected by the beasties.? I don't consider them part of the "Camino experience" although certainly our pilgrim ancestors must have suffered from bed bugs, body lice, scabies and the other afflictions
that beset people in the middle ages and renaissance.?
Patricia, upstate NY
________________________________
From: Littles Llamas <et at zianet.com>
To: Gocamino <gocamino at oakapple.net>
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2009 10:58:23 PM
Subject: [Gocamino] Our Camino 2009
We just completed our second Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago.We hiked the Camino in 2006 and took 34 days to complete the trip.We had such a great experience the first time we decided to return once more.
We are 65 and 68 years old and are avid hikers. Our Camino experience this trip was mared by the infestation of bed bugs in many of the Albuguergues. We experienced the horror of the bugs ourselves on numerous nights. We went to the Pharmacy's and ask for assistance. We purchased creams for the bites as well as spray insect repellants which we used every single night to try to keep the bed bugs off of us.
We encountered pilgrim after pilgrim that were bitten hundreds of times and ended up in the emergency rooms for treatment. Many had to take steroids as well as antihistamines. Some chose to discontinue their Camino trip.
We spoke with some hikers who think the bugs are a part of being a pilgrim on the Camino.
When we hiked the Camino in 2006 we had only one occasion when we had bed bugs and that was a private Albuguergue in Puenta La Reina.
Worse yet when we did arrive in Santiago and got a Pension guess what? It was also infested with bed bugs.
Something must be done to rid the Albuguergues of the bed bug infestation.
It needs to be talked about and the Spanish health departments need to establish a plan to solve this problem.
What say all you Pilgrims?
Pat Little
New Mexico USA
et at zianet.com
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------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:30:08 -0600
From: "Linda McInnis" <mrfsealah at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] Our Camino 2009
To: "Littles Llamas" <et at zianet.com>, "Gocamino"
<gocamino at oakapple.net>
Message-ID: <BLU132-DS733AF42F57E2FD7355997A4C10 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
After I experienced 1 episode of what were probably bed bug bites in Urtega,
I made sure to sprinkle several drops of lavender essential oil on my
mattress when I arrived at an alburgue...also on the pillow if one was
provided, as well as covering it with a small towel before sleeping. I had
no further trouble with bites. A one-half ounce bottle of oil is
inexpensive, works on the bugs and also smells good. I carry lavender with
me whenever I travel.
Linda in Colorado (hello New Mexico neighbors!)
------------------------------
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