[Gocamino] - Ultreya rental cell phones

[Grant Spangler]

I managed just fine without a any mobile electronics for several Caminos. The nature of my profession prompted me to take an unlocked phone and buy a pay-as-you-go MoviStar (Telefonica) SIM while in Spain. I France I'd probably opt for an Orange (France Telecom) SIM. I'd no sooner get a phone upon arrival in France as buying boots, bedroll or backpack just before starting in France. Get all your ducks in a row back home, then buy your SIM upon arrival. 

If you have an AT&T (aka Cellular One / SBC) or T-Mobile you probably have a GSM phone, but it will be locked to the US system. Taking it to Europe, it will work immediately, but at huge operating expense. A Verizon or Sprint/Nextel phone is not the GSM technology used in the rest of the world, so they fall silent outside North America. If your existing phone is GSM, the SIM can be removed and popped into your new unlocked GSM phone procured from the Internet. The SIM can be switched back and forth for testing or daily use. Get all your contacts and stuff set up, get used to the device before departing. It's like breaking in your boots.

There are as many reasons for taking a phone or leaving one behind as there are Caminantes. If Bob wants to take a mobile, he gets to. That's the nature of the beast. Any philosophical, prejudicial or hysterical commentary is better relegated to inner dialog instead of public dissemination. Bob feels a phone would be useful, so go for it Bob. They weigh next to nothing and can be of use now and again. Those who feel doing things the Medeival Way is appropriate should do just that. Please wear sandals and a hair shirt, sleep on straw, and die before you get home. You will be dead center of the Middle Ages bell curve. Voila! Everyone's happy.

Walking is Spain and walking in France are two completely different situations. It's true that in Spain some private Albergues accept phone reservations. In France, without a reservation in the next gite, you may well find yourself without accommodations. That's just the way it works. Different culture, different way of doing things. Walking at 80 is different than walking at 18. Walking as a French-challenged foreigner is different than walking as a local. Oh, and there's always construction going on. The guides are good, but when you get rerouted, it's nice to have the phone's GPS to get you back to the main path. I have yet to carry a GPS, but it's an arrow in my quiver.

The very fact that there is such wide participation of such diverse personalities from so many countries demonstrates one thing: we are all OCD here .. Obsessive Camino Disorder. Everyone's Camino is theirs and theirs alone. You can walk 1000 kilometers right next to someone, and you will both have a different experience. It's the process. Let Bob choose his path.

Buen Camino,


Grant

http://www.ElCaminoSantiago.com
Resources for the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago