20-Days Out

Prep List

As with the Pack List, my Prep List this trip is much different than the last one:  https://morelaterfromelsewhere.com/2018/05/08/20-days-out/

So much in my personal life has changed in the past three years. As I’ve heard so many times – “One’s Camino actually starts once you stop walking the trail.” I didn’t understand it *at all* before, but in the past few years I think I’ve learned what this actually means. I’ve faced difficult personal decisions, have a new living situation, have a new job, have taken up a few side-hustles that I enjoy, have been working on improving my health and exercise regime, and have embarked on a path to streamline so much of what was so complicated before. All that and… oh, yes…have lived through a global pandemic. I think new my Prep List reflects many of these changes.

1.     Learn the travel requirements – The day after I learned that the travel restrictions to the EU were lifting, I’d purchased my ticket to Spain.  However, this time there are more restrictions than last.  I’ll be flying through Portugal to Madrid.  Portugal requires a negative COVID test done within 48 hours of arrival.  And, Spain requires everyone entering to be fully vaccinated and also have QR code so that their travel and contact information is accessible to authorities, should it be found that they were inadvertently in contact with someone who was infected with the virus.  I’m planning for all three requirements.  QR code applied for, vaccination card ready, and planning for my rapid-response test.  I’m grateful for these restrictions if it means other travelers and the residents in Spain will be kept a bit safer, going forward.

2.     Get travel insurance – I’ve never done this before but, in light of the current situation in our world, it seemed prudent to have it – and probably even reckless to not have it.  For about $75 all-in, it seems like a reasonable expense for the peace of mind.  It covers changes in plans due to all sorts of travel interruptions.  And, I went a step further to get a rider that covers hotel stay should a physician tell me I need to quarantine.  How odd is it that I don’t feel the need to explain that further?  We’ve all been living through such an bizarre and unprecedented year.

3.     Book my first night’s stay – I love to travel – but I have difficulty sleeping on planes.  Always have.  So, knowing that – I’ve booked a first night’s stay in Sahagun in “Hostal Alfoso VI”.  If all goes well, and all plane and train connections go smoothly, I’ll be checking in about 5 PM.  Just in time to get cleaned up prior to a local dinner.  If all does not go well, I’ll be checking in much later and will just be grateful to have a guaranteed, pre-paid place to rest before my first day on the trail.

4.     Order a Pilgrim’s Passport – A pilgrim’s passport (credential) is essential for staying in any alburge.  They can be purchased for just a couple euro at various pilgrim offices and alburges throughout the Camino.  I started my Camino last time at a Saint Jean Pied de Port, in France, and knew in advance there would be a pilgrim’s office there.  This time, since I’m starting my walk in Sahagun, I want to make sure I have it in hand when I arrive so I don’t have to look around for a pilgrim’s office when I might be exhausted from travel.  So, I got online and ordered one that’s being mailed to my home.

5.     Time off – I’m extremely grateful to be working for a wonderful company with a generous vacation policy.  Also, since 2020 was a year where the option to use vacation days was almost non-existent, I have a backlog of carry-over vacation.  But, since I’m relatively new in my role, I’d offered to get set up with a tablet so I could log in at the end of each day to handle calendar management and other misc. requests.  My boss graciously told me to not do that – to actually unplug so that it feels like a vacation.  

I’m also so fortunate to be working with a great team of admin.  And, gratefully, between splitting up various essential tasks among them and lots of prep-work in advance, I feel confident everything will be taken care of.  So grateful!

6.     Temporarily close out ‘side-hustles’ – As I mentioned, I’ve got some ‘side-hustles’ that I do for my own edification.  I work at a local charity thrift shop on the weekends to get myself out of the flat and to interact with the public.  I love mingling with a variety of folks and striking up conversations about their newly-found treasures.  It’s also done me good to occasionally try out my very limited vocab of Spanish and ASL.  I put in the paperwork to get all the weekends I’ll be away off work.  

Since I love dogs but can’t have one of my own in my current situation, I also became a vetted dog walker / dog sitter through the ‘Wag’ app.  I take on walks and sitting appointments on evenings and weekends.  I’ll switch that app to ‘on vacation’ while I’m out.  

Also, I’ll occasionally list things for resale on Poshmark or eBay when I find myself with excess.  I’ll need to ‘unlist’ anything that’s in the queue while I’m out of the country as I won’t be around to take care of packing and shipping items in a timely fashion.

7.     Pack with pandemic-sensitivities in mind – Clearly, new this trip.  I’ll be packing a few cloth and paper masks, just in case, out of respect for any local requirements or sensitivities.  Hand-sanitizer is, of course, a must.  To date, over 3.7 million people in Spain have been infected.  Over 80,000 have died.  These minor provisions are nothing, in light of the bigger picture. 

8.     Pack a shelter – In this case, I’ve found a sturdy rain poncho with grommets on the side that can be converted to a make-shift tent (with straps and carabineers) should shelter not be available.  I have no idea what the capacity limits will be like in the alburges.  If alburge capacity limits are reduced due to the pandemic and there are more pilgrims due to the Year of Jubilee (more on that later, I’m sure) I’m preparing myself for the possibility that I’ll be out in the open at some point, sleeping under the stars.  A basic shelter / tarp is essential.

9.     Upgrade my phone – I was using an iPhone 7.  It was dying quickly and uploading slowly.  It was time.  I switched to an iPhone 12 mini.  Response time much better and it actually holds a charge.  Also, the AT&T rep set me up with basically free international internet access.

10.  Upgrade my blog – I’ve sent through the basic upgrade fees to the blog provider to add additional features and functions to my blog.  It’s already proved to be advantageous.  I’m also extremely grateful to know an IT-savvy dear friend from college who was willing to offer me advice.  Thanks, Mike!!  J  

11.  Simply finances – Since last trip, when my goal was to ‘simply travel finances’, I’ve never opted out of any of those options.  In the past year I’ve also made sure that 100% of my bills are paid electronically.  The only exception is my rent, for which my landlord wants a ridiculous ‘convenience fee’ to do so each month.  Not going to happen.  So, while everything else is paid electronically, I’ll drop the check for August rent in the mail before I go.  All good.

12.  Shut down auto-deliveries – When the pandemic hit and we were on lockdown for a while, I started subscribing to www.ImperfectFoods.com to get a few groceries delivered.  Some of the veggies are in odd sizes and wouldn’t have been accepted by grocery stores but they are still quite edible.  This service also stocks other types of food and has been really handy.

I’m sure there are probably other things that I’m doing subconsciously during my planning process.  If I think of anything in particular, I might mention it a bit later as well.  I know from last time that all the prep-work done in advance definitely pays off with less worry and more comfort along the trail.  Totally worth it!

More later…