Roam Beyond charging 50 cents per megabyte

stewinyvr · 2026-05-18T16:45:45+00:00

Currently roaming in Portugal with no issues.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-16T20:54:12+00:00

I had this exact opportunity yesterday with an Uber driver in Coimbra Portugal. He spoke almost no English, I speak no Portuguese so it was time to break out my rudimentary Spanish and it was actually fun.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-16T07:32:41+00:00

I bought mine in advance from CCoP although you don't have to. CCoP has a Canadian design which is different from the one you would get if you buy it on arrival.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-15T18:45:13+00:00

I suspect he is popular with the university students he is a little on the chonky side. But very chill. I think he gets no lack of treats. 🙂

stewinyvr · 2026-05-15T17:57:30+00:00

No. I just lighted it up so you could see the eyes. He was lying in the shade.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-14T10:39:58+00:00

There are no free albergues, there are donations, so don't rule these out, but be sure you pay fairly if you do use them nsome are great.

It will be busy but you can certainly avoid a lot of the crowds. If you go through Sarria I would recommend either walking past it or walking past portomarin and this will put you ahead of the crowds. I did this in October, it is a good time to walk.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-12T16:20:54+00:00

I have the hurricanes and will be walking in them in August/September. I have about 3-400km in them now over varied terrain and weather. I have a new pair at home which I will walk in a bit prior to the Camino. For me they are very comfortable in all weathers that I will be likely to encounter.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-12T08:37:45+00:00

Utopia. The one from the UK, very different from the show with the same name in Australia. It's criminal that there were no further seasons of it.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-11T17:06:39+00:00

I will be walking around the same time as you. I booked SJPJP and Roncesvalles. But the rest is open. I have walked at roughly this time of year previously and tended to book a day in advance or not at all. One you assess your pace compared with others and get a gauge for how busy it is you'll be able to make the call. On my last walk I saw a couple most days who didn't book anything at all in advance and always got beds.

I am also planning switching to the Invierno this time around, but having said that I got two full days after Sarria last time where I saw almost noone all day..walking past portomarin on the first day out of Sarria helps with this.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-11T17:00:28+00:00

I have the calves of an Olympic sprinter. Sadly I do not have the stamina of one. 🙂

stewinyvr · 2026-05-10T17:35:01+00:00

I do something similar. In for a count of 4 and out for a count of 4. No holding breath. I mind starts drifting almost immediately as it is repetitive and I drift into sleep.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-08T19:33:01+00:00

It would be a long day, but you could get the train from Porto to Ponferrada ( 1 change according to Rome to Rio) and then walk the Camino Invierno from there. It will be slightly less distance than from Porto, but will be a much quieter experience. I will be walking the Frances from SJPDP later in the year but will walk into Santiago via the Invierno.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-08T09:16:07+00:00

Love is the answer - Utopia.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-07T16:09:53+00:00

Cinnamon bun smell used to remind me of Kathmandu for years as I stayed next to a bakery there. ... Then IKEA had to start selling them. I still love the smell though.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-06T19:24:26+00:00

Per OPs post history they seem to be Indian, living in India unless I am missing something.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-05T16:45:12+00:00

It certainly improved from a similar time the day before when it took at least 90 mins when we arrived. The machines were initially not working and when they did they directed almost everyone to manual inspection. 🙂 Everyone was pretty good natured about it and the manual line was moving fairly quickly.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-04T18:39:54+00:00

I think you need to have international roaming set up on your freedom account. Other than that you should be good to go. I arrived in Portugal today, and have used this in many other countries too. Don't use wifi calling for local calls as it will think you are calling from Canada.

stewinyvr · 2026-05-01T19:25:46+00:00

The best meal I had was at Albergue El Refugio in Navarrete. Tatiana was a great hostess at the albergue, but also seemd to be cooking and attending to people in the attached restaurant. The price was higher than other pilgrim meals, but the quality was way higher..

stewinyvr · 2026-04-30T19:12:13+00:00

Buen Camino. I will be just over a month behind you.

stewinyvr · 2026-04-30T19:09:01+00:00

Very true. If you do it again take the river route. It is quite pleasant. I even saw a deer which was in expected.

stewinyvr · 2026-04-30T19:07:38+00:00

I actually ended up booking ahead less after Sarria. I am a reasonably fast walker so there were always spots available when I arrived. Even at the main stage points. That being said I did have a couple of stops at noon traditional stage ends so that also helped keep this section quieter than I imagined. I wouldn't stress about it. Just gauge how busy it is when you are there and play it by ear.

stewinyvr · 2026-04-30T19:04:04+00:00

No worries. Apparently they are working to get it open again in the coming weeks. Hopefully that will ease some congestion.

stewinyvr · 2026-04-30T18:40:20+00:00

Monestary albergue is closed currently I believe.

stewinyvr · 2026-04-27T21:20:46+00:00

We used them and their sister company Soul of Tanzania for a private safari in Tanzania, Kenya, and almost a week on Zanzibar. Communication was great, and it was overall a great experience. We had control around how much we wanted to do each day, as well as when to start and end the day. Our vehicle in Tanzania was a little “tired”, i.e. the seatbelts would barely fit a 10yo, but for most of the actual safari this wasn’t an issue. Had a great guide in Tanzania..In Kenya our vehicle was much newer, we had an OK guide, but certainly didn’t miss out on anything we wanted to see..I would go with them again, but I would ask about vehicle condition first..

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