Checking-in Backpack + Hiking Mattres with Iberia Airlines

[vagnerlevy]

Hello fellow pilgrims!!!

The day is coming!
I'm a week away from the Camino... The dream fells even more real as the minutes goes by!

As this is my first Camino, of course I have plenty of questions, doubts and fears... However I wont make redundant and offen questions, as I know most of first-walker's doubts are already answered within old posts.

What I really want to know is about checking in your backpack!

Im worried, as Im flying to pamplona from Brazil, and I must check in my pack.

Is there any recommendations on that?

I was wondering if it is all right to check in my pack already with my foam hicking mattress attached to my bag. Shall I attach it normally on the bottom of the pack, or attach it to the side?

Im afraid the mattres will go off my pack...

The biggest fear though, is about the possibility of the airline loose all my backpack with everything I need to start the Camino!

I would appreciate to hear past experiences from you fellow pilgrims about that...

Hopefully everything will go smooth! And hopefully... I'm going to be living the dream, starting on the 9th, from SJPP!!!

Nothing but love everyone!!!

Ultreya!

[Covey]

Buen Camino!

I assume that you are flying to somewhere like Madrid and then getting a local flight to Pamplona. If so it might be an idea to avoid having your pack checked through to Pamplona, but to retrieve it yourself from the Brazil flight and check it in yourself for the Pamplona flight.

Your foam ground roll is not really needed on the Camino. About 50% carry one along the Camino, but apart from using it for the occasional sunbathing in an albergue garden, it is an waste of space and weight!

In four Camino's I have never felt the need for a ground roll, they are awkward to stow and carry, and why carry something you will use maybe once or twice in 4-6 weeks, unless you are planning to sleep rough outside.

When checking in a pack, it is better to tie up all the straps so they do not catch on the baggage handling equipment and get damaged.

Because most packs are under the weight allowance for hand baggage, you could see if you can carry it on to the plane, but be aware that the airlines will not allow a knife or in some cases walking poles in the cabin. Check with the airline before you travel!!

[vagnerlevy]

Thanks for the reply Covey!

I was thinking exactly the same about the foam mattress.. That it is a waste of space and weight to be carrying around for 800kms.

I was decided not to carry that with me, but then I started to check a lot of pictures from pilgrim albergues and realize that most (if not all) beds are bunk beds.

That's where lies my problem. Im a very tall dude; 1,97m (6,463f) and for me to sleep in a bunk bed with both sides closed (feet and head), I wouldnt have room for my legs...

I though that for a good night?s sleep maybe it would be worth it to carry the foam mattress around with me... and I would sleep on the floor... in my foam mattress and sleeping bag.

Is that a real worry for me? Or am I tripping about that? What do you reckon?

many Many Thanks!!!!!

[Sil]

The CSJ of South Africa always recommends that people take their packs into the cabin and only check in their 'weapons' - sticks, cutlery, scissors, knives etc. So many people have had their packs go missing and then they are either stuck for a few days whilst the airline searches for it or they start from scratch buying all new stuff. You must comply with the airline regulations on size (dimensions are important) and weight. The pack has to be able to fit into the overhead compartment so check the Iberia website, it is all there.
As a hospitalera I always took pity on the tall guys and allowed them to put their bunk mattress down on the floor somewhere so that their feet could hang over the end! I'm sure the other hospitaleros will allow you to do that if you ask really nicely!
Have a great walk,
Abrazo,
Sil

[Covey]

One could write a book regarding the bunks on the Camino. The only official albergue that does not use them is Azofra as far as I know, and there they have small rooms with two single beds. Probably the best official albergue on the Camino Frances, although the new albergue in Burgos is very nice.

Everywhere else has bunks. Some are fixed to the walls which means you avoid sea sickness if you are on the top bunk and you have a restless pilgrim below.

Some are excruciatingly uncomfortable because they have wooden slats instead of springs. Some are terrible because they have an iron bar across the middle to brace the sides and it feels as though you are going to be broken in half.

Some have rubber/plastic mattress covers. Very good at keeping the bed bugs away, but in June - Sept you sweat in the heat all night.

The most irritating factor is the height between the two bunks. Most are so low that you cannot sit on the bottom bunk without beating your head against the metal above and this makes getting dressed in the mornings a painful experience, especially when putting on your socks and boots!

Most bunks are OK up to 6ft but at 6.4" you might need to shorten your legs, if the airline seats have not already done that for you

[Sil]

I used to think that the more modern, up-market, smart albergues were the best.
Then I heard people talking about small, basic albergues that offered blessings, communal meals and pilgrim songs. For a couple of years I asked pilgrims to let me have their top ten best experiences in albergues and, surprise, surprise, those with no beds, some with no modern amenities - in some cases no electricty or even running water - featured over an over again on the top ten.
1) Eunate -mattresses on the floor and a special meal cooked by the caretaker of the church of Santa Maria de Eunate with a special candlelight blessing in the church.
2) Granon -mattresses on the floor of a bell tower, a communal meal and blessing
3) Tosantos - mattresses on the floor, communal meal and blessing in a small attic chapel
4) San Bol - double bunks but no electricity, running water or toilet; sing-a-long after a communal meal and blessing
5) Hospital San Nicolas - bunks but no electricity, communal meal eaten by lamplight, the monks wash feet as part of the blessing
6) Manjarin - mattresses on a wooden platform in a stone barn; no electricity, running water or toilet. Communal meal and an evening watching stars with one of the kindest men on the camino
7) Bercianos - beds and bunks, communal meal after watching the sunset
8) La Faba (albergue vegetariano) mattresses, communal meals
Others that made the list was Ave Fenix at Villafrance del Bierzo (bunks) and Ruitelan (bunks).
I stayed at Azofra and it was very nice with a large, well equipped kitchen but it was a bit like a youth hostel.
In his book, Pilgrimage to the End of the World, Prof Conrad Rudolph described the albergues as "the soul of the camino" - I think he had the small, basic albergues in mind.

[Roseallee]

Hi Sil,
You have no idea how much I appreciate your insight on this subject, just as I am in the final stages of preparation. I think I will add your post to the back of one Gerald's guide pages to keep it ever handy. Roseallee

[Roseallee]

The biggest fear though, is about the possibility of the airline loose all my backpack with everything I need to start the Camino!

I can really identify because I have been wrestling with the same worries plus the need to send forward some gear because I will continue on to Asia.
Here is the solution I came up with. I decided the 2 items I absolutely couldn't afford to have airlines lose were my hiking shoes and my pack. Without them, I would be in big trouble to do the walk. Nor am I keen on airline baggage conveyer belts chewing bits off my pack.
So I ordered this:
MEC Airline Tote - Mountain Equipment Co-op
It has now arrived and seems just the ticket. I got the small size which easily holds my 32L pack, its contents and everything I need for Asia. It is inexpensive, sturdy, comfortable and folds to a small size. With it, I won't ever have to worry about having my pack damaged while flying again.
I will fly to Biarritz with my scaled down pack as cabin baggage. (Being only 32L, it conforms to carry on dimensions.) I will carry my shoes in it, along with key travel essentials.The rest of my Camino kit and the Asia gear will go in the tote as 1 checked bag. Once I get to SJ, my intention is to mail the tote containing the Asia gear ahead to Santiago.
Hope this helps, Roseallee

[Covey]

[quote=Sil;2837]"I stayed at Azofra and it was very nice with a large, well equipped kitchen but it was a bit like a youth hostel."

It might be like a youth hostel, but it has plumbing, hot water for showers and laundry, and a comfortable bed!! The kitchen had everything you needed to cook a meal, and it has a nice courtyard (with fountain!) where you can dry your laundry and sit and relax.

I stayed in Granon this year, slept on the floor, showered in cold water because the heater was broken, and had a wonderful meal cooked by the hospitaliero's who were Dutch. Everything was Donativo so you paid what you thought you could afford. Quite a number paid nothing! Most of the pilgrims that night were young and doing the Camino on minimal funds.

[Roseallee]

Manjarin - mattresses on a wooden platform in a stone barn; no electricity, running water or toilet.

Hi Sil,
When you say no toilets, are we talking hole in the ground, pit toilet/outhouse or zero, zip, zilch nothing ? Roseallee

[kishoreseo]

Hi everybody, For more details on Iberia Airlines like airlines information, history, destinations, fleets, Thomas Cook Airlines phone numbers, code share agreement and baggage information visit "Altiusdirectoy.com". This URL may be useful.

Iberia Airlines ? Baggage Allowance, Iberia Airlines Phone Number, Cargo, Destinations, Information.

[grayland]

I simply would not check my pack on the way to the Camino. It may be alright on the way home....but think about the fools losing it or stealing it.
What a disappointment it would be.,

[Sil]

A South African pilgrim's backpack didn't arrive when he landed in Madrid in September. He spent a night sleeping in the airport, waiting for the next flight, hoping that it would be on that flight - but, it wasn't.
He got a train to Pamplona and when he tried to book into the Jesus y Maria albergue, they turned him away because he did not have a backpack!
He managed to buy a cheap fabric pack and when he arrived at Cizur Menor and explained to the hospitalero what had happened, he was allowed to search through the 'left property' box where he found toothpaste, shampoo, socks, a jacket and a walking stick. As he walked the camino people shared things with him and each hospitalero allowed him to take stuf that he might need.
He still hasn't been reunited with his pack.