Electric Gadgets

[Pat Hawkins]

Okay, I confess, I was going to take my Kindle (with several downloaded books) and my IPod which I tend to sleep with. Any place to charge these things along the way?

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Pat ~
Welcome to the Forum. I knew another pilgrim who took her Kindle along with her. She stayed in hotels and often wanted something to read before she went to sleep. She loved the Kindle because she had dozens of books on it and the weight was comparatively light. That said, I've never myself found any use for reading material on my Caminos. I've been so busy either prepping for the next day or talking to fascinating new friends (or hanging out at the Cafe/Bar for one last glass of wine) that any reading material I've taken has gone unread.

Anyway, that wasn't your question. Yes, there are frequently places to charge your appliances, but you'll have to look carefully and be somewhat trusting of fellow pilgrims. Imagine 3-4 outlets shared by 50-100 pilgrims -- that's what you'll often find. Fortunately if you're careful your 2 appliances can go days w/o a charge. If you do stay at a hotel or two along the way you'll have an outlet or two of your own.

Buen camino!

[Leslie]

Ah, a kindle. The first time I walked the camino frances I had no idea waht to expect and though I would be spending long periods of time on my own. That however was never the case.

I had taken several books with me, all bar one was left in hostels during the first few days due to the weight. Then after that I finished a book and picked up another at hostels along the way. But I, like Sandy above, read little on the Camino. I did spend a lot of time sleeping, walking, and talking to others.

I found that I did not charge my phone much along the way due to having to be nearby while it was charging. I "lost" my wallet once in an albergue and perhaps i am a bit too watchful.

[danabagg]

I took my ipod & used it each night as I went to sleep. It drowned out any snoring. Once I was
asleep, I was fine. I had no problem charging it along the way. Many bathrooms in the albergues
had plugs, but you were leaving it & having to trust others not to take it. Sometimes I found a
plug in an albergue near my bunk. As for the use of a Kindle...I think you might use it. I spent
an hour on a computer each day emailing. That could be your Kindle time. This time, when I go,
(in 2 months) I think I'm taking a small bible & workbook pages to do each day...depends on my
final weight. I did get rid of books the first time, due to the weight.

[Anso]

I intend to take my kindle too, its a great to have all my books at hand. With regarding charging, if you switch the wireless off then the battery will last a month ( or up to 10 days with wireless on), also it can be charged from a USB so you could give it a boost when in an internet café. I don't want to sound like an Amazon sales man, but if the kindle is stolen/lost, you can re-download from Amazon all the books you've purchased as as they keep it all logged under your account.

I've just returned from a week in France sharing a twin room with a rather loud snorer. Great I thought, as being the good scout I was prepared and had brought my earplugs, ideal chance to test them out in advance of my camino, unfortunately I was not impressed, I often ended up at 4am reading my kindle as sleep was not going to happen. So I might be buying an ipod as this sounds like a good idea to get to sleep, perhaps whale songs or some audio Spanish lessons that I might absorb while I sleep!

[Covey]

People often say they are taking all the gadgets to fill in the hours, but I am not quite sure which Camino they were walking because I never seem to have any spare hours!! Let alone time to read books!!

I carried an iPod one year and it was nice to have the odd 20 minutes of music, but now I just carry my Nokia E72 phone which covers my phone needs, takes my photo's and carries my music. This way I just need one charger!